Windows 7: Spontaneous shutdown; now only works in Safe Mode

Morning!


The Specs



Fujitsu Siemens Amilo XI 2528 - all components default:
Around three/four years old
Intel Core Duo CPU T8100 @ 2.1GHz
nVidia GeForce 8600M GS Graphics Card 512MB
OEM OS: Windows Vista Home Premium - 32 bit
New OS: Windows 7 Professional 32 bit; installed roughly two weeks before crash*
Hard Drives: WDC WD25 00BEVS-2 SCSI Disk Device x2
RAM: 4GB DDR3

*Not Default

The Situation
I'd installed Windows 7 around a week before this happened: I had several tabs open in Google Chrome including Youtube and browser-based games. I got a sudden BSOD so I chose at first to just startup normally and it worked fine - phew. Around a week after that (again in Google Chrome) I had Facebook and a couple of tabs of Youtube open and my computer shut off completely - not even a BSOD. I booted up and it got to the start-up screen with the Windows 7 logo and 'Starting Windows', then it shut off again.

I tried startup repair and it failed with an error (I'll check for an error code when I get back and update). I decided to simply reinstall Windows 7 as since I installed it I only installed Google Chrome and iTunes since the install, so I wasn't bothered about losing anything. I booted with the disk and when it came to choosing a partition to install to, none showed up. I went into Safe Mode and everything works fine. Whenever I try to boot normally, though, it fails.

Additional Information
On startup, at the point in time you press F2 to enter BIOS, etc., there are several uneven jagged red lines across the screen - perhaps a graphics card issue?
Also, I used to have Linux Ubuntu installed in a secondary partition in dual-boot when I had Windows Vista. I uninstalled that many months ago, but the option for it still shows up on boot as I, embarassingly enough, don't know how to get rid of it.

Thanks in advance for any and all help!

Start by trying these free, bootable diagnostics: Initial Hardware Diagnostics
FWIW - I suspect that you have a failing hard drive - so the hard drive diagnostic is (IMO) the most important test.

Thanks for your reply!
Unfortunately I don't have a blank disk right now and won't be able to get one until the weekend. I'll get back to you on that one.
I do, however, have my Windows_NT6_BSOD_jcgriff2 folder. Unfortunately, the Perfmon /Report failed, and said

"Error:
An error occured while attempting to generate the report.
The system cannot find the path specified".

I'm running my computer in safe mode as we speak, and my data is accessible.

If the hard drive is failing, you may have limited time left to backup your data.
That should be the number one priority at this point (IMO)

Don't forget to test ALL hard drives (both internal and external)

All of the following shouldn't be done until:
- you backup your stuff
- you've run the hard drive diagnostic (and the hard drive passed) - if it fails, there's no sense in fixing it because you'll have to replace the hard drive anyway.

There are 2 problem devices listed in MSINFO32:
The Consumer IR device drivers should be available at the system manufacturer's website.

The Security Loader device is usually present when there's been an infection - or an incompletely removed infection/damage to the OS. I mention this because infections can mimic the symptoms of a hard drive failure.

Well, I still haven't been able to get my hands on a blank disk, but I got my hands on a hard drive from somebody from work. I just spent like three hours trying to replace the hard drive by myself for the first time, and managed it. I booted up and it still has the same issue - going to a black screen after the 'starting Windows 7' screen. I put the original hard drive back in and I'm now in safe mode again.

Tell us how you installed the OS on the other hard drive.
If it was already installed when you put it in - was it initially installed on the same system?

Well when I originally got my laptop, it had Windows Vista Home Premium 32 bit pre-installed. I've went back to factory defaults a few times over the years, then recently (around two-three weeks ago) upgraded to Windows 7 Professional 32 bit with a clean install. I would simply reset to factory defaults as I only have Google Chrome, Java, iTunes and my music on my laptop which I'm not bothered about losing as I have it backed up on an SD card in my phone anyway. The option for factory defaults is no longer there, though, probably due to the clean install.

I'm currently an 18 year old apprentice on a work placement in a school as an Administrator/IT Support, as the school's administrator is a contractor who comes in once a week on the Wednesday. When he came in I ran the problem by him and informed him of these posts on this forum, so he gave me a SATA laptop hard drive which was originally used in the school. It had Windows XP installed on it, but on startup it flashed a blue screen for a milisecond or so after the 'Starting Windows' screen and turned off. It looped that until I manually had to turn it off by the button.

Sorry about my lack of information is posts; this is the first IT forum I've joined.
Also, thanks for your continued help.

Not a problem - we're here to help.
Since you're learning, I'm going to include a lot more detail in my posts so that you can understand why I make the suggestions that I do.

Putting an XP hard drive into a system that it wasn't installed on will usually result in a BSOD.
XP doesn't have the features to recognize and install any newly required drivers. Things get better with Vista and Windows 7 - but they're still not 100% perfect.

Did you install Windows 7 on the contractors hard drive while it was in the laptop? If not, would the contractor mind if you installed your copy of Windows 7 onto his hard drive in your laptop (it'll wipe out the XP installation)? FYI - you can also do a Repair Install of XP (if the contractor OK's it) using the instructions here: http://www.michaelstevenstech.com/XPrepairinstall.htm

If you are running Windows 7 on the contractor's hard drive:
- have you visited Windows Update and gotten all available updates (to include hardware drivers and other optional updates)?
- have you checked in Device Manager to ensure that there are no unknown/uninstalled devices?

What I'm trying to figure out here is if the system was setup/installed with enough updated drivers for us to figure out if it's hardware or software. A spare hard drive that you can install Windows on is a great tool to figure this out without having to wipe out your current installation (the one on the other hard drive).

Hardware black screens aren't as common as software black screens - so we'll have to be sure before suggesting replacing the laptop!
***************************************************************
I've spent weeks at work troubleshooting black screen errors without success. We now just try System Restore - and if it doesn't work we call up the customer and tell them we've got to wipe the system and reinstall Windows.

If you can get back into Windows the first thing is to set a System Restore point (so you can get back in again). The Windows Installer doesn't work in Safe Mode, so you'll need to be in normal mode for the last 2 steps.
The next thing is to backup all your stuff - in case you can't get back into Windows again!
The next thing is to update all drivers with the most recent versions available from the device manufacturer (NOT the PC manufacturer)
The next thing is to get ALL available Windows Updates - to include the optional updates.

If you can't get into Windows, try System Restore (from Startup Repair) to see if you can find a way back into Windows. If you do, start with the stuff above.
If not, then the procedure is:
- make sure you have your recovery disks
- backup your stuff
- wipe the hard drive (I use KillDisk, but DBAN works just as well - both are free with a Google search).
- Clean install Windows in order to test it (instructions here: Canned Speeches )

Good luck!
Post back with any questions that you may have.

Aha! I downloaded the HDD drivers onto a USB stick, inserted the Windows 7 DVD and reinstalled Windows 7. When it came up to the part where it was unable to detect the hard drives I went into load drivers and selected the drivers from the USB stick to load the hard drive. I then chose a partition and performed a clean install - appears to be working... for now.

Thanks a lot for your help, I genuinely appreciate it. +Rep