Could this be malware?


Recommended Posts

yeah, at this point it looks like that hidden boot folder was not the cause of your stuttering; it was most likely coincidence and maybe a leftover from your previous install.

 

Drivers are a good thing to look at; in this case it would be your SATA chipset driver you would want to check for. I would also check if there's a newer firmware for your SSD on the manufacturer's website.

 

There are monitoring tools that could help determine the stutter cause as well but I can't think of any off hand right now; another member may be able to assist on that part if needed :)

Thanks for the help. Yeah if anyone can suggest any further actions please let me know. The best way to describe what's happening now is if I open a folder windows the whole thing then flickers for a split second then the contents shows up.

1 hour ago, devnulllore said:

Any other thoughts on this issue? Still happening after updating drivers. Still getting hitching, pauses, hiccups whatever you want to call them.

Does it happen in Safe Mode?

So it keeps happening in Safe Mode huh...

 

I think what I'd do if I had the time would be:

- Image the boot drive, just in case.

- Delete it all and install Windows anew, letting it take care of drivers.

- Check there's no device without driver, or malfunctioning in the device manager.

- Assess what happens:

 

All good? Awesome, time to install the software I use and after that if there's still no problem delete the image I made at first, no need for it anymore (extracting any data I need off it before I do).

 

Still the same? Maybe check the Applications or System event logs in the Event Viewer around the time you experienced it and see if there's something interesting. It could be a driver that is misbehaving, or some damaged hardware component; but having a clean environment would eliminate some variables.

 

By the way, you're not overclocking your machine, are you? That could be another source for that kind of instability.

17 minutes ago, aphanic said:

So it keeps happening in Safe Mode huh...

 

I think what I'd do if I had the time would be:

- Image the boot drive, just in case.

- Delete it all and install Windows anew, letting it take care of drivers.

- Check there's no device without driver, or malfunctioning in the device manager.

- Assess what happens:

 

All good? Awesome, time to install the software I use and after that if there's still no problem delete the image I made at first, no need for it anymore (extracting any data I need off it before I do).

 

Still the same? Maybe check the Applications or System event logs in the Event Viewer around the time you experienced it and see if there's something interesting. It could be a driver that is misbehaving, or some damaged hardware component; but having a clean environment would eliminate some variables.

 

By the way, you're not overclocking your machine, are you? That could be another source for that kind of instability.

Agreed. At this point, there isn’t anything left to do. If it happens on a clean install with nothing installed, it’s likely a drive issue. 

Ok. I am going to do another fresh install to see if I missed anything. Should I just go with the drivers Windows uses rather than my usual method of installing the newest one? Any other suggestions before I do this?

9 minutes ago, devnulllore said:

Ok. I am going to do another fresh install to see if I missed anything. Should I just go with the drivers Windows uses rather than my usual method of installing the newest one? Any other suggestions before I do this?

Don’t hook it up to the network at all. Test it first. 

One thing has just crossed my mind. I use Eset System Security which has never given me a problem BUT I also bought the latest Acronis Backup to make images of my drive. This version of Acronis has a built in ransomware scanner. Can this be causing the stuttering?

2 minutes ago, devnulllore said:

One thing has just crossed my mind. I use Eset System Security which has never given me a problem BUT I also bought the latest Acronis Backup to make images of my drive. This version of Acronis has a built in ransomware scanner. Can this be causing the stuttering?

1 of the first things i do if i have issues is make sure antivirus/firewall software isn't causing the issue, you could try uninstalling it temporarily and see if that fixes it, what stage are you at as 16hrs ago you said you would reinstall Windows, did you also try another cable as suggested? :) 

I have not reinstalled yet. I went and bought new SATA3 cables and replaced them all. I also checked Station Drives for the latest drivers this time. I found a few new ones for network, audio and USB but none fixed the problem. I was just trying this time to see if some software may be the issue.

4 minutes ago, devnulllore said:

I have not reinstalled yet. I went and bought new SATA3 cables and replaced them all. I also checked Station Drives for the latest drivers this time. I found a few new ones for network, audio and USB but none fixed the problem. I was just trying this time to see if some software may be the issue.

Uninstall you're antivirus and see if that fixes it is what i would do, if it doesn't then i have no clue sorry.

 

Edit.

 

Not sure if you have said but if you run it in safe mode without the antivirus what happens then?

29 minutes ago, devnulllore said:

I tried it in safe mode but still did it. I turned off the ransomware scanner in Acronis backup and it's better but not gone. Maybe it's Eset System Security?

 

Why are you holding back uninstalling Eset as it is very quick and easy to do, if that doesn't fix the issue then that is another idea crossed off the list?

 

Don't think about it just do it. :)

This topic is now closed to further replies.
  • Recently Browsing   0 members

    • No registered users viewing this page.
  • Posts

    • IBM reveals sub-1nm chip technology, production expected in another 5 years by Pradeep Viswanathan TSMC is now leading the chip manufacturing industry with its 2nm-class process node called N2. Samsung Foundry also has a 2nm-class process node called SF2. TSMC says N2 entered volume production in Q4 2025. Samsung says SF2 started mass production in 2025. Today, IBM announced the world’s first sub-1-nanometer chip technology, marking another major semiconductor research milestone. The new technology is based on a 0.7nm, or 7-angstrom, node and uses a new transistor architecture called “nanostack.” The new design vertically stacks and staggers nanosheet-based transistors so that more components can fit into the same chip area while also improving performance and power efficiency. IBM claims that this new sub-1nm chip can pack nearly 100 billion transistors onto a chip the size of a fingernail. This offers almost twice the density, up to 50 percent higher performance, or 70 percent better energy efficiency when compared to IBM's 2nm node design announced back in 2021. Also, IBM mentioned that this new architecture can deliver 40 percent SRAM scaling. It is important to consider that this announcement from IBM is a research milestone rather than a near-term process node launch. Back in 2021, IBM unveiled the world’s first 2nm chip design, claiming 50 billion transistors on a fingernail-sized chip and major performance and efficiency gains. Five years later, IBM’s 2nm technology has still not entered mainstream commercial production. That is because IBM is no longer a major commercial chip manufacturer. It sold its chip manufacturing business to GlobalFoundries years ago and has since then focused only on semiconductor research, IP development, and partnerships. To productize its 2-nm chip technology, IBM partnered with Japan’s Rapidus, but it has not resulted in anything shipping at scale. IBM says that its new sub-1nm technology can reach production as early as within the next five years. If that happens, it will likely depend on manufacturing partners, advanced EUV tooling, and years of yield improvements.
    • It's funny when thieves accuse other thieves of stealing. Ai companies just blatantly siphoned all the knowledge of the internet without consent and are now selling it with their service... so excuse me if I find this a bit ironic.
  • Recent Achievements

    • Week One Done
      Meta Plast earned a badge
      Week One Done
    • First Post
      kinowa earned a badge
      First Post
    • Rookie
      krychek57 went up a rank
      Rookie
    • Grand Master
      Jaybonaut went up a rank
      Grand Master
    • One Year In
      Philsl earned a badge
      One Year In
  • Popular Contributors

    1. 1
      +primortal
      454
    2. 2
      +Edouard
      170
    3. 3
      PsYcHoKiLLa
      135
    4. 4
      Michael Scrip
      78
    5. 5
      Xenon
      77
  • Tell a friend

    Love Neowin? Tell a friend!