I've been running my computer very stable for the past year now. Now, however, something's gone quite wrong and I can't identify why or what's causing it.
The problem is that the computer is crashing, and it's somehow related to whether or not the Ethernet cable is plugged in.
[WITH]
Computer boots, desktop shows, things start to load, -CRASH-
(Restart)
Computer boots, desktop shows, things start to load, -CRASH-
(Restart)
-Cycle goes on-
[WITHOUT]
Computer boots, desktop shows, things start to load, -CRASH-
(Restart)
Computer boots, desktop shows, things start to load, life goes on. No crashing.
If I plug the Ethernet cable in after that, the computer will immediately crash. Following that, at the restart the computer won't POST (get past the very first BIOS screen). I have to manually shut off the computer and then enter the cycle from the beginning.
Safe mode works fine (no networking), with networking I have to remove the Ethernet cord. However when I boot into Safemode (Networking) with the Ethernet plugged in I crash and get a blue screen, which I don't get on a 'normal' boot-up.
ASUS M4a785-M Motherboard, specs in signature/profile.
I have a feeling this is a software issue rather than a hardware issue. I ran something I know I quite shouldn't have; that was my first crash. Following a virus scan, the PC was fine for a day. After my first time experiencing the above cycle I performed a system restore, attributing the anomaly to the virus. After the restore, the compute went fine for another day. Now, here I am back to square one. System restore doesn't seem to fix it anymore.
I'm leaving ESET to run a deep/thorough scan overnight and will check in the morning. I have the computer booted into 'normal' mode without the Ethernet cord plugged in, so everything is running as it would.
Thanks for any help; all is appreciated.
Steve
The problem is that the computer is crashing, and it's somehow related to whether or not the Ethernet cable is plugged in.
[WITH]
Computer boots, desktop shows, things start to load, -CRASH-
(Restart)
Computer boots, desktop shows, things start to load, -CRASH-
(Restart)
-Cycle goes on-
[WITHOUT]
Computer boots, desktop shows, things start to load, -CRASH-
(Restart)
Computer boots, desktop shows, things start to load, life goes on. No crashing.
If I plug the Ethernet cable in after that, the computer will immediately crash. Following that, at the restart the computer won't POST (get past the very first BIOS screen). I have to manually shut off the computer and then enter the cycle from the beginning.
Safe mode works fine (no networking), with networking I have to remove the Ethernet cord. However when I boot into Safemode (Networking) with the Ethernet plugged in I crash and get a blue screen, which I don't get on a 'normal' boot-up.
ASUS M4a785-M Motherboard, specs in signature/profile.
I have a feeling this is a software issue rather than a hardware issue. I ran something I know I quite shouldn't have; that was my first crash. Following a virus scan, the PC was fine for a day. After my first time experiencing the above cycle I performed a system restore, attributing the anomaly to the virus. After the restore, the compute went fine for another day. Now, here I am back to square one. System restore doesn't seem to fix it anymore.
I'm leaving ESET to run a deep/thorough scan overnight and will check in the morning. I have the computer booted into 'normal' mode without the Ethernet cord plugged in, so everything is running as it would.
Thanks for any help; all is appreciated.
Steve