Unresponsive and freezing windows (can't open task manager, can't close windows)

[adonets]

Hello,

My computer is very unresponsive with hangs which can last up to several minutes where nothing is clickable, the mouse is movable, I can hover over desktop icons and see the outline register, but when I click, for example to open my computer, it will start the freezing.

Task manager does not open, saying with an error message:

"Failure to display security and shut down options

The logon process was unable to display security and logon options when ctrl alt delete was pressed. If the operating system does not respond, press ESC or restart the computer by using the power switch."

I checked performance monitor and there is no noticeable hardware issue, which makes me believe it's either the PSU or motherboard. I took out the ram one by one and tested the system and the same thing happens.

My most likely guess is that the power supply is failing, and this is just early symptoms of that. I already had a power supply fail on this computer 2 years ago, but at that time it would shut the computer down unexpectedly.

I removed viruses, spyware, and did all the basics. This is a fresh system install. It started doing this from day one of instaling windows which leads me to believe it's a hardware issue.

I did a clean startup as per this guide: http://answers.microsoft.com/en-us/windows/forum/windows_7-performance/black-screen-after-you-press-ctrlaltdelete-for/1f0de23b-ea0e-4af7-b05d-9b2e6acdbcc5

but to no avail.

I have no idea what to think about this, as the computer is physically unusable. Help please.

 

[exciter]

Hello,

My computer is very unresponsive with hangs which can last up to several minutes where nothing is clickable, the mouse is movable, I can hover over desktop icons and see the outline register, but when I click, for example to open my computer, it will start the freezing.

Task manager does not open, saying with an error message:

"Failure to display security and shut down options

The logon process was unable to display security and logon options when ctrl alt delete was pressed. If the operating system does not respond, press ESC or restart the computer by using the power switch."

I checked performance monitor and there is no noticeable hardware issue, which makes me believe it's either the PSU or motherboard. I took out the ram one by one and tested the system and the same thing happens.

My most likely guess is that the power supply is failing, and this is just early symptoms of that. I already had a power supply fail on this computer 2 years ago, but at that time it would shut the computer down unexpectedly.

I removed viruses, spyware, and did all the basics. This is a fresh system install. It started doing this from day one of instaling windows which leads me to believe it's a hardware issue.

I did a clean startup as per this guide: http://answers.microsoft.com/en-us/windows/forum/windows_7-performance/black-screen-after-you-press-ctrlaltdelete-for/1f0de23b-ea0e-4af7-b05d-9b2e6acdbcc5

but to no avail.

I have no idea what to think about this, as the computer is physically unusable. Help please.

Does it do this in safe mode?

 

[smorizio]

start with memtest to see if you have any bad ram sticks..also open hardware monitor to watch the cpu and gpu temps. also watch the ps voltage.

 

[JamesSneed]

Power supplies usually cause outright crashes this sounds like something else. CPU or PSU over heating, bad hard drive, or bad memory is what I would suspect first.

 

[adonets]

To answer exciter: yes, but it is less frequent in safe mode.

To answer smorizio: I verified that none of my RAM sticks are bad, because i removed one by one and tested each with the same result. They couldn't all go bad simultaneously. I rolled back all voltages in BIOS to default values and checked them after a restart. Everything looks fine.

To answer jamessneed: the hard drive is new, it is an SSD, as is the windows installed on it - fresh.

Could it be a motherboard issue?

 

[exciter]

What 3rd party software are you using, because the same sorta thing happened to me when I used to use registry cleaners and a specific program called "system mechanic professional". STAY AWAY FROM THAT PROGRAM!!! Anyway, long story short, I fixed it by reinstalling windows.

 

[adonets]

What 3rd party software are you using, because the same sorta thing happened to me when I used to use registry cleaners and a specific program called "system mechanic professional". STAY AWAY FROM THAT PROGRAM!!! Anyway, long story short, I fixed it by reinstalling windows.

Thanks for your response exciter. I did a clean startup again, removing EVERYTHING except microsoft services, and so far the problem seems to have dissipated. I've had the computer in use for 3 hours or so now, and everything seems good . I will update if anything changes.

I don't know which of the services could have been causing this, because the system is literally brand spanking new and fresh with only 8-10 services installed on it. I guess I will have to re-enable one by one and see after which it starts acting up again.

 

[exciter]

Thanks for your response exciter. I did a clean startup again, removing EVERYTHING except microsoft services, and so far the problem seems to have dissipated. I've had the computer in use for 3 hours or so now, and everything seems good . I will update if anything changes.

I don't know which of the services could have been causing this, because the system is literally brand spanking new and fresh with only 8-10 services installed on it. I guess I will have to re-enable one by one and see after which it starts acting up again.

That's a good idea. If you discover which one was causing the problems, I'd love to know what it was.