Windows Vista Windows 7 Pro - PC crashes completly and dies when connected to the Internet.

[bolt7]

Hey guys! I just joined here and I'm having a major problem with my computer.

Two days ago I upgraded my desktop computer from Windows XP Home to Windows 7 Pro. I'm studying at University and was granted access to the OS through a website called MSDN, a place that offers free software to students in education here in the UK. I backed up all my XP files and installed the new Windows, all of which seemed to go pretty much perfectly at first.

My system works great when not connected to the Internet, however when I am connected it becomes plagued with constant freezing issues. I plug my computer into the University network via an Ethernet cable and have had no issues like this before with XP. I can also confirm it's not a network problem, as my flatmate two doors down also has Windows 7 installed with no issues what-so-ever.

When connected to the Internet, Windows Update and such seems to work fine and the majority of the time I'm able to view websites using Firefox, be it a bit slow compared to browsing the Internet on my XP based laptop (which I'm using right now to post this.) It's odd that the lock-ups seem to appear when accessing the Internet through programs like Steam and Windows Live Messenger.

It doesn't always happen straight away, but I'm pretty much 100% sure that if my Media Player begins downloading album artwork from the net or if I open more than one Firefox tab at a time, the system will crash. Everything stops working and the red loading light on the front of my system dies completely, forcing me to restart using the button on the front of the case. It's extremely annoying and it's pretty much preventing me from using my PC, everyone relies on the Internet too much these days, me included...

If this helps, my PC specs are:

OS: Windows 7 Pro
PSU: Arctic Power 500W PSU With PCI-E 2x SATA
Mobo: ASUS M3N78 PRO GeForce 8300 Socket AM2+
CPU: AMD Phenom X4 9650 2.3GHz Socket AM2+
GPU: PALIT NVIDIA GTS250 1GB Green
Memory: 2 x 2GB Corsair DDR2 PC26400 RAM
HDD: 1x 750GB Maxtor SATAII 7200rpm Internal

Sorry to rant, any help would be much appreciated! I love the look and feel of Windows 7, I just wish these crashes would stop.

 

[kemical]

Hi Bolt7,
on reading your post I saw you had written that you had 'upgraded' from xp.. If this is the case then I strongly suggest you re-install but do a clean install this time. We've had many posts from users experiencing problems after upgrading. The solution has almost always been to do a clean install...

 

[bolt7]

Hey Kemical, cheers for the reply.

As far as I know, I did do a 'clean install.' All of the data on my C: got turned into a 'Windows.old' folder, of which I deleted. All of my drivers/programs needed installing again along with transferring all my files from external storage. I checked the Event Viewer and it's coming up saying I've experienced a 'Kernel Power Error' and Windows shut down unexpectedly. The PC works fine when not connected to the net... I tried updating my Bios and Chipset drivers too, but to no luck. Maybe it's my network drivers?

Thanks!

 

[kemical]

Hmm...from what you say about the 'windows.old file' it sounds like you upgraded.

Did you change the boot order to boot from CD/DVD first? After intial boot then press any key to boot from CD/DVD? When you reach the install screen, it will eventually ask what type of installation, either custom or upgrade and for a clean install you want custom.


Edit: I just thought... You would get the same windows .old file if you just put the 7 disk in the drive and clicked install..Is that what you did? Either way, changing the boot order to CD/DVD first, will allow you to format the disk resulting in a much cleaner install..

 

[bolt7]

Hey again,
It seems you were right, so I decided to reformat my Hard Drive and do a complete clean-install of the OS again.

The problem still exists... it's crashing when connected to the Internet exactly the same as before. I'm pretty confused with what to do next, feels like I wasted time installing Win7 again. At least it eliminates a possible cause, I guess.

 

[Saltgrass]

What firewall and anti-virus are you using? I tried to run Zone Alarm with Microsoft Security Essentials and the computer would lock up everytime something accessed the net.

 

[kemical]

Hey again,
It seems you were right, so I decided to reformat my Hard Drive and do a complete clean-install of the OS again.

The problem still exists... it's crashing when connected to the Internet exactly the same as before. I'm pretty confused with what to do next, feels like I wasted time installing Win7 again. At least it eliminates a possible cause, I guess.

Bummer! You are better off though for having done the clean install as this will hopefully negate any other bugs from appearing... We just gotta sort this one out though!

Which network drivers did you install? Here is the Asus download page so you could see if there are any updates:
Link Removed
Also, if you can only find vista drivers, try them but make sure you right-click on the exe and change the compatibility to vista sp1..
I know you said windows update is working, does that come up with any network driver updates?

 

[bolt7]

Bummer! You are better off though for having done the clean install as this will hopefully negate any other bugs from appearing... We just gotta sort this one out though!

Which network drivers did you install? Here is the Asus download page so you could see if there are any updates:
ASUSTeK Computer Inc.-Support-
Also, if you can only find vista drivers, try them but make sure you right-click on the exe and change the compatibility to vista sp1..
I know you said windows update is working, does that come up with any network driver updates?

No worries man, I wanted to do a Clean Install in the first place but stupidly just put the disk in and installed from the XP Desktop. It takes surprisingly little time to install Windows 7 too, so no problems there!

I installed the latest NVidia nForce chipset drivers, of which had Ethernet drivers included. They're just called 'NVidia nForce Networking Ethernet Driver.' I had no idea about right clicking and changing the compatibility though, I figured the Vista stuff would just work on 7... Windows Update had no network adapter updates. All I remember downloading from there apart from the usual security fixes was the NVidia Graphic and Sound Drivers. I'll download the latest ones from the ASUS site and do as you suggest.

What firewall and anti-virus are you using? I tried to run Zone Alarm with Microsoft Security Essentials and the computer would lock up everytime something accessed the net.

This could well be the problem. I have Zone Alarm Pro, Microsoft Security Essentials and ESET Antivirus all installed. I'll have a go at un-installing Microsoft Security Essentials (seeing as though Windows Defender is in the control panel anyway) and get back to you on what happens.

Thanks very much guys, you're being a big help!

 

[Saltgrass]

To check the problem with Zone Alarm, you do not have to uninstall MSE, just turn off the Full time protection in MSE.

 

[kemical]

This could well be the problem. I have Zone Alarm Pro, Microsoft Security Essentials and ESET Antivirus all installed. I'll have a go at un-installing Microsoft Security Essentials (seeing as though Windows Defender is in the control panel anyway) and get back to you on what happens.

Wow! Thats a little too much protection and I should imagine the here lies your problem.. It sounds like something is conflicting and you could either turn all three off and then add them one at a time until you see the problem again.. This will tell you which app is conflicting...

 

[bolt7]

Success! I disabled MSE as Saltgrass instructed and it's now working flawlessly! I love you guys, I'm so happy my system is working as normal. Thanks a lot!