Harddrive failure? Windows fault? something else?

Hi,

Today I've had an issue where some programs have stopped running properly - in fact they crash and bring up the windows "this program stopped working properly" window.

I'm a bit baffled as to what would cause the issue - Drivers haven't been updated recently. I did run windows update a few days ago.. but was able to run the programs fine till today. I've also tried rebooting my computer and still getting the same issue.

I am now unable to open iTunes at all, as it brings up the Windows7 "this program.." window (which gives options of searching online for answers or closing the program). I am also unable to open my e-mail program properly - sometimes it will open but then crash when I select an e-mail to read, and sometimes it just crash's straight away without even opening.

I have 2 suspects in this problem:

a) My HD is dying
b) my windows 7 install has gone to the dogs and I need to re-install.

I have also got an issue where I can't install all of the available windows updates - specifically Windows 7 SP 1 update and the update which is supposed to correct Win7's inability to install Win7 SP1... Which is why I'm also considering it's Windows 7 at fault... as I've not been update to update and install these updates ever since they've been released...

I'd love some feedback, and possible suggestions of what to try to fix this (without having to resort to re-installing if possible..) or at least find out what could be causing the issue.

Computer specs if needed:

CPU: AMD Phenom II x4 @ 3.5 (I usually run it at 3.7, lowered the o/c on the offchance that was causing issues)
OS: Windows 7 64-bit
Hard Drive: SamSung T3 1 TB (this is the drive windows, iTunes, e-mail program, etc are installed on)
Hard Drive #2: SeaGate 1 TB

So far I've only had issues with iTunes and my e-mail program, but I haven't tried many other programs to see how widespread the problem is...

Ok from experiance ive had with hard drive crashing - yours isnt crashing so thats maybe 1 off the list of causes.When mine crashed the whole drive became unreadable untill i managed to run a few disk check programs from backup drive.
Windows 7 is probably done similar to windows xp - i believe a few times xp ( possibly ypwards ) used to re-add some missing files.But if win 7 was having issues im sure they may start on startup rather than further along.
What id suggest is get hold of antivirus - avast does a gd free version with updates and a gd malware scanner.Its possible you mave have cought a virus which slowly affects files - and before you say "impossible i dont go on dodgy sites" its actually possible to get a virus just from visiting a webpage and the webpages coding is infected ( does happen easily ).

Run antivirus then malware scanner then do a hard drive scan - if the problem still persists try and uninstall the programs that are giving error and re-install them.

Can you try a system repair using the Windows disk? It should be in the options if you boot with the disk in.

Try a disk defrag? Or an analysis tool. It should identify if there are any bad sectors and the health of the drive.

http://www.samsung.com/global/busine...ort_in_es.html
http://www.seagate.com/www/en-us/sup...loads/seatools

Windows 7 has a built in Disk Checker,

http://www.sevenforums.com/tutorials...isk-check.html

It wouldnt hurt to try it, and see what it comes back with,

Its strange i just recently fixed a comp for a friend in work, and is had some real nasty malware/trojans on it, and it prevented alot of software from running, espically software that interacted with the USB drivers.

I take it you have ruled out malware/trojans etc on your system.

Did you install anything recently before all this started to happen?

I will say that, while the system is technically operational you should BACKUP everything that is important, in the event the drive is failing or has become corrupt and needs a format, better to be safe now than sorry later.

if hd is ok physically (no bad sectors etc)...

windows doesn't need repairing...

no viruses popping up on scanner etc.

no malware... run malwarebytes... free and works gud.

then update all malwaresbyte and your virus sw. start comp in safemode and scan it in safe mode. do quick scans 1st to see and then run full scans.

Check temps as usual and research the drives you own on newegg to see if lots of people are having issues with same model (though it could be different batch).

also you might want to run a memtest to see if you have bad ram. some mobos come with it or just dl the program and follow directions. though if it's been working fine all this time it's highly unlikely your ram went bad.

my bet is the update screwed things up. but that could be cuz of a virus.

Unfortunately, from the symptoms you describe, it could be a lot of things, although a hard drive failure is not likely to be one of them.

The first thing to do would be to run the Virus/Malware scans.
Edit - the first thing to do would be to put any and all overclocks back to stock and see if that helps.

If that doesn't show up anything, the next thing to do would be to open the machine up and (*gasp*) muck about inside.
- Clean out all the dust and debris, including inside the power supply.
- make sure all fans are running and running smoothly.
- make sure all cables are properly, fully connected.
- remove the RAM sticks and reinsert them. Run a Memtest if you can.
- remove any cards, such as a video card, and reinsert them.
- EDIT - Reset your BIOS. Either check the manual and use the "hard" jumper method, or enter the BIOS and "load defaults".

If none of that helps, you could try a fresh re-install of Windows. And if that doesn't help. it may need to go to 'the shop'.

P.s. RAM problems is my main guess.

I haven't ruled anything out at this point. While I do keep my system protected with up-to-date windows updates and anti-virus and anti-malware programs.. I'm not stupid enough to think that's 100% proof against anything bad... lolz.

I have run quick scans with malwarebytes and spybot and found nothing, but will do full scans in-safe mode while I'm off at work this week (since these scans do take hours to finish on my system.. lolz.. and i'm on my last day of a 3 day weekend..).

I'm also going to do the disk and memory checks as well.

Quaker - I do that regularly and have done that within the past 3 weeks. I haven't knocked or moved the case at all since then, so I'm confident that dust isn't the cause and that I did plug all cables in properly

I didn't remove the ram sticks tho.. the video cards were re-inserted at the time.. so i might just have to open it up to do just that in case they got bumped or something (I doubt, but anything is possible.. and I'm not ruling anything out at this point)

Edit - Right now I'm in need of assistance..

I just found out I am completely unable to update Malwarebytes Anti-Malware database at all - whenever I try and run the update, it crash's. It also crash's when in Safe mode with Networking. I've tried uninstalling and re-installing it.. with no luck.

And I've also found out that Malwarebytes for whatever stupid reason don't actually have a up-to-date database update you can manually load.. the only file they have is 38 days old (and thus completely useless and pointless to actually provide).. and their advise is to get the database from a computer that's not infected..

Great advise... if you have multiple computers.. which I don't. Soo... would anyone be willing to upload/host the latest definition file?

But this does seem to indicate bad program / infection by malware and/or spyware...

There are a few online scanners that you can use... if they work on your machine.
http://housecall.trendmicro.com/uk/
http://www.eset.com/us/online-scanner

With the RAM, try taking out all but one stick and if no improvement swap the single stick until stuff is either working or you've gone through all the sticks.
You can also try the RAM in different slots just to check those.

Ok, time for an update on this situation (and yes, it's taken me this long..)

- I've run windows disk scan / check-disk multiple times. No issue's and problems found.

- I've switched the ram around to test ram stick and slots and same isue.

I've removed 3 sticks and tried each different stick and tried different slots as well - same problems still persist.

- I've noticed that in each crash, the "Fault Module Name" is the same, no matter what the program that is crashing. not sure if this of any relevance, but here's 2 of the crash reports:

Fault Module Name: npmproxy.dll
Fault Module Version: 6.1.7600.16385
Fault Module Timestamp: 4a5bdad5
Exception Code: c0000005
Exception Offset: 00002a3a
OS Version: 6.1.7600.2.0.0.256.1
Locale ID: 3081
Additional Information 1: a7aa
Additional Information 2: a7aa91f17ea749d42a4de3b390fa5b3d
Additional Information 3: a7aa
Additional Information 4: a7aa91f17ea749d42a4de3b390fa5b3d

Fault Module Name: npmproxy.dll
Fault Module Version: 6.1.7600.16385
Fault Module Timestamp: 4a5bdad5
Exception Code: c0000005
Exception Offset: 00002a3a
OS Version: 6.1.7600.2.0.0.256.1
Locale ID: 3081
Additional Information 1: 57dc
Additional Information 2: 57dc1304986dca9230289ffa64901279
Additional Information 3: 7ed4
Additional Information 4: 7ed4fe43cc4456ebe5d40116f63d2b54

Would this indicate I need to re-install windows? Or is something else causing these issue's? TBO.. I'm getting really, really sick of this..

Why i never bother to troubleshot strange windows problems. If you want to keep going you can try a registry clean with CCleaner. A format/reinstall will fix any thing that's not hardware based.

In regards to..

- I have plenty of space on both HD's. (~500 GB free on each)
- I'd say it's not a virus as I have scanned with multiple scans multiple times and never found a thing (ESET Nod32, Symantec Online Scanner, Trend Micro's HouseCall, BitDefender's online scan & F-secure's online scanner). And yes, i know that no 1 scanner is 1005 proof... but doing all these scans I'd say I can say that chances are it's not a virus (but meh, who knows.. still could be.. lolz)
- I've completely disabled the swap file... and still have the same issue, so doubt it's a damaged swap file..

And frankly... I don't trust random programs from random sites found via googling.. that's exactly how one ends up with viruses, spyware, malware, etc on their computer

Guess it could be registry error's. In fact, the issue's I have with windows updates not working.. say it's because of issue's with the registry. Well, assuming the error codes and "help pages" they link to are of any actual use.. (and knowing how vague and bad and useless they were... who knows! lolz).

- I run CCleaner regularly btw. So unless that in itself has borked my registry...

Disable system restore.
Boot into safe mode with web browsing.
Download Dr Web CureIt!, Malware Bytes AntiMalware (yes, a new installation copy) and CCleaner.
Delete the old MBAM and other scanners you have used. Be sure to have all antivirs disabled, some liked to stay even in safe mode.
Install Dr Web and run a quick test. If something's found, heal/delete it and run a full scan. It might take some time (up to a few hours), but is well worth it. Heal/delete what's found.
Then install a clean copy of MBAM, update it and perform a full scan.
After all that is done, install, update then run CCleaner. Run it both for programs and registry. Clean what is found. Your cookies will be deleted, thus you will have to login to all web sites again, such as Guru - be sure to remember your passwords.
Reboot into normal mode, enable system restore.

Disregard antivirs, like NOD32, Avast or AVG, as well as most online scanners. Seriously, the contemporary malware can not only bypass them, but also trick 'em into harming you rather than protecting.

If the problem persists and hasn't changed, please tell us here. The above should repair all 'soft' software problems and does not require posting or analyzing any logs, nor using any 'hard stuff'.

npmproxy (network list manager proxy) failure is a registry issue. there's a handful of other .dll's linked to it - (meaning they automatically load when npmproxy loads). if any .dll in the chain is corrupt or missing you'll get errors. a registry cleaner may remove things you don't need, but it won't fix or put back anything that's missing.

clean up your registry, repair your OS installation, and you should be good.


you are correct in thinking a registry cleaner has most likely damaged your registry. this happens quite frequently, and is in my experience the largest cause of computer errors. unless you know precisely what you're deleting/disabling/modifying you really should NEVER play with it.

Registry errors can be caused by bad sectors on the hard drive, or bad RAM - most often, bad RAM. The registry is read into RAM, modified as needed, and rewritten to the hard drive. If you have RAM problems, the registry can easily get corrupted.

You said you tried all the RAM sticks in different slots etc., but have you reset your BIOS, and/or made sure that the RAM timings in the BIOS are correct for the RAM you're using? (Setting the RAM to "auto" or "by SPD" would be best for testing.)
Btw, power spikes caused by nearby lightning can corrupt the BIOS settings. Resetting your BIOS is always a good way to start. You can either check the mobo's manual and follow the procedure for a "hard" (jumper) reset (best), or enter the BIOS and choose "load defaults (or w/e).
(I've had occasions where resetting the BIOS fixed things even though there seemed to be no rogue settings.)

Thank you for all the suggestions and help

I ended up doing what I should have done from the start - I spent the day re-installing Windows. Problem's now been resolved.. programs are running fine and all's well.

I should have known better... re-installing is *always* the best solution to Windows issue's.. esp if it's been 1 1/2 years since windows was installed.. And yes, I went for 1 1/2 years without having to re-install Windows 7... that must be like a world record for windows.. lolz!