BSOD - HP EliteBook 8540w - Windows 7 Ultimate x64

esseemme · Jul 7, 2012

Hello,

I have a freshly installed Windows 7 Ultimate x64 on my HP EliteBook 8540w laptop that is causing a huge amount of BSODs. I installed the OS personally only a couple of days ago using a retail Windows 7 DVD and downloading the very latest drivers from the HP site.

This laptop model (HP EliteBook 8540w) has a well known history of having an unstable Windows 7 video driver and in fact also my previous installation was unstable but previously I only experienced crashes that the OS managed without any BSOD ever occuring while now I'm having continuous BSODs.

It seems that a recent (automatic) installation of DirectX drivers caused constant BSODs during OS startup and I had to restore a previous stable version of the installation to be able to log back into the OS.

I have a couple of minidumps I'm attaching here.

Thx
Stefano

writhziden · Jul 7, 2012

Software Concerns:

Microsoft Security Essentials is nearly a year out of date. Please install the most up to date version: Microsoft Security Essentials - Free Antivirus for Windows

Analysis:

BugCheck 0x116

One crash was DirectX/graphics card related. DirectX comes installed with Windows, so this may indicate Windows corruption. It may also be that you have corrupted drivers or a graphics card hardware problem.

If you are overclocking any hardware, please stop.
Check Windows for corruption. Run http://www.sevenforums.com/tutorials/1538-sfc-scannow-command-system-file-checker.html up to three times to fix all errors with a restart in between each. Post back if it continues to show errors after a fourth run or if the first run comes back with no integrity violations. Use OPTION THREE of http://www.sevenforums.com/tutorials/1538-sfc-scannow-command-system-file-checker.html to provide us with the sfcdetails.txt file if errors occur.

Follow the steps for Diagnosing basic problems with DirectX. To re-install your display card drivers as outlined in the DirectX link, use the following steps.

Download the drivers you want for your display card(s)
Click Start Menu
Click Control Panel
Click Uninstall a program
For NVIDIA:
- Uninstall the NVIDIA Graphics Driver (this should uninstall all NVIDIA software and drivers)
- Restart your computer
- Make sure NVIDIA 3D Vision Driver, NVIDIA 3D Vision Video Player, NVIDIA HD Audio Driver, and NVIDIA PhysX System Software are not still listed under Uninstall a program through Control Panel
- If any remain of the above, uninstall one at a time
- If asked to restart after uninstalling any of the above, do so, and continue uninstalling any remaining NVIDIA items until all are removed
Restart your computer after uninstalling drivers for all display cards
Install the driver you selected for the display cards once Windows starts

Remember to try multiple versions of the graphics drivers, download them fresh, and install the freshly downloaded drivers.

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. :warn:WARNING: The steps that follow can void your warranty!!!

The one display/graphics card/DirectX crash was a 0x116 Video TDR Error crash:

H2SO4 said:

These are all stop 0x116 VIDEO_TDR_FAILURE conditions.

It's not a true crash, in the sense that the bluescreen was initiated only because the combination of video driver and video hardware was being unresponsive, and not because of any synchronous processing exception.

Since Vista, the "Timeout Detection and Recovery" (TDR) components of the OS video subsystem have been capable of doing some truly impressive things to try to recover from issues which would have caused earlier OSs like XP to crash. As a last resort, the TDR subsystem sends the video driver a "please restart yourself now!" command and waits a few seconds. If there's no response, the OS concludes that the video driver/hardware combo has truly collapsed in a heap, and it fires off that stop 0x116 BSOD.

If playing with video driver versions hasn't helped, make sure the box is not overheating. Try removing a side panel and aiming a big mains fan straight at the motherboard and GPU. Run it like that for a few hours or days - long enough to ascertain whether cooler temperatures make a difference. If so, it might be as simple as dust buildup and subsequently inadequate cooling.

Click to expand...

The above quote was taken from http://www.sevenforums.com/crashes-debugging/25912-bsod.html#post280172, which is linked to in usasma's thread about this error. Closely follow the first three posts of usasma's thread outlining http://www.sevenforums.com/crash-lo...op-0x116-video_tdr_error-troubleshooting.html and proceed through each step. Let us know if you need further help.

BugCheck 0x124

You have a 0x124 hardware bugcheck. If the system is still under warranty, I would recommend sending it in to have diagnostic tests done and any bad hardware replaced.

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. :warn:WARNING: The steps that follow can void your warranty!!!

For your hardware stop 0x124 crash, read through http://www.sevenforums.com/crash-lockup-debug-how/35349-stop-0x124-what-means-what-try.html and use the following hardware checks to supplement that link.

If you are overclocking any hardware, please stop.
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, make sure the drivers are up to date from the Intel site or Marvell site and not from your motherboard/vendor support site.
Run all but the advanced tests with SeaTools for HDDs.
SeaTools for Windows

SeaTools for DOS
Monitor temperatures during the following tests.

Use the following programs to monitor the temperatures.
- Real Temp is a good CPU temperature monitor.
- Speccy - System Information - Free Download will monitor all hardware temperatures.
- HWiNFO, HWiNFO32 & HWiNFO64 - Hardware Information and Analysis Tools can be inaccurate for CPU temperatures, but is a good program for GPU temperature monitoring.
- Use FurMark: VGA Stress Test, Graphics Card and GPU Stability Test, Burn-in Test, OpenGL Benchmark and GPU Temperature | oZone3D.Net to test the graphics card GPU. Let it run until the GPU temperatures even out or until the GPU temperatures reach a dangerous level (you can find the max temperature for your card on either the nVidia or AMD sites; if you are not sure, ask us). The goal is to get a steady temperature, find out if the GPU is overheating, or to see if there are any artifacts present in the test itself: look for strange pixelated patterns on the screen or colors that do not look like they belong. Then use the |MG| Video Memory Stress Test 1.7.116 Download to test your graphics card memory. Let the memory test run for at least seven passes; the more the better.
- Run http://www.sevenforums.com/tutorials/100352-hardware-stress-test-prime95.html to determine any hardware problems. Run all three tests for a few hours each. If you get errors, stop the test and post back here.
- Follow the steps for doing CPU stress test using IntelBurnTest
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).

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.

Remember to read closely through http://www.sevenforums.com/crash-lockup-debug-how/35349-stop-0x124-what-means-what-try.html for the crash.

BSOD - HP EliteBook 8540w - Windows 7 Ultimate x64

esseemme

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writhziden

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