BSOD with 0xb4

[shank]

Hi guys. Using a desktop with Windows 7 Professional 4gb ram. Had no problems until today when I tried to switch it on and it took a really long time to get to the Windows Starting screen, and then it checked the disks for consistency. When it restarted, it went to this BSOD with the message, " The video driver failed to initialize".

Then it went to Startup repair, which couldnt repair the problem. And then I decided to use the onboard graphics instead of the gfx card, and I could boot into Windows! However, I did the mistake of going to device manager, where they said there was some problem with the adapter, and click to restart the computer, which I did, and I havent been able to boot back into Windows since, with the same error message coming up.

I've tried booting into safe mode and all, and it doesn't work,so I'm not sure how to collect the dump messages. Is there any way to solve this without doing a clean install? I was thinking I could transfer some important files to another place using a hard disk enclosure, and then clean install, but thats a last resort. Also, is it a sign my hard disk could be failing? Really hope you guys can help. Thanks!

 

[Jonathan_King]

Welcome!

Rarely do BSOD problems come to a clean install, so we will do our best.

Please upload your dmp files found in C:\Windows\Minidump.

You may have to pull the hard drive to another machine, add it as a secondary drive, and upload the dumps.

Try removing the video card. Perhaps that is the problem.

 

[shank]

hmm i don't have another desktop that i can add the hard drive to. do i have to get a 3.5" enclosure then?

 

[Jonathan_King]

Well we can try other troubleshooting steps without the dmps. If you want a 3.5" enclosure anyway, this is your excuse to buy it, but I hate to recommend purchases unless it is clear they are necessary.

For now, try removing your video card. Be sure that your onboard graphics are set as Primary in the BIOS BEFORE removing the card.

 

[shank]

I did what you suggested. Removed the video card, and I was able to log on to Windows! Some errors popped up, to do with the hptray stuff etc. Not sure whether my printer software could be causing problems? In device manager, the graphics adapter says you gotta restart the computer before changes can be applied, because the drivers were installed by Windows when I logged on. Should I not do that?

The zip file is attached. Please help. I'm not sure whether my gfx card is dead, or its simply the driver thats having the problem. Thank you very much.

 

[shank]

Just great. I had to shut down my computer, and when I switched it on, it went back to the same problem. The video driver failed to initialize. I'm still using the onboard gfx, and I'm thinking the problem is to do with the driver that Windows installed for the onboard gfx. I might be wrong though. Now how do I get it to log on to Windows like I did before?

 

[Jonathan_King]

Can you log in in Safe Mode?

 

[shank]

No I can't log in in Safe Mode. How does the dump look?

 

[Jonathan_King]

Looks like your outdated motherboard drivers are the cause. Please run the Windows 7 upgrade advisor: Free Download PC Upgrade Advisor Windows 7 Hardware Programs Issues

What motherboard do you have? Use SIW if you don't know. You can also provide the computer model number.

If you can find a BIOS update, install it.

BIOS64.sys   Sat Jun 07 20:12:00 2003
BS_I2cIo.sys Mon Dec 11 02:48:39 2006

...Summary of the Dumps:

[font=lucida console]
Built by: 7600.16539.amd64fre.win7_gdr.100226-1909
Debug session time: Wed Jul 14 22:57:53.600 2010 (UTC - 4:00)
System Uptime: 0 days 0:00:56.052
BugCheck B4, {fffffa800578bc70, fffffa800497d000, fffffa800497e000, 3}
Probably caused by : win32k.sys ( win32k!DrvDriverFailure+386 )
BUGCHECK_STR:  0xB4
PROCESS_NAME:  csrss.exe
¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨
[/font]

 

[shank]

Thanks for the fast reply. I've been using the system for almost a year without any problems. Windows 7 was the only OS installed on this hard drive. The motherboard I'm using is a Biostar TA790GX A3+. Hmm I would like to update the drivers, but is there any way to do it without logging on to Windows, because I'm not able to log on.

 

[Jonathan_King]

I have to suggest a clean install at this point. Don't format the drive, or delete any partitions. Simply install on top of your existing installation, to save your data.

http://www.sevenforums.com/tutorials/20146-custom-install-windows-7-a.html

 

[shank]

Hmm okay I'll try that. But my files and documents etc would not be affected? I've got stuff like photos,videos and all. Wouldnt want to lose them.

 

[Jonathan_King]

Photos, docs, music, etc should be moved to a folder called Windows.old.

Your programs will need to be reinstalled.

 

[shank]

I managed to log on to windows. Changed the primary video controller in BIOS to another option, PCI first, and it was able to boot, even though I'm still plugged into onboard gfx. Now I'm trying to move important files over to an external hard drive. What's the best step to take after that? Really sorry about the constant changes. You've been a great help so far!

 

[Jonathan_King]

First, backup your data. That will let you sleep well knowing that a reinstall is no big deal, if it needs to come to that.

After that, uninstall your video card drivers. Use this tool: Guru3D - Driver Sweeper

Then reboot, and see what happens.

 

[shank]

I uninstalled the drivers like you suggested and rebooted. I managed to log on to Windows but when I restarted had the same problem. I then somehow managed to log on again, and did a repair install. And it works fine now! Hopefully there aren't any more problems. Thank you so much for being patient and for being a great help. By the way, do you think I should check my hard disk? I came across a list of hard drive tools in this forum but I can't seem to find it now. Would really appreciate if you could point me to the link. Thanks once again!