Chrome Inaccessible after Windows Update.........

[Skyclad]

Hello to all my friends here at FreePCHelp.....

I'm hoping you can help me with this one, as it's something I've never experienced before..

This morning when seeing my computer, it was clear I'd had a Windows Update overnight.. I when through the usual ritual after an Update, and when things appeared to be ok I clicked to get online via Chrome on the taskbar.. Nothing happened! The icon remain highlighted, but then kind of "ghosted out" on me.. Not only that, but shortly thereafter the computer turned itself off all by itself.. I finally got it to stay on for long enough to get on Firefox, and that is the current browser I'm using.. I did attempt System Restore multiple times, all of which failed.. So, luckily Firefox is working, but I'm wondering what happened to Chrome, which is my usual browser of course..

Please let me know about this when you can, and as always I appreciate your help!

 

[Skyclad]

PS I just got knocked off Firefox as well.. Sometimes it says "logging off", other times just shuts down.....:/

 

[Rustys]

If you do not do open a browser does the same thing happen?

Does this occur with Internet Explorer?

When is says shutting down does it state anything about installing updates?

 

[Skyclad]

I have always tried to open a browser, so not for sure.. The way things are behaving though, I'd say yes..
Earlier, I had IE open and it worked for awhile, then the same thing...........shut down..
Nothing was mentioned about installing updates that I've seen anywhere....
I'm curious.. Has anyone else had any issues similar to mine that you have seen of late?? Typing this quickly as I don't know when I'll be knocked off again... Thanks!

 

[Rustys]

Lets try if it just sits there if this happens with nothing open.
Next try opening something other than a browser and see if this happens.
Attempt to replicate this in safe mode with networking and see if it happens there.

 

[Skyclad]

Hi Rustys and thanks for the response back.. I'll try doing that here in a bit.. Right now, I'm frantically doing stuff while it's open.........sending emails, etc before the next crash.. Will not access browsers of any kind after the next crash and see what happens.... Thanks again...

 

[Rustys]

Not a problem keep us informed on how it goes.

 

[Skyclad]

So, earlier I stayed off all the browsers and had nothing open on the machine.. Left the computer alone for a couple of hours.. When I went in to check on it, it was off..........all on it's own.. I have a feeling this is not a good thing, but I could be wrong.. I'll let you fill me in on what this might mean.. Thanks again for your help..

 

[Rustys]

Was it off or asleep or in hibernation? You stated that you left it alone for a couple of hours.
What was the power light doing?

Did you attempt the other things I suggested? What were the results of them?

 

[Skyclad]

Was it off or asleep or in hibernation? You stated that you left it alone for a couple of hours.
What was the power light doing?

Did you attempt the other things I suggested? What were the results of them?

I'm not sure what the mode it was in is called.. I just turned it on, didn't get online, and turned the monitor off for a few hours.. When I came back in to check things, it was off.. I did not try the safe mode suggestion..
My machine could go off at any moment now, or stay on for hours.. No pattern to this.. When it does go off though now, it seems as if it's getting harder (takes longer) to get it up and running again..
I got another "Microsoft Update" yesterday, or an attempt at one.............keeping in mind that it was after that first "Update" things started going wrong.. Will check back later to see if you have any suggestions on this.. Not for sure how much longer I'll be on this machine... Thanks for your help..

 

[Rustys]

When was the last time the dust was cleared out?

Download Speedfanand install it. Once it's installed, run the program and post here the information it shows. The information I want you to post is the stuff that is circled in the example picture I have attached.
If you are running on a vista machine, please go to where you installed the program and run the program as administrator.



(this is a screenshot from a vista machine)

So that we have a comparison to Speedfan, download, run and grab a screenshot of HWMonitor (free).

To capture and post a screenshot;

Click on the ALT key + PRT SCR key..its on the top row..right hand side..now click on start...all programs...accessories...paint....left click in the white area ...press CTRL + V...click on file...click on save...save it to your desktop...name it something related to the screen your capturing... BE SURE TO SAVE IT AS A .JPG ...otherwise it may be to big to upload... after typing in any response you have... click on Upload a File to add the screenshot.

Screenshot instructions are provided to assist those that may read this topic but are not yet aware of the “how to”.

How old is the system?
Could be hardware failure
HDD
RAM
Motherboard
Power Supply

What version of windows?

Start the system in Safe Mode to see if this replicates.

Have you tried a different user to see if the same thing happens?

 

[Starbuck]

When was the last time the dust was cleared out?

This would be my first thought.
An over heating system would randomly shut down.
So yes, check that the CPU fan and the heatsink aren't blocked with dust.
This is what you don't want to see......



Just taking the side off the computer will let you see if this is the case.
As Rusty has already pointed out.... there are a number of possible causes, so it's a process of elimination.

Edit:
Forgot to address this.......

but I'm wondering what happened to Chrome, which is my usual browser of course..

Every time you open a new tab in Chrome, it's starts a new process. .... so this adds to the system and uses extra resources.
Other browsers don't do this, so this maybe why Chrome effects the computer more.

 

[Skyclad]

(I typed the below out earlier, right before the computer crashed again.. Making this brief due to possibly losing it again.. Cleaned out much dust, but apparently other stuff is going on.... One little observation..... Seems that the computer stays on more consistently when I run a LONG scan in the background of regular surfing.. Not sure if that means anything at all.....)

Oh my... I think you guys nailed this one re: the dust in the fan scenario.. I looked in the back, and it appeared pretty much clogged from the outside.. I wasn't sure the proper way to clean, but sucked all the dust quickly off from the outside.. Since the last time I saw your most recent post, the computer had crashed again and was in safe mode.. Seems that now things are running much better, but I would definitely welcome any suggestions, especially in regard to cleaning.. Would a quick vac from the outside be enough? Was a bit hesitant to take things apart due to it's location (tightly fit between wall and end of my desk).. Will do so of course if that's what needs to be done.. Thanks to you both on mentioning this.........and thanks so much in general for your help!!

 

[Skyclad]

PS Find attached a screenshot of Speedfan readings.. I just took a pic, as that seemed more time efficient...........something very important right now....... Hope this helps...!

 

[Rustys]

Using a vacuum there are mixed post about it.

Dome say do not it creates a static discharge that may fry the system and it can also suck the jumpers that are on the motherboard off causing it to fail.

Which is why I always suggest using compressed air following the instruction on the cans and in an open area.

The temps look fine according to the image you supplied.

To clear up some confusion yes it does run normal in safe mode and it crashes in normal mode?

 

[Starbuck]

Seems we posted at more or less the same time Rusty.

Find attached a screenshot of Speedfan readings

Thanks for that.
How long had the computer been running when those temps were taken?
Was the computer idling or did you have multiple actions running?

due to it's location (tightly fit between wall and end of my desk).

Not really ideal.
Air should be able to circulate around the box.

Would a quick vac from the outside be enough?

Not really.
If you can see dust from the outside of the fan grill, you can bet that the inside of the computer has even more.
You will need to remove the side panel and look inside at the fan sitting on top of the processor.
A lot people recommend using a can of compressed air to remove the dust..... but I've always used a vacuum cleaner ( with a plastic nozzle on ) ... although a lot don't recommend this.
Theory being... I'd rather suck the dust out rather than blow it all around the inside.

There are obviously precautions you should take to protect yourself and the Pc.
This link goes into detail on how to clean the inside.

Cleaning the inside of your Pc

 

[Skyclad]

Using a vacuum there are mixed post about it.

Dome say do not it creates a static discharge that may fry the system and it can also suck the jumpers that are on the motherboard off causing it to fail.

Which is why I always suggest using compressed air following the instruction on the cans and in an open area.

The temps look fine according to the image you supplied.

To clear up some confusion yes it does run normal in safe mode and it crashes in normal mode?

Hello Rustys, and thanks for getting back on this.. I too have read about using a vacuum and the possible issues with static discharge.. Honestly, when I saw how caked things were on the outside of the fan yesterday for the first time, I opted for taking that chance.......thinking that the massively clogged fan area was likely more of an immediate threat.. I used the vac as fast as possible to get rid of the gunk, hoping that would minimize the static dc threat..
Regarding your question of safe vs. normal mode, I have not tested that yet.. Will do so if things continue to spiral downward.. As of right now, after some further rapid cleaning of areas I did not see yesterday, the computer has been on a surprisingly long time and is running quite well (that could all change in an instant).. Will continue to monitor.. Thanks again for your continued help!!

 

[Skyclad]

Seems we posted at more or less the same time Rusty.

Thanks for that.
How long had the computer been running when those temps were taken?
Was the computer idling or did you have multiple actions running?

Not really ideal.
Air should be able to circulate around the box.

Not really.
If you can see dust from the outside of the fan grill, you can bet that the inside of the computer has even more.
You will need to remove the side panel and look inside at the fan sitting on top of the processor.
A lot people recommend using a can of compressed air to remove the dust..... but I've always used a vacuum cleaner ( with a plastic nozzle on ) ... although a lot don't recommend this.
Theory being... I'd rather suck the dust out rather than blow it all around the inside.

There are obviously precautions you should take to protect yourself and the Pc.
This link goes into detail on how to clean the inside.

Cleaning the inside of your Pc

Hi Starbuck, and thanks for getting back on this ongoing issue.. To answer your questions above, the temps were taken not that long after start up and I believe one action was running at that time (was not idling).. Just FYI though, I've been running the computer for quite awhile now, just ran the Speedfan again, and the numbers were virtually identical.. As I just mentioned to Rusty, things seem to be running much better as of RIGHT NOW after doing a bit more vacCleaning of areas I did not see yesterday.. Looked like "intake" areas where the inflow would occur.. They were filthy as well....:/ Much cleaner now, so am hoping this will fix things to some degree.. I will definitely remove the casing at some point and clean, most likely via further vac action.. I really do not have a place to blow it out using compressed air unless I wanted to dustOut my entire computer room...
As always, thanks for your help...! Will be in touch after a day or so of continuing to monitor here....

 

[Rustys]

Glad t hear that progress is being made.

Thank you for keeping us informed.

Some times I have the Vacuum sucking from one of the bottom corners as I blow the crud from the top to that section of the system.

Which ever way you do do it try not to spin the fans it can knock them out of alignment.

 

[Skyclad]

Glad t hear that progress is being made.

Thank you for keeping us informed.

Some times I have the Vacuum sucking from one of the bottom corners as I blow the crud from the top to that section of the system.

Which ever way you do do it try not to spin the fans it can knock them out of alignment.

It appears that some progress has been made by the cleaning done earlier, but there are still issues going on here.. After having the computer on for about 2 hours and being ecstatic about it, I came into the room awhile ago to it being shut down again.. This time when I tried to reBoot, I put it in Safe Mode.. I was not sure if I should try to go online or not, so just left it in SM, turned off the monitor and left the room.. Came back in and it was shut down again.........when in SAFE MODE.. That doesn't sound good to me, but not for sure.. I'll let you guys give me some feedback on that part when convenient.. Right now, a bit depressed here....:/
Again, thanks for all your help and any further info/ideas you might have are greatly appreciated...!