On 5/18/2018 2:14 PM, Paul wrote:
Steve wrote:
On 5/18/2018 12:28 AM, Steve wrote:
Not sure the computer will let me send this, but here goes.

About 2 weeks ago, it started. I first saw it using a little program
called Mail Washer. It started trying to log in to the mail server
over and over, multiple times a second. The "process" button wouldn't
function to let me delete the ones selected.
I quickly discovered it wasn't a mail washer problem. Firefox,
windows explorer, and Thunderbird weren't good either. In a browser,
the open tab flashes back and forth between the circle arrow(reload
page) and the X (stop). Again multiple times a second. Most web pages
eventually go white.
While this is going on, the desktop icons don't function. Double
click does nothing and right click opens up the menu that should come
up when I right click and empty spot on the desktop.
I "fixed it" once by bringing up troubleshooting. Troubleshoot
windows update, it found something and fixed it. Good for over a week.
Last night, it prompted me to install an update by restarting. It's
set to install updates automatically, so I don't see these requests
often. I shut it down overnight. Today I turned it back on. It took
maybe half an hour installing an update. I tried undoing that update
but it couldn't do it. Troubleshooting is no help this time.
Where do I start now?

Well, after I wrote all the above last night, I maximized Firefox
which had been opened the whole time, but minimized. Everything was
normal again. I checked the mail washer program and it was all normal
too. It was bed time and I decided to shut the computer off over
night. Today everything is normal so far. I feel like it's working a
little slow, but I'm not even sure.

Next time, try Task Manager and have a look at what programs
are using cycles when the behavior begins. See if all networked
applications become "jumpy" in Task Manager at the same time.

We wouldn't want Firefox to get a bad name because of this.

If you thought the angle was graphics related, you could
try disabling hardware acceleration in Firefox.

I'm having trouble imagining how one application can have
such an effect on the networking of others, but then I lack
a vivid enough imagination. I would expect spraying 127.0.0.1ortnum
randomly with packets would make lots of stuff jump. And as
a bonus, be hard to trace.

You can use Sysinternals tcpview.exe to look for network connections.
But that's only going to work, if actual connections are set up.

And Sysinternals Process Explorer (procexp.exe), when run as
Administrator, can be used to look inside SVCHOST tasks and
see what services are in an instance with a particular PID.
That's if a SVCHOST is railed or twitching.

Â*Â* Paul

Both times this happened, Checking Task Manager was the first thing I
tried. I didn't see anything wrong, though I can't rule out the
possibility that someone with more experience might have spotted
something that looked OK to me.
I really don't feel like any one program is at fault. When it happened,
everything I opened was acting up one way or another. Even Task Manager
was kind of jumpy but still usable.
All day today, the computer has continued to be completely normal.
Steve