This is so not cool

[the_randomizer]

Uh yeah, odd lag spikes in Windows 7, explorer crashing whenever I try to do anything right-click related, HDD is fine, I know that much. My USB HDD doesn't like to copy files without it pausing for 10-20 seconds at a time before it thinks about it. I don't know what happened, why this is happening and why explorer keeps resetting itself. It'll show the "not responding" text, and either crash or continue as normal, something is not right here, it was fine yesterday. Ran MSE and MalwareBytes, the latter detected PUP, which I removed, rebooted, nothing.
Then as I was on, BSOD, a log of which is below

Any program I use, will seem to "freeze" for a time and then resume normally, then pause for the same time, rinse and repeat.

Problem signature:
Problem Event Name:BlueScreen
OS Version:6.1.7601.2.1.0.256.48
Locale ID:1033

Additional information about the problem:
BCCode:7a
BCP1:FFFFF6FC4000AC18
BCP2:FFFFFFFFC0000185
BCP3:00000001535D2820
BCP4:FFFFF88001583000
OS Version:6_1_7601
Service Pack:1_0
Product:256_1

Files that help describe the problem:
C:\Windows\Minidump\101914-11653-01.dmp
C:\Users\PC\AppData\Local\Temp\WER-23368-0.sysdata.xml

Read our privacy statement online:
http://go.microsoft.com/fwlink/?linkid=104288&clcid=0x0409

If the online privacy statement is not available, please read our privacy statement offline:
C:\Windows\system32\en-US\erofflps.txt
I know it's possible to reinstall windows without formatting the data, as I think explorer exe is jacked up.


OS: Windows 7 Pro

Can't install updates as it hangs at 0%, refusing to install, tried restarting the update service, nothing. Gonna try to see if I can't get a USB flash drive to backup the vital data I want to keep. Failing that, would a chkdsk /r do any good?

 

[Thomas83Lin]

Last time I got BSOD it was a bad ram stick

 

[the_randomizer]

Last time I got BSOD it was a bad ram stick

Right, but this happened out of the blue, what I'm getting is very strange lag spikes, in the OS itself, like if I run Skype or Chrome, it will pause for a time, un-pause, then rinse and repeat. Emulators, other applications, they all do it. If I try to copy folders around, explorer.exe crashes and restarts right away. Any suggestions on what I can do?

 

[Thomas83Lin]

Well reading those blue screen mini dumps would help in this area but I have no clue how to read them. Windows 7 has the memory diagnostic tool that you can use to test the mem. Believe last time I had mem problem I used MemTest86 though. could be a driver problem too, no clue.

 

[Arras]

Out of curiousity, how do you know the HDD is 100% fine? I've had a failing hard drive before and it basically caused everything to pause for a few minutes whenever I tried to access a file on a broken part of the drive.

 

[jonthedit]

Sounds like you have got a messed up HDD.
Quickly backup important things.

And no, don't use System Restore or "Windows Backup"
ACTUALLY MOVE STUFF OVER TO USB/EXTERNAL HDDs
Burn Discs, Upload to A-Drive, Mediafire, etc

 

[the_randomizer]

Sounds like you have got a messed up HDD.
Quickly backup important things.

And no, don't use System Restore or "Windows Backup"
ACTUALLY MOVE STUFF OVER TO USB/EXTERNAL HDDs
Burn Discs, Upload to A-Drive, Mediafire, etc

Okay first, I don't want to panic, at all, unfortunately, I can't do anything right now as Best Buy is closed. These things can't be abrupt, the usually are gradual. What can I do about the HDD now? Nothing, aside from trying to fix bad sectors. That being said, using CHKDSK /r worries me.

Out of curiousity, how do you know the HDD is 100% fine? I've had a failing hard drive before and it basically caused everything to pause for a few minutes whenever I tried to access a file on a broken part of the drive.

Not a few minutes, but a few seconds, I don't know if it's 100% or not. Yesterday it was fine, perfectly fine, these issues don't just abruptly start, they're usually gradual. That being said, I have to get a USB device, something, to back up vital data as a precaution. Would running chkdsk do anything bad to the primary HDD? Another possibility is that the BSOD error I got is related to my RAM not being seated properly. Just a few days ago, I had a buddy check on my case fan to see why it wasn't working, so, maybe, when he took the fan out, a module got partially dislodged, I don't know, will check tomorrow. As of now, I only have a USB HDD but it might be on its last legs (had since 2011),

Got some error logs from the event viewer

Spoiler

Windows cannot access the file C:\Windows\explorer.exe for one of the following reasons: there is a problem with the network connection, the disk that the file is stored on, or the storage drivers installed on this computer; or the disk is missing. Windows closed the program Windows Explorer because of this error.

Program: Windows Explorer
File: C:\Windows\explorer.exe

The error value is listed in the Additional Data section.
User Action
1. Open the file again. This situation might be a temporary problem that corrects itself when the program runs again.
2. If the file still cannot be accessed and
- It is on the network, your network administrator should verify that there is not a problem with the network and that the server can be contacted.
- It is on a removable disk, for example, a floppy disk or CD-ROM, verify that the disk is fully inserted into the computer.
3. Check and repair the file system by running CHKDSK. To run CHKDSK, click Start, click Run, type CMD, and then click OK. At the command prompt, type CHKDSK /F, and then press ENTER.
4. If the problem persists, restore the file from a backup copy.
5. Determine whether other files on the same disk can be opened. If not, the disk might be damaged. If it is a hard disk, contact your administrator or computer hardware vendor for further assistance.

Additional Data
Error value: C0000185

Can online services be trusted with my data?

 

[Pedeadstrian]

Okay first, I don't want to panic, at all, unfortunately, I can't do anything right now as Best Buy is closed. These things can't be abrupt, the usually are gradual. What can I do about the HDD now? Nothing, aside from trying to fix bad sectors. That being said, using CHKDSK /r worries me.




Not a few minutes, but a few seconds, I don't know if it's 100% or not. Yesterday it was fine, perfectly fine, these issues don't just abruptly start, they're usually gradual. That being said, I have to get a USB device, something, to back up vital data as a precaution. Would running chkdsk do anything bad to the primary HDD? Another possibility is that the BSOD error I got is related to my RAM not being seated properly. Just a few days ago, I had a buddy check on my case fan to see why it wasn't working, so, maybe, when he took the fan out, a module got partially dislodged, I don't know, will check tomorrow. As of now, I only have a USB HDD but it might be on its last legs (had since 2011),

Got some error logs from the event viewer

Spoiler

Windows cannot access the file C:\Windows\explorer.exe for one of the following reasons: there is a problem with the network connection, the disk that the file is stored on, or the storage drivers installed on this computer; or the disk is missing. Windows closed the program Windows Explorer because of this error.

Program: Windows Explorer
File: C:\Windows\explorer.exe

The error value is listed in the Additional Data section.
User Action
1. Open the file again. This situation might be a temporary problem that corrects itself when the program runs again.
2. If the file still cannot be accessed and
- It is on the network, your network administrator should verify that there is not a problem with the network and that the server can be contacted.
- It is on a removable disk, for example, a floppy disk or CD-ROM, verify that the disk is fully inserted into the computer.
3. Check and repair the file system by running CHKDSK. To run CHKDSK, click Start, click Run, type CMD, and then click OK. At the command prompt, type CHKDSK /F, and then press ENTER.
4. If the problem persists, restore the file from a backup copy.
5. Determine whether other files on the same disk can be opened. If not, the disk might be damaged. If it is a hard disk, contact your administrator or computer hardware vendor for further assistance.

Additional Data
Error value: C0000185

Can online services be trusted with my data?

The error specifically says it's caused by either the drive or the storage drivers. Try using chkdsk since you have no other option. Unless you have super upload speeds, you're not gonna upload an exact copy of your hard drive onto the cloud anytime soon.

 

[Nathan Drake]

1. If your HDD is failing, it isn't as if it will just go kerchunk and rollover and die for good tonight. When my old HDD started going out, it still worked for a couple of months of regular use. I know that won't always be the case, but I'm sure you have at least the next 24 hours.

2. You're best off with a physical external drive for backing up, as an online service isn't preferable for absolutely everything, and it's restricted by your network access and speeds. It works fine for small stuff, like text files for example, but I wouldn't be trying to upload my steam folder or program file folders in general.

3. Stuff going wrong doesn't have to be gradual. A piece of hardware can go from working great to having a severe malfunction in the blink of an eye. It doesn't take a slow progression of symptoms.

4. Most importantly, try a solution. You have a really bad habit of just gathering information, being too indecisive, and not actually doing anything. Running simple diagnostic tests to make sure everything is working as it should isn't asking you to rip open your computer and perform CPR on your HDD.

 

[the_randomizer]

The error specifically says it's caused by either the drive or the storage drivers. Try using chkdsk since you have no other option. Unless you have super upload speeds, you're not gonna upload an exact copy of your hard drive onto the cloud anytime soon.

Not all of the HDD, just vital things, which is about, what, 40 GB tops, if that, the rest of the games I have I can get through my Steam, same goes with Skype, but the very vital files, I can back up, I get about 50 mbps up and down thanks to Google Fiber. Shouldn't I backup before running those checks?

1. If your HDD is failing, it isn't as if it will just go kerchunk and rollover and die for good tonight. When my old HDD started going out, it still worked for a couple of months of regular use. I know that won't always be the case, but I'm sure you have at least the next 24 hours.

2. You're best off with a physical external drive for backing up, as an online service isn't preferable for absolutely everything, and it's restricted by your network access and speeds. It works fine for small stuff, like text files for example, but I wouldn't be trying to upload my steam folder or program file folders in general.

3. Stuff going wrong doesn't have to be gradual. A piece of hardware can go from working great to having a severe malfunction in the blink of an eye. It doesn't take a slow progression of symptoms.

4. Most importantly, try a solution. You have a really bad habit of just gathering information, being too indecisive, and not actually doing anything. Running simple diagnostic tests to make sure everything is working as it should isn't asking you to rip open your computer and perform CPR on your HDD.

Herein lies the issue, I have a USB HDD that I tried to use, however, despite using a USB 3.0 cable with the USB 3.0 port, the ETA was abnormally long and then well, I got the BSOD as it was copying over. Like, as in, it simply won't let me copy files over without something going awry with explorer.exe and BSOD (well, it only did that once, anyways). Last resort, I can take the HDD to my buddy upstairs, who knows a lot about computers, like, a lot , hook it up to his motherboard, then copy to the USB HDD. Shouldn't I at least back up those files before I run diagnostic tools on the HDD? I just care too much about my pictures I've taken and other vital data, but the rest I can get from Steam.

 

[jonthedit]

Boot into Safemode, try again. If you can copy stuff over, then your HDD is likely NOT failing.

 

[PityOnU]

Boot from some Linux distro's live CD (like Ubuntu) and copy the files from there. Then reinstall. Problem solved.

 

[the_randomizer]

Boot into Safemode, try again. If you can copy stuff over, then your HDD is likely NOT failing.

Just reseated the RAM module (only have one apparently, 8 GB, so I can't test each stick one by one and heard the nice little click as it snapped back into place). Will try again, but ugh, I should at the very least try to back up again, right?

Edit: So I can copy folder to folder within the HDD itself, it didn't freak out, that's good. In Safe Mode, would I still be able to use the USB HDD, even if it can use a 3.0 cable?

Boot from some Linux distro's live CD (like Ubuntu) and copy the files from there. Then reinstall. Problem solved.

Haven't tried that, do you need to use the command/Terminal to install USB 3.0 drivers at all? (I have a USB 3.0 HDD).

 

[The Real Jdbye]

Maybe there is some corruption on your drive? The drive could be in good physical shape but if there is corrupted data things will shit bricks when they try to read the corrupted data. Try running ScanDisk and if that doesn't help then try formatting.

 

[Arras]

Yeah, chances are there's some fucked up data on the drive. Whether this is because of regular corruption or a dying hard drive is another matter.

Just reseated the RAM module (only have one apparently, 8 GB, so I can't test each stick one by one and heard the nice little click as it snapped back into place). Will try again, but ugh, I should at the very least try to back up again, right?

Edit: So I can copy folder to folder within the HDD itself, it didn't freak out, that's good. In Safe Mode, would I still be able to use the USB HDD, even if it can use a 3.0 cable?




Haven't tried that, do you need to use the command/Terminal to install USB 3.0 drivers at all? (I have a USB 3.0 HDD).

I think any decent Linux live CD should just work without having to install anything. That said if the problem is indeed corrupted files and/or broken hard drive sectors, chances are even the live CD will shit bricks when trying to copy everything.

 

[PityOnU]

Haven't tried that, do you need to use the command/Terminal to install USB 3.0 drivers at all? (I have a USB 3.0 HDD).

I don't know, just try it? It takes maybe an hour to download a FREE DVD image of Ubuntu, and that's with crap internet.

EDIT - Removed passive-agressiveness.

 

[FireEmblemGuy]

If you do download a Linux image of some sort (and successfully burn it or install it onto a USB stick), take a couple hours of your time and run the memtest from the boot options. When I had a bad RAM stick it'd show errors within 10-15 minutes, but it could take significantly longer to find errors depending on what or where they are.

 

[the_randomizer]

Yeah, chances are there's some fucked up data on the drive. Whether this is because of regular corruption or a dying hard drive is another matter.

I think any decent Linux live CD should just work without having to install anything. That said if the problem is indeed corrupted files and/or broken hard drive sectors, chances are even the live CD will shit bricks when trying to copy everything.

Well, good news, I can copy files over to my USB HDD, so not all is lost, but since some folders have over a thousand files, it takes longer to copy over, but it does seem to still work. However, I still get explorer to crash, for some reason, should I try to run chkdsk and have it attempt to fix any bad sectors, if any? Or use Western Digital's SMART firmware program deal, to run diagnostics? Like navigating folders takes longer than normal, not sure why explorer is crashing as it's kind of vital. I don't even know if reinstalling windows on would fix the issue.



Wait...never mind, some files don't like to copy over, at all, it shows "estimating size/time" or whatever then just stops. Won't copy a damn thing....this is getting weird.

 

[Arras]

Chances are the files that refuse to copy are corrupted. You can run chkdsk but it may also be worth it to check the hard disk diagnostic data. I'm not entirely sure how you do this on Windows, you may need to download some program for it. Your hard drive vendor will probably have a utility for it. I know Ubuntu live CDs have a function to check that though. It'll tell you how many bad sectors are, among other things, and that may be a gauge to see if your hard drive is actually borked or not.

 

[the_randomizer]

Chances are the files that refuse to copy are corrupted. You can run chkdsk but it may also be worth it to check the hard disk diagnostic data. I'm not entirely sure how you do this on Windows, you may need to download some program for it. Your hard drive vendor will probably have a utility for it. I know Ubuntu live CDs have a function to check that though. It'll tell you how many bad sectors are, among other things, and that may be a gauge to see if your hard drive is actually borked or not.

Then is there a reason that the file that do copy over take longer than they should to copy to a USB 3.0 HDD? Obviously I can back up all the vital stuff just fine, but as for the HDD health itself, it remains a mystery. I could see failure this soon if it's like, Seagate or Toshiba, but WD? Baffling. Though the fact it happened so sudden baffles me.