Intermittent but frequent crash coming out of standby

PDSF · 30 May 2012

Hello all,

My old Lenovo laptop has recently (2 months?) begun crashing frequently after lifting the lid, i.e. bringing it out of sleep/standby mode. I haven't installed any new software or drivers besides normal Windows updates. I sometimes get a blue screen, but more often Windows just restarts. When I do get a BSOD, it is a weird split screen, with the same information in 2 columns, with the left hand side unreadable and the right hand side barely so. It has been this way since I installed Win7 and is not necessarily related to the current problem. Sometimes the restart attempt will fail and I get either a black screen or a half-white / half-black screen, divided horizontally, and I have to manually restart again

I've attached the diagnostic files. There are no recent minidump files and System Restore shows only one available restore point from a couple of days ago (yes, I have been creating them with software installs and whenever else Windows prompts me to). I ran scandsk.exe, no errors.

The laptop is a 5 year old (?) "Vista Ready" Lenovo which originally had XP installed. I installed a retail version of Win7 HP32 about two years ago. It has been relatively trouble free until recently. The only device Win7 didn't recognize was the SoundMax integrated sound card and I had to use a Vista driver. But I doubt this is the problem as it's been working all this time. All other drivers are current and no option exists to roll back the video, wireless or sound card drivers.

Any help would be gratefully appreciated as this is really starting to impact the usability of this computer. Thanks.

writhziden · 30 May 2012

Your latest crash, albeit ancient, provided some helpful information. All of your crashes are related to network problems. The latest crash blamed networx.exe; please uninstall the offending software and post back whether it helps with your resume from standby/sleep issue.

Also, what is your primary method to connect to the internet? Ethernet or wireless?

PDSF · 30 May 2012

Thanks for the response. I removed the software (Networx is an internet bandwidth graph) and will monitor over the next few days. I only connect wirelessly to the internet.

Thanks again, PDSF

writhziden · 31 May 2012

You're welcome. I asked which method you used to connect to the internet because your Ethernet drivers are out of date. You may still want to consider updating them in case they are interfering with the wireless drivers. You should be able to find a driver update through Lenovo.

Best of luck!

PDSF · 31 May 2012

The computer crashed again just now. It's always a little different. This time it restarted on its own, but then produced a BIOS screen which said "hard drive failure". I hit the restart button and got the half-black / half-white screen, hit restart again and was able to start normally. Is my hard drive really failing? It seems to work fine the rest of the time and as noted, SCANDSK saw no errors.

I will update my Ethernet drivers but as noted, I've never used the port. I have no Lenovo software on my machine since the Win7 upgrade and update drivers directly from the component manufacturer. Thanks again for your help, it is much appreciated.

PDSF · 31 May 2012

"Windows has determined the driver software for your device is up to date" but there is an updated driver on the Realtek site.

writhziden · 31 May 2012

Windows often gives that message erroneously. You should install the updated driver through the installer for the driver update. If that does not work, keep the downloaded installer and do the following steps:

Click Start Menu
Right Click My Computer/Computer
Click Manage
Click Device Manager from the list on the left
Expand Network adapters
Right click the device
Click Uninstall (do not click OK in the dialog box that pops up after hitting Uninstall)
Put a tick in Delete driver software for this device (if this option is available, otherwise just hit OK) and hit OK
Do not restart your computer.
Install the latest driver for the device.

Alternatively:

Login as an adminstrative user.
First, download the latest driver. Then do the next steps.
Click Start Menu
Click Control Panel
Click Hardware and Sound
Click Device Manager (the last link under Devices and Printers)
Expand Network adapters
Right click the device
Click Uninstall (do not click OK in the dialog box that pops up after hitting Uninstall)
Put a tick in Delete driver software for this device (if this option is available, otherwise just hit OK) and hit OK
Do not restart your computer.
Install the latest driver for the device.

For the hard disk errors:

Run the short and long tests with SeaTools.
SeaTools for Windows

SeaTools for DOS

PDSF · 31 May 2012

Yes, I installed the new driver no problem.

I will run the SeaTools tests when I get home tonight. Thanks again.

PDSF · 31 May 2012

The HD passed both tests. Any ideas on what to try next? Thanks again.

writhziden · 31 May 2012

Check whether the hard disk is physically connected to the motherboard properly. To do so:

Shut down and turn off the computer
Remove the AC Adapter
Remove the battery
Hold down the power button for 15-30 seconds to close the circuit and drain any residual power
Remove the panel on the underside of the laptop where the hard disk is housed
Remove and re-insert the hard disk by sliding it away from the connector and then gently but firmly pressing it back into the connector (no screws should need to be removed to do this step)
Replace the panel on the underside of the laptop to cover the hard disk
Replace the battery
Replace the AC Adapter
Turn on the computer and see how it responds

Post back once these steps have been implemented whether the system is stable. Sometimes these crashes can occur due to a loose connection.