Odd Behavior-Solved

[best1syn2oil]

Hi All,

  I have a home built running Windows 10 Pro 1607.  It currently has 8GB of DRAM.  Recently, about once per week it will not fully boot up (it will usually get to the desktop, but not everything will load and the screen will go black, and then try again, etc.), and sometimes on shutdown or when initiating a restart, it will flash a memory could not be read message.  Since the HDD was about 5 years old, I decided to replace it.  Prior to this, using either a System Restore point or restoring from a drive image would get me back up...but only for another week or so.  It ran great after the HDD replacement...for another week, then the same symptoms returned.  I tested the DRAM with both the built in Windows tester and Memtest 64+, which I ran overnight but didn't report any errors.  I have 16 GB of Crucial DRAM arriving tomorrow, so we'll see what happens.  My thinking is that it may well be DRAM issues causing file corruption on the HDD over time, or when a certain part of the memory is accessed.  I have had an issue years ago with a bad Memory slot on the Motherboard, so I am hoping it is not that.  Anyone know of any Power Supply monitoring software that might pick up possible issues?  It is the one other possibility aside from the board itself.
  The other odd thing is when booting to Safe Mode with Networking, there is an endless attempt to open the Microsoft website in Chrome (it is my default browser), but not just one tab...endless tabs...makes it almost impossible to get anything done as the browser always steals focus.  On two occasions, Safe Mode would not fully load either when trying it after a failed normal boot.

[Boggin]

When testing RAM where more than one stick is installed then it's best to do it on just one stick at a time as I've seen where Memtest86+ has given a clean bill of health when one of the sticks was bad and Windows Memory Diagnostic can only map a max of 4GB.

It's possible it could be your CMOS battery or even the PSU.

Accessing MS websites can be caused by out of date Silverlight but you would normally get updates for that through Windows Update.

See what the Anvi Browser Repair Tool makes of your Chrome.

http://www.anvisoft.com/browser-repair-tool.html

Click on the Chrome icon in the left pane where you will see the default repairs which you can edit.

The free version of HWMonitor can give you a guide to your voltages which should be +/- 5% of their value, although in a recent case, they still showed lower than they should be even after an upgraded PSU had been fitted.

http://www.cpuid.com/softwares/hwmonitor.html

Use the SETUP • ENGLISH button down on the left.

[best1syn2oil]

Thanks!  I am monitoring voltage with HWMonitor and find everything in range.  I have to figure out how to enable XMP and make some manual timing adjustments to accommodate the new memory as it would not boot and kicked up the BIOS Setup.  I pulled some info together and will have a go at it tomorrow.  Failing that, I will exchange these sticks for a set running at the current DRAM settings.  Memory errors are getting more frequent..."referenced at ______ cannot be read".  I did clear the CMOS and replace the battery.

[Boggin]

Sometimes one stick or a bad slot can pull the other down so it's best to try just one stick in either slot to see if you continue to get the same symptoms.

In choosing the new sticks, did you use Crucial's Scanner to determine the best for your machine ?

http://www.crucial.com/usa/en/systemscanner

[best1syn2oil]

Boggin,  Yes, I did use the Crucial scanner to find a set.  This morning I installed one of the new sticks, and it booted.  I shut it down and then enabled XMP selecting Profile 1 for both channels.  I then manually entered the correct timings for the new sticks.  On reboot, I got the memory changed warning from the BIOS, but after saving and rebooting a few times, the settings took.  I verified both with the BIOS and HWInfo.  I then installed the other sticks in the other channel and after a few attempts now have all 16 GB running at appropriate speed and timings.  Now to see if I have further read issues...if so, would it more likely be the board or perhaps the Power Supply?  I will do another restore point and another image backup tonight just in case.

[Boggin]

I'd wait to see how it performs rather than conjecture.

Neither overheating, the PSU or the motherboard come to mind for the symptoms you've had and the only occasional black screening I've ever experienced was when I bought a single 4GB RAM stick to match the one I already had installed and they sent me the wrong one - so I think you are right in that it was a memory problem.

What you had done previously and found it worked for a while may have just been coincidental - but time will tell

[best1syn2oil]

Things are going quite well...very smooth with a few exceptions:  I am getting occasional Explorer hangs, and Event Viewer is replete with errors, but all were generated during the period that I was attempting to get the new DRAM sorted...I will check for other errors going forward.

[Boggin]

I'm getting hangs/freezes in my IE since I reinstalled Win 10 using an ISO disk, but as I didn't have a working Internet at the time, I didn't have it check for updates during the install.

This just took it to 1607 14393.0 so I got the lot en bloc later - not sure if the latest Cumulative one may have something to do with the IE problems.

I'm getting a lot of there was a problem with the web page so it was closed and reopened - I've lost count of the number of times I've reset IE to defaults.

[Boggin]

I contacted MS support about the problems I have with IE and on checking, found that my Toshiba laptop isn't 1607 compatible and neither is my other Tosh laptop.

In fact, neither were supposed to be Win 10 compatible but they both worked fine on 1511 build, but the AU seems to have screwed things up.

Resigned now to using Firefox until I decide if I want to add to my collection of laptops by buying a new Win 10 one.

[best1syn2oil]

My issue is Explorer, not IE.  Today the screen went black...and the power button on the tower will not shut down or reboot the system...had to use the rear switch...so...Power Supply and Board time.  I have ordered both and was able to find an exact replacement for my board, so it will accept the existing Processor and Memory, and there will be no driver issues...such a pain though!

[Boggin]

I think I would have just gone for the PSU first before buying a new mobo.

[best1syn2oil]

I ended up doing a clean install of the OS, which seems to have addressed the issues I was having.  Before I got to that, I had replaced the system HDD, Power Supply and the Motherboard (albeit the same model).  So this thread can be considered closed.

[Boggin]

You can add [SOLVED] to your thread title by going back to your opening post and click on Modify - and glad to see that you got there, even if you had to go the whole hog.