Windows 7 Intermittent freezing on open docs/folders/anythign!

[Glenn Angel]

Hi pplz,

this is for my DADS computer (not this one) as his is completely un usable at the moment!

He has a toshiba satellite, i5 with a GT 330M (geforce) and 4GB RAM (specifics i can find if needed - sorry)

His issue is that over the last 5 days the laptop turns on slowish (not the end of the world) but the main issue is constant freezing (generally involving the little spinning blue circle cursor)

If left for about 8 seconds it un freezes and get working agian then starts as soon as you open a document/folder/start menu anything!

It has not had ONE BSOD
the event viewer shows warnings for slow boot/slow after standby but no major criticals recently. There was one past critical for ACPI driver for NT but that was a while ago.
There was also a shutdown error on8/7/11 from unkown file name, driver _iu14D2N.tmp

He runs trend antivirus (real paid version)

Also runs registry blue (i think thats the name) real version, but only recently to try and fix issues.

If you look in task maanger, during the freezes, whichever folder is currently selected goes from running to not responding for the freeze.

Even whilst shutting down the device, the "logging off" screen does the freeze for a few seconds and the circle doesnt spin.

Perfom / check analysis showed no errors

Attached is a Drriver view txt doc.

Finally, he has mentioned his "hdd light" at the base of the lappy is permanently on, whereas it used to just blink a bit when you started doing tasks.

He ran a chckdsk /f a few weeks ago and said it had been playing up but that seemed to get it running better, but running chckdsk now is saying its got about 4 bad blocks and /f wont run.

Any further ideas?

I appreciate your help

Glenn and Phil (dad)Link Removed

 

[kemical]

Hi Glenn and Phil,

Sounds like the drive is starting to fail I'm afraid.. If ckdsk won't repair the corrupted data blocks then you might try reformatting but it's usually time to replace the drive.

Very often, bad sectors are manifested as a result of failing Read Write head. When the Read Write heads fail to read and interpret the magnetic signals normally, the same kind of bad sectors errors could occur. Frequently, bad sectors are also early signs of disk crash as it deteriorates over time.

Solution to Bad Sector Problem If the disk is still working well, important data should be backed up immediately to avoid further data loss. If the system respond is virtually "hanging" to a standstill and you have valuable data, the best option is to consult a data recovery specialist without doing this yourself.

Commonly, a full format process should be able to "mask" the bad sectors or earmark the bad sectors in file allocation table. One could continue to use the disk while the operating system will take notice of the location of bad sectors and avoid them altogether.

Bad Sectors on Hard Disk

 

[Glenn Angel]

hmmm ok thanks for the response.

The whole lappy is only 3 months old and has pretty much just been used for word and excel!

Before we contact toshiba, is there any chance it can have something to do with windows updates?

The problem seems to amplify when opening windows update and when it shuts down it the updates try to install but fail. Bringing up the windows update page almost freezes the cmputer totally each time. One of them seems to be a recent 64x windows 7 update (not service pack, thats already installed)

 

[kemical]

I should try a 'clean' or custom install. This will allow you to reformat the drive and repair or mask over any corruption.

You could certainly try windows updates but I doubt any significant changes would be forth coming. Make sure the lappy has all updates including bios and firmware. You can check this by going to Toshibas actual site.

 

[Glenn Angel]

mmm true ill try that this weke then if symptoms persist!

Hes got backups, its just a pain in the *** to-install all the programs etc :S

 

[kemical]

Let us know how things go.

 

[Glenn Angel]

ok interesting progression:

Dad today noticed that if WIRELESS and ETHERNET are both off it works FINE.

The hdd light blinks as usual and the lappy works normal.

If he then turns on the internet and accesses the windows update, the whole system goes nuts (as described before!)
He says the update is a windows NET framework update, but the other day it was having a fit when updating KB........ something, which was a security update

Will anyhting fix this update service or can we manually download/turn them off etc?

Any suggestions before having to clean install?

 

[kemical]

Glenn would you try something for me?

Please turn off the internet as before and then run chkdsk making sure the boxes are ticked to repair broken sectors. You can access this by going to computer, rightclick on 'C', choose properties, Tools and then error checking. Tick relevant boxes and then reboot.

Let's see if the HDD is actually corrupted..

 

[Glenn Angel]

thanks again,

Ive phoned him and hes going to do that. Although i know its good to start from the start and check all bases, he has told me that after many tests it is definately windows Update that keeps the freezes occuring (rather than the it being internet/ethernet/wireless driver related)
It happens to all 6 of the updates that are listed (eg. its not just ONE of them that has the issue, but windows update itself)

He has trend installed and he turned it off in case it was interferring and still no luck

 

[kemical]

Hmm... it does sound like more and more that a clean install would be the best option. Other than that I would say try a system restore to a point before the updates started messing things up but I'm not sure that this is a viable option.
Whenever I do a clean install I first install the os followed by windows updates followed by drivers. I do not allow it auto download. I change the update setting to 'check for updates but let me choose whether to download and install them'. This allows you more control over what is actually going on the machine. Like when i run through it I take out all the driver updates as I prefer to install them myself.

Lastly try running the file checker. Rightclick on cmd prompt and run as admin. Type:

sfc /scannow

Press enter and let the scanner run through. Check results.

 

[Glenn Angel]

ok so... progress and lack of progress.

We have found it is 100% the windows update.

Tried a chckdsk with no internet and 4 blocks cannot be repaired.

Saw a link to a 'fixer' and tried but got

"Service "Windows Update" (WUAUSERV) failed to start verify that you have sufficient privileges to start system services."

When i searched microsoft they said do this

Important This section, method, or task contains steps that tell you how to modify the registry. However, serious problems might occur if you modify the registry incorrectly. Therefore, make sure that you follow these steps carefully. For added protection, back up the registry before you modify it. Then, you can restore the registry if a problem occurs. For more information about how to back up and restore the registry, click the following article number to view the article in the Microsoft Knowledge Base:

322756 How to back up and restore the registry in Windows To reset the Windows Update components, follow these steps:

Open a Windows Command Prompt. To open a command prompt, click Start and then click Run. Copy and paste (or type) the following command in the Open box and then press ENTER: cmd
Stop the BITS service and the Windows Update service. To do this, type the following commands at a command prompt. Press ENTER after you type each command.
net stop bits
net stop wuauserv
Delete the qmgr*.dat files. To do this, type the following command at a command prompt, and then press ENTER:
Del "%ALLUSERSPROFILE%\Application Data\Microsoft\Network\Downloader\qmgr*.dat"
If this is your first attempt at resolving your Windows Update issues by using the steps in this article, go to step 5 without carrying out the steps in step 4. The steps in step 4 should only be performed at this point in the troubleshooting if you cannot resolve your Windows Update issues after following all steps but step 4. The steps in step 4 are also performed by the "Aggressive" mode of the Fix it Solution above:
Rename the following folders to *.BAK:
%systemroot%\SoftwareDistribution\DataStore
%systemroot%\SoftwareDistribution\Download
%systemroot%\system32\catroot2
To do this, type the following commands at a command prompt. Press ENTER after you type each command.
Ren %systemroot%\SoftwareDistribution\DataStore *.bak
Ren %systemroot%\SoftwareDistribution\Download *.bak
Ren %systemroot%\system32\catroot2 *.bak
Reset the BITS service and the Windows Update service to the default security descriptor. To do this, type the following commands at a command prompt. Press ENTER after you type each command.
sc.exe sdset bits DA;;CCLCSWRPWPDTLOCRRC;;;SY)(A;;CCDCLCSWRPWPDTLOCRSDRCWDWO;;;BA)(A;;CCLCSWLOCRRC;;;AU)(A;;CCLCSWRPWPDTLOCRRC;;;PU)
sc.exe sdset wuauserv DA;;CCLCSWRPWPDTLOCRRC;;;SY)(A;;CCDCLCSWRPWPDTLOCRSDRCWDWO;;;BA)(A;;CCLCSWLOCRRC;;;AU)(A;;CCLCSWRPWPDTLOCRRC;;;PU)
Type the following command at a command prompt, and then press ENTER:
cd /d %windir%\system32
Reregister the BITS files and the Windows Update files. To do this, type the following commands at a command prompt. Press ENTER after you type each command.
regsvr32.exe atl.dll
regsvr32.exe urlmon.dll
regsvr32.exe mshtml.dll
regsvr32.exe shdocvw.dll
regsvr32.exe browseui.dll
regsvr32.exe jscript.dll
regsvr32.exe vbscript.dll
regsvr32.exe scrrun.dll
regsvr32.exe msxml.dll
regsvr32.exe msxml3.dll
regsvr32.exe msxml6.dll
regsvr32.exe actxprxy.dll
regsvr32.exe softpub.dll
regsvr32.exe wintrust.dll
regsvr32.exe dssenh.dll
regsvr32.exe rsaenh.dll
regsvr32.exe gpkcsp.dll
regsvr32.exe sccbase.dll
regsvr32.exe slbcsp.dll
regsvr32.exe cryptdlg.dll
regsvr32.exe oleaut32.dll
regsvr32.exe ole32.dll
regsvr32.exe shell32.dll
regsvr32.exe initpki.dll
regsvr32.exe wuapi.dll
regsvr32.exe wuaueng.dll
regsvr32.exe wuaueng1.dll
regsvr32.exe wucltui.dll
regsvr32.exe wups.dll
regsvr32.exe wups2.dll
regsvr32.exe wuweb.dll
regsvr32.exe qmgr.dll
regsvr32.exe qmgrprxy.dll
regsvr32.exe wucltux.dll
regsvr32.exe muweb.dll
regsvr32.exe wuwebv.dll
Reset Winsock. To do this, type the following command at a command prompt, and then press ENTER:
netsh reset winsock
If you are running Windows XP or Windows Server 2003, you have to set the proxy settings. To do this, type the following command at a command prompt, and then press ENTER:
proxycfg.exe -d
Restart the BITS service and the Windows Update service. To do this, type the following commands at a command prompt. Press ENTER after you type each command.
net start bits
net start wuauserv
If you are running Windows Vista or Windows Server 2008, clear the BITS queue. To do this, type the following command at a command prompt, and then press ENTER:
bitsadmin.exe /reset /allusers
Install the latest Windows Update Agent. For more information, click the following article number to view the article in the Microsoft Knowledge Base:
949104 How to obtain the latest version of the Windows Update Agent to help manage updates on a computer
Restart the computer.

After sending this to dad he said:

some parameters incorrect, apparently some files don't exist. Also access denied in some cases

Sooooo my opinion is clean install but b4 we do, have you heard of any other way of 'fixing' windows update?

 

[kemical]

Your hard drive is in need of replacement. If 4 blocks cannot be repaired then any data written to them cannot be accessed. If the lappie is under warranty I'd go down that route and see if they will replace it as you have only had it for a short while, yes?

 

[Glenn Angel]

wow tht bad... i thought 4 blocks inst the end of the world.

Ill tell him and get him to call toshiba tomorrow. hes only had it 3 months max