PC freezing when online and offline

[katz]

A bit stumped here...

Win 7 x64/SP1/ 4 GB Ram

Client complained of freezing during Facebook games. In the shop, went through the usual cleanup/repair process, very minimal "junk" files, no infections. Hard drive tests fine. Ran Tweaking tool for good measure. Had the system in the shop for a week, using it on & off, no issues, it is a stable PC in my shop.

Returned to client, PC freezes almost immediately ONLY when going online. Tried different Ethernet ports on modem. Different browsers as well. It is a hard freeze, have to reboot. Swapped out mouse/KB & Ethernet cable, still same issue.

They have Xfinity wireless modem/router, (approx. 1 yr. old) and their tablet will connect and stay connected with no issues.

Bottom line - it works fine in my shop, but not at client's home, yet their tablet will stay connected. I plan on going onsite this week w/ my laptop to test the Ethernet connection with mine.

Any ideas? Am I missing something?

 

[ComputerRepairTech]

did you try new drivers like perhaps something wrong with the network browsing and its some how causing a hard freeze? I mean i've never seen that before but i have seen bad drivers cause issues accessing networked computers while working perfectly fine for internet stuff.

 

[Larry Sabo]

It freezes using Ethernet connection; the tablet is presumably using wireless. What does the patient do when using wireless on-site? Perhaps it's a flaky Ethernet cable.

 

[katz]

Client just phoned (yes, I do Sundays for some people)

They tell me it just froze while playing an offline game like Solitaire. I am picking it up tomorrow. I think as a starting point, I may just reinstall the OS. It is a couple year old install anyway, so it would be a good start to reinstall, bring all drivers up to date & go from there.

Larry - I did replace the Ethernet cable, and the PC has onboard Ethernet. That is irrelevant now anyway though, since I've just been informed of the offline freezing issue.

 

[Larry Sabo]

Freezing while offline is a help. Personally, I think I would try a live PE rather than start with a fresh install, to see if the problem can be pinned on hardware/software first. Also, have you tested the hard drive? Sick drives sometimes cause my system to freeze.

 

[katz]

Freezing while offline is a help. Personally, I think I would try a live PE rather than start with a fresh install, to see if the problem can be pinned on hardware/software first. Also, have you tested the hard drive? Sick drives sometimes cause my system to freeze.

Good idea on the PE disk. I should run a live disk first to rule out hardware - in my initial post I did mention the HD test passed, that was the first test I ran. Also, ran memtest/memory diagnostics for several days with no issues there. Could be a flaky drive, although no sectors are showing up as bad.

 

[GTP]

I had a client with (very) similar issues. Would only freeze on Facebook while playing games. (Farmville, Candy Crush Saga etc.)
Tried everything, uninstalling/reinstalling flash, clearing caches, on and on. Turned out to be a dodgy video driver with the internal video. She had a nVidia PCIx card that she was using, which I updated the driver for, but made no difference.
Totally removed it (Intel HD driver) and reinstalled. Problem solved (for her anyway.)

 

[KrustyTech]

I once had a new system that was locking up randomly for customer , never failed at shop. Turned out he had plugged both the VGA cable and the DVI cable in from the screen to the box (which i guess makes sense to people as they are both supplied). Caused random lockups that i couldn't put my finger on , at least until the home visit to SEE with my own eyes haha.

 

[glennd]

You didn't say, i assume this is a desktop?

I reckon your customer has power issues. Grab an inline power meter and watch the voltage while the computer is working.

 

[GTP]

You didn't say, i assume this is a desktop?

I reckon your customer has power issues. Grab an inline power meter and watch the voltage while the computer is working.

I like this answer. If its a PC is it plugged into any type of "powerboard?" Try plugging directly to the wall.

 

[katz]

All good stuff, guys.

It is a desktop. This was one one those "I need it back as soon as possible" jobs so I did not run an update driver tool, which I usually do on systems. That may fix a video driver issue, no doubt. I also thought of a flaky power issue; it is plugged directly into a wall outlet, but I have not been onsite to check the voltage yet.

Will update as I make progress.

 

[ComputerRepairTech]

Returned to client, PC freezes almost immediately ONLY when going online.

I think I may have misunderstood you here, i thought you meant it freezes when you connect the ethernet to bring the machine online with the network but did you mean it freezes when you do online activities like browsing the web? but then you later discovered it did it just with solitaire?

 

[Larry Sabo]

Turned out he had plugged both the VGA cable and the DVI cable in from the screen to the box

Yup. Plus, plugging both Ethernet cable and USB cable into the modem, because they were both provided with the modem by the ISP (Bell).

 

[katz]

I think I may have misunderstood you here, i thought you meant it freezes when you connect the ethernet to bring the machine online with the network but did you mean it freezes when you do online activities like browsing the web? but then you later discovered it did it just with solitaire?

At first, I was told (and experienced via a remote session) that it froze online. I would work for a minute or two online, then it would freeze. I then instructed the client to do something offline, such as solitaire, and while it did perform better, it eventually froze up offline as well.

I will have it back in the shop tomorrow and will give it a thorough going over at that time.

 

[Archon Prime]

run an update driver tool, which I usually do on systems.

Off topic, but which driver update program works good for you?

 

[katz]

Off topic, but which driver update program works good for you?

Like most techs on here, I like to use SDI (Snappy Driver Installer). Also, I find 3dpchip to be pretty useful. The latter is especially useful if you need to install network drivers, as it will install a generic one to get you on the net, & then you can use a fuller featured tool like SDI at that point.

 

[katz]

Yup. Plus, plugging both Ethernet cable and USB cable into the modem, because they were both provided with the modem by the ISP (Bell).

LOL, I've seen that more than once! Really plays havoc on a dsl modem!

 

[katz]

Seems as if we were dealing with a defective hard drive on this one. Even though the initial tests passed (Sea Tools & Vivard), I swapped in another drive and no more issues. The freezing is a classic symptom of HD failure of course, but since the test results were OK'ing the drive, I dismissed that as being the problem.

It is quirky issues like this that turn out to be real time wasters.