Unseen BSOD after shut down, PC doesn't power down

iron2000 · 12 Nov 2011

The problem:
PC doesn't power down, the fans continue to spin after the monitor blacks out after "Shutting down.." screen. But sometimes it does power down, but I have to wait a while (1-2 minutes I think). It used to shutdown and power down quickly before this happened in the past though.
Anyway if it doesn't power down I press (no need to hold) the power button and it goes off.
I didn't know a BSOD is there (as the monitor is out) until I turn on the PC the next day and got a "Windows has recoverd from an unexpected shutdown" dialog talking about a Bluescreen.

Discovery of problem:
About a month ago, my PC suddenly restart on shutdown. After getting that a few times I unchecked "Automatically restart" in System Properties->Startup and Recovery. Then it became as described above (the fans continue spinning and PC doesn't power down probably due to an unseen BSOD).

Trying to fix it:
Using the program Nirsoft BlueScreenView, it seem like the display drivers are involved. So having the latest drivers(285.62) at that time, I reverted to older versions to see if the BSOD still occur. Tried two versions backwards and the problem still occurs.
Also tried re-sitting the graphics card but to no avail.

Other than this problem the PC works normally, I can play games, surf and manage files as per normal. Though my DVD-RW drive is pretty much dead already as it can't seem to read discs now. Another thing, I have a TV card running on unsigned drivers but it has been working since my first installation of Win 7 so I don't think its a problem.

Please help me, thanks in advance.

About system:
- Windows 7 Professional SP1 x64
- Originally XP SP3 but reformat and installed 7
- Win 7 is a MSDNAA copy
- Age of system is 5 years(except ASUS GFX card bought last Nov and a TP-LINK network card bought last month)
- Installation age about 9 months, reinstalled early this year as 'systeminfo | find /i "install date"' tells me

FredeGail · 13 Nov 2011

Hello iron200 and welcome.

Looks like you're having some trouble with your Graphic Driver. Try this (if possible).

1) Make your way to Nvidia - Drivers and get the one for yours

2) Uninstall the one you currently have and all the extensions (PhysX, etc)

3) Download Driver Sweeper

4) Get to safe mode (without network) and search for Driver Sweeper in your Start

5) Select all Nvidia components and analyse them

6) Clean them, head into Windows

Tip

To avoid Windows from downloading the driver it recommend, go into Windows without internet. Either plug your LAN cable out, or if you're on wireless, turn it off for just a moment until you got the new one

When you're in Windows, find the driver you downloaded on the first step. It might be in your /downloads - Install it

Carry on.
Frederik

iron2000 · 14 Nov 2011

Thanks Freferik.

I tried your steps but the problem persists.
By the way, I have been using Driver Sweeper during my driver installs.

After going back to the latest driver, I shut down the pc 3 times (from Sunday night to Monday night).
The first 2 times are good but the 3rd time last night the problem showed up again.

Checked the latest dump in BlueScreenView, theres a difference in the drivers listed:

Code:

ntoskrnl.exe	ntoskrnl.exe+786cf	fffff800`02e02000	fffff800`033eb000	0x005e9000	0x4e02aaa3	23/06/2011 10:53:23 AM	Microsoft® Windows® Operating System	NT Kernel & System	6.1.7601.17640 (win7sp1_gdr.110622-1506)	Microsoft Corporation	C:\Windows\system32\ntoskrnl.exe	
nvlddmkm.sys	nvlddmkm.sys+127739	fffff880`100ee000	fffff880`10d65000	0x00c77000	0x4e99233b	15/10/2011 2:07:55 PM						
Wdf01000.sys	Wdf01000.sys+81250	fffff880`00e00000	fffff880`00ea4000	0x000a4000	0x4a5bc19f	14/07/2009 7:22:07 AM

For this BSOD ntoskrnl.exe 'replaced' dxgmms1.sys.

FredeGail · 15 Nov 2011

iron2000 said:

Thanks Freferik.

I tried your steps but the problem persists.
By the way, I have been using Driver Sweeper during my driver installs.

After going back to the latest driver, I shut down the pc 3 times (from Sunday night to Monday night).
The first 2 times are good but the 3rd time last night the problem showed up again.

Checked the latest dump in BlueScreenView, theres a difference in the drivers listed:

Code:

ntoskrnl.exe	ntoskrnl.exe+786cf	fffff800`02e02000	fffff800`033eb000	0x005e9000	0x4e02aaa3	23/06/2011 10:53:23 AM	Microsoft® Windows® Operating System	NT Kernel & System	6.1.7601.17640 (win7sp1_gdr.110622-1506)	Microsoft Corporation	C:\Windows\system32\ntoskrnl.exe	
nvlddmkm.sys	nvlddmkm.sys+127739	fffff880`100ee000	fffff880`10d65000	0x00c77000	0x4e99233b	15/10/2011 2:07:55 PM						
Wdf01000.sys	Wdf01000.sys+81250	fffff880`00e00000	fffff880`00ea4000	0x000a4000	0x4a5bc19f	14/07/2009 7:22:07 AM

For this BSOD ntoskrnl.exe 'replaced' dxgmms1.sys.

Could you please upload the dump? :)

Fred.

iron2000 · 15 Nov 2011

Here's the dump.

Anyway I just did 2 more shut downs today and they both went well.
I guess I'll monitor the situation for a longer time.

zigzag3143 · 15 Nov 2011

iron2000 said:

Thanks Freferik.

I tried your steps but the problem persists.
By the way, I have been using Driver Sweeper during my driver installs.

After going back to the latest driver, I shut down the pc 3 times (from Sunday night to Monday night).
The first 2 times are good but the 3rd time last night the problem showed up again.

Checked the latest dump in BlueScreenView, theres a difference in the drivers listed:

Code:

ntoskrnl.exe    ntoskrnl.exe+786cf    fffff800`02e02000    fffff800`033eb000    0x005e9000    0x4e02aaa3    23/06/2011 10:53:23 AM    Microsoft® Windows® Operating System    NT Kernel & System    6.1.7601.17640 (win7sp1_gdr.110622-1506)    Microsoft Corporation    C:\Windows\system32\ntoskrnl.exe    
nvlddmkm.sys    nvlddmkm.sys+127739    fffff880`100ee000    fffff880`10d65000    0x00c77000    0x4e99233b    15/10/2011 2:07:55 PM                        
Wdf01000.sys    Wdf01000.sys+81250    fffff880`00e00000    fffff880`00ea4000    0x000a4000    0x4a5bc19f    14/07/2009 7:22:07 AM

For this BSOD ntoskrnl.exe 'replaced' dxgmms1.sys.

Just to save you some time I am butting in. Please follow Freddie Gails instructions.

Your most recent was blamed on a memory exception caused by your video driver.

Blue Screen view is pretty useless in situations like this because it often incorrectly blames OS files like ntoskrnl.exe

Since memory and a driver is suspect I would run both memtest and driver verifier

Please run these two tests to verify your memory and find which driver is causing the problem.

1-Memtest.

*Download a copy of Memtest86 and burn the ISO to a CD using Iso Recorder or another ISO burning program. Memtest86+ - Advanced Memory Diagnostic Tool

*Boot from the CD, and leave it running for at least 5 or 6 passes.

Just remember, any time Memtest reports errors, it can be either bad RAM or a bad motherboard slot.

Test the sticks individually, and if you find a good one, test it in all slots.

Any errors are indicative of a memory problem.

If a known good stick fails in a motherboard slot it is probably the slot.

RAM - Test with Memtest86+

2-Driver verifier

I'd suggest that you first backup your data and then make sure you've got access to another computer so you can contact us if problems arise. Then make a System Restore point (so you can restore the system using the Vista/Win7 Startup Repair feature).

In Windows 7 you can make a Startup Repair disk by going to Start....All Programs...Maintenance...Create a System Repair Disc - with Windows Vista you'll have to use your installation disk or the "Repair your computer" option at the top of the Safe Mode menu .

Then, here's the procedure:
- Go to Start and type in "verifier" (without the quotes) and press Enter
- Select "Create custom settings (for code developers)" and click "Next"
- Select "Select individual settings from a full list" and click "Next"
- Select everything EXCEPT FOR "Low Resource Simulation" and click "Next"
- Select "Select driver names from a list" and click "Next"
Then select all drivers NOT provided by Microsoft and click "Next"
- Select "Finish" on the next page.

Reboot the system and wait for it to crash to the Blue Screen. Continue to use your system normally, and if you know what causes the crash, do that repeatedly. The objective here is to get the system to crash because Driver Verifier is stressing the drivers out. If it doesn't crash for you, then let it run for at least 36 hours of continuous operation (an estimate on my part).

If you can't get into Windows because it crashes too soon, try it in Safe Mode.
If you can't get into Safe Mode, try using System Restore from your installation DVD to set the system back to the previous restore point that you created.

Driver Verifier - Enable and Disable

iron2000 · 25 Nov 2011

Ok, finally went on to do a Memtest overnight yesterday.
Ran till the 8th pass with no errors.

Will try out the Driver Verifier at a later time.

So far 3 instances of the problem occurred within this date and my last post.
So far the PC has been running well, its just the shutdown where the problem occurs.