Discord app locks PC in a restart loop and won't uninstall

[duck_trapper]

I’m a bit of tech dullard so apologies. My son downloaded an app called Discord onto his PC a couple of days ago and it has effectively locked up his PC. When the PC runs in normal mode (Windows 10) it crashes after about 45 seconds. A blue screen appears and the message says "Your device ran into a problem and needs to restart’. The PC then restarts and the same crash occurs, in an infinite loop. At first I thought the crash and the Discord app might be unrelated but to be on the safe side I booted the PC in Safe Mode and uninstalled the Discord app. Upon restarting I found that Discord had appeared again despite being uninstalled. I have googled how to uninstall discord and tried everything - uninstalling, reinstalling, disabling the app from running on boot up, deleting the appdata and local appdata folders, removing all traces of the app from the registry etc. I have even downloaded 3 third party uninstallers, including Revo Uninstaller, all with no success. Discord is always there when the PC restarts. I am currently reduced to using the PC in Safe Mode as normal mode always crashes. I actually have no idea what Discord is but it would seem to be aptly named - it has caused chaos, and appears to be tantamount to a virus. I am on the verge of taking the PC to a technician. If anyone can advise at this late stage, I would be profoundly grateful. Thank you.

[Rustys]

Where did they install the discord application form?

This may explain what discord is

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Discord_(software)

I have even downloaded 3 third party uninstallers

unfortunately a lot of third party uninstalling programs do a lot more damage then they do help.

deleting the appdata and local appdata folders, removing all traces of the app from the registry etc.

These folders also contain files that are required for windows to run properly.

You can do one of two things
Prior to this any personal files that you do not wish to loose (documents/pictures/spreadsheets ETC) should be backed up to an external device.
Restore keeping persona files and data
Restore not keeping data and personal file

https://www.pcmag.com/how-to/how-to-...set-windows-10

[duck_trapper]

Thank you very much for your help. The reset failed with no explanation. I am going to take the PC in for repair.

[Rustys]

You are welcome.

You can do the reset from the install media if you have that handy.

https://support.microsoft.com/en-us/help/4000735/windows-10-reinstall#Clean%20install%20of%20Windows%2010%20using%20installation%20media

Not a problem if you wish to take it to a repair shop. Still suggest that you back up data before that way it is not lost.

[phillpower2]

I am going to take the PC in for repair.

Let us know if you would like us to try getting rid of Discord another way for you first.

[duck_trapper]

Let us know if you would like us to try getting rid of Discord another way for you first.

Thank you very much. I do not know why the reset did not work. I tried twice but at the end of the process it said reset failed, no changes have been made. I suppose it’s linked to the whole problem, discord or otherwise. I wonder if I got rid of Discord whether it would solve the problem. As I said, the fact that it won’t delete seems to suggest it is linked to the crashing. But I am only guessing. I was planning to take the PC to a repair shop on Monday morning. If there are any better ways to remove Discord before then I will try. Thanks again.

[phillpower2]

You are welcome and if not too late please see the below;

Post an Autoruns log for us, see here

1: Extract the Autoruns Zip file contents to a folder.

2: Double-click the “Autoruns.exe”.

3: Click on the "Hide Signed Microsoft and Windows Entries” option.

4: Go to File then to Export As or Save in some versions.

5: Save AutoRuns.txt file to known location like your Desktop > when you click on File > Save you will then get the option to Save as type, click the drop down tab, change it to Text and then click the Save button.

6: Attach to your next reply for us if you will.

Tutorial here

[duck_trapper]

You are welcome and if not too late please see the below;

Post an Autoruns log for us, see here

1: Extract the Autoruns Zip file contents to a folder.

2: Double-click the “Autoruns.exe”.

3: Click on the "Hide Signed Microsoft and Windows Entries” option.

4: Go to File then to Export As or Save in some versions.

5: Save AutoRuns.txt file to known location like your Desktop > when you click on File > Save you will then get the option to Save as type, click the drop down tab, change it to Text and then click the Save button.

6: Attach to your next reply for us if you will.

Tutorial here

Thank you so much. I hope I have done this correctly.

[phillpower2]

That`s it thanks (y)

There is one single rogue Discord entry present which you can safely delete, see the To Disable or Delete? info here for how to get rid of the following entry

• “Discord” “Discord” “(Verified) Discord Inc.” “c:\users\james\appdata\local\discord\app-0.0.307\discord.exe” “21/07/2020 21:14” “”

Once done, restart the computer, check for any signs of Discord then post back with an update for us.

[duck_trapper]

That`s it thanks (y)

There is one single rogue Discord entry present which you can safely delete, see the To Disable or Delete? info here for how to get rid of the following entry

• “Discord” “Discord” “(Verified) Discord Inc.” “c:\users\james\appdata\local\discord\app-0.0.307\discord.exe” “21/07/2020 21:14” “”

Once done, restart the computer, check for any signs of Discord then post back with an update for us.

Your help is much appreciated. Although it was easy to delete the discord entry in autoruns I also had to uninstall the program again as it always reappears when I boot. I am working in Safe Mode because the PC crashes in normal mode. However, while I was trying to uninstall discord it crashed in safe mode. I tried again and a second time it crashed. When it restarts I also notice that programs like autoruns and also uninstallers like revo installer are gone, even though I saved them to the PC and installed them. I will continue trying but my patience is flagging due to the crashes. Of course, discord always reappears on startup.

[duck_trapper]

Just an update. I finally managed to uninstall the app, remove the residual data from local and roaming, ensure the app wasn’t in the start up menu, as well as the registry entry. In the same session, I also made sure the entry was removed via autoruns. All of this was achieved in Safe Mode. I then rebooted the PC, again in Safe Mode, and Discord is back. Also, autoruns has disappeared. It is almost as if the PC resets itself to slightly before I made the changes, whether it is uninstalling a program or installing new ones. I now wonder whether it is not necessarily discord but some other cause of corruption on the PC. I don’t know if there is anything else I should do. I would like to reset the PC but as I explained that failed. Do you advise me to go to a technician? Thanks for your very kind efforts in any case.

[phillpower2]

duck trapper

Please repeat that as was asked for providing the original Autoruns log so that we can take a look at the new log, your first log was clean other than the one Discord entry so this makes no sense :unsure:

[duck_trapper]

duck trapper

Please repeat that as was asked for providing the original Autoruns log so that we can take a look at the new log, your first log was clean other than the one Discord entry so this makes no sense :unsure:

Thank you for all your help. As my wife had already arranged for a technician to call, it was ultimately too late to cancel the appointment. Apparently something is wrong with the solid state drive in the PC. Was it caused by a virus? I have no idea. Anyway, sincere thanks for your time and effort in this matter.

[phillpower2]

You are welcome and thanks for getting back to us (y)

[Rustys]

Not a problem glad to hear that you got it corrected.