System freezes/hangs, games crash

[Rstallard]

Hello,

I would like some assistance in diagnosing/fixing my problem.

Problem description: I recently rectified an issue with microsoft security essentials (stopped working, difficult to remove) and replaced it with avast! which would then not update or work properly. I replaced that with AVG which updates and scans properly. I have ran malware bytes, root killer, TDSSkiller and I am confident (as much as the programs are) that my system is free of viruses.

However now my system occasionally hangs or freezes altogether. My mouse will freeze periodically. When doing light browsing (as in posting in this forum) I do not see these problems. When youtube videos are loaded problems start cropping up. Pandora running will eventually lead to a complete system freeze requiring manual reset. Newer games (Europa Universalis IV for example) will crash shortly after playing. Ad-intensive content causes similar low performance issues to crop up.

These symptoms appeared at the same time after replacing my antivirus. I first noticed these symptoms with the installation of avast!, and they have improved with the installation of AVG and removal of avast!. When AVG is disabled, I still have these problems.

System specs:
Windows 7 64-bit
Kingston SSD (128 gb) [crystal disk says it's in good health, OS installed here]
Samsung 1 TB HDD [crystal disk says it's in good health]
8 GB ram
MSI Motherboard
Intel i5-2500K (mild overclocking)
Linux Mint is also installed on a partition.

----

I appreciate your guidance.

 

[Ketchup]

How old is your current windows 7 installation?
What kind of problems were you having with MSE? You said, not working, was it crashing, missing things, etc?
Have you had a virus/malware infection recently?

 

[Rstallard]

This installation is two years old now.

MSE couldn't update and would always stop scanning abruptly at the same file. Windows would signal to me that it needed to be turned on or restarted, but nothing ever worked out. Malwarebytes found and removed several PUP entries. AVG found nothing in addition to that.

 

[Ketchup]

Does Linux ever freeze (if you use it much)?

You might want to start with a run of SFC, followed by chkdsk, to see if they find anything abnormal. If problems are found here, you might still be looking at reinstalling programs that still don't run correctly, but would still end up being the easiest fix I think.

If you are still seeing these issues after that, I would probably look at a Windows reinstall.

If the problems persists, it's probably time to start looking at hardware, such as memory or a hard drive.

 

[Steltek]

Before you start running diagnostics, make sure to back up any important files you can't afford to loose. If you do have a bad drive, it could go south at any time.

BTW, Avast has an manual removal utility on their website. It wouldn't hurt to boot to safe mode and run it to get rid of anything remaining of Avast.

 

[mindless1]

Check Windows Event Viewer. Load up a system utility or enter bios and let system sit, checking temperature and voltage, check that all fans are spinning, there's no excessive dust buildup anywhere, etc.

Run memtest86+ for at least one full loop, then Prime95 stress test, large in place FFTs.

If I had to guess without more info or familiarity with the system... and the guess could be wrong, I would suspect a video card overheating or component failure, or failing system PSU supplying bad power to cause video card problems. You might also run a video card stress test to see if that pushes it past stability.

 

[Rstallard]

I appreciate the replies. I've ran the tests mentioned and at this point I think I'm looking at a windows reinstall.