Question I did a Windows Refresh on my SSD and now my PC always freezes ?

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matthewperacio

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Dec 21, 2018
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So recently I had to refresh my Windows because I did something that I shouldn’t have done, and I tried to reinstall all my drivers ( I have no clue if I downloaded everything correctly ) and now every one hour or so it becomes so frozen that I have to completely restart my pc. Any troubleshooting suggestions?
 
matthewperacio said:
I did something that I shouldn’t have done
Click to expand...
And what was that?
matthewperacio said:
I tried to reinstall all my drivers ( I have no clue if downloaded everything correctly )
Click to expand...
You download drivers from motherboard manufacturer support site and
graphics card manufacturer support site (Nvidia/AMD/Intel).
matthewperacio said:
and now every one hour or so it becomes so frozen that I have to completely restart my pc.
Any troubleshooting suggestions?
Click to expand...
Start by listing full specs of your system. Include full PSU model name (printed on PSU info label).
Run memtest86 to test ram.
Diagnose your storage drives, HDTune health - for HDD, Manufacturer specific SSD tool for SSD.
Post screenshots (upload to imgur.com and post link).
 
SkyNetRising said:
And what was that?
Click to expand...
trying to have more space on ssd, so I accidentally removed something in the windows folder.
SkyNetRising said:
You download drivers from motherboard manufacturer support site and
graphics card manufacturer support site (Nvidia/AMD/Intel).
Click to expand...
I believe I've done that, but I also used applications such as driver booster to help me.
SkyNetRising said:
Start by listing full specs of your system. Include full PSU model name (printed on PSU info label).
Run memtest86 to test ram.
Diagnose your storage drives, HDTune health - for HDD, Manufacturer specific SSD tool for SSD.
Post screenshots (upload to imgur.com and post link).
Click to expand...
Current specs:
mobo: z370M gaming pro ac
cpu: i7 9700k
cpu cooler: noctua D15S
1tb WD blue hdd
240gb kingston A400 ssd
gpu: 6650xt
psu: seasonic focus plus 650W gold link to it on amazon


Health overview for ssd shows no failures or warning just a low % on wear indicator.
I cant use memtest86 right now because I have no USB drive, but I did test it using windows and nothing.

link to photos of tests of hdd and ssd
https://imgur.com/a/eu71GQ8
View: https://imgur.com/a/eu71GQ8


something that i noticed, after my last freeze, a couple of things, including my amd radeon software, crashed. after it hasnt been freezing for a bit ( haven't restarted pc )

Update: started freezing again
 
Last edited:
matthewperacio said:
So recently I had to refresh my windows....
Click to expand...
The Windows Refresh feature really isn't worth the time it takes to do it. All it does is refresh the Windows modules, it doesn't reinstall any third-party drivers. Since third-party drivers are where 90% of Windows problems lie this make Windows Refresh useless as a way to recover a flaky system. Cloud Refresh is equally useless for the same reason. The only advantage of a Windows Refresh is that it doesn't affect your installed third-party apps - which is why people try it of course.

I what you accidentally removed in the Windows folder was third-party driver or third-party app related then Windows Refresh won't help at all. In your position I would make bootable installation media via the Windows Media Creation Tool, boot that media, delete existing UEFI partitions, and clean install Windows into the unallocated space that results. You will of course have to run Windows Update repeatedly, and across reboots, until no more updates are found. Then check in Device Manager that no devices have a yellow triangle with a black exclamation mark next to them. If any do, click the 'View optional updates' link on the Windows Update page, expand the Driver Updates section and see whether there are any suitable drivers in there.

Then of course you will have to reinstall all your third-party apps and copy back any user data you backed up.
 
ubuysa said:
The Windows Refresh feature really isn't worth the time it takes to do it. All it does is refresh the Windows modules, it doesn't reinstall any third-party drivers. Since third-party drivers are where 90% of Windows problems lie this make Windows Refresh useless as a way to recover a flaky system. Cloud Refresh is equally useless for the same reason. The only advantage of a Windows Refresh is that it doesn't affect your installed third-party apps - which is why people try it of course.

I what you accidentally removed in the Windows folder was third-party driver or third-party app related then Windows Refresh won't help at all. In your position I would make bootable installation media via the Windows Media Creation Tool, boot that media, delete existing UEFI partitions, and clean install Windows into the unallocated space that results. You will of course have to run Windows Update repeatedly, and across reboots, until no more updates are found. Then check in Device Manager that no devices have a yellow triangle with a black exclamation mark next to them. If any do, click the 'View optional updates' link on the Windows Update page, expand the Driver Updates section and see whether there are any suitable drivers in there.

Then of course you will have to reinstall all your third-party apps and copy back any user data you backed up.
Click to expand...
The thing is, yesterday before messing with trying to download a ton of different drivers and softwares that would do it for me, it wasnt freezing. Only today it starting to this for some reason
 
matthewperacio said:
I believe I've done that, but I also used applications such as driver booster to help me.
Update: started freezing again
Click to expand...
Do not use driver booster.
It probably installed something inappropriate.

Download drivers only from motherboard manufacturer support site and amd support site.
When installing drivers, always start with chipset drivers.

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Last edited:
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Given the mystery nature of the things you did, the things you deleted, and the drivers you installed, I think the cleanest method is to just do a proper wipe of the OS drive and a full reinstall of Windows. And this time, no shortcuts like Driver Booster. Even if tools like this were any good -- and they're not -- you should also know what you're installing and why at all, and stuff like this gets in the way.
 
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DSzymborski said:
Given the mystery nature of the things you did, the things you deleted, and the drivers you installed, I think the cleanest method is to just do a proper wipe of the OS drive and a full reinstall of Windows. And this time, no shortcuts like Driver Booster. Even if tools like this were any good -- and they're not -- you should also know what you're installing and why at all, and stuff like this gets in the way.
Click to expand...
What would be the best way to do this without losing my files?
 
matthewperacio said:
What would be the best way to do this without losing my files?
Click to expand...
Copy those files to some other storage device.

Then...

How To - Windows 10 clean install tutorial

If you are looking for the Windows 11 Clean install tutorial, you can find that here: Windows 11 Clean install tutorial (Click here) Otherwise, welcome to the Windows 10 Clean install tutorial This tutorial is intended to help you, step by step, to perform a clean install of Windows...
forums.tomshardware.com forums.tomshardware.com
 
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USAFRet said:
Copy those files to some other storage device.

Then...

How To - Windows 10 clean install tutorial

If you are looking for the Windows 11 Clean install tutorial, you can find that here: Windows 11 Clean install tutorial (Click here) Otherwise, welcome to the Windows 10 Clean install tutorial This tutorial is intended to help you, step by step, to perform a clean install of Windows...
forums.tomshardware.com forums.tomshardware.com
Click to expand...
Am I allowed to just put everything except the windows file on to my hard drive? My hdd isnt going to format right.
 
matthewperacio said:
Am I allowed to just put everything except the windows file into my hard drive? My hdd isnt going to format right
Click to expand...
1. No idea what you mean by "everything". 'Windows' is not a single file. You're looking to save just your personal files.
Not application installs or anything else.

2. If the drive does not format correctly, you have larger problems.
 
USAFRet said:
1. No idea what you mean by "everything". 'Windows' is not a single file. You're looking to save just your personal files.
Not application installs or anything else.

2. If the drive does not format correctly, you have larger problems.
Click to expand...
No i mean, since windows is on the ssd, im only formatting it and not the hdd right
 
matthewperacio said:
Am I allowed to just put everything except the windows file into my hard drive? My hdd isnt going to format right
Click to expand...
If you want to clean install Windows, you should have ONLY ONE drive connected. Your HDD would be disconnected and not affected.

You would DELETE all partitions on that drive early in the installation process when they are shown to you.

Leaving only "unallocated space". Windows will install into that unallocated space and make the necessary partitions.

You wouldn't manually "format" anything.
 
Lafong said:
If you want to clean install Windows, you should have ONLY ONE drive connected. Your HDD would be disconnected and not affected.

You would DELETE all partitions on that drive early in the installation process when they are shown to you.

Leaving only "unallocated space". Windows will install into that unallocated space and make the necessary partitions.

You wouldn't manually "format" anything.
Click to expand...
alright, im currently transfering files to my hdd and then ill remove it from the pc
 
This would be an opportune moment to note that you should *always* have your important files backed up at all times, ideally multiple backups. If you're in a situation in which you're ever at risk from losing important files due to the loss of a drive to some reason, you have a serious data protection problem that needs to be taken care of as soon as possible. This is basic ownership stuff, like changing the oil in your car or the filter in your furnace.
 
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USAFRet said:
Copy those files to some other storage device.

Then...

How To - Windows 10 clean install tutorial

If you are looking for the Windows 11 Clean install tutorial, you can find that here: Windows 11 Clean install tutorial (Click here) Otherwise, welcome to the Windows 10 Clean install tutorial This tutorial is intended to help you, step by step, to perform a clean install of Windows...
forums.tomshardware.com forums.tomshardware.com
Click to expand...
will that step by step process also work for windows 11?
 
When you did the reinstall did you immediately re-install all your third-party apps and driver? You may have reinstalled the problem. It's best following a clean reinstall to test the system in that vanilla state before installing anything else.
 
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