Trying To Diagnose Hardware Issue

[eaton2288]

Hello, I have been experiencing several issues with my PC and I am trying to figure out which component is the root cause of these issues. The issues I have been experiencing are:

Internet loss on both Ethernet and wifi - PC will randomly drop connection while browsing on chrome. Need to unplug and pug back in after 30 seconds to reconnect.

Programs opening - Sometimes I will experience an issue where programs such as steam, file explorer etc will open itself hundreds of times after I manually open it once.

Occasional hangs/stutters - Experience hangs and stutters occasionally when browsing through files, opening programs, "program not responding".

PC powers on randomly - Several times a week my PC will randomly turn itself on at any given time for no reason.

Note: I have tried reinstalling windows, updating all drivers, updating bios all without seeing difference.

Specs:
i3 4160
GTX 960 2gb
Asrock H97M Pro4
Mushkin 2x4gb ddr3-1333
ADATA 256gb ssd
EVGA 500w

Any help would be greatly appreciated.

 

[smorizio]

on the ethernet issue check windows power settings. make sure the ethernet and wifi are not set to power down. run malware and few free online virus scans make sure your pc is clean.

 

[epicsoftworks]

Internet loss and programs opening randomly sounds like malware/virus to me. If it worked before then that should be an indicator as well. First thing I would do is run a full scan. You could even go as far as running a bootable scan. That bootable scan has worked wonders for me as a last resort in similar situations.

https://support.avast.com/en-ww/article/Use-Antivirus-Rescue-Disk

Occasional hangs and stutter, however, could be a hard drive failing. You can check this by going into windows process manager and checking the disk usage. If some small program utilizes the HDD too much then that should be a red flag for an HDD failing on you.

PC powers on randomly? The first thing to check if the Wake-On-Lan option is enabled in your bios. If the first suggestion (virus/malware) are to be true than you might be part of a botnet. Your computer could be turned on remotely if the Wake-On-Lan option is enabled. Cleaning your computer with a full scan should get rid of any nasty software when using a reputable scanner.

Edit: it is not likely that the HDD would be failing as this would be an SSD. You could, however, if you want to make sure your SSD is ok; run this tool to check the state of the SSD.

http://softpedia.com/get/System/Hard-Disk-Utils/SSDlife-Free.shtml

 

[Bee_Dee_3_Dee]

have u swapped out/ tested the network cables?

For internet related hardware fallow this path:
Call ur ISP and check for internet outages.
Then start from the wall and test the cable that the cable modem connects to it. (Swap it out with another cable.)
Then test the network cable from the cable modem.
If the cable modem connects to a separate network switch/ router, then test the cable that connects it.
Then test the cable that connects to the computer's NIC.
Then test the cable modem (start by power-cycling it for a minuet. Then try 5 minuets. If there's a switch power cycle it too and even remove or swap it because they fail frequently).
Then try the NIC drivers again including older drivers and realize that any changes to network settings including drivers requires a restart. (commands such as "ipconfig" /release and /renew can save time from restarting if ur familiar with them.)


GL