Can't load PROSet NIC driver, code 31, after "gray screen of death"?

[Thenin]

Can't load PROSet NIC driver, code 31, after "gray screen of death"?

I've never heard of a "gray screen of death" either, but that's certainly what it looked like!

I'm working on a clean install of 64-bit Windows 7 Pro SP1U, and I'm mostly finished installing my apps. The major problem symptom is that my Intel PROSet Ethernet Connection (2) 1218-V can't load it's drivers.

Here's the sequence of events...

(1) Finished installing Nero 2014 Ultimate updates, which required a reboot. NO hardware changes made.

(2) During that reboot, I see what would normally be a BSOD except the screen is definitely NOT blue! It looks more gray than anything (and my monitor is fine). The "GSOD" message is a new one on me as well, something like "SYSTEM_REGISTRATION_ERROR" or the like.

(3) When I boot up, even though I definitely have set it up to create a mini-dump on BSOD, there IS no mini-dump or even a full dump. I assure you it was simply not created!

(4) Now, all of a sudden, my 'Intel Ethernet Connection (2) 1218-V', the device manager reports: "This device is not working properly because Windows cannot load the drivers required for this device. (Code 31)" Note that I've read that Code 31 errors are supposedly "easy" to fix, but I've tried the things these tech support pages suggest (such as uninstalling the drivers and re-installing the latest version, or rolling back the drivers, etc), but that has had NO effect!

One of the things I can't help thinking about is that the following Intel software is installed and running:

• Intel Capability Licensing Service TCP IP Interface
• Intel PROSet Monitoring Service - monitors changes to the system and updates affected network devices to keep them running in optimal condition
• Intel Management and Security Application Local Management Service

Could any of those be related to the nasty "SYSTEM_REGISTRATION_ERROR" or whatever "GSOD"?

I realize you folks will need some data to work with, but ince I can't upload a dump, the best I could do was to save some specific event logs. I've zipped them up and uploaded them with this post.

Please, can anyone help me get my net-working again?

 

[Digerati]

If me, I would uninstall Nero, reboot, then run system restore to before the Nero installation and hope (fingers crossed) that works. If not, you may need to uninstall the affected drivers, then reboot and again, hope that works.

You may be seeing gray due to your contrast and brightness setting - but really experiencing the black screen of death.