Solved Windows crashes on startup only when powering on system

[MelancholyRose]

I tried posting this in BSODs and crash debugging, but I just got ignored. I became annoyed, since this is a SERIOUS problem that's been persisting for more than a month. I've provided as many possible details about the machine as I can, and I've listed all of my tests and diagnostics. Please read the whole post.


Specs:
Mobo: Asus M4A89TD Pro USB3
RAM: G. Skill Ripjaws x2 2GB
CPU: AMD Phenom II Black x4
PSU: Corsair HX 650W
HDD: Western Digital Caviar Blue 500gb SATA 6.0 x2
GPU: Sapphire Radeon ATI HD 5770 PCIe
Case: Cooler Master CM690II Advanced

I've built two computers in the recent past, one for myself and one for my boyfriend. I've noticed that when shutting down my boyfriend's machine, and powering it back on, Windows will crash to a BSOD or get stuck on a black screen. The suspicious thing is, this will ONLY happen when shutting down and powering back on. If the system is simply restarted, Windows will start up every single time without a crash. Restarts don't cause problems, only powering on.

Strangely, his computer will not record the BSODs that occur when they happen at the startup logo. This means that I cannot post the analyzed BSODs here with BlueScreenView or any other program, so PLEASE DON'T ASK ME TO. They do not show up on any BSOD reader. The crashes DO NOT appear in the minidump folder. Please DO NOT ask me to supply the minidump folder.

I have run a Memtest on each individual stick, each with 6 passes with zero errors.

I wrote down the most recent errors that popped up when his computer crashed on starting up, since I can't look at his blue screens otherwise. The first said SYSTEM_SERVICE_EXCEPTION, BCC was 3B.

The second crash didn't give an error name/message, it just gave a STOP error ending in 7F and the related file was ahcix64.sys, which I have seen multiple times on various BSODs on his system, as well as my own.

Another recent one was DRIVER_IRQL_NOT_LESS_OR_EQUAL with Stop error D1.

ntoskrnl is also a file I see frequently during BSODs.


Each time the system is reset after powering it on, it gets farther and farther in the startup process until eventually it will give in and start up without a crash. Once Windows is up, it is, strangely, stable. Games will run perfectly without errors. Programs will function normally. Performance is exceptional, and the computer is very fast. It will run perfectly for weeks without a single crash, hangup, or problem.

I have not done a startup repair yet. The main reason for that is, his hard drives are set up in RAID 0. I'm afraid that it may damage the array somehow. If I get reassurance that it won't, I might try to fix it.

All of his drivers are up to date. All of his programs are up to date. His Directx is fully functioning with no errors. His Windows 7 is fully updated. Everything else seems to be A-Okay, except for the startup problem.


I also scanned his PC for viruses and he doesn't have a single one.
This problem was happening long before I had installed anti-virus software on his machine. Anti-virus software is not the culprit.

I've also cleared his CMOS.

I've already done a SFC Scan and no corrupt files were found. I can't run a chkdsk because he has RAID 0.

I have cleared all of his temporary files.

I have defragmented his disks.

Knowing I've taken all of these measures... please don't ask me to repeat them. I've done everything I can. I've downloaded every tool I could to help. I have no answers.

A most recent development has me thinking it could be a hardware problem. When touching the front/top USB ports on the case, the display crashes to a black screen. The rear USB ports don't cause this to happen, only the top/front ones. The USB ports are directly next to the power and reset switches.

I can provide System Info and Event Logs as needed, if some of you want to actually help, or even can help if your knowledge is applicable.
I know this is a lot of information, but people on forums like these tend to get annoyed when not enough information is given. Ironically, when posting long messages like these, I rarely get a response despite how detailed and informative they are. I realize not being able to use BlueScreenView or WhoCrashed to solve a problem makes it harder to troubleshoot, but I know it's not impossible. If you CAN help, I beseech your guidance.

 

[zigzag3143]

First check to see if logging is enabled in usercp



To ensure minidumps are enabled:

Go to Start, in the Search Box type: sysdm.cpl, press Enter.
Under the Advanced tab, click on the Startup and Recovery Settings... button.
Ensure that Automatically restart is unchecked.
Under the Write Debugging Information header select Small memory dump (256 kB) in the dropdown box (the 256kb varies).
Ensure that the Small Dump Directory is listed as %systemroot%\Minidump.
OK your way out.
Reboot if changes have been made.


Second the file (ahcix64.sys) is his RAID controller driver. It should be updated as a first step.

How To Find Drivers:

- search Google for the name of the driver
- compare the Google results with what's installed on your system to figure out which device/program it belongs to
- visit the web site of the manufacturer of the hardware/program to get the latest drivers (DON'T use Windows Update or the Update driver function of Device Manager).
- if there are difficulties in locating them, post back with questions and someone will try and help you locate the appropriate program.

- - The most common drivers are listed on this page: Driver Reference http://www.carrona.org/dvrref.html
- - Driver manufacturer links are on this page: http://www.carrona.org/drvrdown.html


If it is generating BucChecks' you can force a log but update the driver first.

 

[essenbe]

Also as far as the front ports shorting out, if the case is a Cooler Master it is a common problem caused by static electricity. According to reports, CM is not real responsive, but will replace the front pannel if still in warranty, if "they have the parts in stock".

 

[MelancholyRose]

First check to see if logging is enabled in usercp



To ensure minidumps are enabled:

Go to Start, in the Search Box type: sysdm.cpl, press Enter.
Under the Advanced tab, click on the Startup and Recovery Settings... button.
Ensure that Automatically restart is unchecked.
Under the Write Debugging Information header select Small memory dump (256 kB) in the dropdown box (the 256kb varies).
Ensure that the Small Dump Directory is listed as %systemroot%\Minidump.
OK your way out.
Reboot if changes have been made.

Minidumps are enabled. He has minidumps from problems over a month ago. After that the BSODs only happened when logging into Windows after powering on, and during all of those, it wouldn't record them to the minidump folder. The computer doesn't even act like they happened. It doesn't even give an error message of any kind when logging into Windows.

Second the file (ahcix64.sys) is his RAID controller driver. It should be updated as a first step.

How To Find Drivers:

- search Google for the name of the driver
- compare the Google results with what's installed on your system to figure out which device/program it belongs to
- visit the web site of the manufacturer of the hardware/program to get the latest drivers (DON'T use Windows Update or the Update driver function of Device Manager).
- if there are difficulties in locating them, post back with questions and someone will try and help you locate the appropriate program.

- - The most common drivers are listed on this page: Driver Reference Driver Reference
- - Driver manufacturer links are on this page: Drivers and Downloads


If it is generating BucChecks' you can force a log but update the driver first.

I'll try to update that driver this weekend as well as several other things that I have to try on his machine. Thanks for the response and help.

 

[MelancholyRose]

Also as far as the front ports shorting out, if the case is a Cooler Master it is a common problem caused by static electricity. According to reports, CM is not real responsive, but will replace the front pannel if still in warranty, if "they have the parts in stock".

Will the problem persist if I can't get help from them? And would it help if the computer is moved to a new area where static is infrequent? What is a good way to prevent that from happening?

 

[essenbe]

As far as I am aware, moving the computer will not help. Some people have claimed success in different ways. Try for a new front panel from CM first. Some have solved the problem by disconnecting the restart button. A consensus seem to think the problem is the location of front panel wires and a CD/DVD player in the first(top) bay. Some claim by moving the CD/DVD to the second bay resolves the problem. Try touching the rear panel before touching the front panel, see if that helps. The only serious issue is that if caused by static electricity, other components and motherboard could be damaged.

EDIT: I don't own one and have never had the issue. I have wanted a HAF X case so rave read numerous reviews on them and other CM cases. It seems to affect only a few people, but is a known issue for CM front panel connections. Consensus seems to be that with a CD/DVD player in the top slot, the front panel wires short out by touching it. Others have blamed it on adding a second top fan which comes in very close proximity to the front panel wires on some models.

 

[MelancholyRose]

The DVD-rom is in the top slot, as well. We don't have additional top fans in the cases, only the ones included, so that shouldn't be an issue. I may have to go into his machine later and make all kinds of adjustments. There could be something seriously wrong that I'm doing or that I've done to it. I'll have to double check the wiring and such as well. I'm thinking that maybe all of these problems are linked.

This is from someone on another forum checking my event viewer:

Here are some farly recent events in the Event logs:
Kernel-PnP -The driver \Driver\amdkmdap failed to load for the device PCI\VEN_1002&DEV_68B8&SUBSYS_1482174B&REV_00\4&30701afe&0&0010.
Kernel-Power - BugcheckCode 59 (converts to 3B - SYSTEM_SERVICE_EXCEPTION)
Display - Display driver amdkmdap stopped responding and has successfully recovered.
These events may indicate a problem with the display adapter driver(s), display adapter, or other hardware issue.
Are you able to swap out the present display adapter to rule out a problem with the adapter itself?
There also appears to be a problem with USB such as the following error from msinfo32:
Fault bucket X64_0x1e_0_usbohci!OHCI_CheckController+1a
This may also indicate a hardware problem, possibly a motherboard issue.

That doesn't look good at all.

If I can't seem to understand what I might have done wrong, I may try to take some pictures of my connections and wiring to maybe get some help and advice with that in case I connected something incorrectly.

My own motherboard recently shorted out and I have to RMA it back. I'm wondering if the same thing happened to my case and board with the USB ports. My DVD drive was in the first slot as well and I had everything connected identically. I do remember on a few occasions the screen going black when plugging in a device in the top/front of the case, like headphones and USB drives.

 

[essenbe]

The problem reported by the other site seems to be the display adaptor. I don't know what card or display you are running. I suggest going to the site and installing the display driver directly from there. AMD or Nvidia usually have more up to date drivers than the manuf. site. The USB problem may be the front panel issue and not the MB. Before RMA try disconnecting the restart switch from the front panel and moving the CD/DVD. That's much easier than an RMA and may solve the problem. If the problem is in fact the front panel, a MB rma won't help.

 

[MelancholyRose]

All right, I'll try to find time to re-install everything today and see if I can fix the problem in the case first. If the problem persists I guess I may still have to RMA but I will still keep the changes I made to the case when I get a new Mobo.

 

[essenbe]

Good Idea

 

[MelancholyRose]

Unfortunately, the changes didn't affect my motherboard, it's still completely unresponsive. My case speaker won't even make any noise. I'll still have to RMA my board, but I'll try to make the same changes to my boyfriend's machine and hopefully that will prevent his motherboard from suffering the identical fate.

 

[essenbe]

Sorry to hear that. I guess you have run tests to check all of the other omponents.

 

[MelancholyRose]

I've tested all of the rest of the hardware in my own machine, if that's what you mean. All of them work fine in his machine, so I know it's the board.

 

[essenbe]

Yes, that's what I meant. I've RMA'd boards before and it is quite a pain. I just didn't want you to go that route if it wasn't necessary. But, I'm sure you already know that.

 

[MelancholyRose]

Yeah, haha, I know. it is quite a pain, indeed.
Thanks for the help and concern
I'll let you know if the changes to my boyfriend's machine helps his problems with it and if I find out anything else.

 

[MelancholyRose]

I found the RAID/AHCI drivers. I have a question.

Do I need to install both? Or just AHCI? I don't want to break the computer even more by having a driver I'm not supposed to have. When checking his device manager, I see that he definitely has an out-of-date AHCI/RAID driver from Microsoft.

I don't know why it says it's from Microsoft. I installed a RAID driver on his computer from Asus when I first built these. I think that after I updated the BIOS, his RAID driver got switched to the Microsoft version. WTF?

So, I figured before I did anything, I'd ask if I needed to install both AHCI and RAID, because I guess they're separate. Or maybe they aren't and I'm an idiot.

If you need more information, here is the downloads section of our motherboards which contains the ACHI/RAID drivers underneath "Utilities."

Windows 7 is 64-bit.

http://support.asus.com/Download.aspx?SLanguage=en&m=M4A89TD+PRO%2fUSB3&p=1&s=24

I'm thinking this may be a major cause for why his computer is having trouble booting. The RAID driver is apparently a Windows-issued one. On top of that, the Windows-issued driver is apparently SCSI and not AHCI, like it's supposed to say. That's what it used to say before I flashed the BIOS. Now that I think about it, these crashes on startup began happening after updating his BIOS, so these might be connected. While updating the BIOS caused many other crashes to stop, it caused this new one to begin.

Also, what is the safest way of updating these drivers so I don't cause damage to the array?

 

[MelancholyRose]

So I was going to update his RAID drivers because it looks like his system is using that Microsoft one instead of the Asus one, but whenever I try to get it to update with the Asus RAID driver I downloaded, the update screen gets pissy at me and says, basically, "cut it out, that driver is already updated," even though the file I'm trying to give it is completely different.

When looking at the "volumes" tab under the driver information, it's all blank.

Apparently the RAID is using two driver files I've never heard of involved in a RAID. disk.sys and partmgr.sys.

I realize the drivers for Asus are from last year. But I don't think I care how recent the Microsoft one is. I have a bad feeling that the computer is trying to run the wrong driver or even two at the same time for the RAID. Since it won't allow me to update the ahcix64s.sys file, which is the old version from April off of the Asus disk, I can't even determine if the update can fix the problem.

 

[essenbe]

Someone else is going to have to help on that. I've never used raid. But bios has to be set as raid and on some AMD systems under raid you have to select either IDE or ahci mode. I really can't tell you whether the Microsoft raid driver is as good or better than the AMD raid driver.

 

[MelancholyRose]

BIOS is in RAID for the drives.

 

[pooch]

Hello

I do not have a lot of time this evening but if you reply to this post I will receive an email to remind me to look at it again tomorrow.

I have read through the posts but it has been a quick read so bear with me if I cover ground that is already covered

You mentioned early on in the post problem may be caused by the front USB ports, I recommend disconnecting these ports for the time being to take them out of the equation.
It is also a good time to check that the front USB is connected to the right header marked in yellow and not the wrong one marked in red which may cause the MB to be damaged.

View attachment 165230


Secondly I recommend backing up your RAID drive. Windows backup should be sufficient to make an image on a USB drive, this will take away the worry of damaging your install when we try to repair the problem.

Reference the RAID If windows has installed its own driver you should have the option to roll back to the last driver.

View attachment 165231

You will find the newest RAID driver here; ASUSTeK Computer Inc. -Support- Drivers and Download M4A89TD PRO/USB3
You only need the RAID driver having the AHCI driver installed as well should not cause a problem.

If you need to install the new driver try uninstalling the old RAID driver. You should get the option to delete the old driver whilst uninstalling it. Be aware that you may need to new start the PC if you cannot install the new driver before the restart you may have to use start up repair to start the PC and you will need the new driver handy in a location where you can find it to enable you to install it as a part of the start up repair!!! I recommend here that you try the roll back feature first and only attempt to uninstall the old driver after you have made a backup image

I hope this helps for the moment

PS posting a snip of you MB and connections is a good idea and may well help diagnosing the problem