Windows 10 Problem
 

After an auto update to my Windows 10 Toshiba laptop, periodically it locks up. If I wait for a while it sends information to Microsoft and reboots, or I reboot it myself. Everything I can find says future updates will fix the problem. This has been going on since last May and updates have not fixed it. My laptop works perfect with no other problems until this happens and I don't want to buy another Windows machine if this can be fixed.

I emailed a few of the computer club members, but I have not heard back from any of them as of now.

Hoping someone will know the fix for Window 10 nightmare.:ohdear:

I am working on a 6 year old Toshiba with W10 no problems to date, so is there a specific program you are using when the computer locks up, or is this random? Have you run any diagnostic tests, memory, processor, etc? Do you have security software installed on your computer, and have you run scans for viruses, etc?

I wonder if the problem may be related to the speed and/or RAM memory. I bought a cheap Windows 10 laptop a few years ago that only has 2 GB of RAM. It worked fine for a year or so, but now, it has become pretty much worthless to me. It is extremely slow and needs to be rebooted often, and doesn't appear to have a virus. I have a new super Windows 10 desktop with 16 GB of RAM, and, so far there have been no problems. Good luck.

[QUOTE=villagetinker;1705462]I am working on a 6 year old Toshiba with W10 no problems to date, so is there a specific program you are using when the computer locks up, or is this random? Have you run any diagnostic tests, memory, processor, etc? Do you have security software installed on your computer, and have you run scans for viruses, etc?[/QUOTE
Random... Plenty of RAM and storage..Yes, have run scans and diagnostic programs..
Have tried everything you mentioned..:ohdear:

If you have windows 10 restore points set you can reload a backup prior to the update. Or you may consider re-imaging the drive.

Unless you have some programmes that only run in Windows, then maybe it's time to switch to Linux Mint. I switched over a year ago and will never go back. If you're not sure about it you have two choices, 1) buy a new disk drive and install Linux on it and replace the one in your PC, 2) just create a thumb drive and test Linux with that.
I've converted over a dozen villages to Linux Mint this past year and none of them want to go back to Windows.
PM me and I can help you too.

Found this today on PC Mag.

How to Make the Switch From Windows to Linux

If you don't want to upgrade from Windows 7 or are sick of Windows 10, here's how to finally make the switch to Linux and install apps.

How to Make the Switch From Windows to Linux | News & Opinion | PCMag.com

Windows 10
 

Running Windows 10, I had problem of "Cannot access hard drive" when waking from "Sleep". Ended up restoring and reinstalling twice. I had been "Sleeping" when lid closed and, printer plugged in. I think something was able to wake it through internet or something. Read an article that "Sleep" was not good. I now use "Hibernate" and have had no problems.

Microsoft throughout its history has been a company of over-promise and under-deliver. I too suffered huge problems when the machine decided that its need to upgrade trumped my need to get work done. So, I resorted to restore points. Well, I have found restore points only work when you really do not need them. As with most Microsoft products, they are laden with add-ons which sound good in theory but rarely work in practice. So, after the update resulted in my machine becoming useless, I contacted Microsoft service. The customer service people there (as with most other large monopolies) apologized profusely but were otherwise unable to assist. Indeed, what they suggested was that I completely wipe my machine clean and reinstall Windows 10. When I asked about what would happen to my other proprietary software (or if they would compensate me for its loss), they suddenly became mum. By the way, for those of you who have used Microsoft product in the 80's (remember MS-DOS), the customer service people had the same advice: Wipe your machine clean, reinstall the operating system and the hell with your other software. While Microsoft has undoubtedly contributed to huge office efficiencies, I will always, did I say ALWAYS support the effort to break up these huge uncaring monopolies which simply don't care about the consumer.

These are some of the reasons I switched to Linux (Mint). Linux is NOT a company, it's community of people that believe in open software. Open software means that YOU own it, you can and have the right to see the source code and change it to what you want it to do. Linux does NOT track you, record where you go or what you do. It is VERY VERY VERY virus resistant, which means you do not need antivirus software. You also do not need all those programs Windows "experts" claim you need for Windows. There are thousands of programs available in Linux that can replace Windows programs (BUT, they do require a learning curve).

If you Google Linux Mint or go to YouTube and look up Joe Collins, or Chris Titus or any of the many Linux advocates, you will people that worked with Windows most of their careers, but found Linux and love it.

I was a Windows devotee for all of my career in Computer Science and Software Engineering. After retiring I got an iPad and loved it. A few years ago I purchased a Mac Book Pro. It is amazing how more stable it is and security is more solid. Noting is perfect, and the transition was a bit trying, but it was well worth it. I will never go back to Windows.

Are you familiar with the Windows "Event Viewer"? It's an app in the Control Panel that logs all manner of things going on in Windows, be them part of the "System" (operating system events), "Application" (your programs), "Security", etc. I would go into the Event Viewer under the category of "Windows Logs" and separately click on System, and after you peruse that, Application. The events are listed in date/time order, so the most recent are at the top. You'll be trying to look for events that happened right at the time of a known lockup. Look for "Error" listings and "Warning" listings. Be advised that just because you find Errors and/or Warnings, that doesn't mean they are critical issues at all. You're bound to find some in both System and Application. But you're trying to match THE TIME of these error events with the time of your lockup(s). Make sense? If there are errors right at the time of a system lock up, that may be a great pointer to figure out what's going on.

Lockups can be caused by many things, but I've found over the years that display adapter drivers can be suspect. By that, I mean the software your computer is using to create the images on your screen. Sometimes mouse/trackbar drivers are suspect. As someone else mentioned, security (anti-virus) software can cause delays by scanning something you're using or have on your drive, and causing issues.

Anyway, the fastest way to get to the Windows Event viewer is to just type (without the quotes) "Event Viewer" in the "Type here to search" box. Windows should return an Event Viewer result you can click on to open it.

On the left side of Event Viewer, you'll see a folder view of things to open/click on. You want the "Windows Logs" section, and then, again, click on Application or System. Scroll down the list to try and find the time you noticed a lock up. (Make sure you find the time BEFORE you've rebooted the laptop. In other words, if you notice a lock up / stalled system at 9:30 am and you reboot it at 9:40 am, you want to find the event logs for 9:30 am or very shortly before 9:30 am.

Finally, I've read through the posts here on this topic. Invariably you'll find anti-Microsoft posts or "Hey, switch to this operating system instead!" posts. Microsoft is far from perfect, and they have had some sloppy Windows 10 updates of late. However, people also need to keep in mind that Microsoft, as opposed to a closed system like Apple's computers, needs to work on literally uncountable combinations of hardware brands, motherboards, memory, display cards, etc., etc., etc. There are millions of possible configurations for Windows PCs. Many so-called "Windows problems" are the result of bad 3rd party drivers. In other words, a company that created a peripheral (hard drive, mouse, display adapter, etc.) may have written its own software to run it. And there may, in fact, be problems with THEIR SOFTWARE. And who gets blamed? Microsoft, of course. People just think "hey, I'm running Windows and it worked fine last week - Microsoft screwed something up!!". I'm just saying that may or may not be true. It may - and has been many times - the result of bad software that a 3rd party has written and installed for its devices. Counter that with a company like Apple that only releases its own computers and has much more control over (internally, anyway) how they run. And even with that, Apple has still had its own issues. There's no perfect operating system (and that includes your favorite distribution of Linux, too, lol).

Get PCMatic. $50 for 5 machines for a year. I have found nothing better. Virus protection. Defrags your disk, gets rid of junk file, and cleans up the registry.

I use CCleaner and Malwarebytes for free. I have been using Kaspersky for firewall and AV but once the subscription expires I'll be using the Windows security - which is actually pretty good these days, and no longer the joke they have been up until win10.

But keep in mind if the OP has an SSD card he should NOT defrag his drive. That can cause it to wear out early.

True, Linux is not perfect, but it's far safer than Windows, it's open software, it doesn't track you, it doesn't force updates on you, it's far more stable than Windows (there is a version of Linux running an elevator system for 10 years without a reboot).

IBM just spent $34 BILLION on a Linux company (Red Hat), Microsoft is including a Linux system in it's Edge browser, most the web services you use run on Linux, your car may be running a Linux system.

Chris Titus, that has all the Microsoft certificates to run his business switched to Linux Mint for his daily drive at home (he maintains a Windows system for his clients).

There is no "Linux Company", it's a collection people around the world that maintain it and promote it mostly for very little or no money at all.

You don't have to preach to me about Linux...I've been using personal computers of various operating systems - including various Linux distros - since the early 80's. I know what Linux is all about, and it (the collective "it") certainly does have its strengths. And, it does have its limitations, depending upon what you need it to do well.

But that has nothing to do with actually fixing the problem the OP is having with his laptop. And if his issue isn't actually a Windows issue but is, rather, something computer hardware related, changing an OS isn't going to help (not to mention the learning curve of using something new). And even if it is a Windows issue (or a driver issue, etc.), that's something that's fixable. That's why I offered my input. I'd tend to think that in the end, as frustrated as he seems, he'd probably rather just get his own regular system back running well. I could be wrong, but just a guess based on my experience.