Blue screen shutdown happened but there have been no new downloads or

[axe0]

I can do that; I can see if there are still traces left from the security programs. I'm glad you asked for it, many security programs are (fairly) decent at keeping your computer safe, but they're terrible at cleaning their own stuff.

Because anti-virus programs are terrible at cleaning their own stuff, when someone decides to try another anti-virus program, they may have difficulty in the process where the program doesn't install accordingly or doesn't run smoothly because of the traces left behind by the previous anti-virus program. Only when all these traces are gone, everything is as it should be. Fortunately, the companies developing these programs do offer uninstall programs that remove those traces, but I still wonder why there's a need for those uninstall programs and why the first removal process didn't do a decent job.

 

[CHRISX]

I can do that; I can see if there are still traces left from the security programs. I'm glad you asked for it, many security programs are (fairly) decent at keeping your computer safe, but they're terrible at cleaning their own stuff.

Because anti-virus programs are terrible at cleaning their own stuff, when someone decides to try another anti-virus program, they may have difficulty in the process where the program doesn't install accordingly or doesn't run smoothly because of the traces left behind by the previous anti-virus program. Only when all these traces are gone, everything is as it should be. Fortunately, the companies developing these programs do offer uninstall programs that remove those traces, but I still wonder why there's a need for those uninstall programs and why the first removal process didn't do a decent job.

Hello axeO,

Thank You very much for agreeing to review a new CollectedFiles.zip folder - I attached it to my previous message before I noticed your reply so I will attach it again to this post.

Also Thanks for explaining about Anti Virus programs often not fully uninstalling and then the remaining files causing problems with newly installed Software.

I have had a very frustrating experience of that before [2019] when ONE file from an Avast Anti Virus program failed to uninstall and that caused the only other BSOD that I ever had on my Computer prior to December 2020.


Luckily for me I managed to get help from a Senior Member on the Microsoft Windows Forum - but in that case the `rogue file` was actually shown on the Bluescreen shutdown error details and I had written it down to give when asking for help - obviously that helped the Forum Member to instruct me where to find and remove it.

When I had typed the File name into the Computer Start button search box it did not identify the location.

That happened even though I used Revo Uninstaller to remove the Avast program which as I am sure You will know searches and finds any `leftover files` that remain after the Software program`s uninstaller has supposedly uninstalled it`s own software completely - sometimes including during uninstalling the latest Software Today it finds hundreds of leftover files to manually remove.

Thanks again for your help - hopefully I have uninstalled ALL of the Software that is `Security Scanning` etc. in the background / running in real time ?

Chris

 

[axe0]

There are still a few McAfee drivers present. One of them is a real-time driver that protects against host intrusion, like protection against burglary. The other driver is a driver that analyzes software for malicious code.

Visit https://service.mcafee.com/webcente...terWidth=100%25&_adf.ctrl-state=svrxa4rpf_213 to download the MCPR tool (Microsoft Consumer Product Removal) in Method 2 which should remove McAfee products that were installed.

 

[CHRISX]

There are still a few McAfee drivers present. One of them is a real-time driver that protects against host intrusion, like protection against burglary. The other driver is a driver that analyzes software for malicious code.

Visit https://service.mcafee.com/webcente...terWidth=100%25&_adf.ctrl-state=svrxa4rpf_213 to download the MCPR tool (Microsoft Consumer Product Removal) in Method 2 which should remove McAfee products that were installed.

Thanks again axeO,

I would never have been able to find out that those McAfee drivers were still installed on my Computer without You finding them - can I take it that they were `intrusive` / unwanted drivers that could have caused further problems?

I used the McAfee uninstall tool that You gave me the link to and hopefully it has removed those Drivers.

I then ran the Code again on Command Prompt afterwards to produce another CollectedFiles.zip folder which will hopefully show that the McAfee drivers have been removed if you don`t mind checking please.


Could You please also advise me on this:

I am sure that I would never be able to understand the contents of Dump files but just in case being able to view them in future might be useful regarding just seeing if there was a recurring item during a BSOD how would I open Dump files ?

When I first used the Forum dm_log collector.exe I did try to open a Dump file just to see if it / they had been created correctly before uploading the results to the Forum but I received a Windows error message stating something like - you do not have a program associated with this type of file - words to that effect from memory.

Thanks again.

Chris

 

[axe0]

I checked the new zip, the McAfee drivers are gone.


The usual procedure for setting things up with opening a dump file is as follows
- Install Windbg
- Create a file association
- Configure Windbg
- Test that everything works

Windbg is a tool developed by Microsoft that allows one to open and analyze a dump file. To be able to randomly open a dump outside of Windbg, you need to set a file association so that Microsoft knows what program to run with the '.dmp' extension. Within Windbg this file association is not needed, and unfortunately this file association is not automatically configured. Next is configuration of Windbg, which means that you need to give it a server on which symbol files are hosted so that Windbg can recognize the code and display it properly to you. This step is the most important one, without it you cannot use Windbg. The last step is also essential, because it determines whether you have done the previous steps correctly. Believe it or not, but quite some users have found installing and configuring Windbg a bit of a challenge.

Every step is covered in this tutorial: WinDBG - Install and Configure for BSOD Analysis

While I do get your reasoning, it's not going to work without knowledge of what you're looking at. If you realize that you are going to view the technical aspects of the inner workings of Windows, there will be lots of recurring items for different purposes.

 

[CHRISX]

Hello axeO,

Thank You very much for the link and instructions for using the McAfee files uninstalling tool and for checking that it had removed the McAfee files that You had previously identified as having remained on my Computer after I thought that I had uninstalled all `Security Scanner` type programs / files.

With regard to me asking how to open Dump Files / view them I had thought that might not be something that I should get involved in because not only could it be far too complicated for me to process accessing the files but also as you described I would not know what to look for in terms of any malfunction etc.

I really appreciate You giving me the link and explanation about Windbg but because of my lack of knowledge in Computing I will not be trying to Download, Configure and use it to look at any future Dump files.

As I mentioned in previous messages my Computer has stabilised regarding the BSOD shutdowns although it is very slow and has `frozen` quite a few times - or the Keyboard and Mouse stopped working and I had to manually turn off the Computer using the power button.

I don`t understand how it went from shutting down with a BSOD after about 4 or 5 minutes every time that I turned it on in December to not having a BSOD for about 14 days from the 29th December until another on the 12th January - and none since ?

I am sure that your advice about uninstalling all of the `Security Scanning` software some of which you had seen was conflicting with others was very pertinent to the better operation of my Computer even without the BSOD problems - but can we be sure that some of those conflicts actually caused the BSOD shutdowns ?

I ask that only because some of the Software that I uninstalled had been on my Computer for about 8 - 10 Years - however You did explain that Software drivers do malfunction / get out of date and that can start conflicts which obviously can cause problems with Windows / Computers.

I keep remembering the original BSOD shutdown onscreen Technical detail:

%SystemRoot%System32\wbem\repository

Destination: WmStaging


which seemed to show that there was a problem related to the Windows Repository when I Googled it and found that the search results showed details that were FAR too complicated for me to understand or processes that were far too complicated for me to try to carry out.

Examples were - instructions on how to Check whether the Windows Repository was O.K. and if a malfunction was found how to `Rebuild` the Repository BUT with Warnings that if a certain process was attempted incorrectly it could ruin the Windows operating system and would be irrevocable.

I would never have tried any of the processes relating to the Windows Repository that I read about before posting this thread because I would almost certainly have caused further problems and as You did not find anything related to the Repository when you reviewed the first set of Dump files or the CollectedFiles folder I would have been wrong about the cause of the December BSOD shutdown`s.

I wonder if people who are far more Computer literate than me would have taken the first BSOD Technical detail to mean that there was something wrong with the Windows Repository [after a Google search] and tried some of the processes that I mentioned above and caused more problems ?


Thank You very much for all of your help axeO, I have really appreciated your knowledge, expertise and time spent with my BSOD problem and I have learned some more about `Computing` plus I now have the Dump file log collector tool and the Codes that you very kindly provided that produce a CollectedFiles folder in case I have another BSOD shutdown problem I would be able to create the Files for attaching to a thread on here again although obviously I hope that does not happen again.

Regards,

Chris


EDIT: P.S: Member Marie SWE now that my Computer seems to have stabilised is it possible for You to help me to move some of the data etc. from my Computer`s C Drive to the F Drive - please see my next message below - "Thanks" - Chris

 

[CHRISX]

Hello All,

When I was typing my previous message my Computer`s Mouse and Keyboard froze up again - it started working again momentarily allowing me to quickly submit my unfinished message [re. P.S. to Member Marie SWE] before it was lost.


I also looked at the C Drive free space and it was down to about 10 GB / displaying in Red - I am guessing that caused the Computer to `freeze up` again.

I had to turn it off using the power button and when I Restarted the Computer the C Drive free space was showing 16.5 GB - I cannot understand why the C Drive free space keeps dropping down to about 10 GB and then back up again to 16.5 GB [this time] or between 20 GB and 22.5 GB.

For some reason when I came back here after restarting my Computer the `Edit` button was not visible on my previous message even after refreshing the webpage 3 or 4 times.


Hello Member Marie SWE - hopefully You will see this message:

Would it be possible for you to give me some instructions on how to move large amounts of Data etc. from my Computer`s C Drive to the F Drive as you very kindly mentioned in your previous reply to me - I would really appreciate it and I am sure that it would make a massive difference to my Computer.

As I mentioned when We corresponded previously I would need `Idiot Proof instructions` because I would be really worried about possibly not knowing what you might consider an obvious step and omitting something that then caused the process not to work / caused big problems to my Computer.

I am attaching a Screenshot of the Computer`s Drives free space - You will see that there is a ridiculously large amount of free space available on the F Drive and not much on the C Drive.

Thanks in advance for your help.

Regards,

Chris

 

[axe0]

The files you cannot/should not move are files related to programs, which means if it is a file or folder you do not recognize it's probably best to leave it untouched.

Any other files you are sure of you know and is not related to a program; you can move those.

A best practice to move files is to copy the files to the destination and afterward delete them from the original location. You can do this by selecting the files/folders you want to move, right click any of the selected items and click copy. In the destination folder right click > paste. Once the operation is finished, in the original folder you can delete the selected items using the same process (select the items, right click > delete).

 

[CHRISX]

The files you cannot/should not move are files related to programs, which means if it is a file or folder you do not recognize it's probably best to leave it untouched.

Any other files you are sure of you know and is not related to a program; you can move those.

A best practice to move files is to copy the files to the destination and afterward delete them from the original location. You can do this by selecting the files/folders you want to move, right click any of the selected items and click copy. In the destination folder right click > paste. Once the operation is finished, in the original folder you can delete the selected items using the same process (select the items, right click > delete).

Hello axeO,

Thanks for your message.

I was unable to reply before now because my Computer has been unusable for the last 4 days - the C Drive Free space has been fluctuating down and back up randomly from about 18.5 GB down to 11 GB - back up to 14.2 GB - down again to 10.5 GB - back up to 16.2 GB and so on.

During these fluctuations the Computer was completely useless - the Mouse and Keyboard kept freezing up and I had to turn the Computer off using the power button each time that I tried to use it - I did manage to come to the Forum once to see your message but I was unable to type a reply at that time because the Mouse and Keyboard froze up.

I do know how to Copy & Paste individual files from one folder to another - for example moving or copying a Document from my Computer`s Documents folder to the Downloads folder - usually files of less than 3 or 4 Mb`s - but not how to move many GB`s of Data / Files from the C Drive to the F Drive.

Looking at for example my `Pictures` Main folder which is on the C Drive I am guessing that would be quite a few GB`s in size but how would I Copy and Paste the entire contents from the Computer`s C Drive to the F Drive ?

Something that also occurs to me / worries me regarding that is this:

If a Copy of for example the `Pictures` Main folder is many GB`s in size would I be able to Copy it with a very low amount of Free space on the C Drive ?

If the Pictures Copy is larger than the C Drive free space [currently approx. 16 GB] would it be possible to Copy anything that was larger than that - or if the Copied folder was close to the very small amount of C Drive free space would I end up with Zero free space and a Computer that would not work at all because of that ?

I would be really grateful for your comments about those points please as I am worried about them.


With regard to me getting very detailed instructions on how to hopefully move at least 50 GB`s of Data / Files from the C Drive to the F Drive:

As I mentioned in my message to Member Marie SWE [which was within my previous message to You] I would need `Idiot Proof instructions` - Step by Step so that I could not unknowingly omit something that was obvious to Her or You but not to me and cause further problems while trying to move large amounts of Data / Files from the C Drive to the F Drive.

As You have been so helpful with trying to diagnose and fix my Computer`s BSOD problem and as Member Marie SWE wrote that She would be happy to go through the process with me in Step by Step instructions I hope that you will not mind me contacting her to ask for help with regaining hopefully a large amount of free space on my Computer`s C Drive.


I would be really grateful for your comments on my questions above please - hopefully reassuring me that what I am imaging might happen regarding the lack of Free space on the C Drive would not occur when trying to Copy & Paste large amounts of Data / Files from the C Drive to the F Drive ?

Thanks again axeO for all of your help with my BSOD and other problems that have occurred during our correspondence on this thread I have really appreciated it.

Chris

P.S: I used CCleaner to carry out a Disk Analysis to try and find out which Folders on the Computer`s C Drive were largest regarding trying to see what could be moved to the F Drive - I have attached a Screenshot of the results just in case it might be helpful.

When I look at the files in the `Documents` folder I do not recognise most of them - I would have previously thought that there would only be items that I had created [which I would have named] within that `Documents` folder but that does not seem to be the case ?

 

[axe0]

I noticed you doing this, but axeO is not my username, axe0 (zero) is my username. The O and 0 are a look alike and most simply avoid the last character to avoid this mistake.

You mentioned quite a few times that you needed step-by-step instructions, from what I read you actually don't which is good news. You know how to copy/paste a single file, backing up many GBs of data is copy/pasting taking into account the space needed and available at the destination. Once you know the space is there, you copy and paste the files/folders. There is almost no difference with one or two files and a few GB of data, you select what you want to copy/paste and copy/paste it. The real difference is the time, a few GB of data is going to take some time.

You cannot, however, copy the ENTIRE content of the C: drive to the F: drive. Reason being is that if you copy them back, things do not automatically run and work as you might expect. This applies to drives that have programs installed.

Trying to copy/paste files/folders to a destination that does not have the space, that is not going to work. Windows will inform you prior performing the operation that it's not going to work due to lack of free space.

 

[CHRISX]

I noticed you doing this, but axeO is not my username, axe0 (zero) is my username. The O and 0 are a look alike and most simply avoid the last character to avoid this mistake.

You mentioned quite a few times that you needed step-by-step instructions, from what I read you actually don't which is good news. You know how to copy/paste a single file, backing up many GBs of data is copy/pasting taking into account the space needed and available at the destination. Once you know the space is there, you copy and paste the files/folders. There is almost no difference with one or two files and a few GB of data, you select what you want to copy/paste and copy/paste it. The real difference is the time, a few GB of data is going to take some time.

You cannot, however, copy the ENTIRE content of the C: drive to the F: drive. Reason being is that if you copy them back, things do not automatically run and work as you might expect. This applies to drives that have programs installed.

Trying to copy/paste files/folders to a destination that does not have the space, that is not going to work. Windows will inform you prior performing the operation that it's not going to work due to lack of free space.

Hello axe0,

Thanks for your message.

I definitely need to apologise for getting your user name wrong - "Sorry".


Because of my age / `old eyes` I do need to use glasses when looking at the Computer monitor and I obviously mistook the 0 / Zero for an O - that must have happened when I typed my first reply to You and I automatically typed the O on every message since then.


Although I do know how to Copy & Paste individual items to move them from one Folder to another I would have no idea how to do that for moving large amounts of Files / Data from the C Drive to the F Drive.

For example I don`t know if it would be possible to Copy the entire contents of my Computer`s `Pictures` folder and if it is possible how would I then Paste the contents into the Computer`s F Drive ?

Also I mentioned in my previous message that when I look at the contents of my Computer`s `Documents` folder I do not recognise most of the Files that are there - when I have deliberately created a document I always name it in capital letters to make it easy to identify so I don`t know why / how the other documents were created.

I have moved the Documents that I definitely created out of that Folder into the `Downloads` and `Pictures` folders to separate them from those that I do not recognise / were not knowingly created by me.

I am wondering whether any of those remaining Documents are related to the Operating system ?

Perhaps some Screenshots of them would be helpful although it would take quite a few to show the entire contents and I am guessing that You would need to see ALL the Documents in case something that was not shown was an important item that should not be moved to the F Drive ?


According to a C Cleaner Disk analysis the remaining Documents seem to add up to almost 13,000 Mbs [13 GB`s ?] which I would obviously like to move into the F Drive but I don`t know whether that would be possible without causing problems ?

Something related to the Size of the `Documents` folder and moving large amounts of Data / Files that I don`t understand is that when I click onto it and go to `Properties` the size is showing as only 446 Mbs - how could there be such a discrepancy regarding the size of the `Documents` folder compared to the CCleaner Disk Analysis results amount of almost 13,000 Mbs / 13 GB`s ?

This is obviously something that I just don`t have enough knowledge in `Computing` to know about.

Hopefully I have attached a Copy of the CCleaner Disk Analysis results again which shows the Sizes of the various Folders on my Computer`s C Drive.


I thought that I would be able to Copy & Paste a list of items contained in the `Documents` folder below this message for You to see but that was not possible and I obviously did not want to Copy & Paste all of the Files on here without asking - even if that was appropriate / possible ?


My requests for Step by Step instructions are still needed regarding how would I Copy & Paste everything from my Computer`s `Pictures` folder and the `Downloads` folder and move the contents into the Computer`s F Drive ?

Thanks for explaining about the destination Drive needing to have enough free space to receive whatever is being Copied & Pasted - in my case the F Drive has got about 136 GB of free space remaining from the original capacity of 141 GB so I am hoping to move at least 30 - 40 GB of Data / Files from the C Drive into there to free up enough space in the C Drive to hopefully make my Computer much more stable.


Thanks again for your continuing interest and help I really appreciate it.


Chris

 

[CHRISX]

Hello axe0,

Because my Computer has become almost unusable / keeps freezing because the C Drive Free space keeps dropping / fluctuating down to 10 GB or less I had to try and work out how to regain Free space to hopefully get the PC to become stable.

I decided to try and Copy & Paste some Data / Files from my Computer`s almost full C Drive to the almost empty F Drive as the first step in regaining a lot of free space for the C Drive for the reasons that I have previously explained - i.e. that the lack of free space in the C Drive was causing my Computer to become regularly unusable with the Keyboard and Mouse completely freezing up.

I tried the Copy & Paste process by opening up the `Computer` page using the Control Panel button on the Start menu which displayed the C Drive and the F Drive and a list of Folders including `Libraries` and folders within that such as `Pictures` and `Videos` where I know that the largest amounts of Data are contained.

I have attached a Screenshot of that `Computer` page so that hopefully You can see what I am describing.

I then right clicked on the `Pictures` Folder and clicked `Copy` - I next right clicked onto the F Drive display and clicked `Paste` which started the Pasting process at approximately 34 GB`s - that took quite a long time pasting at only about 10 MB`s per second.

After some time I saw that the Copy & Paste process of the `Pictures` Folder contents seemed to have completed correctly by noting that the 34 GB`s had been deducted from the F Drive free space.

I also clicked to open the F Drive and saw a list of Files although that seemed to be more than just the `Pictures` files - I checked a few Picture files to make sure that the contents were the same as those contained in the `Pictures` Folder still remaining on the C Drive and that they would open.

There were other files that I would not have expected to have been Copied & Pasted when I only selected the `Pictures` Folder such as: `Downloads`/ `My Documents`and `Public Documents`.

I then carried out the same Copy & Paste process for the `Videos` Folder in the C Drive but when the Pasting process was almost complete I noticed that the size of the Video files `transfer` was almost exactly the same 34 GB`s as the previously Copied & Pasted `Pictures` Folder.

When I look at the list of Files that were Pasted into the F Drive when I thought that I had only Copied my Computer`s `Videos` Folder there are also: `Downloads`/ `My Pictures` / `My Documents` / `Public Documents` / Public Pictures`.


All that I did on both the `Pictures` Folder and the `Videos` Folder in the C Drive was to right click on them and select `Copy` and then right click onto the F Drive and click onto `Paste` - why would doing that for the Folders individually [Pictures and Videos] have seemingly caused a massive duplication of Files re. the Downloads / Documents and Pictures ?

It seems to me that a great deal of Data / Files that were `transferred` to the F Drive from the C Drive in what I thought were 2 completely different Folders copied & pasted in 2 different actions - `Pictures` and `Videos` were the same.

I now think that although it seemed that about 68 GB`s were Copied & Pasted from the C Drive to the F Drive that will NOT be the amount of Free space that would be gained when I delete the `Pictures` and `Videos` Folders from the C Drive and obviously I would not want duplicated Data / Files taking up Free space in the F Drive either.

Also as deleting the `Pictures` and `Videos` Folders [and their contents] in the C Drive contents list [see Screenshot attached] is the only way to regain whatever amount of C Drive free space that has actually been moved to the F Drive I am concerned whether that is going to affect the operation of My Computer regarding how do I arrange for future Pictures and Videos to be put into the appropriate Folders in the F Drive as opposed to the Computer trying to put them into non existent Folders in the C Drive ?

I have to make sure that I do not delete the Pictures and Videos Folders in the C Drive contents list and cause more problems.

I hope that I have explained the above well enough - I do not know correct Computer terminology so I hope that my wording is understandable.

I would welcome your comments and further kelp on this please.


Chris

 

[axe0]

It's been almost 2 weeks and I apologize for this late response. Unfortunately, things have changed in the past weeks and as you have noticed, I am unable to spend much time here for the moment. This will probably change in the future, but not anytime soon.

 

[CHRISX]

It's been almost 2 weeks and I apologize for this late response. Unfortunately, things have changed in the past weeks and as you have noticed, I am unable to spend much time here for the moment. This will probably change in the future, but not anytime soon.

Hello axe0,

Thank You very much for all of your help with my Computer`s BSOD problem I have really appreciated it.


Because of what I described in my previous message regarding my attempts to regain Free space on the Computer`s C Drive by Copying & Pasting some Folders from the `Libraries`on the C Drive to the F Drive I need help with a few questions so I hope that I will get some replies from other Members.

Although as was mentioned before in this thread I doubt whether anyone else will respond as they will think that You are still corresponding with me about the BSOD problem.

I had no luck contacting Member Marie SWE by private message to ask for the help that She previously offered regarding instructions for moving Data / Files from the Computer`s C Drive to the F Drive - I hope that She is O.K.

To other Forum Members:

As the original BSOD problem that I posted this thread about has become intermittent and I think that Member axe0 has helped me as far as we can go with that I am hoping for help with another problem please.

My Computer has now frequently become totally unresponsive because the C Drive keeps losing up to 10 or 12 GB`s of Free space which drops the free space down to about 10 GB`s - when that happens the Computer`s Keyboard and Mouse do not operate so the Computer cannot be used and I have to turn it off by using the power button.

See attached screenshot from 3 days ago where the C Drive free space had dropped from about 20 GB`s to about 10 GB`s.

I would really appreciate some help with what I described / asked about in my previous message - please read the details in that message as they describe what I have tried, the fact that the processes did not produce the results that I expected and questions about how to proceed.

Because I have virtually no knowledge in `Computing` I would need Step by Step instructions please and I will almost certainly have a few questions before I put any instructions into operation because I have to ensure that I don`t make any mistakes that might ruin my Computer.

I hope for some replies because at present I cannot proceed with trying to get much more Free space on my Computer`s C Drive to hopefully make the Computer stable / no longer `freezing up`.


Chris