BSOD at seemingly random intervals

[mathias11]

Hi everyone

I have a 6 month old Sony vaio sa that gets a BSOD at seemingly random intervals. The computer half-freezes in the sense that programs work, but when I click on them they freeze. Music still plays, people hear and see me on Skype if I'm on video chat but nothing updates on my screen and the programs hang. After a minute or two the computer goes into a bluescreen and restarts automatically. It's been happening quite frequently over the past two months but I only have mem dump files from 3 weeks back, unfortunately.

I have a feeling it's related to my Corsair Force GT 120GB SSD, but I'm not sure.

Memory dumps attached

 

[koolkat77]

Welcome

I'm taking a look at the dumps.

Have you updated to the latest firmware for your SSD?
Do update it if not done yet.

Edit:

I saw the dumps, they don't show a probable cause.
IF and after you get the latest firmware. Do these:

* To make sure the hard drive is good:
:ar: http://www.sevenforums.com/tutorials/433-disk-check.html

* Run the System File Checker for repairing any damaged
files within windows:
:ar: http://www.sevenforums.com/tutorials/1538-sfc-scannow-command-system-file-checker.html

If the problem persists, let us know. We'll do more troubleshooting.

Let us know your feedback

 

[mathias11]

Yes, I have the latest firmware. It didn't change anything in terms of stability, unfortunately. The only dump I still have from before updating the firmware is the first one, from september 4.

Both the sfc and the chkdsk came back with no errors unfortunately

 

[koolkat77]

Do you have a separate graphic card? (not on board)

1. Click on the Start rb:
2. Type Device Manager in the Search bar
3. Hit Enter
4. Expand the items under Display Adapters
5. Post a screenshot of it: http://www.sevenforums.com/tutorials/9733-screenshots-files-upload-post-seven-forums.html

You have a list of devices disabled:

Realtek PCIe GBE Family Controller	PCI\VEN_10EC&DEV_8168&SUBSYS_907B104D&REV_06\4&35221721&0&00E3	This device is disabled.
Microsoft Virtual WiFi Miniport Adapter	{5D624F94-8850-40C3-A3FA-A4FD2080BAF3}\VWIFIMP\5&237305&0&01	This device is disabled.
SM Bus Controller	PCI\VEN_8086&DEV_1C22&SUBSYS_907B104D&REV_04\3&11583659&0&FB	The drivers for this device are not installed.
Bluetooth Device (Personal Area Network)	BTH\MS_BTHPAN\7&2215A520&0&2	This device is disabled.
[COLOR="Red"]AMD Radeon(TM) HD 6630M	[/COLOR]PCI\VEN_1002&DEV_6741&SUBSYS_907B104D&REV_00\4&B9519B&0&0008	This device is disabled.
Fingerprint Sensor	USB\VID_08FF&PID_168F\6&7C0D90D&0&1	The drivers for this device are not installed.

Post back then I'll suggest you what to do next

 

[mathias11]

Yeah, I have a dual graphics solution with a Intel HD Graphics 3000 on the CPU, and a AMD Radeon HD 6630M. I don't ever use it so I decided to not install the age-old Sony drivers and instead download the newest drivers from Intel, sacrificing the switchable option but running on a newer driver instead.
View attachment 233015

I've tried installing the old Sony drivers to see if that solved anything, but it gave me a crash that was related to the Intel driver. Installed the new Intel one again and since that hasn't been listed at least.

 

[koolkat77]

Thanks.

Lets enable driver verifier to rule out buggy drivers.

Driver Verifier

I'd suggest that you first backup your data and then make sure you've got access to another computer so you can contact us if problems arise. Then make a System Restore point (so you can restore the system using the Vista/Windows 7 Startup Repair feature).

In Windows 7 you can make a Startup Repair disk by going to Start....All Programs...Maintenance...Create a System Repair Disc - with Windows Vista you'll have to use your installation disk or the "Repair your computer" option at the top of the Safe Mode menu .

Then, here's the procedure:
- Go to Start and type in verifier and press Enter
- Select Create custom settings (for code developers) and click Next
- Select Select individual settings from a full list and click Next
- Select everything EXCEPT FOR Low Resource Simulation and click Next
- Select Select driver names from a list and click Next
Then select all drivers NOT provided by Microsoft and click Next
- Select Finish on the next page.

Reboot the system and wait for it to crash to the Blue Screen. Continue to use your system normally, and if you know what causes the crash, do that repeatedly. The objective here is to get the system to crash because Driver Verifier is stressing the drivers out. If it doesn't crash for you, then let it run for at least 36 hours of continuous operation (an estimate on my part).

If you can't get into Windows because it crashes too soon, try it in Safe Mode.
If you can't get into Safe Mode, try using System Restore from your installation DVD to set the system back to the previous restore point that you created.
Driver Verifier - Enable and Disable

Verifier puts extreme stress on the drivers, bad ones will cause BSOD. If we change all those drivers we hope for no more BSODs, If you get no BSODs, then its not a driver and we look to hardware. With verifier on your computer may be a little laggy, but actually..its just doing its work.

Information
Driver Verifier runs in the background, "testing" drivers for bugs. If it finds one, a Blue Screen of Death (BSOD) will result; the corresponding dump file will hopefully show the faulty driver.

Driver Verifier monitors kernel-mode drivers and graphics drivers to detect illegal function calls or actions that might corrupt the system. It can subject the drivers to a variety of stresses and tests to find improper behavior.

Continue to use your system normally, and if you know what causes the crash, do that repeatedly. The objective here is to get the system to crash because Driver Verifier is stressing the drivers out. If it doesn't crash for you, then let it run for at least 36 hours of continuous operation.

 

[mathias11]

"Reboot the system and wait for it to crash to the Blue Screen."
Enabled driver verifier, rebooted, went to shower, and it's still running. Driver verifier is indeed running (I checked by clicking "Display existing settings") and they are all on "yes" except for "low resources simulation". But I haven't gotten any bluescreen yet. I'll just keep running it and use the laptop normally and report back if any bluescreens occur and post the memory dump

 

[koolkat77]

Thanks
Keep us posted

 

[mathias11]

The computer is working, almost fine. Sometimes the computer starts lagging and sound is played with an electric tune to them and goes slower. I'm videocalling a lot on Skype and that is definitely contributing to it. I get a constant electronic tune to music and voice and everything goes slower if I download something to my HDD.

So, no bluescreens although similarities to when it crash are there with freezing a little but it always draws itself back in, and imo it seems like an I/O issue.

 

[koolkat77]

Hi

Alright, turn of the verifier and observe your computer now.
If it does, run a full scan with Malware Bytes

:ar: Malwarebytes : Malwarebytes Anti-Malware removes malware including viruses, spyware, worms and trojans, plus it protects your computer

 

[mathias11]

Yeah so, I was just about to go back here and post that it was running fine. But then it decided to crash again. Same as before with programs closing and then it went over into a bluescreen again.
I've attached an updated version of the folder I got from running the SF Diagnostic Tool again.
View attachment 233082

 

[koolkat77]

Sorry for the late response.

Lets keep verifier enabled for 36 hours and see if you get any bsod.
Go back and enable verifier.

 

[koolkat77]

Hi, its been 3 days since your last post.

Did you get any BSoDs with the verifier enabled?
Did you disable verifier? and did you get any BSoDs after that?

 

[mathias11]

Hi, sorry
I've been a bit busy with a lot of uni work and I just haven't been able to run driver verifier and keep the laptop on for 36 hours straight. I've just been too busy.

But yes, I've gotten another BSOD. Again a critical_object_termination with an F4 bug check code.
I'm attaching the dmp file in a zip folder.

View attachment 233657

 

[koolkat77]

Hmm..same thing.

I'll need the BSoD dumps that verifier collects

 

[mathias11]

Okay. I can't run it this week but I can from either sunday evening or monday morning so I'll get back to you with an update on monday or tuesday

 

[koolkat77]

Alrighty, see you then

 

[mathias11]

Hi
I put on Driver Verifier somewhere around 6 hours before I went to bed and just let it run. When I woke up, it had crashed once (at least). Attaching the zip file from the SF Diagnostic Tool
View attachment 234693

 

[koolkat77]

STOP 0x0000007A: KERNEL_DATA_INPAGE_ERROR

Usual causes: Memory, Paging file corruption, File system, Hard drive, Cabling, Virus infection, Improperly seated cards, BIOS, Bad motherboard, Missing Service Pack

Okay..the dump shows verifier wasn't enabled and this dump shows a windows process as the cause which is not really a true cause.

Anyway, is your laptop under its warranty?
And are you having these BSOD problems recently or from the time you purchased it?

Make a hard drive test from the hard drive manufacturers website

Hard drive test both short and long with
→ SeaTools for Windows

 

[mathias11]

Verifier was enabled, that much I know.

Yes, it's under warranty. BSoDs started sometime around july/august I think, if memory serves me correctly.

I have two disks. One Corsair Force GT 120GB SSD, and one Toshiba 640GB HDD (placed in ODD slot)
Both fail the Short Drive Self Test
Both pass the Short Generic
Both pass the Long Generic

if I chose the Drive Information on the HDD it works, but if I do on the SSD it crashes my entire system. Everything just froze up, forcing me to reboot with the power-button.


Paging file might be a cause? I have 8 GB RAM, and I've set the page file to a custom size between 400MB and 8GB because I have 8GB RAM and a SSD. So I didn't see the need for letting the page file eat away precious GB's all the time. I don't generally do RAM-intensive work either, I've never seen more than 60% used and that was with a Windows virtual machine running too.
Improper service pack? The Windows 7 came with SP1 pre-installed, from DigitalRiver with my own legit serial code.