Spontaneous shutdown; now only works in Safe Mode

[Typical Nerd]

Morning!


The Specs

Fujitsu Siemens Amilo XI 2528 - all components default:
Around three/four years old
Intel Core Duo CPU T8100 @ 2.1GHz
nVidia GeForce 8600M GS Graphics Card 512MB
OEM OS: Windows Vista Home Premium - 32 bit
New OS: Windows 7 Professional 32 bit; installed roughly two weeks before crash*
Hard Drives: WDC WD25 00BEVS-2 SCSI Disk Device x2
RAM: 4GB DDR3

*Not Default

The Situation
I'd installed Windows 7 around a week before this happened: I had several tabs open in Google Chrome including Youtube and browser-based games. I got a sudden BSOD so I chose at first to just startup normally and it worked fine - phew. Around a week after that (again in Google Chrome) I had Facebook and a couple of tabs of Youtube open and my computer shut off completely - not even a BSOD. I booted up and it got to the start-up screen with the W7 logo and 'Starting Windows', then it shut off again.

I tried startup repair and it failed with an error (I'll check for an error code when I get back and update). I decided to simply reinstall Windows 7 as since I installed it I only installed Google Chrome and iTunes since the install, so I wasn't bothered about losing anything. I booted with the disk and when it came to choosing a partition to install to, none showed up. I went into Safe Mode and everything works fine. Whenever I try to boot normally, though, it fails.

Additional Information
On startup, at the point in time you press F2 to enter BIOS, etc., there are several uneven jagged red lines across the screen - perhaps a graphics card issue?
Also, I used to have Linux Ubuntu installed in a secondary partition in dual-boot when I had Windows Vista. I uninstalled that many months ago, but the option for it still shows up on boot as I, embarassingly enough, don't know how to get rid of it.

Thanks in advance for any and all help!

 

[usasma]

Start by trying these free, bootable diagnostics: Initial Hardware Diagnostics
FWIW - I suspect that you have a failing hard drive - so the hard drive diagnostic is (IMO) the most important test.

 

[Typical Nerd]

Thanks for your reply!
Unfortunately I don't have a blank disk right now and won't be able to get one until the weekend. I'll get back to you on that one.
I do, however, have my Windows_NT6_BSOD_jcgriff2 folder. Unfortunately, the Perfmon /Report failed, and said

"Error:
An error occured while attempting to generate the report.
The system cannot find the path specified".

I'm running my computer in safe mode as we speak, and my data is accessible.

 

[usasma]

If the hard drive is failing, you may have limited time left to backup your data.
That should be the number one priority at this point (IMO)

Don't forget to test ALL hard drives (both internal and external)

 

[usasma]

All of the following shouldn't be done until:
- you backup your stuff
- you've run the hard drive diagnostic (and the hard drive passed) - if it fails, there's no sense in fixing it because you'll have to replace the hard drive anyway.

There are 2 problem devices listed in MSINFO32:

Security Processor Loader Driver ROOT\LEGACY_SPLDR\0000 This device is not present, is not working properly, or does not have all its drivers installed.

Consumer IR Devices ROOT\SYSTEM\0001 This device is not working properly because Windows cannot load the drivers required for this device.

The Consumer IR device drivers should be available at the system manufacturer's website.

The Security Loader device is usually present when there's been an infection - or an incompletely removed infection/damage to the OS. I mention this because infections can mimic the symptoms of a hard drive failure.

 

[Typical Nerd]

Well, I still haven't been able to get my hands on a blank disk, but I got my hands on a hard drive from somebody from work. I just spent like three hours trying to replace the hard drive by myself for the first time, and managed it. I booted up and it still has the same issue - going to a black screen after the 'starting Windows 7' screen. I put the original hard drive back in and I'm now in safe mode again.

 

[usasma]

Tell us how you installed the OS on the other hard drive.
If it was already installed when you put it in - was it initially installed on the same system?

 

[Typical Nerd]

Well when I originally got my laptop, it had Windows Vista Home Premium 32 bit pre-installed. I've went back to factory defaults a few times over the years, then recently (around two-three weeks ago) upgraded to Windows 7 Professional 32 bit with a clean install. I would simply reset to factory defaults as I only have Google Chrome, Java, iTunes and my music on my laptop which I'm not bothered about losing as I have it backed up on an SD card in my phone anyway. The option for factory defaults is no longer there, though, probably due to the clean install.

I'm currently an 18 year old apprentice on a work placement in a school as an Administrator/IT Support, as the school's administrator is a contractor who comes in once a week on the Wednesday. When he came in I ran the problem by him and informed him of these posts on this forum, so he gave me a SATA laptop hard drive which was originally used in the school. It had Windows XP installed on it, but on startup it flashed a blue screen for a milisecond or so after the 'Starting Windows' screen and turned off. It looped that until I manually had to turn it off by the button.

Sorry about my lack of information is posts; this is the first IT forum I've joined.
Also, thanks for your continued help.

 

[usasma]

Not a problem - we're here to help.
Since you're learning, I'm going to include a lot more detail in my posts so that you can understand why I make the suggestions that I do.

Putting an XP hard drive into a system that it wasn't installed on will usually result in a BSOD.
XP doesn't have the features to recognize and install any newly required drivers. Things get better with Vista and Win7 - but they're still not 100% perfect.

Did you install Win7 on the contractors hard drive while it was in the laptop? If not, would the contractor mind if you installed your copy of Win7 onto his hard drive in your laptop (it'll wipe out the XP installation)? FYI - you can also do a Repair Install of XP (if the contractor OK's it) using the instructions here: http://www.michaelstevenstech.com/XPrepairinstall.htm

If you are running Win7 on the contractor's hard drive:
- have you visited Windows Update and gotten all available updates (to include hardware drivers and other optional updates)?
- have you checked in Device Manager to ensure that there are no unknown/uninstalled devices?

What I'm trying to figure out here is if the system was setup/installed with enough updated drivers for us to figure out if it's hardware or software. A spare hard drive that you can install Windows on is a great tool to figure this out without having to wipe out your current installation (the one on the other hard drive).

Hardware black screens aren't as common as software black screens - so we'll have to be sure before suggesting replacing the laptop!
***************************************************************
I've spent weeks at work troubleshooting black screen errors without success. We now just try System Restore - and if it doesn't work we call up the customer and tell them we've got to wipe the system and reinstall Windows.

If you can get back into Windows the first thing is to set a System Restore point (so you can get back in again). The Windows Installer doesn't work in Safe Mode, so you'll need to be in normal mode for the last 2 steps.
The next thing is to backup all your stuff - in case you can't get back into Windows again!
The next thing is to update all drivers with the most recent versions available from the device manufacturer (NOT the PC manufacturer)
The next thing is to get ALL available Windows Updates - to include the optional updates.

If you can't get into Windows, try System Restore (from Startup Repair) to see if you can find a way back into Windows. If you do, start with the stuff above.
If not, then the procedure is:
- make sure you have your recovery disks
- backup your stuff
- wipe the hard drive (I use KillDisk, but DBAN works just as well - both are free with a Google search).
- Clean install Windows in order to test it (instructions here: Canned Speeches )

Good luck!
Post back with any questions that you may have.

 

[Typical Nerd]

Aha! I downloaded the HDD drivers onto a USB stick, inserted the Windows 7 DVD and reinstalled Windows 7. When it came up to the part where it was unable to detect the hard drives I went into load drivers and selected the drivers from the USB stick to load the hard drive. I then chose a partition and performed a clean install - appears to be working... for now.

Thanks a lot for your help, I genuinely appreciate it. +Rep

 

[Typical Nerd]

Well... I thought I'd solved it. I did everything (how I thought was) sensibly; I first of all went into device management and downloaded and installed drivers for all of the unknown devices. I then started Windows Update running. I logged in and relplied to this thread and sat around for the updates to complete. I restarted the computer for the updates to take effect, and I got another black screen. I restarted, noticed I wasn't even allowed in safe mode anymore and chose startup repair. It failed, so I rebooted, went back into start up repair and had to add the drivers for the HDD again. Startup repair worked and I'm now on again (not safe mode) but I've no idea how long I've got until it breaks again. I guess I'll go as long as I can without turning it off so it doesn't break. While I was on the first time I saved an image of the computer on my D:\ drive, but that was also inaccessible. I'm going to take another image and put it on a USB stick for swift recovery.

Also, my computer is default to minimum resolution. I can change it but is it normal to default to minimum resolution? It doesn't seem right.

 

[usasma]

The default (Microsoft) drivers don't allow much except the ability to get into the OS and to update the video drivers with those that support other resolutions.

First step is to get the latest versions of all the drivers on your system. The latest versions are most often available at the device manufacturer's website - not at the PC manufacturer's website, nor at Windows Update.
Don't use the update drivers function in Device Manager either - as it checks Windows Update.

You can find most drivers at my DRT (Driver Reference Table) located here: Driver Reference Table (DRT)
I developed this to help people locate drivers. It has links to the download locations for most common drivers.

To find the dates on the drivers either:
- run the jcgriff2 app that's a sticky at these forums - there's several driver listings in it (with dates)
- run the jcgriff2 app and look at the Software Environment...System Drivers to get the dates
- look at C:\Windows\System32\drivers - and sort all the .sys files (drivers) by date

Update the oldest one's first - some may not need to be updated - but let us know of any you find that are dated 2009 and earlier.

Post back about any drivers that you can't locate and we'll see what we can find.

 

[Typical Nerd]

I haven't started with updating the drivers manually yet as I'm about to go to bed - I'll start that tomorrow. Just a quick update that after restarting to configure Windows Updates I'm now getting a BSOD loop with error code 0x0000116. Something related to video?

 

[usasma]

Yep it's video. Here's a link to a troubleshooting topic for this error: http://www.sevenforums.com/crash-lo...op-0x116-video_tdr_error-troubleshooting.html

 

[Typical Nerd]

Sorry about my delayed response, I had to sort some things out over the past few days. I just went directly to the nVidia website and downloaded the driver for my EXACT card model (nVidia GeForce 8600M GS) for the EXACT OS (Windows 7 Professional: 32 bit). I downloaded the installer and before it ran, it requested a reboot. I authorised the reboot and it booted perfectly into normal mode (as in NOT in safe mode). 'Hooray', I thought to myself. Anyway, it finished the install and requested a reboot. I happily obliged, thinking it'd work again as I hadn't changed anything else, and I got black screen with little clouds of white moving around the screen - not good. I manually rebooted it and got the 'Launch Startup Repair' screen. I launched the startup repair, pathed to the drivers for my HDD and it suggested I restore a previous version, so I accepted. This didn't work; I just ended up back to the launch startup repair screen. No more BSODs, though.

 

[usasma]

Well, there's 2 ways to handle this (IME).
- continue to try and figure out what's causing the black screen (I've gone as long as 2 weeks without finding a cause - and gave up at that point).
- backup your data, wipe the hard drive clean, and then install Windows "clean"

Interestingly I just read an article by Mark Russinovich (the author of the Sysinternals programs) about a black screen problem he had recently. His would take 6 minutes to get to the Desktop - and it was caused by the system trying to reconnect to network drives that weren't there anymore (because he was traveling). Here's the complete story: The Case of the Veeerrry Slow Logons - Mark's Blog - Site Home - TechNet Blogs

 

[Typical Nerd]

I've been trying for around three weeks - so frustrating. I've given up, too, though, at least to the point I've left my laptop with my Uncle to see if he can do anything with it.

I've already tried wiping the hard drive and reinstalling Windows. It worked, and logged me on with no problems, but then I ran Windows Update and restarted to configure the updates. It then black-screened again.

My black screen is different to the one he experienced; I don't even see my cursor. :/
Also, surely the 'clouds' moving around the black screen indicate a graphics issue, but surely it can't be a hardware issue if it works perfectly in safe mode? I've tried multiple times installing the latest drivers, and they work and log me on, but again request a reboot which puts it back to square one.

Also, I don't have any mapped network drives on my laptop, it doesn't even get that far in the boot process - just past the loading screen then nothing.

Thanks again for your consistent help, if I could +Rep you twice, I would.

I guess it's time to reluctantly give up and pay to get it repaired. If not, then it's time to announce its death. You've served me well, Fujitsu-Siemens Amilo XI, may you rest in peace.

 

[usasma]

Did you try the new video drivers immediately after wiping the system and reinstalling Windows?
If not, that could possibly work (before the Windows Updates are done).

It can be a hardware problem (and, IMO, it is a hardware problem with your video card). The Windows drivers don't use all the features on the card, so the part with the problem may not be being used in Safe Mode.

The video cards appear to be replaceable ( Fujitsu Siemens Amilo Xi Video Card ATi X1800 Mobility ) but are $110 (US) - and I can't guarantee that this will fix the problem (and this is an ATI card, not the nVidia card in your system).

Besides, if you start throwing money at this system - how much will it cost before you decide to get a newer/faster/less expensive system?

If you do take it into a shop for repairs, be sure that there's a warranty on the work - as it may work for you for a while and then revert to having issues again.

 

[Typical Nerd]

No, I booted up in safe mode and downloaded the driver from there. It restarted my system in normal mode, though, before it installed. I'm concerned about personally replacing the card as I opened it up sometime last week and the graphics card seemed to be pinned under a bracket which was stuck down. I removed all of the screws but it didn't want to come off unless I forced it, which I didn't want to do.

I was actually looking to replace my system before it broke, but to get the standard of computer I'm looking at I'll have to save up for several months (I'm at the age the vast majority of money I earn I spend on alcohol). If I were to replace the system, I'd get a desktop as my laptop has very rarely left the, uh, desk. Problem is, I'm 18 years old and I'm on apprenticeship wage (£2.60 [$4.07 approx.] / hour).

Specs I'd be looking at:
Motherboard: Decent clock cycle, supports at least 8GB RAM and x64 architecture
CPU: At least Intel i3
Graphics Card: at least 1GB on-board memory, preferably nVidia
RAM: 8GB DDR3
Hard drives: Primary low storage (approx. 60GB) SSD SATA for OS and background applications, secondary approx. 500GB HDD SATA
OS: x64 Windows 7 Professional (I can get this for free as I was trained in a Microsoft Academy)

I don't know a lot about hardware, but the more I learn, the more I want to put my money into computers and stay up-to-date.

I'll try reinstalling the OS then immediately install the new driver when I get home. My Uncle is passing the laptop to his friend to have a look at soon, but if he can't do anything about it I guess I'll strip it for parts and get rid of it. I'll just have to return to being a console gamer for the foreseeable future.

Thanks once again for your help, I would've rage-quit a long time ago and thrown it away if it weren't for you. At least I can still stalk Facebook in safe mode with networking until it's replaced if it still doesn't work. All is well.

Also, as I didn't know before, I Googled the model, checked out the specs, and discovered the exact model number of my system is the Fujitsu Siemens Amilo Xi 2528.

 

[usasma]

Replacing parts in a laptop is a real PITA. Good luck with that!

If you've gotta save up, then I'd suggest getting started now. Each drink that you buy will take you that much further away from your new system - so it's simply a matter of what you choose. More booze = longer without a computer.

Keep an eye out for sales, the prices of systems are getting cheaper every day!
Be careful about the SSD drive - we've seen some issues recently. Maybe start with a platter based hard drive and upgrade to an SSD later on?

Good luck!