Computer hangs after a few minutes and hdd light is always on

Hi guys,

Came here after the confirmation that the computer has no malware.

Don't know where to start the computer shows no sign of this problem in safe mode and diagnostic start-up that all I know.

Willing to reformat and use the provided system recovery media once all ideas have been exhausted (If i know how to ).

Thanks.

PS. This is the original thread

( http://forums.majorgeeks.com/showthread.php?t=287410 )

 

A few questions . . . did you make any software changes to your computer just prior to the problem first appearing? I saw where you stated it freezes right after the Java Updater UAC pops up. This sure points to a software cause to this issue, though a hardware problem is still not impossible. Also, have you added any new hardware to the system, like PCI cards, video card, more RAM, another hard drive, etc.? This data can help folks here narrow down what might be the issue. But, in the meantime . . .

--If you haven't already, do a Check Disk scan. To start, schedule a boot-time check disk scan of your C: drive. About the easiest way to do this is open My Computer, right click on the C: drive, select Properties from the list that appears, and then select the Tools tab from the next list. Under Error Checking, click the Check Now button. On the window that appears, make sure Automatically fix file system errors, and Scan for and attempt recovery of bad sectors are BOTH checked, then click the Start button.

You will get a pop up saying Windows cannot check the disk while it's in use, and ask if you want to schedule a boot-time scan. Select that option, and reboot the computer. Let the scan run and report what it finds.

If you have tried that and it fails to help, then . . .

--Have you tried a system restore point? Unless you have turned off that feature, it should be running on your computer. Select a restore point to a time just BEFORE the problem started. This will not affect any files you have created, like documents or pictures; it will just restore the operating system to the state it was in at the time the restore "shadow" was created. Some programs you installed after the date of the restore point will have to be re-installed though.

If the restore fails trying it through Windows, you can try it while in Safe Mode. Just select "Safe Mode with Command Prompt", and when the DOS-like windows appears, just type rstrui.exe at the prompt and hit return. The system restore module will start, and you can select a suitable restore point from there. Bear in mind the module may not start at once. I've seen it take up to 10mins on a system with limited resources, but usually it will pop up within a minute or so.


If none of this at least indicates what the issue is, we can try some other things, including some hardware checks.

 

Software: Avast 2-3 weeks prior

And no hardware changes. this is a laptop by the way.

Will be running chkdsk with /f /r /x /b after the post

Also the problem is not appearing in safe mode or diagnostic start up

And no restore points. Sorry, disabled it a long time ago due to space constraints. Didn't expect this to happen.

 

CHKDSK x: /F /R would perform a full scan (including bad sectors) and attempt to fix them.

The other switches are redundant.

 

/R implies /F so the latter switch is redundant.
All that's needed is:

chkdsk X: /r

 

barts0924...

Don't know if there is anything at all to this, but I noticed you use Firefox. I have had small problems now and then with plugin-container.exe and the graphics card I have. Doubt it's your problem, but I see you have a number of plugins for Firefox in the files you posted in the other thread...

Only other thing I could think of would be something possibly Norton (Norton Online Backup) giving you a hard time...

After you run the chkdsk recommended, maybe you could focus on startup programs if the chkdsk doesn't fix the problem. Must be one of them, since you aren't having the problem in Safe Mode. Standard startups don't run in Safe Mode. One easy thing to do is CTL-ALT-DEL to open Task Manager when you first notice the problem or maybe keep it open in a corner and sorted by highest to lowest CPU usage. Hopefully, you could look at that and see what is chewing up the processor when the problem happens...

 

Wow. It surprises me that two of you noticed that I used redundant command line switches.

Anyway on to good news folks

It seems chkdsk cured the computer

Maybe I somehow I affected the hard drive when I want to shutdown the computer while windows is updating. Cause I a lot of windows updater .msi file corrupted during chkdsk

Thanks for the help guys!
Until it happens again or it magically goes back to the way it was. (Hope not.)