BSOD referencing iaStor.sys. Running Win 7, 64-bit.

[dysphoria]

I went and successfully updated my driver from the link you provided. Thanks! Here's a shot.

View attachment 325330

Laptop restarted fine and accepted the driver without having a conniption. We'll see if my BSoDs flare up in the next day or so. Let me know if there's anything else I can do in the meantime. We'll be in touch!

 

[essenbe]

Ok, let me know how it works for you. Could you give me the full model number for your laptop? Maybe I can find out something.

 

[dysphoria]

Sure thing. I believe I saved this in the last few days, from the HP site. I figured it might come in handy!

HP Pavilion dv6t-7000 CTO Entertainment Notebook PC
Product Number: A3E83AV

 

[essenbe]

Thanks, I'll look in the morning. It's late for me. I'm about 2 hours ahead of you and probably several years ahead too.

 

[dysphoria]

No problem at all, my friend! I appreciate all your help! We'll be in touch.

 

[dysphoria]

Just had a BSoD referencing iaStorA.sys. The battle continues, haha.

 

[essenbe]

Upload any dump files you haven't sent already please. I'll look at them tomorrow too.

 

[dysphoria]

Certainly. Here we are.

View attachment 325358

 

[essenbe]

Would you just look, do not change a thing, Go to BIOS startup I believe it is F10, either that or escape key on startup, then F10. Go to System Configuration/Device Configurations/ and tell me what it is set to and what options you have. If you change anything you will not be able to boot into Windows.

 

[dysphoria]

Alrighty.

I pressed F10 on startup, and I launched into BIOS, labeled "InsydeH2O Setup Utility".

I had 4 options at the top: Main, Security, System Configuration, Exit.

In System Configuration, this is what I got...

Language -- <English>
Virtualization Technology -- <Disabled>
Card Reader Power Saving -- <Enabled>
Fan Always On -- <Enabled>
Action Keys Mode -- <Enabled>
USB3.0 Configuration in Pre-OS -- <Auto>
Intel Rapid Start Technology -- <Enabled>
> Boot Options

That's it. Under the "Main" option, the only thing mentioning "configuration" is Product configuration ID, which is 0790100000205710000620100.

 

[essenbe]

If you would, please follow this and post it here http://www.sevenforums.com/tutorials/274797-disk-management-post-screen-capture-image.html

 

[dysphoria]

Here we are.

View attachment 325465

 

[essenbe]

OK, the reason I asked for the Disk Management is because of the Rapid Start enabled you told me about in BIOS. As far as I can determine, you are not set up for Rapid Start. However from everything I can find, your notebook is in Raid mode and there is no way to change it. For future reference, You may want to keep this link as it will help you if you ever need to reinstall Windows 7. Re: windows 7 SATA storage driver hp pavilion dv6 - HP Support Forum - 3970552 Also, as you should see, the initial question of his notebook being in AHCI mode was incorrect, it is in Raid mode.

You may like to see this also as it pertains to your notebook Unable to locate option to enable AHCI in BIOS on HP DV6t-70... - HP Support Forum - 1709669

Now, none of this provides a solution to your current problem, and I am not convinced it is an iaStor issue. If you have a problem with the NTFS file system or a hard drive problem or even a driver problem that affects the read/write performance of your drive, the Sata controller (iaStor) will be blamed. Somewhere in your one time boot options or in your BIOS there should be an option to boot into the HP Diagnostic options. I would try that and see if it can shed any light on what your problem is. What brand of hard drive do you have installed?

 

[dysphoria]

Does this help?

View attachment 325469

 

[essenbe]

Yes, it's a Western Digital 750GB hard drive, which I'm sure you could tell. But, the diagnostic tests for the Western digital drives as well as a modified Acronis true image imaging software can be found here WD Support / Downloads / SATA & SAS / WD Black If you could run the Data Lifeguard for DOS, it could tell us if it is the hard drive. The other version is an installed version where you install it. Either version is OK, but the DOS version is better as the hard drive is not in use. You boot into the media instead of Windows, which means the drive is not in use by Windows, so the test can be more accurate. Please run the short test and the long test.

 

[dysphoria]

I ran the Data Lifeguard from Windows (didn't have a USB handy at my friend's house). Both short and extended scans came back clean. Crashed about 5 seconds after the extended scan finished, haha. Irony. Anyway, more clean scans can't be all bad...

 

[essenbe]

Did you follow the tutorial Koolkat posted about running a clean boot in posy #2? If not, please do so. Also, please back up all of your personal files to another hard drive, preferably external.

 

[dysphoria]

I did do the clean boot as koolkat suggested. It wouldn't let me disable avast! in msconfig or CCleaner, however. I did end up having a crash then as well. I'd hate to let go of my avast! Free just to do the clean boot, but it seems like many people here swear by the Microsoft Security Essentials (I think that's what it's called...), and Malwarebytes (which I do have).

My personal files are backed up on USB. I've not backed up my system files, because I do not personally have an external HD. HP didn't seem to send me a Win7 CD, either.

 

[essenbe]

Avast uninstall utility avast! Uninstall Utility | Download aswClear for avast! Removal The main reason MSE is highly recommended here is there is no case I know of that MSE has caused a BSOD. It is also very light on resources. I use it and Malwarebytes. They both seem to work well together. I'm not ready to recommend a reinstall yet. It may come to that, but I may recommend a couple of things that can end up making you have to do one. A windows 7 ISO file can be downloaded, but I thought HP gave you the option of creating installation DVDs from their recovery partition. I may be wrong, but I thought I recall that. Uninstall Avast and install MSE Microsoft Security Essentials - Microsoft Windows and try the clean boot. See if that helps. The best anti virus program there is is you knowing what web sites you are going to and knowing where you are downloading from and what you are downloading. That is true no matter what AV program you use. But, Avast is free and lets just try it without it for a while and see if we can find a solution. If not, you can always reinstall it. Just be sure to keep all of your personal files backed up. I would always recommend getting a couple of external hard drives for that purpose. All my files are on at least 3 external drives. The truth of the matter is, the question isn't if your hard drive will die, but when it will die. When I was younger, I got burned real bad when I had a drive die on me and it cost me dearly, plus I had things that could never be replaced. I swore then, it will never happen again. That's why I preach so much about it.

 

[dysphoria]

I agree. Over the years, I have learned to be cautious about web surfing, and I don't download anything unless I know what it is, or it is recommended by someone reputable. Anyway! I'll cross my fingers and make the swap from avast! to MSE and give that a whirl, along with the clean boot.