Computer I built keeps freezing on me

[Conroyale]

So I built this computer in June of last year and problems didn’t start arising until the beginning of this year. I found out my HDD was failing so I got a new one and now the HDD is fine, but my computer is still freezing on me. I thought that the HDD failing was causing the crashes but that appears to not be the case. What can I do to find the problem so I can solve it?

[Bruce]

let’s see your PC specs first.

get Speccy from here; Speccy - Download Builds
in Speccy, click File > Publish Snapshot > Copy to Clipboard > Close.
now you can paste(Ctrl+V) that link into a post.

[Conroyale]

http://speccy.piriform.com/results/eXNzYWzQKFIcBIBxBbF8IYU

Here are the specs

[Conroyale]

I just remembered something…I have a dual monitor setup and I have one plugged into the HDMI and one plugged into the DVI ports on my graphics card. Could that possibly be the reason it’s freezing? I switched out monitors when the screen would just go blank on me but it still reacted very similarly as I couldn’t get the picture back without restarting the computer.

[Conroyale]

Acutally nevermind. I disconnected the other monitor so I only have one running and it is still freezing on me.

[Bruce]

so when the screen goes blank, they both go blank?
do the fans and case still make the usual noise and lights?
and when you restart the PC straight away, it all comes good for a while?
or do you wait awhile before restarting?
does it only freeze at a certain time or program?

[Conroyale]

When the screens went blank, it was usually when I either turned the computer on before the monitors. The fans would still be on and, if I remember correctly, the computer would still be running as I could hear a video I was watching while see nothing. Restarting the PC was the only way to make the picture come back. I tried unplugging the monitors and plugging them back in but that didn’t help. When I changed out one of the monitors, the going blank stopped but I think that’s when the freezing started to happen.

Currently when my computer freezes, it happens anytime, whether I’m logged in or not. I leave my PC on when I’m at work and come home to see it froze two hours after I had left, even when it’s on just the desktop screen with no programs running. Sometimes I turn it on and leave it without even logging in and it still freezes.

[Bruce]

let’s attack this from 3 sides; heat, drivers and graphics card.

first up, do you have the Nvidia GTX1070 or the AMD Radeon Vega (or both) in that PC?
either way, remove any add-on graphics card and plug the monitors into the mobo ports.
only one monitor will actually suffice to test this theory.
see if the freezing or blank display still occurs.

as to heat, take off the side cover and make sure the fans are all moving freely and there is no dust buildup anywhere within the chassis.

and drivers, check the manufactures website and download the latest versions.

[Conroyale]

Heat isn’t a problem as I have 3 fans, including the CPU fan, running and there’s not any dust inside the tower itself, just the fan grating on the front.

I plugged in one monitor to the motherboard and it froze as I was logging in twice…

[Bruce]

I plugged in one monitor to the motherboard and it froze as I was logging in twice…

and you had removed your add-on graphics card?
and did you have 2; the AMD and a Nvidia?

[Conroyale]

I only have the GTX one, I believe. There’s only one GPU that I put in here and I’m not sure why the specs I sent have two registered. If you need, I can send a picture of the inside of my computer to verify.

[phillpower2]

Can I ask why Windows 10 and Windows Defender have never been updated, until both are fully up to date you are wasting your time troubleshooting and we are not in a position to help you as we have no way of knowing if you are running a legitimate version of Windows 10.

I would suggest that you get rid of Avast as it has become a bit of a monster in that it foists all sorts of unwanted extras on folk, many of which cause issues.

You can uninstall Avast in the Control Panel but should you have any problems see Avast clean removal info here [COLOR=rgb(226, 80, 65)]Please create a new system restore point first.

We can also see McAfee SiteAdvisor Service and other junk from Iobit on the computer, McAfee could also be causing conflict so get rid of that as well.

McAfee product removal tool (MCPR) here

Once any other AV has been correctly uninstalled, check to see if Windows Defender has auto enabled and allow it to update and carry out a full scan of your computer.

Post back once Windows 10 and Windows Defender are both fully up to date and we will go from there if you are still having issues.

Operating System
Windows 10 Home 64-bit
Computer type: Desktop
[COLOR=rgb(226, 80, 65)]Installation Date: 6/9/2018 10:38:14 PM
Windows Security Center

Hotfixes
Installed
[COLOR=rgb(226, 80, 65)]Not Installed
9/14/2019 2019-09 Cumulative Update for Windows 10 Version 1803 for x64-based Systems (KB4516058)
Installation Status: Failed
Install this update to resolve issues in Windows. For a complete
listing of the issues that are included in this update, see the
associated Microsoft Knowledge Base article for more information.
After you install this item, you may have to restart your computer.
9/13/2019 2019-09 Cumulative Update for Windows 10 Version 1803 for x64-based Systems (KB4516058)
Installation Status: Failed
Install this update to resolve issues in Windows. For a complete
listing of the issues that are included in this update, see the
associated Microsoft Knowledge Base article for more information.
After you install this item, you may have to restart your computer.
9/13/2019 2019-09 Cumulative Update for Windows 10 Version 1803 for x64-based Systems (KB4516058)
Installation Status: Failed
Install this update to resolve issues in Windows. For a complete
listing of the issues that are included in this update, see the
associated Microsoft Knowledge Base article for more information.
After you install this item, you may have to restart your computer.
9/13/2019 2019-09 Cumulative Update for Windows 10 Version 1803 for x64-based Systems (KB4516058)
Installation Status: Failed
Install this update to resolve issues in Windows. For a complete
listing of the issues that are included in this update, see the
associated Microsoft Knowledge Base article for more information.
After you install this item, you may have to restart your computer[/COLOR][/COLOR][/COLOR]

[Conroyale]

Okay, I removed McAfee and Avast and updated Defender and Windows 10. So far it has run idle for a good 3 hours so I’ll keep it running overnight to see if it’s holding steadfast. If not, I’ll respond in the morning.

[Conroyale]

It’s still freezing on me, although it is taking longer between freezes.

[phillpower2]

[COLOR=rgb(44, 130, 201)]Can I ask why Windows 10 and Windows Defender have never been updated, until both are fully up to date you are wasting your time troubleshooting and we are not in a position to help you as we have no way of knowing if you are running a legitimate version of Windows 10.
[/COLOR]

[COLOR=rgb(44, 130, 201)]
Can you answer the above for us + do the following for us;

Post an updated Speccy url and the brand and model name or number details of the PSU.[/color]