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Multiple PC Issues//Need Advice

S

Solnaga

n00b
Joined
Oct 3, 2011
Messages
35
Not sure if this is the right place to post this, so I apologize if it is.

My PC problems started about a month ago.
It started with my computer pausing/freezing and random translucent yellow word cursor (looks like a capital i) and an angel halo cursor (also translucent yellow). When I tried to ctrl-alt-delete to get to the task manager, the screen would go black for 5 seconds before showing up.

I decided to reformat all my drives and transfer personal files into an external. In less than a day, I rediscovered the cursors and reformatted a second time.

I still have freezing issues, connectivity issues, but have not seen the translucent cursors. During my freezing, sometimes it's temporary, other times I have to turn off the PC. Sometimes I can still move my cursor but nothing else for a few moments prior to completely freezing. When it freezes momentarily while I watch a video on a media player, the sound continues without interruption.

As for internet connectivity, I will lose connectivity for a few seconds on my PC but my laptop will have no issues. I have been using wifi but never had any issues with it prior to this experience.

I have ran a bunch of antivirus/malware programs which all found nothing (Avira, Avista, S&D, Malwarebyte, etc).

I also have had graphical issues such as Bioshock Infinite artifacting every couple of hours which had not occurred during my previous 20 hours of BI prior to reformatting, and League of Legends froze for a few seconds once midgame. I also have experienced lag in offline games that are not graphics intense.

What should I do at this point?

Is there potentially a virus in my external that moves on to my internals when I connect it? I have scanned both all my drives with the antivirus/malware programs to no avail. If there is, is there any way to salvage my files without risk of transferring the virus?

TL;DR

And ultimately, what pieces of hardware may be damaged by a virus and what pieces can I confidently salvage for another rig if necessary?

Specs off the top of my head
Asus Z68 Pro3-M Mobo
Intel i5-2500K (never OC'ed)
Galaxy GTX 560Ti
Seasonic 1000W Platinum
G.SKILL Sniper Low Voltage Series 8GB (2x4GB) DDR3 1600
500GB HDD, 2TB HDD, 1TB External HDD
Win 7 x64 Pro

Thanks for any advice.
 
Last edited:
@Danny Bui -
Asus Z68 Pro3-M Mobo
Intel i5-2500K (never OC'ed)
Galaxy GTX 560Ti
Seasonic 1000W Platinum
G.SKILL Sniper Low Voltage Series 8GB (2x4GB) DDR3 1600
500GB HDD, 2TB HDD, 1TB External HDD
Win 7 x64 Pro
 
@/usr/home - What about the internet connectivity issue though? Would RAM be able to cause such issues?
 
Not sure but I'd first look into the freezing issue as that appears to the be the bigger/main issue.
 
A defective motherboard can also cause the issues you're describing. Yes defective RAM can cause all sorts of issues.

In other words, doesn't look like a software issue at all: Sounds more like hardware. So start troubleshooting the hardware. If you don't know where to start, I highly recommend reading this sticky:
http://hardforum.com/showthread.php?t=1349426
 
@Danny Bui & /usr/home
Thank you for the tip, I never thought RAM could cause connectivity issues as well.
I'll try the sticky and run some tests when I get a chance over the weekend.
I'm curious what you might speculate would be the cause of the transparent yellow cursors that appeared even after the first reformat.
 
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