Monitor flickers, then lose internet connection.

[sources]

This happens randomly, starting about a month ago. I'm on Windows 7 64bit, and every so often my monitor would flicker black just once, and once it goes back from blackness for a second, the task bar would be totally plain and white. The internet would also be disconnected with no way to go back to normal unless I restart. Half the time, the computer crashes after I restart making me use a restore point.

Does this have to do with hardware? I run diagnostics and memtest86 and half the time it says something is wrong with my RAM, then when I reinsert them, the tests say I'm ok. Then when this happen again, my ram tests faulty again. I have no idea what's going on. Any light on this situation would make me very appreciative.

Thanks.

 

[Gandalf]

Have you checked your Device Manager?
Are all the devices properly installed?

 

[welshmousepk]

windows explorer is crashing by the sounds of it.
can be a bitch to find out what is causing it. porbably easier to reinstall the OS.
hopefully im totally wrong and theres a simple fix though.

 

[donpacific2k]

It could be anything but since you're getting iffy ram tests, I'd start there (go back to default BIOS settings if you tweaked that). Try one stick at a time and see if it runs stable. Try a different stick of RAM than the ones you have in there if you can.

 

[Guest]

There's a few possibilities here.

- 1) The memory

Try removing the memory sticks and cleaning the sockets with some compressed air.
Then for the memory itself, you can lightly rub an ink eraser along the connector strip on both sides of each memory stick to clean the contacts before reinserting the memory.

- 2) With Windows Aero turning off so the taskbar and window borders turn solid instead of clear, this is usually the result of a driver or program compatibility issue.
Windows Aero can also be affected by memory issues.

Seeing as this has been happening for the past month and when you do a restart, it just crashes, forcing you to use a Restore Point, it's possible that Windows Update may be automatically trying to install an incompatible driver on your system each time.

If this is the case, then you may want to change your Windows Update settings to "check for updates, but not to install anything, check with you first." That would hopefully solve the problem of Windows Update automatically installing incompatible drivers.

-
What with the crashes, I would hope that you at the very least ran a Disk Scan to check the drive for any corruption? Just using a Restore Point won't fix any Corruption of the drive tables.

Windows Explorer - Right Click on Local Disk ( C: ) > Properties > Tools > Error-checking > Check now button, click the Start button.

It'll tell you Windows can't check the disk while it's in use Do you want to check for hard disk errors the next time you start your computer?

Select Schedule disk check button, then close everything out and restart your system (or in your case, shut down, then turn it back on).

-
The other thing I can think of would possibly be Malware of some sort.

While I may know my stuff with finding and removing various forms of Malware including RootKits and such, Remote support is not my strong point as I need to personally work on system when doing that sort of work.

So Instead, I'll just say, check your system first to eliminate the hardware issues, then check out the information I posted to someone else's thread as it may very well be useful to you if you do have any Malware or Rogue programs on your system.

Please ignore the first paragraph of this linked post

This thread has some useful configuration info for SpyBot-Search & Destroy

 

[sources]

Thanks a lot you guys. I know this isn't a software/malware problem, because I reinstalled Win7 twice now because of this and it's still happening on the third installation. I'm going to try different sets of RAM. Honestly, I really think this might be a case of too much dust. I never had my PC cleaned, I guess it's worth a try.

 

[Guest]

Well, dust could certainly do it if it builds up enough to cause heat related failure.

But after you do get the system completely cleaned up and eliminate all hardware problems, IF you are still having any problems with your system, Please have your system checked checked for any Malware related problems. Some of the newest RootKits can survive having the disk completely wiped and the operating system completely reinstalled.

Good Luck, hope it's nothing more than a case of too much dust