[SOLVED] Seemingly random application errors with Windows 10 LTSC

Discussion in 'Windows 10' started by CrashBX, Jan 14, 2020.

  1. CrashBX

    CrashBX MDL Novice

    Jun 22, 2015
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    #1 CrashBX, Jan 14, 2020
    Last edited: Jan 16, 2020
    Hello, I've been having issues with Windows 10 LTSC for months now and I have tried everything I can to fix them. Unfortunately I ended up needing to come here and soliciting the time and knowledge from others since I just don't know where else to go. In hopes of taking the least amount of your time, I'll neatly spoiler what's the issue and below it, the solutions I attempted.

    The problem:
    What made troubleshooting the hardest is that there is no clear issue here. Installed applications randomly stop working after a restart and require reinstallation to start working again. Some applications randomly crash and the only trace they leave in the Windows Event Log is a very vague "Application Error" line which doesn't give me any specifics.

    Example: I installed Thunderbird for my e-mail and after a few days it just didn't want to open anymore. I clocked the icon and it would instantly crash leaving a single "Application Error" line in the Windows Event Log. Same thing happened with a few other applications, but in similar ways. Telegram, MPC-HC and Waterfox are all programs which have suffered similar fate.

    Some applications also install correctly, work correctly and then start to randomly crash. For example, I use VSTHost for my voice processing. Sometimes it works perfectly for hours on end, sometimes it works for 30 minutes and it just crashes without any error message or trace besides the "Application Error" thing in the log. That "Application Error" line seems to be the one thing connecting all of my issues listed here and I'd love to know if there's a better way to debug it somehow?

    My attempted fixes:
    I was running my PC with quite heavy overclock on my CPU, GPU and RAM at the time. Of course, I completely disabled all OC and reinstalled a fresh version of 10 LTSC downloaded from a torrent file posted here. Unfortunately it seems like the OC wasn't the issue since the problem persisted even after reinstallation.

    I thought it could possibly be a straight up hardware failure, so I ran Prime95 for almost an hour without fail. I also let MemTest86 run all of it's tests four times in a row, and it also passed them all without errors. The only thing I can imagine failing here is the storage, but the S.M.A.R.T. tests show up clean.

    I tried going through the Windows Event Log but it didn't give me any conclusive information on the nature of the issues as noted above.

    My PC Specs:
    CPU: AMD Ryzen 5 2600 @ 4.0GHz (OC)
    GPU: Asus GTX 1050Ti
    RAM: 16GB Corsair Vengeance LPX (DDR4 @ 3400MHz OC)
    MBO: Asus Prime B450M-A
    Storage: 250GB Samsung 970 Evo Plus + 2x 1TB HDD
    PSU: FSP Fortron Hexa+ 400W

    TL;DR of my questions
    Basically, if you can't help me with my issue specifically, I'd politely ask you to at least point me in the right direction. What's the best way to get more precise info from Application Errors and crashes? NirSoft's "AppCrashView" doesn't show anything. Also, what's the best way to test my storage components? I'm assuming there is some form of data corruption happening since things just fail at random? If you think I'm completely off, could something else be the issue? Maybe the ISO I downloaded was somehow corrupted and I should build my own from the SVF? This did happen with three different installations of Windows 10 LTSC by the way.

    Any input is appreciated. I've been trying to solve this issue for months now and I don't know where else to turn nor what to do. Thanks upfront for your time!

    EDIT: The cause has been a virus infection! Applications were crashing when the virus tried to inject itself into them! If you're having the same issue, try scanning your PC with an AV!
     
  2. Joe C

    Joe C MDL Guru

    Jan 12, 2012
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    #2 Joe C, Jan 14, 2020
    Last edited: Jan 14, 2020
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  3. John Sutherland

    John Sutherland MDL Addicted

    Oct 15, 2014
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    #4 John Sutherland, Jan 14, 2020
    Last edited: Jan 14, 2020
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  4. CrashBX

    CrashBX MDL Novice

    Jun 22, 2015
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    Hey, thank you all for taking the time to help me out here! I have addressed all of your proposed solutions in the reply below.

    I wrote that I ran Memtest86 four times without any issues. I don't know for how long it was running since I was asleep, but I'm pretty sure it was a few hours at least :)
    My friend is telling me that tests and benchmarks aren't the be-all-end-all solution to troubleshooting but I don't really have any other DDR4 modules at hand so I'm really putting my trust into Memtest86 here.
    Installing Windows on a different drive would probably be a good way to test if the Samsung drive is faulty, but I was hoping there's a tool which could repeatedly write and check bits of data from the drive. Even if swapping the drive out does solve the issue for me, I can't really file a warranty claim with no conclusive proof that the drive I'm returning faulty. Do you know of any good drive-testing software?

    I have tried both SFC and DISM ways of repairing, both usually either turn up successful like now, or they completely fail with random errors (in a similar fashion other programs do as described in the OP). In the second case, they were probably already corrupted by this weird glitch and couldn't be used at all.
    I have just updated my BIOS recently, and the B450 chipset drivers are one of the first drivers I install on a fresh Windows installation. I run no antivirus and I have a custom cooling setup with an Arctic Freezer 34 eSports fan. I couldn't run Prime95 OC'd for such a long time without it :)
    A new PSU is definitely on the way in the coming months, alongside a new GPU, but the PC didn't crash even under full load so I'm hoping the PSU is not the issue here.

    I haven't done the checksums for the first two installs that got corrupted, but I did check the one I'm currently running and it was a match, so that takes it out of the equation. Good call on the .NET 3.5 but running your command it appears I already have it installed. One of the applications I installed probably installed it alongside itself. I have also ran "DISM /Online /Cleanup-Image /RestoreHealth" on this current fresh install but it just told me that it completed the restore operation successfully without mentioning if there was any repair being done. I'm guessing it didn't find any errors then.

    So having tried all of the above, I'm left with swapping out the system disk, swapping out the PSU, or both. I'd happily do both of those since all of my parts are still under warranty, but I'm hoping there's a conclusive way to test these parts. I have tested the PSU by running Prime95 and FurMark at the same time, loading the two biggest power draws in a PC. The drive still didn't get a conclusive test so if anyone knows of a proper drive-testing utility, I'd be happy to test that out as well! Thank you all again!
     
  5. marzino

    marzino MDL Novice

    Aug 23, 2009
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    Hello CrashBX
    Take a look at
    "Victoria for Windows 5.23"
    You also can find a portable version in google
     
  6. Joe C

    Joe C MDL Guru

    Jan 12, 2012
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    Try running your pc in safe mode for a while and see how that acts. If it is a hardware issue it'll show up again but because windows uses default drivers in safe mode. If no problems show up, it could be a driver or some other software problem...Take note that you will be limited in some things that you can do in safe mode
     
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  7. CrashBX

    CrashBX MDL Novice

    Jun 22, 2015
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    Guys, I'm sorry to say that the cause of my issues has been the ID-10T error. Problem here has been between the keyboard and chair, it was just my carelessness that has lead to this. I'm sorry I had to waste your time with this, but I'll mark this thread as solved and I'll add the reason to the OP so other users can see for themselves.
    The cause of the random crashes has actually been an Expiro virus which crashed some applications upon trying to infect their binaries. Since I keep a lot of my software on other disks which don't get wiped after an OS reinstall, that's how the virus kept re-infecting my system. I don't run an AV since I scan any shady stuff with VirusTotal so I thought I'm good, but it looks like the "Common Sense 2019" antivirus wasn't good enough for me this time :D

    I once again apologize for my carelessness and stupidity. To anyone having the same issue, scan your PC for viruses since that may be the cause, at least it was in my case. Thank you @Joe C, @marzino, @John Sutherland and @noway1!
     
  8. bfoos

    bfoos MDL Guide Dog

    Jun 15, 2008
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    Well at least you discovered it and hopefully before any serious damage was done. We're all human and we all make mistakes. What differentiates us is those of us who learn from them are not doomed to repeat them. Good luck!