Need a computer expert... (Hoax, you around?)

[Matt]

Starting to get a BSOD consistently on my home computer. Wondering if my hard drive is on the way out... (i've been backing up my data just in case). Today, i got it again and when i started the computer back up it never "started"; nothing came up on screen, the moniter wasn't even sent power like it should have been. So i killed the power, waited and started it again and it's running normal again.

Does this error make any sense to you?

https://theultimatejeep.com/notfound.png

[hoaxci5]

Since it says system service I'd guess it's just a software glitch. Any new software? or hardware with drivers installed recently? (or updated)

Does it boot in safe mode? (f8 during startup and you should get a menu prompting startup in safemode (with or without networking doesn't really matter)
If it does it just points to more of a software problem.. then it's hunting it down.

You might also try disconnecting any USB devices that are connected and see if that makes any difference.

A quick search makes it sound like it's a video driver, but thats from all the nerdy overclocking sites, so unless there was a driver update that you installed I wouldn't start there..

[Matt]

The computer actually starts normally without safe mode... just that one time today it seemed like the hard drive was spinning but nothing was happening.

No new software recently other than the normal windows updates. Only USB devices connected are the mouse, keyboard, printer.

.... actually, only software that I have recently installed is Google Chrome, but I got the BSOD a once or twice prior to that.

[Matt]

Also, something wierd i've noticed is that the computer will come out of sleep mode by itself once in a while... first time it happened i thought maybe the house shook or something and my trackball mouse triggered it to wake up. But it's "waken up" without any input since then. Is there a way to see what software is causing it to wake up? Maybe that's part of the problem.

[hoaxci5]

Control Panel, Administrative Tools, Event Viewer

Then windows logs, system, inside of there look for errors, that might give some more info, there should be an error generated right before the blue screen. Post up that info or a screen shot or whatever.

[hoaxci5]

wake up issue info
http://www.cravingtech.com/fix-windows-vista7-sleep-mode-from-waking-up-by-itself.html

[Matt]

The following boot-start or system-start driver(s) failed to load:
i8042prt

That looks familiar....

[Matt]

I just did a filter for all errors and that one I posted is pretty common... there were also some like this (or a variation of .Net Framework issues), but i think a windows update might have fixed it..


A timeout was reached (30000 milliseconds) while waiting for the Microsoft .NET Framework NGEN v4.0.30319_X64 service to connect.

[Matt]

wake up issue info
http://www.cravingtech.com/fix-windows-vista7-sleep-mode-from-waking-up-by-itself.html

that'll probably do it lol ;)

[hoaxci5]

Just keep an eye on it, as soon as it blue screens reboot and check the log the last one should be the error that caused it.

[Matt]

Just keep an eye on it, as soon as it blue screens reboot and check the log the last one should be the error that caused it.

The i8042prt error was the last one before the BSOD today. There aren't any other errors for today except for my "unexpected shutdown"

[hoaxci5]

That sounds like it was an error at startup though?

[hoaxci5]

If you want some piece of mind on the hard drive you can test it with http://www.seagate.com/www/en-us/support/downloads/seatools it doesn't matter if it's a seagate hard drive or not, run the quick tests and if it passes those then run a long test. The long will take a couple hours though, I'd try not to use the computer while it is testing.

[Matt]

That sounds like it was an error at startup though?

There aren't any other errors listed for today that could have cause my BSOD, its just that one and the unexpected shutdown error.

[hoaxci5]

No other details listed in the unexpected shutdown?

[Matt]

The previous system shutdown at 4:38:22 PM on 1/13/2012 was unexpected.

1084

[Matt]

And here's the i8042 error details

1085

[hoaxci5]

I got nothin.

[Matt]

I got nothin.

https://theultimatejeep.com/images/imported/2011/07/rotfl-1.gif that's the post I used to add to your rep points!

Thanks for your help man. I'll keep an eye out for any changes/updates that may help troubleshoot it. If it starts happening more often (which it seems to be) I may just do wipe of the hard drive to start fresh; though I haven't really noticed much improvement from doing that in the past on other computers...

And i'll test out the hard drive via that link when the kids go to bed so my son doesn't go mess with the keyboard while its doing its thing.

[Sal-XK]

That sounds like a virus to me bro. All your stuff is backed so reset the computer to factory bro. Almost all the newer computers like 2007 and newer have all the software baried in the partition. Just need to figure out the hot key for your brand and wipe and restore it back to the day you first turned it on. Lots of updating after you so that but solves all software and virus issues obviously doesnt fix hardware issues.

[Matt]

ive got a pretty good virus protection setup and this computer is pretty low risk... never open up forwarded emails (even though my father-in-law sends a million chain emails a day), dont download music or anything else from any sharing software, and the only websites i frequent are forums or online stores; actually, most of my browsing is really done on my phone or laptop (which im posting from now). So i doubt its a virus.

But yeah, if i dont figure it out and it gets more consistent i'll just wipe it clean and start fresh.

[hoaxci5]

Viruses have to REALLY bad to require a format to fix it. Also a virus isn't generally intermittent.

My analogy for format reloading (wiping drive and re installing windows) is like amputation. Ah we'll just skip trying to fix it, and cut it off. :p When I was actively doing computer repair for a living I came across maybe 5 machines that I couldn't fix without formatting. Not to say that formatting wouldn't have been quicker, but it's a challenge to "actually" repair the problem instead of amputating.

[Matt]

I hear that. One of the reasons i'd consider formatting is just because this computer really isn't full of software and a bunch of stuff that would be "lost" by formatting. I have all of my files backed up, so i'd just need to reinstall Chrome and Office and be rockin-n-rollin again. There's a few other odds & ends (dropbox, aimersoft, etc), but they're no big deal.

I would like to make sure its not a hardware issue first. So i'll continue to troubleshoot when it happens again and go from there.

[Sal-XK]

Viruses have to REALLY bad to require a format to fix it. Also a virus isn't generally intermittent.

My analogy for format reloading (wiping drive and re installing windows) is like amputation. Ah we'll just skip trying to fix it, and cut it off. :p When I was actively doing computer repair for a living I came across maybe 5 machines that I couldn't fix without formatting. Not to say that formatting wouldn't have been quicker, but it's a challenge to "actually" repair the problem instead of amputating.

I dont view whipping a virus out as a challenge. So in instead of spending like 10hrs fixing it I'd rather hit those two little keys and be done in 1hr and have a clean brand new system when I'm done.

[hoaxci5]

Yea the problem I had with that was clients never have their data backed up. So then I have to ask all the questions about what they have and what they need and what they don't need. Blah blah, it was more headache then it was worth in most cases for me.

On my personal systems it depends sometime I just say F it and wipe it, sometimes I'm going to beat it.

[Matt]

sometimes I'm going to beat it.

:eek:

edit: disclaimer- im drinking vodka... i think the "beer balls" phenomena exists on forums as well when you're drinking https://theultimatejeep.com/notfound.png

[Sal-XK]

:eek: hahahahaaha

If its a backed up system I don't hesitate just F that or ALT what ever and wipe that sucker out.

[hoaxci5]

Just hit o-beer-thirty on the west coast.. so I'll join you..

Totally depends on the backup, and the software people are using. You have to remember I was doing this for people who were paying someone to come to their house and fix it and leave. They were paying a premium price, and expected not to be inconvienced, it should be working exactly how they had it before whatever problem occurred before they called me.

[Matt]

Yeah man, its a completely difference scenario when someones paying you to fix it... lol someone doesn't want to pay a premium price to have you format their hard drive. I can see that conversation right now "are you f'in serious? i could've done that!!!" hahaha

[Sal-XK]

Ok I've been drinking LOL and yes I've seen that error before as well. But I'm trying to drink enough to forget name I can't remember where I've seen that error before LOL. Have you put the windows disk back in and do a repair or a CHKDISK all the basic stuff yet.

[superacerc]

When looking up that error i found that it has to do with the PS/2 drivers (those little purple and green half round plugs that your mouse and keyboard go in for older style mouse and keyboards. If you are still using these types of plugs on the mouse and keyboard try swiitching them both to USB types and then diabiling the PS/2 ports through Device manager if you are still getting the error. Otherwise it could be malware.

A few other things that have plagued me in the past are:

I've had a Motherboard go out on me that was BSODing me at random. Then it became more and more frequent. Finally it wouldn't last 5 minutes after I turned it on. the Laptop was only about 1 year old. This may not be the problem though due to the type of error you've received. I've actually had window's update's that weren't compatible with certain bits of newer hardware on my PC. It would work just fine till windows update hit and loaded new drivers etc.... then it would start to crash at random and i'd have to rollback using the restore point feature. Everything would work fine and I'd just uncheck some of the updates that seemed to correspond to the BSOD.

I bought a newer video card last year that was an nvidia but it was so new it wasn't supported very well by it's drivers. I actually took it back and swapped it out for a radeon that had been around a bit longer and everything was kosher after that.

Another thing that can cause them is conflicts in Antivirus software. If you have more than one or two types of programs that don't interact well they can cause fatal errors. After having issues with some different ones I bought windows live one care which now is called Microsoft security essentials. It's a free download so you never have to buy antivirus for your PC again cause microsoft is handing out their own. I figure that that has to be the most windows friendly since it's made by the same company right?..... I've never had issues since I switched to it.

Sometimes new RAM memory screws up and starts causing the errors. I've had new RAM that didn't work from the start and old RAM that went bad on me after a lot of hard use.

There's a few of my experiences with some BSOD's. Don't know if any will apply but those are some options.

I build my computers for gaming and upgrade them at random so I get lot's of BSOD's and the only one I could never find a real repair or remedy for was the bogus motherboard. Hope you figure it out, keep us updated.

[Matt]

Both my mouse and keyboard are USB based so maybe i'll try disabling my PS/2 ports to see if that helps.

My AVS has worked great for years. Actually, i got it at a time when it was the #1 recommended software for Vista because there were issues with Norton and a few other programs not interfacing very well with the OS.

[Sal-XK]

Ya know that pic of the BSOD is the first post for me on my screen and I've jumped twice now viewing this thread and the funny thing I'm on a IPad LOL

[Matt]

Ya know that pic of the BSOD is the first post for me on my screen and I've jumped twice now viewing this thread and the funny thing I'm on a IPad LOL

LMAO

Dude, i have a "BSOD Screen Saver".... i freaked my dad out because i installed it on his computer and then just distracted him for long enough for the screen saver to come on..... he almost crapped himself (he owns his own business and it was his work computer). I couldn't play along and just started cracking up... it took him about 30 seconds to figure out why i was laughing and then about 10 seconds to kick the crap out of me

[Sal-XK]

LMAO

Dude, i have a "BSOD Screen Saver".... i freaked my dad out because i installed it on his computer and then just distracted him for long enough for the screen saver to come on..... he almost crapped himself (he owns his own business and it was his work computer). I couldn't play along and just started cracking up... it took him about 30 seconds to figure out why i was laughing and then about 10 seconds to kick the crap out of me

Ok three times now hahaha seriously though I jumped twice like what hell man LOL

[Matt]

Well it may be dead....

Just got the BSOD of death when at the instant i tried to post. Figured OK, ill start it back up and get the error code. Started it back up and as soon as i touched the mouse to go to the start menu BAMMM, BSOD again. I took a picture of it (attached).

Then it wouldn't start up.. I tried twice and the hard drive spun but that's about it.

Now (because of the error message on the BSOD) I disconnected by BT USB mouse and it seems to be starting up.

.... im wondering if a recent windows update has issues with my Logitech bluetooth mouse...

https://theultimatejeep.com/notfound.png

[Matt]

Got to the errors via the keyboard only and both errors are just the "unexpected shutdown" error.

Going to plug in the mouse to see if it gives me the BSOD again... if it does, i'll shut it down and worry about it Monday after wheeling. Will have to see if Logitech drivers were updated recently... but i gotta finish getting packed for RC.

[Sal-XK]

It should of created a restore point at the windows update unless you turned that off. Or go to remove programs you can remove the last windows update. Or up date the mouse driver or revert to the previous mouse driver.

[Matt]

there have been a few updates since i've gotten my first BSOD. So i'll probably do some research first online to see if anyone else has identified an issue with this mouse and the OS and then troubleshoot from there. I dont want to start reverting back and changing things without having a bit more data backing up the "mouse" issue... if it is an issue with the Logitech drivers, someone else out there must have the same problem.

[Sal-XK]

Ya I would start be researching the mouse driver.

[WanderingTs]

Another possible cheap fix I have used - check you cooling fans! I got the BSOD on mine because one of the internal fans wasn't running quite as fast as it used to. They do need periodic cleaning if they are in a dirty environment (under a desk, dusty, pet hair, etc). Every so often, the part of the mother board that slow fan was cooling would overheat and safety shutdown.

Had the exact same thing on my TIVO once. Was a $5.00 hardware fix that saved me from a complete failure by catching it before there was any permanent damage.

[Matt]

Found this today: http://support.microsoft.com/kb/967776

I'll try that first..

[Matt]

Ok its dead...

https://theultimatejeep.com/notfound.png

https://theultimatejeep.com/notfound.png

https://theultimatejeep.com/notfound.png

https://theultimatejeep.com/notfound.png

then....

https://theultimatejeep.com/notfound.png




.... my wife has an IT friend so we're going to have him take a look

[superacerc]

Sounds like it may be the mother board fritzing out. Everything tied to the board seems wacky. The IRQL not less than equal etc... has showed up when I've had bad RAM plus youve got the memory management issue. Sounds like somethings going on the board for it to have issues in multiple places. Seems just too random to have all those issues at once. The board is related to all. Then again it may not be. Good Luck.

[Matt]

That's along the lines of what I was thinking.... hardware failure of either the mother board or hard drive. But actually diagnosing this is over my head... so we'll see.

[hoaxci5]

Check the motherboard for distended capacitors.

[superacerc]

I'd mostly rule out the hard drive. It shouldn't be causing these issues.

[Matt]

Probably wont get to tear into it until this weekend. ... next two nights I wont be home till 11pm, Thursday ill be playing catch-up, Friday hopefully fixing differential after work, Saturday going to flyers/devils game, Sunday homework.... lol a busy week.