Solved Another Random Windows 8 Freezes thread

kenshep

New Member
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8
Hi all, I need help. Needing a new Laptop I didn't mind that it was a superseded model and had Vista loaded because it was cheap and in less then a month I would be able to purchase Windows 8. Good plan, maybe a little naive but I have been let down badly as Windows 8 won't play nicely with my new laptop.

I am suffering dozens of random freezes and the only way out is to hold the start button until it turns off. Almost all of them happen when I am typing something. In notepad, in email (WLM), entering data online, even entering my Windows 8 activation product key, very few if any actually happen running a program. I can play Poker for hours but soon as I type something I grit my teeth as it could freeze at any moment, sometimes I can type a word, a paragraph or nearly a full email but eventually it will freeze.

I have tried a refresh or two, I have loaded all the latest drivers from ASUS, I have done a clean re-install or two and not loaded any ASUS drivers thinking it was a driver problem, but to no avail. It has frozen once already typing this submission. I no longer type online, I use wordpad on my desktop and save after each line because as sure as the sun will rise tomorrow it will freeze.

The event logs are surprisingly clean however the last freeze before this freeze mentioned the Wifi card Qualcomm Atheros AR 928x but I'm sure the driver is the latest (3.0.0.130 dated 3/7/2012).

The last two freezes have been for IRQL_NOT_LESS_OR_EQUAL see the dump below.

112512-61760-01.dmp 25/11/2012 10:09:40 AM IRQL_NOT_LESS_OR_EQUAL 0x0000000a 0x00000000 0x00000002 0x00000000 0x81da0fbc halmacpi.dll halmacpi.dll+f995 Hardware Abstraction Layer DLL Microsoft® Windows® Operating System Microsoft Corporation 6.2.9200.16384 (win8_rtm.120725-1247) 32-bit ntoskrnl.exe+990a4 ntoskrnl.exe+188fbc ndis.sys+e0a7 wsimd.sys+8bee C:\WINDOWS\Minidump\112512-61760-01.dmp 2 15 9200 139,448

System Laptop ASUS X85Se
Pentium T3400
2GB RAM
250 GB HDD
Atheros AR928X WiFi Card

Thinking it was maybe a Ram problem I tried the Ram from my wife's laptop (same type & speed) in both 2 GB and 4 GB configurations but same same. She is running Windows 7 and no problems whatsoever.

I thought it may also have been a display driver but I can find no evidence for that.

Not wishing to foist this experience on any of my family and friends I have warned them off Windows 8 until it is a little more stable. I just want a laptop that works.

After the second refresh , I had trouble installing any Windows 8 updates due to error 80073712 and not much turns up when I google windows 8 with that error it's mostly Windows 7 stuff.

After just finishing another refresh (my fourth) I finally got all the Windows 8 updates to install and guess what, it just froze another two times writing this.

Anyone have any ideas? please answer before I have to install Mint for my sanity, I will not go back to Vista.

I read how others just used Firefox instead of IE 10 but it can't be that simple.

kenshep
 
Last edited:

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Windows 8
    System Manufacturer/Model
    ASUS Laptop
    CPU
    Intel T3400
    Memory
    2 GB
Please post the minidumps also
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Win 8 Enterprise RTM
    System Manufacturer/Model
    N53SN
    CPU
    sandy bridge
    Motherboard
    N53SN
    Memory
    24gb
    Graphics Card(s)
    550M
    Screen Resolution
    1080p
Hi JMV2009, I checked the minidump directory and it's empty, ran the SF_Diagnostic just for minidump and the file is empty can you tell me how to get a mindump please.
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Windows 8
    System Manufacturer/Model
    ASUS Laptop
    CPU
    Intel T3400
    Memory
    2 GB
Check if there any files in the c:\windows\minidump directory with the .dmp extension. If not, check the c:\windows directory for memory.dmp. Try to upload that to your skydrive or somethin' after copying them to your desktop.
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Win 8 Enterprise RTM
    System Manufacturer/Model
    N53SN
    CPU
    sandy bridge
    Motherboard
    N53SN
    Memory
    24gb
    Graphics Card(s)
    550M
    Screen Resolution
    1080p
Hi jmv2009, the c:\windows\minidump directory is empty, no minidump file and no memory dump file, but I think I configured my system correctly to give those files. Does this mean I'm only having freezes not an actual windows crash.
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Windows 8
    System Manufacturer/Model
    ASUS Laptop
    CPU
    Intel T3400
    Memory
    2 GB
Not really, as you mentioned C:\WINDOWS\Minidump\112512-61760-01.dmp above. Where is it? Can you confirm c:\windows\memory.dmp does not exist?
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Win 8 Enterprise RTM
    System Manufacturer/Model
    N53SN
    CPU
    sandy bridge
    Motherboard
    N53SN
    Memory
    24gb
    Graphics Card(s)
    550M
    Screen Resolution
    1080p
Hi jmv2009, I can confirm that there are no files in the windows\minidump directory it is empty of system or memory dumps. My laptop froze four times trying to reply to this thread so I am now on my wife's laptop. The first three freezes were the regular kind where everything just locks up and I have to press the start button until it shutsdown. The last freeze the screen went black and the laptop just restarted. This does happen sometimes, there is no BSOD everytime.

Any suggestions as to where we can go from here? Thanks for your help so far.

regards, kenshep
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Windows 8
    System Manufacturer/Model
    ASUS Laptop
    CPU
    Intel T3400
    Memory
    2 GB
Hi jmv2009, I hope you are still on my case many more freezes and many more BSOD's and I finally got a memory dump in the c:\windows directory which is where the system log said it would be, however I can't do a thing with it. At 1.99 GB notepad says it's too big and word pad crashes trying to open it with 'not responding'. I can only copy it to the desktop but nothing else and it's too big to upload.

I have attached the lates sf-diagnostic log, just to see it there is a clue as to what it's problem is.

thanks for your interest.

kenshep
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Windows 8
    System Manufacturer/Model
    ASUS Laptop
    CPU
    Intel T3400
    Memory
    2 GB
Hi kenshep,

It's good you got the memory dump.
Check your dump settings to see if you can evoke a minidump as well. Check out "Control panel - System and Security - System - Advanced System Settings - Advanced - Startup and Recovery Settings"

Can you install debugging tools for windows
Download and Install Debugging Tools for Windows

Can you then in Windbg (x64) set "SRV*c:\symbols\*http://msdl.microsoft.com/download/symbols" as the symbol search path (file symbol search path". Make sure it stays this way repeatedly.

The drag the crash dump file into windbg.

After some processing, type "!analyze - v"

Paste the results here.
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Win 8 Enterprise RTM
    System Manufacturer/Model
    N53SN
    CPU
    sandy bridge
    Motherboard
    N53SN
    Memory
    24gb
    Graphics Card(s)
    550M
    Screen Resolution
    1080p
Hi jmv, 2009 finally a minidump, says it's a pagedump, just decides to turn up out of the blue after a series of freezes. Hope it gives a clue as to what it's problem is. I'm on the wife's laptop as mine frozes four times trying to reply. Maybe it's because it's a 64 bit processor running 32 bit O/S, but that should be OK shouldn't it?

I don't think there is much this dump but I hope it gives a clue. Had a problem the upload said it was an invalid file but I renamed it .txt and it took.

thanks regards,

Ken
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Windows 8
    System Manufacturer/Model
    ASUS Laptop
    CPU
    Intel T3400
    Memory
    2 GB
Hi All, my laptop finally sent me around the twist with about 30 freezes in one afternoon and most of them different. I tried Ubuntu and it all looked great for about five minutes and then the dreaded freeze. I tried Mint 14 with the same result. I documented the freezes and the errors and contacted ASUS. I was expecting problems but the whole process was really painless. I explained all that I had done to isolate the error and they agree with me that it is probably a hardware problem so they sent a courier to pick it up and they will have a look at it in their Parramatta Service Centre. Will post results when it is returned. Thanks jmv2009 for trying to help.


regards,


Kenshep
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Windows 8
    System Manufacturer/Model
    ASUS Laptop
    CPU
    Intel T3400
    Memory
    2 GB
Looks like this one is solved. Called ASUS and they said looks like a hardware problem. Packed and posted it to the service centre at Parramatta and there were delays because it was Christmas but it was very painless thanks to ASUS. They rang to confirm that they ran some tests on the HDD and it failed. I did run chkdsk and it passed every time. I received the laptop back yesterday and it is running very nicely thank you. I am enjoying windows 8 without the freezing.

Thanks to jmv200 for your interest, regards,

kenshep
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Windows 8
    System Manufacturer/Model
    ASUS Laptop
    CPU
    Intel T3400
    Memory
    2 GB
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