freezes shortly after startup

[fotobear]

Hello, everyone.

I have an older Hackintosh. Running Yosemite. It was doing very well for me for quite some time until earlier this year.

A few minutes after startup, and it crashes.

I have tried the following:

I removed all software that was set to launch on startup, including ProTec6.
I have tried launching in safe mode.
I have tried disconnecting the cables.
I have tried disabling Ethernet in BIOS.

That last option worked, and I then ran EtreCheck, and only saw that Sophos components were hanging around. (I must have removed Sophos at some point in the past.)

No other significant errors were found, but I was unable to update EtreCheck without an Internet connection. Nor can I install Sophos anew without that connection. Connecting to the Internet will freeze the whole system a few minutes after starting.

I suspect it might have been the VPN software I installed shortly before this craziness started. It was paid software (although I can't remember which right now), but I can't find any of its components among the running processes.

I'm at my wits end...

Any help will be gratefully acknowledged and acted on.

 

FYI:

Motherboard: Z97X-UD3H-BK
CPU: Intel Core i7-4790K

FY

[hansolo325]

VPN is the thing that keeps you safe while you surfing web, like mlwebtechnologies.com to cover you up. 

[Joseph_Heinrich]

I agree with @hansolo325 VPN keep safe while surfing the web. But not every VPN can do and mostly VPN can reduce internet speed. I'm using ExpressVPN which is the best and fast VPN . I will also recommend everyone to use ExpressVPN it will never compromise your internet speed and also complete keep you anonymous online privacy. 

Edited December 4, 2018 by Joseph_Heinrich