"Random" crashes of IE8 and other browsers

[Snorkelfarsan]

Hi,

The basic premise is that all web browsers I have tried this far crash or report an error within a few seconds or a minute of using them. It seemed likely that it was an issue with a plug-in or an add-on like the flash player or shockwave, Firefox would for example complain about that. And all browsers would always crash if I tried to play some kind of online game (web browser flash game). But I have tried uninstalling flash and installing it again, to no avail. I have also started internet explorer without any add-ons, and the problem still persists.
At first I thought it might have been some kind of malware, but I have searched the computer thoroughly with AVG, MSE, Malware bytes and none of them have found anything. Finally, I gave up and and reinstalled Windows 7. But the problem persists.

The computer is running Windows 7 Home Premium 64-bit
AMD Phenom II 550 x2 black edition (unlocked to a x4)
4GB RAM
Radeon HD 5770
(Seems very unlikely that it would be a hardware error)

The error logs have been pointing to ntdll.dll and kernel32.dll in most cases, and in a few instances KERNELBASE.dll. This is for IE8 at least. The crash logs for chrome would report chrome.dll and for firefox I dont remember because I haven't installed it yet (reinstalled the OS). Here are a few examples of related crash logs (in swedish, unfortunately):

Felet uppstod i programmet med namn: iexplore.exe, version 8.0.7600.16385, tidsstämpel 0x4a5bc69e
, felet uppstod i modulen med namn: ntdll.dll, version 6.1.7600.16385, tidsstämpel 0x4a5bdb3b
Undantagskod: 0xc0000374
Felförskjutning: 0x000cdcbb
Process-ID: 0x4ac
Programmets starttid: 0x01cbcb700faed4db
Sökväg till program: C:\Program Files (x86)\Internet Explorer\iexplore.exe
Sökväg till modul: C:\Windows\SysWOW64\ntdll.dll
Rapport-ID: 5d08fdef-3763-11e0-a69b-bcaec51ee7f1

Felet uppstod i programmet med namn: iexplore.exe, version 8.0.7600.16385, tidsstämpel 0x4a5bc69e
, felet uppstod i modulen med namn: KERNELBASE.dll, version 6.1.7600.16385, tidsstämpel 0x4a5bdbdf
Undantagskod: 0xc000001d
Felförskjutning: 0x0000b727
Process-ID: 0xf04
Programmets starttid: 0x01cbcb6fc34b7036
Sökväg till program: C:\Program Files (x86)\Internet Explorer\iexplore.exe
Sökväg till modul: C:\Windows\syswow64\KERNELBASE.dll
Rapport-ID: 0127969b-3763-11e0-a69b-bcaec51ee7f1

I have been googling this issue like crazy and most of the solutions are concerned with add-ons or plug-ins. It might have to do with an installed program, but it seems veru unlikely. I have never ecnountered this issue with other computers having pretty much the same programs installed. Or perhaps there is an issue with this particular instance of Windows 7, i.e there is something wring with the install DVD?

I think I have provided you with enough info, but please tell me if there is something else you would like to know.

Thanks!

EDIT: I have noticed that the 64-bit edition of Internet Explorer seems to be functioning perfectly. Also, During the last few hours windows has crashed to BSOD two times with the message APC INDEX MISMATCH. I cannot tell if the crashes are linked to some activity or application. Is it possible that this error is linked to the above?

/S

 

[nboy22]

You probably do have some kind of add-on that is doing an operation in the background and is causing IE to crash, I've seen it many many times before in my tech-support days. I would recommend opening IE -> Clicking tools menu at the top -> Internet Options -> Programs tab -> Click manage add-ons button. Now what you want to do is post up the whole list of add-ons here and if they are enabled/disabled and that way I can tell you if anything looks suspicious. I just fixed a problem like this for my boss and it was only a few days ago.

 

[Soundmanred]

You probably do have some kind of add-on that is doing an operation in the background and is causing IE to crash, I've seen it many many times before in my tech-support days. I would recommend opening IE -> Clicking tools menu at the top -> Internet Options -> Programs tab -> Click manage add-ons button. Now what you want to do is post up the whole list of add-ons here and if they are enabled/disabled and that way I can tell you if anything looks suspicious. I just fixed a problem like this for my boss and it was only a few days ago.

That might make sense if he was only having a problem with IE.

 

[VirtualLarry]

Tried booting a Memtest86+ CD yet, to test your RAM?

 

[Snorkelfarsan]

You probably do have some kind of add-on that is doing an operation in the background and is causing IE to crash, I've seen it many many times before in my tech-support days. I would recommend opening IE -> Clicking tools menu at the top -> Internet Options -> Programs tab -> Click manage add-ons button. Now what you want to do is post up the whole list of add-ons here and if they are enabled/disabled and that way I can tell you if anything looks suspicious. I just fixed a problem like this for my boss and it was only a few days ago.

I dont have access to the computer at the moment because it is not actually mine, but I will try that as soon as possible. Although it seems unlikely that add-ons for IE8 are the problem all browsers have crashed.

Tried booting a Memtest86+ CD yet, to test your RAM?

I'll go ahead an try it but it would seem wierd if it was a hardware problem. The computer is however newly built so it is not impossible that there might be something slightly off.
As I said though, IE8 64-bit is working normally and I have been able to use it without any errors. I wonder what it is that causes the 32 bit to crash and not the 64 bit. Probably has something to do with the OS?

Also, I installed a dual boot with Ubuntu 10.10 so that the owner of the owner of the computer would be able to use when I was not around to help. And Ubuntu seemed to work fine in the 15-30 minutes I used it after installation. I did although encounter some kind of freeze in a flash game I tried, but it might have been something random. Are flash player issues somehow related to some kind of a hardware malfunction?

thanks

 

[mlc]

try running without the add-on's as suggested...

If that doesn't work , you probably have some sort of virus or malware.. Try scanning for malware using something like spybot or superantimalware, if you don't have any tool installed

 

[daniel49]

I would suspect avg also. I bought a paid version of it and installed it and had constant problems....mostly with freezing up. I upgraded it to the latest version and it improved somewhat but still is problematic... worst AV I ever owned. Never again.

 

[Snorkelfarsan]

I did run the add-on free version of IE8 that can be found under accesories and it crashed in the same manner.

And I used Microsoft Security essentials to being with, but uninstalled it when the to try AVG instead. The crashes have been present all the time...

 

[Snorkelfarsan]

Ok, I ran the Memtest86+ v4.15b from Hiren's BootCD and it did actually return one error, surprisingly. I have very little knowledge of what types of errors occur in RAM and the paging structure and all that, so please enlighten me if the following error information can tell you something of value:

Tst: 6
Pass:11
Failing Adress231: 0004d967978 - 12414MB
Good: 00010000
Bad: 00000000
Err-bits: 00010000
Count: 1
Chan: (blank)

The memory sticks are a pair of 2GB Corsair Value Select DDR3 1333MHz:
1.5 volt
240-pin
latency: 9-9-9-24
No ECC

The memtest ran for 26hrs with a total of 26 passes. Some other information that was shown:
RsvdMem 160k
MemMap e820

Can the problem be due to the lack of ECC? What kind of error is it?

Thanks!

 

[VirtualLarry]

So you have bad ram, or flaky hardware (motherboard, PSU). I would approach things from that angle, rather that purely software.

 

[Snorkelfarsan]

What would be the next step to localize where the error originates from? Should I run the test again on one memory stick at a time? Are other tests I could run to find out whether the motherboard is faulty in some manner?

I can't really wrap my head around how a hardware error can manifest itself in 32-bit webbrowsers crashing like described in the OP. As I said the 64-bit version of IE8 works fine. Is this due to the difference between how 64-bit programs work compared to 32-bit versions and due to the fact that it is a 64-bit version of Win 7?

 

[Snorkelfarsan]

I just installed the new RAM-sticks that I got back from Corsair and the problem still persists. I'll run another memtest just to make sure that the memory sticks are fine. But it's very unlikely that they too would be faulty.

What may be the next step? Could it be that the actual operating system installation is faulty? Or perhaps the GPU...?

 

[BadThad]

Do you run any other CPU intensive programs? I'd stress the crap out of the CPU with something like a BOINC project. What is the CPU temp under 100% load? Have you tried a dfferent power supply?

 

[AFurryReptile]

The way I see it, you have 3 possible causes. We have already ruled-out software being the cause because it is across multiple programs and you have already formatted.

1)Power supply - Personally this is where I would start. A bad PSU can cause problems with every other component in your system. Poor voltages could very much have caused your original memory to give those errors, even if there was nothing wrong with them.

2)CPU - You've unlocked the cores, potentially causing stability issues. I would make absolutely sure that you have the correct voltages and frequencies set. Reset your BIOS to "optimal" settings and see if that helps stabilize things. CPU issues normally result in a hard freeze, though.

3)Hard drive - This is a long shot. I've seen a hard drive cause similar issues to what you describe, but it would be too coincidental that your memory was having issues too.


What are your system temps like? What power supply are you using?

 

[Snorkelfarsan]

The way I see it, you have 3 possible causes. We have already ruled-out software being the cause because it is across multiple programs and you have already formatted.

1)Power supply - Personally this is where I would start. A bad PSU can cause problems with every other component in your system. Poor voltages could very much have caused your original memory to give those errors, even if there was nothing wrong with them.

2)CPU - You've unlocked the cores, potentially causing stability issues. I would make absolutely sure that you have the correct voltages and frequencies set. Reset your BIOS to "optimal" settings and see if that helps stabilize things. CPU issues normally result in a hard freeze, though.

3)Hard drive - This is a long shot. I've seen a hard drive cause similar issues to what you describe, but it would be too coincidental that your memory was having issues too.


What are your system temps like? What power supply are you using?

Thanks for the advice. Is there someway I could test the PSU without having to remove it and start fiddling with the connectors and all that? I will definitely try restoring the original BIOS settings, don't know why I didn't think about that before! The ASUS motherboard did however do all the unlocking for me, I literally just pressed a button in BIOS and it unlocked the remaining to cores "seemlessly". I'll also do the CPU stress-test. Worth a shot. Is there some program that can look for harddrive errors, would chkdsk do it? THANKS!

 

[Snorkelfarsan]

Do you run any other CPU intensive programs? I'd stress the crap out of the CPU with something like a BOINC project. What is the CPU temp under 100% load? Have you tried a dfferent power supply?

Don't remember the CPU temp right now, but it was nothing out of the ordinary, I think around 50 Celsius.

 

[Snorkelfarsan]

Just thought I'd say that the problem seems to be solved now. It was the CPU that was causing the problems, more specifically the 2 extra cores that I unlocked. Kind of embarrasing that I didn't think about that immediatley, it's pretty obvious that resetting CMOS in BIOS is the first thing to do. Anyhow, lesson learned! And thanks a lot for all the help!