Another BSOD when computer sleeps issue

skiahh · 16 Mar 2013

Hi experts, I'm stumped.

My Samsung R580 is a couple of years old and has, until now, worked very well. About a month ago, it started crashing/restarting when I'd wake it from sleep mode. Or it would be restarted when I did; it's possible it crashed when going into sleep mode. I think I had updated Flash player and Firefox, but even rolling those updates back didn't fix the problem.

I believe all my drivers are up to date and my BIOS is the latest available.

My battery is worn out and needs to be replaced. The battery manager says it won't take a charge any more. It runs fine when plugged in but I haven't pushed the battery life recently. Could that be the problem?

I've run a memtest with no errors, but only one pass for now. I can set it to run later to get the recommended 10 passes. I did a chkdsk with no issues.

Note: I just updated my Nvidia driver and that hasn't helped. In fact, it seems to cause it to sit and think (read: freeze with the screen off) for about 10 minutes and then offer up the blue screen before shutting down completely.

I've attached my SF Diagnostic result for your perusal and evaluation.

Thank you in advance for any help you have.

koolkat77 · 16 Mar 2013

Please remove the following software:

Code:

Start Menu\Programs\AVG PC Tuneup 2011	Public:Start Menu\Programs\AVG PC Tuneup 2011	Public
Start Menu\Programs\AVG PC Tuneup 2011\Utilities	Public:Start Menu\Programs\AVG PC Tuneup 2011\Utilities	Public

This software is a known cause of BSOD's. The windows 7 operating system does not require these registry cleaning software. They often tune-down rather than tune-up and can wreck the OS beyond repair. Microsoft have improved Windows 7 significantly and it is much better at organising and optimising itself than its predecessors. Check this, this and this thread for evidence.

If you feel the need to use a registry cleaning or optimisation software, most of us recommend the use of CCleaner - PC Optimization and Cleaning - Free Download but make sure you back up the registry before making letting ccleaner delete anything.

10 Tips on How to Properly Maintain Your Computer

Avast! contributes in BSOD's. Please remove it using its removal tool from here: Uninstallers (removal tools) for common antivirus software - ESET Knowledgebase

We recommended Microsoft Security Essentials from a strict BSOD perspective. Is most compatible & provides most stability compared to other antivirus app/Internet Security Software.

Warning

Do not start the free trial of Malware Bytes; remember to deselect that option when prompted.

Run a full scan with both (separately) once downloaded, installed and updated.

Perform a clean install of the drivers below in the following manner:

Sometimes drivers remain, not completely uninstalled. Follow this tutorial for complete removal of drivers of the particular program:

How to Clean Left Over Driver Files with Driver Sweeper

Update this driver to the version on the link below:

Code:

lmvm iaStor
start             end                 module name
fffff880`010a2000 fffff880`012aa000   iaStor   T (no symbols)           
    Loaded symbol image file: iaStor.sys
    Image path: iaStor.sys
    Image name: iaStor.sys
    Timestamp:        Sat Nov 21 05:09:41 2009 (4B0721B5)
    CheckSum:         00085D2F
    ImageSize:        00208000
    Translations:     0000.04b0 0000.04e4 0409.04b0 0409.04e4

Intel® Rapid Storage Technology (Intel® RST) RAID Driver

Code:

kd> lmvm athrx
start             end                 module name
fffff880`04ca5000 fffff880`04f57000   athrx    T (no symbols)           
    Loaded symbol image file: athrx.sys
    Image path: athrx.sys
    Image name: athrx.sys
    Timestamp:        Mon Dec 12 19:02:13 2011 (4EE5FB55)
    CheckSum:         002AF309
    ImageSize:        002B2000
    Translations:     0000.04b0 0000.04e4 0409.04b0 0409.04e4

If its wireless, match your device from here:

ATHEROS Wireless drivers for Windows

If its not a wireless, match your device from here:

ATHEROS Network drivers for Windows

Perform a System File Check to check the integrity of all protected Windows 7 :

Click on the start
Type CMD on Search
Left click and Run as Administrator
Type
Code:
```
SFC /scannow
```

Full tutorial here:

SFC /Scannow Command - System File Checker

Check your hard drive(s) for errors by running chkdsk

Number down items at start-up. Keep only your anti-virus, this also improves the time for logging into windows.

Let us know the results and further BSOD reports.

skiahh · 16 Mar 2013

Looks like it may have worked. 2 sleeps with normal wake ups now.

I'm going to give it another day of normal use before marking it solved (just to make sure the last 2 weren't flukes), but thank you koolkat!

koolkat77 · 17 Mar 2013

Good news.

Give it a week before marking as solved :)

skiahh · 17 Mar 2013

OK, so it seems that short term sleeps work, but maybe there's still a problem with long term (overnight) sleeping. I'm not sure how that's possible, since once it sleeps, it should stay until you wake it up again, but this morning, the computer had shut down.

I've attached the newest system grab to see if there's still anything amiss, because we're way beyond my abilities now!

Thank you again for your help!

koolkat77 · 17 Mar 2013

Please uninstall Zone Alarm with Revo Uninstaller's free version using Advanced Mode and delete left over registry of the software.

Code:

Start Menu\Programs\Check Point	Public:Start Menu\Programs\Check Point	Public
Start Menu\Programs\Check Point\ZoneAlarm	Public:Start Menu\Programs\Check Point\ZoneAlarm	Public

Number down items at start-up. Keep only your anti-virus, this also improves the time for logging into windows.

Check for a BIOS update..

Code:

BIOS Version/Date	Phoenix Technologies Ltd. 11JB.M044.20100622.hkk, 6/22/2010

This tutorial USB Selective Suspend - Turn On or Off may help you:

To Disable Selective Suspend:

open the control panel
go to power options (you may have to set view to small icons)
click change plan settings
in the window that opens:
click change plan settings
click change advanced power settings, expand usb and ensure usb selective suspend is disabled.

skiahh · 17 Mar 2013

I've uninstalled Zone Alarm and done the cleanup. Can I reinstall it cleanly now? I prefer it over the Windows Firewall.

Also, I can't seem to find an update to the BIOS; just a site that wants $30 for what is says is an updated BIOS. Any hints?

Update: After I removed Zone Alarm and cleaned everything up, things seemed to be going fine. So I reinstalled it and I had a hang, then a crash. So I cleaned it off my system again.

If this is what's causing the problem (all of a sudden, since it just started), is there a way to make Zone Alarm play well with Windows?

koolkat77 · 17 Mar 2013

skiahh said:

I've uninstalled Zone Alarm and done the cleanup. Can I reinstall it cleanly now? I prefer it over the Windows Firewall.

Also, I can't seem to find an update to the BIOS; just a site that wants $30 for what is says is an updated BIOS. Any hints?

Update: After I removed Zone Alarm and cleaned everything up, things seemed to be going fine. So I reinstalled it and I had a hang, then a crash. So I cleaned it off my system again.

If this is what's causing the problem (all of a sudden, since it just started), is there a way to make Zone Alarm play well with Windows?

I do not use a firewall so I'm not sure

Probably you could ask Zone Alarm about the issue. https://www.zonealarm.com/forums/forum.php?

skiahh · 18 Mar 2013

Well here's an interesting twist. Last night, the computer was working fine. Overnight, no problem. After using it for a while this morning, I closed the lid and when I came back about 20 minutes later, it had crashed.

When poking around to see if I could figure anything out, I saw the Windows Firewall had been turned on. I did not do this. Zone Alarm is gone and I left the native firewall off for the time being.

Could there be something to trying to communicate that gets in a "fight" with whatever firewall is running causing a crash? My virus and Malbytes scans both came up clean, as did the TDSSKiller.

And what would have activated the firewall? Would Security Essentials do that on its own?

koolkat77 · 18 Mar 2013

One firewall should be activated, and Windows Firewall is enabled by default. The best setting is to notify if firewall is blocking anything. Disabling firewall is not recommended in normal course.

Update the latest dumps if you want to know what exactly caused the crashes.