Solved BSOD random 0xF4, no dumps; stuck on "initializing disk"

[luckycharms]

Hi All,

I'm getting random BSODs on my new Dell Precision M5510. The BSOD gets stuck on "initializing disk for crash dump", but never actually creates the dump. I have made sure that the page file is on the same disk as the OS (C:\), and that UAC was turned on. I also set the right location for the minidumps, and made sure that windows was configured to create the dumps in the first place. Still no joy.

The crash is often preceeded by a short time (10 seconds?) when explorer becomes somewhat unresponsive, as if a process is stuck on something. The mouse moves, and I was even able to open the start menu once in this state. Strangely, there were *no* programs listed in the start menu... and then I got the 0xF4 BSOD a few seconds later.

There *is* one initial crash dump which is included in the attachments here. However, I'm not sure how much that dump has to do with the BSODs I'm getting regularly now, for which no dumps exist. Maybe it has something to do with them, maybe not.

Any help would be greatly appreciated. I've seen similar issues for a Crucial SSD for which a firmware update was the fix. My NVMe SSD (a Toshiba 1TB thnsn51t02du7) is relatively new, and I can't find any updates for it, or much about it at all for that matter.

I've also put in an unmatched stick of RAM, but I think it shouldn't be a problem; but perhaps I'm wrong about that.

I should also note that I've been having trouble getting the Intel USB 3.1 driver to update. I run it, but the version number doesn't update in device manager. Not sure what's up with that. Tried various things, updating thunderbolt, etc, with no joy.

Finally, the SATA HDD cable I have in there (I have one NVMe and one seagate 2TB HDD) is 3rd party off Amazon. I assume those cables are just connectors and aren't "smart", so don't think it should be a problem, but did want to mention.

Please see SF Tool and DM log output attached here, as well as a few BSOD pics. Note that the 2nd pic shows a 0x7A error, but that's the only time I've seen that one. Everything else has always been a 0xF4. Thanks for any help you might be able to offer!

Best,
Alex

 

[axe0]

Diagnostics Test

 HDD TEST

   Note

Please run HDTune first, in the order posted!

Run HDTune to

• check the health,
• scan for errors, no quick scan but full scan
• run a benchmark.

It may take some time, but please take the time you need to perform it properly.
When above is done please make screenshots of the following

• the health,
• the error scan,
• the benchmark incl. following
  • transfer rate,
  • access time,
  • burst rate,
  • cpu usage.

Run SeaTools DOS to check the integrity of your HDD. SeaTools for DOS and Windows - How to Use - Windows 7 Help Forums
Run the long test.

   Note

Do not run SeaTools on an SSD as the results will be invalid.

Make a photo of the result and post it.

Run chkdsk
Disk Check - Windows 7 Help Forums
Use option TWO with parameter /r
Upload the chkdsk log :arrow: Check Disk (chkdsk) - Read Event Viewer Log

 

[luckycharms]

Will do, thanks axe0. I figure running it on my OS drive (C:, NVMe) is what I want to do? The HDD (D was in my previous laptop with no issues...

 

[axe0]

You'll want to run the tests on all drives/partitions.

D was in my previous laptop with no issues.

How are you sure that it doesn't cause problems in the current system?
This is a statement meaning that a previous setup for the moment shouldn't be used as a reason why something may not be a problem.

 

[luckycharms]

Thanks again for your help, axe0. See all the logs and photos attached. I can't see anything in them that looks especially bad, but perhaps you'll see something that I don't. One thing to note: it took a very long time to run chkdsk /r on the HDD (D; perhaps up to 15-20 hours or so. It was stuck on 12 percent for a long time, but amazingly, actually seemed to complete by the morning.

The SSD doesn't seem to be running as fast as it should, but not sure that's any reason for bsod's.

I'm also including a screenshot of the disk management app. I do this because I wonder if strange disk configs might have something to do with this. The D: drive (HDD, which is Disk 0 in disk management) used to have an active boot partition, and i think in my previous laptop, was the actual boot device, which then had a pointer to the OS drive (C.

Thanks again for your help and attention...

 

[axe0]

Please run chkdsk, same command, again on the C partition.

 

[luckycharms]

Hi axe0 - i did run chkdsk on both drives, logs attached to the post above... edit: or, sorry, you would like me to run it a second time? will assume so and will do so...

 

[luckycharms]

new CHKDSK on c attached...

 

[axe0]

Alright, please let me know if the BSOD occurs again.

 

[luckycharms]

Thanks axe0 - do the logs show that some errors were corrected?

 

[axe0]

The first log of C showed some corruption but got resolved, the second chkdsk on partition C was to validate that it was truly resolved.
If a second chkdsk still shows problems after the first chkdsk fixed problems, then it indicates the HDD failing.

TBH, a failing HDD wouldn't be surprising, because a combination of 0x7A and 0xF4 BSOD crashes usually results in HDD related problems. Being it
- a bad motherboard connection,
- bad or loose cables,
- SSD firmware issues,
- a failing HDD or
- file system corruption,
where a failing HDD is mostly occuring.

 

[luckycharms]

awesome - thanks axe0. i'll let you know if i see BSOD again!

 

[luckycharms]

darnit - BSOD'd again. I've been waiting for over an hour in the hopes that it'll create a dump, but no joy... any suggestions for what to look into next? Memtest86+ shows no errors...

 

[axe0]

Memtest86+ is not worth it if you don't intend to let it run for 8 passes

 

[luckycharms]

ok... should i let it run for 8 passes, or is there something more likely you think i should look into before that? any thoughts greatly appreciated...

mem stick info attached...

 

[axe0]

You'll want to remove either of the memory sticks while troubleshooting.

 

[luckycharms]

Haven't run memtest again yet, will do so, but wanted to share a couple more bsod's meantime. Both are 0x7A, one for win32k.sys and one for srv.sys. Not sure if this gives any more clues...

 

[luckycharms]

ran sfc /scannow and found corruption of autochk.exe. let's see if this fixes anything...

2017-01-31 14:44:58, Info                  CSI    0000035d [SR] Repairing corrupted file [ml:520{260},l:46{23}]"\??\C:\Windows\System32"\[l:22{11}]"autochk.exe" from store

 

[axe0]

Recommendation is to replace the HDD.

 

[luckycharms]

The sfc /scannow fix of autochk.exe did not fix the BSOD (as you suspected).

To test the HDD hypothesis, I ran the computer all night with the HDD removed, and got no BSOD. That supports your hunch of an HDD cause (even though smart and chkdsk showed no issues; reminder that C is SSD and D is HDD). The HDD cable is 3rd party, and had to be scrunched a bit to fit, so I'm wondering if it's faulty. I will try replacing it.

I'm clearly trying to avoid the "replace HDD" recommendation, as that's $, and I'm also a bit confused as to why the HDD would work no problem in the previous system, show no chkdsk or smart issues (the SSD was the one with chkdsk issues), yet be problematic. There are no firmware updates for it.

One thought: the BIOS is set to manage drives with "Intel RAID". When I switch to AHCI, the system won't boot, or gets a blue screen upon boot (I forget which). I know there's a bunch online about switching to AHCI in Windows, driver installs, etc, if I really wanted to make AHCI work. My question is: could this RAID vs ACHI configuration in the BIOS have anything to do with the BSODs?

Thanks again, will continue to update.