BSOD upon every Windows boot

RickZarber · 26 Mar 2011

Nope, nothing showing up on either of those. (8 clean passes on MemTest86, 4 passes on SeaTools.)

Jonathan_King · 26 Mar 2011

I am a real person, and I will be the first to admit I don't know everything. I try not to be like support technicians for companies like Dell and your ISP, who follow rigid procedures dictated by the higher-ups. All that to say, change of tactic! :)

Create a Linux live CD, and boot to that. I recommend Ubuntu because it I have a bit of experience with it, and it seems simple enough newcomers to it shouldn't have a problem getting around.

Here is the link to Ubuntu; instructions are included: Download | Ubuntu

Boot to the disc, and select "Try Ubuntu without any changes to my computer". Once it's all loaded, find the equivalent of C:\Windows\Minidump, and copy all the .dmp files out to a USB drive. Zip them up, and attach them here.

RickZarber · 05 Apr 2011

Okay, I've finally had some free time to fiddle with this again. (I got both very sick and very busy for a while there.)

I did everything you advised--got Ubuntu running from the CD just fine--but I hit an unexpected roadblock: my Minidump folder is empty! O.o

Anything else I might try while I've access to my files and folders?

I really appreciate your help and patience. It is keeping me sane.

Jonathan_King · 06 Apr 2011

You might use Ubuntu as a tool to backup your data to an external hard drive; then perform a "clean all" and reinstall.

Disk - Clean and Clean All with Diskpart Command

RickZarber · 06 Apr 2011

The only reason I haven't done that yet is that I have several programs (such as Photoshop) installed where I'm on my final activation, and if I format and reinstall, I won't be able to use them afterwards. Obviously, if it comes down to a choice between those programs and having a usable computer at all, the latter will win, but if there's any way to avoid the choice, I'd like to try.

I don't suppose you know if there's any way to uninstall programs from Windows while in Ubuntu?

Jonathan_King · 08 Apr 2011

I'm back, apologies for the delay; I've been busy!

Do you have another hard drive, at least as big as your current one, with nothing on it? If so, start by doing a sector for sector clone of the hard drive with CloneZilla: Clonezilla - About

That's your backup drive; you can boot from that drive, or clone it back to the other of need be. Confirm it's a good backup, then go ahead with this fairly risky procedure:

Boot from the install DVD, and start installing right on top of your current installation. Do not format, delete, or otherwise modify any partitions; just start the installation. Wait for about 5 or 10 seconds, and then unplug the computer. Timing is important here.

The idea is that the installer will start writing over the boot files first, and then you unplug it before it starts on your data.

I have tried this once before on a virtual machine; I deleted the boot folder and then restored it again using this method, with great success. I have recommended this procedure only once before, but I can't remember the results.

Bear in mind the risks; make sure you keep that backup handy in case anything goes wrong!

RickZarber · 10 Apr 2011

Hmm. Thanks, but I don't think I trust myself (or my luck) to pull that off correctly. Also, don't have a spare drive at the moment.

A friend offered me the use of his Adobe activation codes, so I think I'm just gonna try a Clean All on this baby, now that I'm sure I've got everything backed up. I'll pop in one last time once everything's re-installed and set the thread as "problem solved" or what-have-you.

In the meantime, my most sincere gratitude for all of your time and assistance. It's a shame we couldn't lick the problem, but having the opportunity to back up everything (especially stuff like fonts and web bookmarks) was a massive help. I probably never would have thought to boot from an Ubuntu disk. So thanks again! And best wishes,

RZ

Jonathan_King · 11 Apr 2011

Well I genuinely hope that works out well for you Rick. I'm glad we could be of some help at least, even if we didn't complete our goals.

RickZarber · 13 Apr 2011

Everything seems to have gone smoothly. Going through and reinstalling everything now...

Thanks again!

DaAdm1n · 15 Aug 2014

Just had same Bugcheck 7e issue on windows 7 enterprise workstation BSOD, I ran startup repair, no joy there, however I was able to run system recovery and all is working again! I know this is an old thread, but I thought a bit of good news would be nice! Thanks for the post, it gave me somewhere to start!