Internet Explorer / Chrome problems with Windows 7
I have a computer running Win7 SP1 (32bit). I'm running into odd issues that I think indicate a hardware problem, but am seeking outside perspective.
Client Symptoms:
*) Google Chrome crashes randomly with the, "Whoa! Google Chrome just crashed" error message. There are no extensions installed. I removed / re-installed Chrome, as well as deleted the old user profile. The browser also crashes under a newly created user account.
*) Internet Explorer gives a warning message that it's unable to properly display google.com, and tries to display it using Compatibility mode. However, the IE window is left blank. This also occurs with any webpage that you try to navigate to.
Additional symptoms that I noticed while troubleshooting:
*) Crystal Disk Info will not load
*) BitDefender BootCD freezes during boot
*) LogMeIn hangs during the installation
What I've done so far:
I checked the hard drive for errors (chkdsk /R /F C:)
I removed the drive, and scanned it for viruses (using Avast), and malware (using malwarebytes) on a different computer (esata connection)
I ran memtest86+ for 2 hours with no errors
Thinking it might be a Windows Update problem, I uninstalled all of the updates installed in August (sans MS Office updates)
Checked the motherboard for blown capacitors
Installed an nvidia GeForce 210 Video Card (over riding the onboard GPU)
Outside of swapping out hardware, I'm not sure where to go from here. The system is an out of warranty Dell computer.
-Robert
Client Symptoms:
*) Google Chrome crashes randomly with the, "Whoa! Google Chrome just crashed" error message. There are no extensions installed. I removed / re-installed Chrome, as well as deleted the old user profile. The browser also crashes under a newly created user account.
*) Internet Explorer gives a warning message that it's unable to properly display google.com, and tries to display it using Compatibility mode. However, the IE window is left blank. This also occurs with any webpage that you try to navigate to.
Additional symptoms that I noticed while troubleshooting:
*) Crystal Disk Info will not load
*) BitDefender BootCD freezes during boot
*) LogMeIn hangs during the installation
What I've done so far:
I checked the hard drive for errors (chkdsk /R /F C:)
I removed the drive, and scanned it for viruses (using Avast), and malware (using malwarebytes) on a different computer (esata connection)
I ran memtest86+ for 2 hours with no errors
Thinking it might be a Windows Update problem, I uninstalled all of the updates installed in August (sans MS Office updates)
Checked the motherboard for blown capacitors
Installed an nvidia GeForce 210 Video Card (over riding the onboard GPU)
Outside of swapping out hardware, I'm not sure where to go from here. The system is an out of warranty Dell computer.
-Robert
Frank McCourry
Run a virus and malware scan.
You can also try to boot Live Linux in that machine. If it works under Linux the problems are OS related...
http://livecdlist.com/ - here you have the live CD list. I usually use Ubuntu or Knoppix.
http://livecdlist.com/ - here you have the live CD list. I usually use Ubuntu or Knoppix.
ASKER
I ran a virus/malware scan, and it found an SQL Slammer virus in the hibernation file. That was removed. The second scan came back clean.
The BitDefender LiveCD is based on xbuntu. The system froze while the kernel was still loading. However, it froze at different points (one point was during the IRQ probe).
I'll try an Ubuntu disk, but I'm not sure how that will differ.
I am able to boot into Windows. It just that multiple applications are crashing or refuse to run.
The BitDefender LiveCD is based on xbuntu. The system froze while the kernel was still loading. However, it froze at different points (one point was during the IRQ probe).
I'll try an Ubuntu disk, but I'm not sure how that will differ.
I am able to boot into Windows. It just that multiple applications are crashing or refuse to run.
ASKER CERTIFIED SOLUTION
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ASKER
I checked the virus logs on Avast (currently installed). The scan history shows no detection / removal of any viruses. I scanned the drive for viruses using BitDefender, and MSE. I also scanned for malware with Malwarebytes, and rootkits with TDS Killer.
BitDefender found an SQLSlammer virus in the Hibernation file, but otherwise the system is clean.
The only indication that there's a problem is when trying to view a website using either IE 10 or Chrome. Otherwise, the system shows no sign of instability.
I created a new user account, but the problem persists there as well. I removed all of the Windows updates from August, since the problem start last month, but to no avail.
BitDefender found an SQLSlammer virus in the Hibernation file, but otherwise the system is clean.
The only indication that there's a problem is when trying to view a website using either IE 10 or Chrome. Otherwise, the system shows no sign of instability.
I created a new user account, but the problem persists there as well. I removed all of the Windows updates from August, since the problem start last month, but to no avail.
ASKER
I've requested that this question be deleted for the following reason:
The system was eventually formatted to rectify the problem
The system was eventually formatted to rectify the problem
My last comment seems matching to the final decision / final conclusion.