16 replies to this topic

[jeff matthews]

Hello,

 

I just went through a clean-up over on the maleware forums with Juliet and initially i suspected infection on my machine due to the high ammounts of CPU and memory. Now the last thing we performed was a SFC scan and the scan did find curroption in my operating system. I was not able to repair all of the curropted files. Something is causing my computer to allocate to much system memory. I can have many programs running and browser links. I close all of them down but the memory still stays at a constant 90%. This can either be a software issue or a hardware issue. I really like to think its not a hardware issue. The reason i suspected at first that this was an infection is because this happened just recently after i started browsing some websites with this desktop computer. Ever since then, the machine started slowing down to a crawl, crashing with BSOD's, etc. Now that i have cleaned the machine completly, its obviously not maleware related. The only way i can remove the high ammounts of memory usage is to either log off or just reboot my machine. How ever the moment i start openingup programs and multitasking, the system gets stuck in the 90% usage of RAM again.

 

So i am looking for some assistance and advice on this matter. I have a few logs to show that may help. I am going to attach them to this post. The first one is my Event logs of the last several days where you can see all the errors that has occored. The next log will be the SFC log that can display what type of curroptions was shown in the system windows files.

 

 

 

 

Here is my previous thread: https://forums.whatt...p=889212&page=2

Attached Files

•  EventLogs.txt   623.21KB   1625 downloads
•  CBS.txt   326.55KB   306 downloads

Edited by jeff matthews, 06 August 2019 - 02:24 PM.

[PhillPower2]

Hello jeff matthews,

 

 

Download then run Speccy (free) and post the resultant url for us, details here, this will provide us with information about your computer hardware + any software that you have installed that may explain the present issue/s. 

 

To publish a Speccy profile to the Web:

1. In Speccy, click File, and then click Publish Snapshot.
2. In the Publish Snapshot dialog box, click Yes to enable Speccy to proceed.
3. Speccy publishes the profile and displays a second Publish Snapshot. You can open the URL in your default browser, copy it to the clipboard, or close the dialog box.

 

If you need to save the results as a txt file can you please edit out your Windows product key before uploading the information here.

[jeff matthews]

http://speccy.pirifo...cq2L1ucybUbjs2Y

[PhillPower2]

Couple of things of note in Speccy, one or both may or may not be the cause of the issue but both do require attention, can I first of all ask you to post the brand and model name or number of the PSU on this computer for us.

 

To Speccy.

 

We can see traces of MBAM on the computer, not sure if it is from your work with Juliet or if it is from a previous installation of the software, have you had MBAM on this computer previous to getting it checked for malware.

 

Malwarebytes Service

 

Your C: drive where Windows is installed is ok but there are problems with some of your other storage devices and/or the partitions on them, these disk errors can also be seen in the logs that you provided for Juliet over on malware, the errors are most likely being caused by the low amount of free storage space that is available on them, see canned explanation below;

 

For Windows to be able to run efficiently and to be able to update you need to have between 20 and 25% of the partition or drive available as free storage space at all times, if you don`t you risk Windows becoming corrupt or not being able to update which puts you at risk of malware attack.

 

Data only storage devices should not be allowed to get any lower than 10% of free storage space of the full capacity of the drive/partition on the drive, this also to avoid data corruption.

 

Please note that storage devices can physically fail if the amount of free storage space is allowed to drop below the required 10 or 20/25% minimum.

 

 

 

[jeff matthews]

Yeah i do have quite a few Data Storage drives, but they are only used as media drives. There is one drive i have that is a seperate partition to the C drive that is used for back-up files of previous partitions. How ever these high capacity external drives that are nearly full wouldn't be causing high system memory on my C drive right? Right now i actually have most of them unplugged as you can cross reference from the logs i posted to juliet to the log i posted here. Currently I only have 1 plugged in at this moment and its my 6TB drive, with plenty of space. I purchased this specifically so i can take some of the media off of the other drives and free up the space and i understand this will increase the performance of those drives but I don't think it would cause curroption or high memory on my C drive, especially if i don't have them plugged in. Please let me know in any case what I should do in regards to that. I can certainly free up some space to minimize curroption cause i would not want to loose all that data. But still this won't resolve my high memory system RAM problem.

 

Yes I often utilized MBAM on this machine quite frequently and even set it up to scan on a weekly bases, i can try uninstalling it if you want since i don't really need it currently. My laptop is also back and generally i use that mostly for browsing the internet so the likehood of infection is going to be dramatically reduced.

 

The PSU is a EVGA SuperNova 850W Gold standard Power supply

 

https://www.newegg.c...8-018-_-Product

Edited by jeff matthews, 11 August 2019 - 01:44 AM.

[PhillPower2]

Odd as Speccy is only showing the one USB external HDD and the others as internal devices, regardless, it is possible that you may get high memory usage if Windows tries to access data on a HDD that is low on free storage space.

 

It was a major problem last year and problems are still being reported regarding MBAM causing both high CPU and memory usage, see info here, easiest thing first, get rid of MBAM and see if things improve.

 

Please create a new system restore point first. 

 

Malwarebytes removal info here

[jeff matthews]

Well that is what I am saying, speccy should only be showing the 1 because at the time that i ran the profile system, i only had 1 plugged in. Now i have all of them plugged in. I am going to publish another speccy profile with all of my hard drives currently running. You will see the difference. 

 

 

http://speccy.pirifo...ZajHBuYYw06jyeF

 

I have used the support tool to remove all remnants of MBAM from my system. 

Edited by jeff matthews, 11 August 2019 - 02:56 AM.

[jeff matthews]

MBAM is removed completly and so far CPU is at about 10% and Memory is at around 14% and that is pretty normal for what i have running. Previously before the reboot, it was at a constant 98-99%. How ever it usually always resets to these normal levels after a reboot of the machine, before eventually increasing to high levels afterwards. So I will let it run for a bit and see if it increases.

 

Let me know if there is anything else you see now that you can see all my hard drives on the speccy profile.

 

 

Also i may decide to upgrade my RAM as well as i have 2 slots available but i want to make sure i get the correct ram that is the same speed dual channel memory as to not cause any conflicts with the system. installing RAM is sometimes difficult becaue you have to look at those paticulars and make sure everything matches up correctly. 

Edited by jeff matthews, 11 August 2019 - 03:16 AM.

[PhillPower2]

See how it goes for now, if the problem returns, the next logical stepwould be to disconnect the external HDDs, take the second internal HDD offline, boot up the computer with just the SSD online and test.

 

Missed it before but just noticed it in your new Speccy url, SafeZone scheduled Autoupdate 1490417705

 

This is an Avast browser plug in, did you know that it was on your computer.

 

Crucial Advisor tool

[jeff matthews]

 I have had the machine on the past 2 days and has not went above 25%, still that is a bit steap when im not using any encoding or doing any thing that requires high memory and CPU however I have quite a few programs running in the background. But before it was running at a constant 99% and that was obviously wrong. So i think removing MBAM may have resolved the problem for the most part. CPU is also running at below 10% which is normal, before it was up in the 60% range.

 

So your saying that the PSU could be stressed being able to accomodate all the components and specifically the few internal hard drives i have in my computer? I will check that for sure.

 

Avast is STILL ON my machine, jeesus. What does it take to get rid of that. According to my programs and features, every part of the software of avast is removed so i guess I will have to use an avast uninstaller client to remove the rest.

 

Also I think I am going to start moving data and freeing up space on my like 8 hard drives and move a bit of data of each to my 6 TB drive so every drive on the machine has at least 10-15% free space.

 

The other thing I want to ask since my machine has no firewall currently, what do you recommend that doesn't compromise the machine and utitlizes minimal CPU and memory resources but still manage to keep the viruses out.

Edited by jeff matthews, 11 August 2019 - 08:10 PM.

[PhillPower2]

I have had the machine on the past 2 days and has not went above 25%, still that is a bit steap when im not using any encoding or doing any thing that requires high memory and CPU however I have quite a few programs running in the background. But before it was running at a constant 99% and that was obviously wrong. So i think removing MBAM may have resolved the problem for the most part. CPU is also running at below 10% which is normal, before it was up in the 60% range.

 

 

Not sure what memory use you are expecting to have when you have as you say " quite a few programs running in the background."

 

Easiest option first, check the memory usage when you only have Windows running, make a note of it, open a web page again check the memory usage, make a note of it and post the info in your next reply.

 

I am a big fan of EVGA PSUs and especially the Gold efficiency rated units, nothing wrong with your PSU, the reason why we asked for the PSU information from you is because poor quality/weak brands of PSU put out unstable voltages and one of the things that this can cause is high memory use that is caused by too much juice going to the memory slots.

 

Avast like AVG and Norton years back has become a monster as it foists all sorts of unwanted junk on unsuspecting folk who may be less computer savvy.

 

If not done already, create a new system restore point then see Avast clean removal info here

 

Wise decision regarding reducing the amount of free storage space on the drives, the only problem with having so many storage devices is having a current back up of each of them, there is a lot of work involved with less important data but a particular headache with the most important data as you should have a back up of your back up and preferably stored off site somewhere, the Cloud or stored on drives that are kept locked in a safe.

 

Like yourself I have Windows 10 Pro, I have never used anything other than Windows Defender for AV protection and Windows own built in firewall, never had a security or high CPU or memory usage issue, top tip is to make sure that Windows is allowed to check for and install security updates daily or if not used daily every time that you boot the computer up.

[jeff matthews]

I think its ok, well i have pretty much nothing running and its at about 18% but im pretty sure that is just certain programs running in the background some where. I closed all applications. How ever in safe mode, i test this and the Memory is like 4% so evidently there are some things running using up memory in normal start-up mode that i can't see. Either way i may decide to upgrade my memory in any case. I think for the most part everything is running alot more smoother now. It was deffinitly the MBAM software so that was a good catch on your part. The moment i uninstalled that, my memory usage and CPU was drastically reduced.

Attached Thumbnails

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Edited by jeff matthews, 12 August 2019 - 03:52 PM.

[PhillPower2]

Windows Defender is shown to be using the most memory in your screenshot, completely normal and were you to be having any issues with Windows Defender you would have high CPU usage which you do not.

 

Regarding what is shown to be using the most memory and why, a better explanation than I could offer up copy/paste below;

 

The Antimalware Service Executable process is Windows Defender’s background service, and it always remains running in the background. It’s responsible for checking files for malware when you access them, performing background system scans to check for dangerous software, installing antivirus definition updates, and anything else a security application like Windows Defender needs to do.

 

 

The crux of it being that the more you have running on the computer the more memory any AV will need to use to make sure that what you are running is safe.

 

If you are happy that all is now well with your computer can I ask that you mark your thread as being Solved, it helps people with the same or a similar issue find a solution quicker.

[jeff matthews]

Thank you Phil for all the assistence, how ever I do have one other issue before i close this thread. As you can see from my logs, i have a Printer, the TR8520 installed on this machine. The printer how ever is not able to successfully communicate with my computer. You may even find these errors in the logs through my Event logs. My printer company which is canon says that its something blocking the software from running. I have tried to disable Windows Defender and at the moment I have no other anti-virus or firewall related software running but its still not able to locate my printer. The printer works on every device on my network accept this Desktop machine so its something specically with this desktop computer. If you can maybe help me fix this issue, that would great.

Edited by jeff matthews, 13 August 2019 - 03:58 PM.

[PhillPower2]

Going off topic so if the following does not help can I ask that you start a new thread and one of us will be happy to help you there.

 

Printer problems can often be best resolved by uninstalling and then clean installing the software and that is what I suggest you do first, with the following provisos.

 

Create a new system restore point first.

 

Uninstall all software associated with the Canon printer.

 

Shut down the computer and disconnect from the power outlet.

 

Disconnect all external storage devices.

 

Disconnect the printer.

 

Connect only the computer to the power outlet.

 

Restart the computer.

 

Install the software for the printer from the disk that shipped with the printer or download and install it from the Canon website.

 

Only connect the printers USB cable when prompted to and make sure that you connect it to a USB 2.0 port (black) and not a USB 3.0 port (blue).

 

Complete the installation, check that the Canon is the default printer in Windows 10 and then test by first off all trying to print something straight from your desktop computer itself.

 

Edit to add missed step.

Edited by PhillPower2, 14 August 2019 - 03:16 AM.