Windows 7: Windows has recovered from an unexpected shut down

nigelmercier · 31 May 2012

My PC turns on at 6AM to get updates etc. Waking it up a couple of hours later I often find "Windows has recovered from an unexpected shut down". I've never actually seen the BSOD.

I'm fairly obsessive about getting the latest updates and drivers.

Files attached as per this notice, plus report from WhoCrashed.

Windows 7 Professional x64
Retail Upgrade - upgraded from itself!
Age of system: varies, mostly <18 months
Age of install: Windows folder created 14 ‎July ‎2009

zigzag3143 · 31 May 2012

These 50 are virtually identical. All were related to a critical process being terminated. In this case wininit.

From the uptimes I am assuming you put it to sleep instead of rebooting and that may be part of the problem.

lets start with a system file check to verify (and hopefully repair) the system files.

SFC /SCANNOW Command - System File Checker

How to use the System File Checker tool to troubleshoot missing or corrupted system files on Windows Vista or on Windows 7

You have several old/problematic drivers that will eventually need updating or removing. Your webcam driver is from 2006 for example.

I would also reboot once a day until the situation is resolved.

nigelmercier · 01 Jun 2012

Thank you, I will try SFC and update this thread...
[EDIT]
C:\Windows\system32>sfc /scannow
Beginning system scan. This process will take some time.
Beginning verification phase of system scan.
Verification 100% complete.
Windows Resource Protection did not find any integrity violations.

The webcam is one of the few peripherals that I need to download a driver for to get rid of the ! in Device Manager. Guess who makes it? Clue: they are based in Redmond!

writhziden · 01 Jun 2012

Alright, SFC checked out. Your crashes primarily indicate hard disk problems. This could mean hard disk corruption, bad sectors, a failing hard disk, Windows files or registry corruption, viruses, or memory problems.

If you are overclocking any hardware, please stop.
Run Disk Check with both boxes checked for all HDDs and with Automatically fix file system errors checked for all SSDs. Post back your logs for the checks after finding them using Check Disk (chkdsk) - Read Event Viewer Log (you may need to search for wininit instead of chkdsk).
For any drives that do not give the message:
Windows has checked the file system and found no problems
run disk check again as above. In other words, if it says:
Windows has made corrections to the file system
after running the disk check, run the disk check again.
Run the short and long tests with SeaTools for HDDs.
SeaTools for Windows

SeaTools for DOS
If you have an SSD, make sure the following are up to date:
- SSD firmware
- BIOS Version
- Chipset Drivers
- Hard disk controller drivers/SATA drivers
- If you have a Marvell IDE ATA/ATAPI device, uninstall it in device manager and see if the system performs better.
Download and install Malwarebytes, update it, do not start the free trial, and then run a full scan. Also run a full scan with your antivirus software installed on your system. If you do not have antivirus software installed, see the Good and Free system security combination. for better security steps and scanning tools. Make sure to update the security software before running the full scan.
Run the boot version of Memtest86+ paying close attention to Parts 2 and 3 of the tutorial. Also, in case Memtest86+ misses anything and comes up with no errors, run the extended version of the Windows Memory Diagnostics Tool for at least five passes. These you may want to run overnight since they take a long time to complete (run them an hour before bed each of the next two nights and check before going to sleep that they are still running).

Warning

Before you proceed with the following, answer these two questions: Are you still under warranty? Does your warranty allow you to open up the machine to check hardware? If you are unsure of the answers to these questions, contact your system manufacturer. WARNING: The steps that follow can void your warranty!!!

For Part 3: If You Have Errors: If you swap any memory components, follow these steps for ESD safety:
1. Shut down and turn off your computer.
2. Unplug all power supplies to the computer (AC Power then battery for laptops, AC power for desktops)
3. Hold down the power button for 30 seconds to close the circuit and ensure all power drains from components.
4. Make sure you are grounded by using proper grounding techniques, i.e. work on an anti-static workbench, anti-static desk, or an anti-static pad. Hold something metallic while touching it to the anti-static surface, or use an anti-static wristband to attach to the anti-static material while working. If you do not have an anti-static workbench, desk, or pad, you can use your computer tower/case by finding a metal hold in it, such as a drive bay.
Once these steps have been followed, it is safe to remove and replace components within your computer.

nigelmercier · 03 Jun 2012

Disk Check: passed no errors
SeaTools passed short, failed long*
Western Digital Data LifeGuard Diagnostics (it's a WD500GB drive) failed short, long running now!

So, it looks like the drive is faulty. This is my system drive, so I need to clone it. I've got Acronis True Image Home 2011, and an identical drive that I bought to build a RAID but didn't get round to it; I guess this is my best bet. The old drive is in warranty, which is nice.

*Each time SeaTools ran, I got an error message: "stxcon.exe has stopped working", but then the program seemed to run OK.

writhziden · 04 Jun 2012

You may want to run the DOS SeaTools version to confirm. There have been instances where program conflicts caused SeaTools to fail the long test in Windows. Since you are getting the error message, I recommend a run in DOS to be sure.

nigelmercier · 05 Jun 2012

It failed the Western Digital Data LifeGuard Diagnostics, so that's good enough to get a new drive. I'm not running on the cloned drive, so will see how it goes. Thanks to you both for your help.

writhziden · 05 Jun 2012

No problem. That does look pretty definitive. Nice work! When you are sure you found the solution, feel free to mark the thread solved. You're welcome to wait until after you replace the drive.

Windows 7: Windows has recovered from an unexpected shut down

Windows has recovered from an unexpected shut down problems?