Does anyone know what triggers this problem? (Windows 8.1)

I Bleed Duke Blue · Feb 14, 2017

Don't think I've ever had this problem before, but of course after finally seeming to fix my internet now my desktop wants to be potentially difficult.

So basically, I figured it was long past due to give my computers a thorough scanning. I downloaded the newest version of MalwareBytes as that's usually my first go to. However, while running a full scan, it slowed my computer to a crawl. Webpages wouldn't load, then I closed everything and I couldn't open any applications. Then I went to close MalwareBytes, couldn't. Went to alt control delete, screen goes completely black - but I can move the cursor. Didn't really spend much time on the black screen. Probably should have tried every button and replugging in the hdmi cord, but it was late and I was tired.

So I forcefully turned it off as I didn't see any other option. Next boot up was noticeably slower than it normally is. For an excruciating like 15 seconds before the welcome screen I had a black screen (immediately fearing that this problem had just become really bad). But every Windows 8.1 bootup, at least on my system, has a brief period of a black screen (usually 1-2 seconds) before it gets to the start up screen and then to the desktop.

Anyway, I haven't once gotten the black screen since (happened Saturday night). I ran a MalwareBytes scan a second time and had no problems this time (and nothing was detected). I have since deleted it from my desktop as I usually prefer it not to hog any memory or hijack my other AV programs.

For all the technologically savvy people on Sythe, do I have anything to worry about? It seems pretty convincing that this error was caused by MB itself. Though it was strange because MB has never done this to me on this or any other system. So it made me worry that something else was jacked up (hardware going haywire is always a fear of mine).

Now, I scoured google for a bit. The only threads I really found described MB causing a black screen, but not during a scan. In the cases I found online, and there were a lot, MB would find malware and after removing it and restarting the PC, the user would get a black screen with a cursor like I did. However, I attribute that to malware attaching itself to files that are absolutely necessary for the computer / OS to run properly and MB deleting these files when it deletes the malware. In my case, I got the black screen just one time, during a scan, after trying to ALT CTRL DELETE to close the program because it was seemingly bogging down my system (let it be known the second time I ran it, no such problem occurred).

Honestly I'm probably making a mountain out of a molehill and there's little to worry about, but if anyone knows the actual technical reasons for a black screen, I'd love to hear them. I have never in my days of computers gotten a black screen like this. Blue screens of death, sure (but not on this PC).

Now I do think (correct me if I'm wrong), that MB runs in Kernel Mode, and any files being corrupted in the operating system that run in KM can cause crashes. So did MB just mess up? Or do you suspect actual hardware failure here?

Finally, I should note that my event log shows no errors. The RUN CMD prompt came up on my reboot after the crash, but it came up and disappeared immediately. That has NEVER happened before so it felt like it was trying to tell me something was not right. But every boot up since (I tested it a few times) has been flawless like it usually is. The only error in my log was from my forced shutdown of the system (logged as an unexpected shutdown).

I just know that the saying in the technological world is something akin to "if you cannot reproduce a problem, you cannot find a fix" or something along those lines. Obviously I attempted to reproduce the problem by creating the same conditions as the first crash, but it didn't crash the second time under similar parameters.

I should note that the computer had not been fully shut off in a few weeks, only put on sleep mode, which may have exacerbated the problem. Sometimes a reset/restart is all you need.

Thought this would be a good place to ask though as I got excellent advice on my internet troubleshooting thread.

Tl;dr: MalwareBytes or something else caused my screen to go black. Cursor was available but button combinations such as ALT CTRL DEL did nothing. Did not try any other button combos, nor did I unplug / replug in my HDMI. I kind of panicked and forced a shutdown to see if it was going to be able to boot properly. Booted a little sluggishly but did manage to get back to desktop like nothing ever happened. No errors in event log aside from unexpected shutdown (me forcefully powering it off). Second scan under similar conditions yielded zero problems. Scan went through without a hitch and came back clean. Other AV programs also came back clean, so I don't suspect malware of being at fault here.

Conclusion: I attribute this to a one off problem between Kernel Mode files / Malware Bytes conflicting, resulting in a crash. If not MB, could be my graphics drivers, I have had problems getting my AMD drivers to update without errors recently. If I could get someone who knows what actually CAUSES a computer to go Black Screen, I could probably better understand what happened.

Edit: Update: It's just really annoying that all of the problems online seem to deal with it AFTER a login. I'm looking for an actual black screen CRASH, not a login problem. My search so far has proved fruitless, though I've seen plenty of posts about MB crashing computers, so I'm pretty confident that is what did the crashing.

Edit 2: Running a SFC scan in CMD. (System File Checker)

Edit 3: SFC found errors, fixed em. Drivers were faulty. Everything should be good now.