Strangest Computer Behavior I've Ever Encountered

[Shel_B]

My sweetie has a three-year-old Windows 10 machine that has been behaving in a very odd manner. It runs fine after starting first time in the morning. She can access her links, her email, zoom, and play her solitaire games throughout the day. However, in the evening, after 6:00pm or so, the screen goes black when she tries to access something online, such as her email. The screen behaves normally when she accesses her solitaire games, which are not online. This has been happening every day and evening for about two weeks. Any thoughts on this behavior?

 

[methusaleh]

Any reason it could be dumping packets of data during that time? For instance, it stores things all day, then moves the files at a specific time.

 

[ZeeOSix]

Look at the "Reliability Monitor" to see if it shows any issues. You can start the Reliability Monitor by hitting the Windows Key, then type reliability monitor and it will show up and you'll be able to launch it from there.

 

[Shel_B]

Look at the "Reliability Monitor" to see if it shows any issues. You can start the Reliability Monitor by hitting the Windows Key, then type reliability monitor and it will show up and you'll be able to launch it from there.

 

[Shel_B]

Any reason it could be dumping packets of data during that time? For instance, it stores things all day, then moves the files at a specific time.

Never heard of such a thing, but are you suggesting that the computer is somehow scheduled to do something that allows it to take control of the screen?

 

[ZeeOSix]

View attachment 56354

Reliability History.

Looks like this ...

 

[Shel_B]

OK, I got it. Thanks. I'll check her machine tomorrow.

 

[JMJNet]

Have you run apps like MalwareBytes and virus scanner?

 

[bluesmokertdi]

My sweetie has a three-year-old Windows 10 machine that has been behaving in a very odd manner. It runs fine after starting first time in the morning. She can access her links, her email, zoom, and play her solitaire games throughout the day. However, in the evening, after 6:00pm or so, the screen goes black when she tries to access something online, such as her email. The screen behaves normally when she accesses her solitaire games, which are not online. This has been happening every day and evening for about two weeks. Any thoughts on this behavior?

my first thought is a video card driver issue, run windows update and select "optional updates", then install them all

the other (scary) potential is that you have a virus running a server in the background, stealing your memory and bandwith resources

open MS defender and do an off line scan

Help protect my PC with Microsoft Defender Offline - Microsoft Support

Learn how to use Microsoft Defender Offline to help remove malicious software and other potential threats.

support.microsoft.com

 

[Shel_B]

Have you run apps like MalwareBytes and virus scanner?

Yes.

 

[Leo99]

Is this a laptop or desktop machine? How long does the black screen last and how do you get out of it?

 

[Kokopelli34179]

Sounds like some sort of automatic setting is turning on around that time.

 

[Shel_B]

Is this a laptop or desktop machine? How long does the black screen last and how do you get out of it?

Desktop. Black screen last about 30-45 seconds and then it reverts to normal at which point, if we're using the browser or connected to the 'net, and the cursor is moved, the screen goes black again.

 

[Leo99]

My guess is that something is loose and it gets loose enough in the evening to cause problems and it not quite loose enough to cause problems in the morning. I'd reseat the video card if it has one and tighten up the monitor cable or reseat the HDMI plugs on the both ends. Also ensure the video card fan is working well and not full of dust. And blow out any dust in the power supply.

 

[bluesmokertdi]

Desktop. Black screen last about 30-45 seconds and then it reverts to normal at which point, if we're using the browser or connected to the 'net, and the cursor is moved, the screen goes black again.

that sounds like a classic video card driver issue, go to the search bar (far left on bottom) type in "device manager" you will see your display adapter icon, click on this to open, select the driver tab, select "update driver" and proceed with the installation, then reboot

 

[uc50ic4more]

Is the accessing of "something online" consistent? Is it the same sites or same internet-connected application that is being used when this happens?

It could be a GPU/ GPU driver issue but it could also be a system or browser codec/ GPU acceleration issue. It will never cease to amaze me what havoc a poorly-coded web site or poorly-encoded embedded or streaming media can wreak.

May I ask what browser you're using? There are so many variables at play: GPU make/ model, driver version, codecs installed, browser and version, plugins and add-ons installed, sites being used, email application (and version and plugins/ add-ons), background services running including malware/ A/V software, maybe even your ISP. My head hurts just thinking about all the possibilities.

 

[Shel_B]

Is the accessing of "something online" consistent? Is it the same sites or same internet-connected application that is being used when this happens?

It could be a GPU/ GPU driver issue but it could also be a system or browser codec/ GPU acceleration issue. It will never cease to amaze me what havoc a poorly-coded web site or poorly-encoded embedded or streaming media can wreak.

May I ask what browser you're using? There are so many variables at play: GPU make/ model, driver version, codecs installed, browser and version, plugins and add-ons installed, sites being used, email application (and version and plugins/ add-ons), background services running including malware/ A/V software, maybe even your ISP. My head hurts just thinking about all the possibilities.

AFAIK, it's consistent. At the time it happens, she's generally using only her email, or something she's accessed through her email. What puzzles me is that she uses the same email during the day, earlier in the day, and the problem doesn't occur.

She doesn't really browse the web, doesn't shop online, bank or pay bills. She just uses email (AOL) and (sometimes and rarely) follows links that are sent to her.

She's got Chrome installed as her browser.

Thanks for jumping in.

 

[MrPlow]

You will possibly get better answers by searching Google with your computer model name and number, along with words describing the issue. Do two searches: one with just the computer name and symptoms, and another search with the same terms but with "forum" added. If this is an issue that has popped up before on this model, it will likely come up in a search result, hopefully with solutions. This is the first step I always take with factory OEM machines (doesn't help much with custom machines).

Best of luck to you. Trying to solve computer issues over the internet is difficult. It can work when on a forum with other people using the same computer, but usually difficult.

I'm the designated IT guy for my family and relatives. I could spend hours on the phone and not get anything solved, and then have it figured out in 5 minutes once I am working on the machine in person. My favorite is when power supplies are going out and I can get the computer running and booting up with a hair dryer blowing hot air into the power supply fan. It's usually enough to get the machine running temporarily and verifying a bad power supply is at fault. It always blows people's minds when they see this silly trick work. LOL

 

[MrPlow]

AFAIK, it's consistent. At the time it happens, she's generally using only her email, or something she's accessed through her email. What puzzles me is that she uses the same email during the day, earlier in the day, and the problem doesn't occur.

She doesn't really browse the web, doesn't shop online, bank or pay bills. She just uses email (AOL) and (sometimes and rarely) follows links that are sent to her.

She's got Chrome installed as her browser.

Thanks for jumping in.

Won't hurt anything to try a different browser, if you can manage to get one like Firefox installed. The process of elimination is pretty powerful when hunting gremlins. I doubt that would solve anything, but an easy test to do. It could also be worthwhile to see if Edge browser works (yuck I feel dirty for saying that).

 

[Tom NJ]

This may be irrelevant, but I had trouble accessing my email last month and did some exploring.

In your AOL software, click Options/Mail Settings/Recent Activity. This should reveal a link to your recent activity. On that page, look under "Apps connected to your account, You have authorized these apps, sites and devices to access your AOL Account."

When I did this I found half a dozen apps "authorized" for my account along with their countries, including China, Russia, Iraq, Georgia, and Indonesia! Needless to say I did not authorize these apps. My email address and password were rather old and were apparently hacked. I changed the password and the problem went away.

Fortunately I did not keep an address book or other personal information on my email software as I use a third party client to access my mail.