Solved BSODs at boot time, usually boots normally after 3 reboots and repairs

gaspodeagain

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Hi.

I'm having some trouble with my HP Envy 15" 1099 eo laptop.
I'm running Windows 8 Enterprise Evaluation, build 9200.

When the laptop has been turned off, my usuall boot experience looks something like this:

  1. Booting normally, crashes with a BSOD near the end. Usually a "DPC_Watchdog_Violation", but I've seen a "SYSTEM_THREAD_EXCEPTION_NOT_HANDLED" as well. Memory dump created, followed by Automatic reboot.
  2. Booting again. Crashes with BSOD near the end. Almost always a "DPC_Watchdog_Violation". Memory dump creatd, folowed by a automatic reboot.
  3. Windows figures out something is wrong, and attempts to fix it. It may suggest memory tests, windows repairs, etc. In one of these menus I can tell windows to reboot to windows normally again. So I click that.
  4. Windows boots normally, and finally starts up with no BSOD.

Sometimes this whole process has to be repeated a few times before it finally boots properly.
On two occations, I've had to use system restore to get back to a bootable state.

Once windows actually boots, I've not seen a single crash.

I've attached bootlogs etc.

Any help would be much appriciated. :)

Edit: Formatting.
Edit2: Corrected laptop type. It's an 1099eo, not 1090. To any laptop designers out there: Don't hide information like that under the laptop battery. That's a horribly inconvenient place to look it up.
 
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My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Windows 8
    System Manufacturer/Model
    HP Envy 15" 1099 eo
    CPU
    Intel Core I7 Q720@1.60GHz
    Memory
    4 GB
    Graphics Card(s)
    ATI Mobility Radeon HD 4830
Welcome to Eight Forums gaspodeagain.

If your laptop has been running stable for a while will it shutdown and re-start with no issues?


Two of your crashes are 9C.
Code:
STOP 0x0000009C: MACHINE_CHECK_EXCEPTION 
Usual causes:  Hardware error (similar to STOP 0x124)
OVERLAPPED_MODULE: Address regions for 'dump_iaStorV' and 'dump_iaStorV' overlap
BUGCHECK_STR:  0x9C_GenuineIntel
FAILURE_BUCKET_ID:  0x9C_GenuineIntel_nt!KxMcheckAbort
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
STOP 0x00000101: CLOCK_WATCHDOG_TIMEOUT
Usual causes:  Device driver, BIOS bug, hardware defect
Probably caused by : Unknown_Image ( ANALYSIS_INCONCLUSIVE )

For reference: Stop 0x124 - what it means and what to try

Have you checked your CPU temps?
Use Real Temp , to check the CPU temps when at idle, under load and/or testing.
Let us know the minimum and maximum temps you get, post a snip of RealTemp.

For posting the information , type 'Snipping tool' in the Start screen. Select the area you want to post and save to a convenient place.
How to Upload and Post a Screenshot and File in Eight Forums

After checking your CPU core temps we can run a CPU test.

System Event Logs.
Code:
Event[628]:
  Log Name: System
  Source: Microsoft-Windows-Kernel-Processor-Power
  Date: 2012-09-03T19:29:18.239
  Event ID: 55
  Task: N/A
  Level: Information
  Opcode: Info
  Keyword: N/A
  User: S-1-5-18
  User Name: NT AUTHORITY\SYSTEM
  Computer: laptop
  Description: 
Processor 0 in group 0 exposes the following power management capabilities:

Idle state type: ACPI Idle (C) States (2 state(s))

Performance state type: ACPI Performance (P) / Throttle (T) States
Nominal Frequency (MHz): 1597
Maximum performance percentage: 100
Minimum performance percentage: 58
Minimum throttle percentage: 6

Event[624]:
  Log Name: System
  Source: Microsoft-Windows-Kernel-Power
  Date: 2012-09-03T19:29:16.148
  Event ID: 125
  Task: N/A
  Level: Information
  Opcode: Info
  Keyword: N/A
  User: S-1-5-18
  User Name: NT AUTHORITY\SYSTEM
  Computer: laptop
  Description: 
[COLOR="#FF0000"]ACPI thermal zone \_TZ.TZ01 has been enumerated. [/COLOR]            
_PSV = 408K             
_TC1 = 2             
_TC2 = 5             
_TSP = 5000ms             
_AC0 = 0K             
_AC1 = 0K             
_AC2 = 0K             
_AC3 = 0K             
_AC4 = 0K             
_AC5 = 0K             
_AC6 = 0K             
_AC7 = 0K             
_AC8 = 0K             
_AC9 = 0K             
_CRT = 372K             
_HOT = 370K
This indicates CPU overheating.

Code:
Event[651]:
  Log Name: System
  Source: Microsoft-Windows-StartupRepair
  Date: 2012-09-03T19:29:49.845
  Event ID: 1117
  Task: N/A
  Level: Information
  Opcode: Info
  Keyword: N/A
  User: S-1-5-18
  User Name: NT AUTHORITY\SYSTEM
  Computer: laptop
  Description: 
A possible problem with hardware memory (RAM) might have prevented Windows from starting.
Run memtest86+ for a minimum of 7 full passes with all RAM cards installed. Best to run overnight, if you get any errors you can stop the test.
RAM - Test with Memtest86+
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Windows 8.1 Pro x64/ Windows 7 Ult x64
    Computer type
    PC/Desktop
    System Manufacturer/Model
    76~2.0
    CPU
    Intel Core i5-3570K 4.6GHz
    Motherboard
    GIGABYTE GA-Z77X UD3H f18
    Memory
    8GB (2X4GB) DDR3 1600 CORSAIR Vengeance CL8 1.5v
    Graphics Card(s)
    Sapphire HD 7770 Vapor-X 1GB DDR5
    Sound Card
    Onboard VIA VT2021
    Monitor(s) Displays
    22" LCD Dell SP2208WFP
    Screen Resolution
    1680x1050
    Hard Drives
    Samaung 840Pro 128GB, Seagate 500GB SATA2 7200rpm 32mb, Seagate 1TB SATA2 7200rpm 32mb,
    PSU
    Corsair HX650W
    Case
    Cooler Master Storm Scout
    Cooling
    Corsair H80 w/Noctua NF P12 12cm fan, case fans 2X14cm
    Keyboard
    Logitech Wave
    Mouse
    CM Sentinel
    Internet Speed
    Abysmal
    Browser
    Opera Next
    Other Info
    Dell Venue 8Pro: Baytrail Z3740D, 2GB Ram, 64GB HDD, 8" IPS Display 1280 x 800, Active Stylus.
    Haswell laptop: HP Envy 17t-j, i7-4700MQ, GeForce 740M 2GB DDR3, 17.3" Full HD 1920x1080, 16GB RAM, Samsung 840 Pro 128GB, 1TB Hitachi 7200 HDD,
    Desktop: eSATA ports,
    External eSATA Seagate 500GB SATA2 7200rpm,
Thanks a lot for the feedback.

My initial thoughts:

  1. I'll double check when I get home (currently at work), but I'm pretty sure the crashes would occur on every restart, regardless of whether the computer has been turned on for a while before that.
  2. High temperatures doesn't in and of itself sound unlikely - these laptops generates a lot of heat. That said, I would expect any overheating-related crashes to occur while actually putting the computer under heavy load, not during startup. I'll run the tests you suggested, but I haven't seen any crashes playing neither CPU-heavy games (Civilization, Crusader Kings 2) nor GPU-heavy games (Skyrim) for hours. In any case, I'll run Real Temp and post the results.
  3. I'll make sure to run a CPU and Memory tests as well, and post the result.
  4. I'll work my way through the list of suggestions in your link as well. I'm currently running a lot of the included drivers in Win8, and not their manufactor-made equivalents, so that in particular sounds like a possible explanation. In any case, I'll update this thread with my results.

And a question at the end - are there any guides or something available that can teach me how to locate/retrieve the information you posted above myself? Learning how to figure out these issues on my own would be useful to know.

Edit: I'll fix the formatting in this post when I get a few minutes free.
Edit: Fixed formatting, spelling errors.
 
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My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Windows 8
    System Manufacturer/Model
    HP Envy 15" 1099 eo
    CPU
    Intel Core I7 Q720@1.60GHz
    Memory
    4 GB
    Graphics Card(s)
    ATI Mobility Radeon HD 4830
You're welcome.

Laptops can be fickle when it comes to CPU overheating issues.
Be sure to not block the air vents, don't set it on your lap or on any cloth surface.
These new powerful laptops can run very hot.

I'm trying to assess if it is a 'Cold Boot' issue, basically CPU or RAM failing when you first startup with a cold system.
This is usually due to faulty CPU or RAM, sometimes can be fixed with setting adjustments but, OEM systems don't have many available settings so that won't help you much.

I always install the Intel RST driver and graphics card driver from the source.
Intel® Rapid Storage

You can install the Windows Degugger to read the crash dumps.
BSOD Analysis - Getting Started
It doesn't actually tell you the problem but will give you hints as to where to start looking.
You can get clues from the Event Logs, they are easier to look through when in txt format as in the dump files you attached.
Open the System and/or App Event Log txt file and search using Edit>Find, enter 'error' in the find box. This will let you find the relevant events faster.

Post the results of the testing when you get a chance.
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Windows 8.1 Pro x64/ Windows 7 Ult x64
    Computer type
    PC/Desktop
    System Manufacturer/Model
    76~2.0
    CPU
    Intel Core i5-3570K 4.6GHz
    Motherboard
    GIGABYTE GA-Z77X UD3H f18
    Memory
    8GB (2X4GB) DDR3 1600 CORSAIR Vengeance CL8 1.5v
    Graphics Card(s)
    Sapphire HD 7770 Vapor-X 1GB DDR5
    Sound Card
    Onboard VIA VT2021
    Monitor(s) Displays
    22" LCD Dell SP2208WFP
    Screen Resolution
    1680x1050
    Hard Drives
    Samaung 840Pro 128GB, Seagate 500GB SATA2 7200rpm 32mb, Seagate 1TB SATA2 7200rpm 32mb,
    PSU
    Corsair HX650W
    Case
    Cooler Master Storm Scout
    Cooling
    Corsair H80 w/Noctua NF P12 12cm fan, case fans 2X14cm
    Keyboard
    Logitech Wave
    Mouse
    CM Sentinel
    Internet Speed
    Abysmal
    Browser
    Opera Next
    Other Info
    Dell Venue 8Pro: Baytrail Z3740D, 2GB Ram, 64GB HDD, 8" IPS Display 1280 x 800, Active Stylus.
    Haswell laptop: HP Envy 17t-j, i7-4700MQ, GeForce 740M 2GB DDR3, 17.3" Full HD 1920x1080, 16GB RAM, Samsung 840 Pro 128GB, 1TB Hitachi 7200 HDD,
    Desktop: eSATA ports,
    External eSATA Seagate 500GB SATA2 7200rpm,
Ok, what I've tested a bit, and here are my results and my thoughts so far.

The 9 suggestions from the link explaining possible causes for the 0x124 crashes:


  1. Overclocking. This laptop isn't overclocked in any way, nor has it even been.
  2. Temperature. I don't think overheating would be a problem during boot, but see screenshots and further information a bit later in this post.
  3. Drivers. I've updated the following drivers: Display adapter, chipset, Intel Rapid Storage, (and some Mobile Data Protection Sensor thingy I just learned that my laptop had). I also have drivers for modem, wireless adapater, webcam, ethernet card, usb controller, card reader and touchpad available, but not installed. I'll install these if anything seems to point in their direction, but so far that doesn't seem to be the case.
  4. Bios. I have an uninstalled update available, but the fix it provides seems utterly irrelevant to the problem. ("USB Xbox 360 Street Fighter IV FightStick Controller is not detected by the system"...)
  5. OS-caused falsee positives. Win 8 is still new, so it's not impossible. I'm currently running build 9200, Enterprise Evaluation. I tried installing build 8400 (I think - the release preview) at some point, and wasn't able to boot at all because of these crashes.
  6. Stress testing. I'll describe this below.
  7. Re-installation of windows using nothing not from the windows installation disk. Tried this repeatedly, I think this is my third installation using build 9200, and perhaps seventh if we include my attempts using build 8400.
  8. Removing dust from laptop. Haven't done this yet, but I might give it a shot depending on your opinion on what my stress tests indicated.
  9. Remove hardware, component by component. Not so easy to do on a laptop. I could perhaps try using a different set of RAM bricks, but that's pretty much all I can do.

Anyway, on to the hardware tests.

I ran memtest86+ overnight and while I was at work the following day, for a total of 10 passes. No errors.
Still, since one of the errors indicated a possible problem with my RAM, it might be worth mentioning that there is a chance that I'm not using the original ram bricks (modules?) I got with the laptop. I remember considering to buy a new pair, but not if I actually ever got around to doing it.

CPU temperatures, with the laptop standing on a flat desk:

This shows the temperatures when the laptop has been idle for a while:

View attachment 8541

This shows the temperature when the laptop has run RealTemps torture test using the "Small FPU" option for 10 minutes. (Maximum FPU stress test, data fits in L2 cache, RAM not tested much):
View attachment 8543

This shows the temperature when the laptop has run RealTemps torture test, but using the "In-place large FFT's for 10 minutes.(Maximum heat, power consumption, some RAM tested):
View attachment 8542

The HP Envy laptops (especially the version with I7 CPUS) are notorious for getting hot, so I'm not too surprised.

Cold boot issue:

Doesn't sound too implausible. It seems to reboot pretty reliably after having been on for a while, and turning it on after only having it turned off for a short while seems to work from time to time as well.
I will keep trying to boot it after having it turned off for half an hour or so tonight and tomorrow, and see what the success rate is.

Current status:

Installing drivers (especially the display driver) seems to have helped. It can now boot on the first attempt some of the time. :)
(I'm pretty sure I've installed the display driver before, though. Perhaps one of the system restores I've had to do removed it. Or maybe it was on a previous windows install - I've had to do a few.=

As before, the success rate seems to be higher if the laptop either was just turned off, or I'm just rebooting.

In any case, a typical cold boot start now looks like this:
1. Booting. Windows hangs with a black screen.
2. I have to hold the power button to reboot
3. Boots fine.

I've attached a new set of dump files and so on, in case that's needed.
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Windows 8
    System Manufacturer/Model
    HP Envy 15" 1099 eo
    CPU
    Intel Core I7 Q720@1.60GHz
    Memory
    4 GB
    Graphics Card(s)
    ATI Mobility Radeon HD 4830
One thing to add: I've never had these kinds of crashes using Windows 7. If this is a hardware issue, windows 7 seems to be more resilient somehow.
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Windows 8
    System Manufacturer/Model
    HP Envy 15" 1099 eo
    CPU
    Intel Core I7 Q720@1.60GHz
    Memory
    4 GB
    Graphics Card(s)
    ATI Mobility Radeon HD 4830
Good testing and trouble shooting plan.

Reply to the 9.
1. Overclocking. This laptop isn't overclocked in any way, nor has it even been.
Most OEM laptop don't allow Over Clocking by limiting the options in the BIOS.
2. Temperature. I don't think overheating would be a problem during boot, but see screenshots and further information a bit later in this post.
You normally won't see high CPU heat at boot, but you can see temps come up too high and then lower a little.
Your idle temp are a bit high.
3.Drivers. I've updated the following drivers: Display adapter, chipset, Intel Rapid Storage, (and some Mobile Data Protection Sensor thingy I just learned that my laptop had). I also have drivers for modem, wireless adapater, webcam, ethernet card, usb controller, card reader and touchpad available, but not installed. I'll install these if anything seems to point in their direction, but so far that doesn't seem to be the case.
Install all the drivers if they are newer. It helps to eliminate the possible causes.
I have seen many times a driver that seems to be not related can cause an issue with another device.
4. Bios. I have an uninstalled update available, but the fix it provides seems utterly irrelevant to the problem. ("USB Xbox 360 Street Fighter IV FightStick Controller is not detected by the system"...)
Was there more than one update between your current BIOS and the newest one?
These are cumulative, if there is only one newer than the version you have and it's not relevant then no need to update.
5. OS-caused falsee positives. Win 8 is still new, so it's not impossible. I'm currently running build 9200, Enterprise Evaluation. I tried installing build 8400 (I think - the release preview) at some point, and wasn't able to boot at all because of these crashes.
Win8 is very stable, not perfect but stable, many people have no issues.
I installed it on my 4 year old laptop and have had no issues at all, from early leaks to Pro RTM. Same with my desktop.
6. Stress testing. I'll describe this below.
I'll comment on the testing below.
7. Re-installation of windows using nothing not from the windows installation disk. Tried this repeatedly, I think this is my third installation using build 9200, and perhaps seventh if we include my attempts using build 8400.
Check the Device Manager for "?", some drivers will need updating.
I always update Intel RST drivers and graphics drivers from the manufacturers site.
8. Removing dust from laptop. Haven't done this yet, but I might give it a shot depending on your opinion on what my stress tests indicated.
Clean the dust, your idle temps are too high.
On these new laptops with i7's, run hot, and a little dust can cause a lot of heat.
9. Remove hardware, component by component. Not so easy to do on a laptop. I could perhaps try using a different set of RAM bricks, but that's pretty much all I can do.
Let's do a little testing first.

Good result on the RAM memtest86+ results.
Let's do one more run with memtest86+, with the laptop cold - turned off for at least 4 hours. This is a cold boot test, just set it up to run from the cd or USB memory stick, so you can push the start button and it will run. Don't start up to Win8 first and then run memtest86+, run it from a cold state.
If it's a cold boot issue, it should give errors right away. Let it run for 15 minutes minimum or if you can for another 7 passes.
If memtest86+ gives an error , even one, you can stop the test.

Your laptop runs very hot, definitely needs to have the dust cleaned out.
You should consider getting a laptop cooler.

Let's run another CPU test.
Be sure to open RealTemp and don't let the temps go over 95°C.
D/L OCCT stability checking tool Run the CPU:OCCT test for at least 30 minutes, be sure to monitor your CPU and GPU temps.
Set the time before you start.
When its done, pass or fail, it will make some graphs. Post these here as they are useful for analyses.

Your last crashes.
Code:
STOP 0x0000009C: MACHINE_CHECK_EXCEPTION
Usual causes:  Hardware error (similar to STOP 0x124)
BUGCHECK_STR:  0x9C_GenuineIntel
FAILURE_BUCKET_ID:  0x9C_GenuineIntel_dxgkrnl!DpSynchronizeExecution
This was on 7 September.
Similar to the previous one but also indicates the graphics driver.
Hopefully this will be fixed by the new graphics driver.

Code:
STOP 0x0000009C: MACHINE_CHECK_EXCEPTION
Usual causes:  Hardware error (similar to STOP 0x124)
OVERLAPPED_MODULE: Address regions for 'dump_iaStorV' and 'dump_iaStorV' overlap
BUGCHECK_STR:  0x9C_GenuineIntel
FAILURE_BUCKET_ID:  0x9C_GenuineIntel_nt!KxMcheckAbort
This is similar to the above but indicates the Intel RST driver and HDD.
Did you install the Intel RST driver from the Intel link in post #4?
OEMs aren't very good at keeping the Intel RST up to date.
Lets test the HDD just to be sure.
Download and run Seatools on your HDD.
How to use SeaTools for Windows
Short Drive Self Test and Long Drive Self Test.

Code:
STOP 0x00000101: CLOCK_WATCHDOG_TIMEOUT
Usual causes:  Device driver, BIOS bug, hardware defect
Unable to read KTHREAD address fffffa8003d20738
BUGCHECK_STR:  CLOCK_WATCHDOG_TIMEOUT_8_PROC
SYMBOL_NAME:  ANALYSIS_INCONCLUSIVE
BUCKET_ID:  CORRUPT_MODULELIST
Inconclusive, but indicating the CPU or GPU.

Code:
STOP 0x0000009C: MACHINE_CHECK_EXCEPTION
Usual causes:  Hardware error (similar to STOP 0x124)
OVERLAPPED_MODULE: Address regions for 'dump_iaStor' and 'dump_iaStor.' overlap
FOLLOWUP_IP: usbhub!UsbhGetDeviceFlags+91
IMAGE_NAME:  usbhub.sys
FAILURE_BUCKET_ID:  0x9C_GenuineIntel_usbhub!UsbhGetDeviceFlags
This one is blaming the USB hub.
If you have a external USB hub, disconnect it for testing.
 
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My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Windows 8.1 Pro x64/ Windows 7 Ult x64
    Computer type
    PC/Desktop
    System Manufacturer/Model
    76~2.0
    CPU
    Intel Core i5-3570K 4.6GHz
    Motherboard
    GIGABYTE GA-Z77X UD3H f18
    Memory
    8GB (2X4GB) DDR3 1600 CORSAIR Vengeance CL8 1.5v
    Graphics Card(s)
    Sapphire HD 7770 Vapor-X 1GB DDR5
    Sound Card
    Onboard VIA VT2021
    Monitor(s) Displays
    22" LCD Dell SP2208WFP
    Screen Resolution
    1680x1050
    Hard Drives
    Samaung 840Pro 128GB, Seagate 500GB SATA2 7200rpm 32mb, Seagate 1TB SATA2 7200rpm 32mb,
    PSU
    Corsair HX650W
    Case
    Cooler Master Storm Scout
    Cooling
    Corsair H80 w/Noctua NF P12 12cm fan, case fans 2X14cm
    Keyboard
    Logitech Wave
    Mouse
    CM Sentinel
    Internet Speed
    Abysmal
    Browser
    Opera Next
    Other Info
    Dell Venue 8Pro: Baytrail Z3740D, 2GB Ram, 64GB HDD, 8" IPS Display 1280 x 800, Active Stylus.
    Haswell laptop: HP Envy 17t-j, i7-4700MQ, GeForce 740M 2GB DDR3, 17.3" Full HD 1920x1080, 16GB RAM, Samsung 840 Pro 128GB, 1TB Hitachi 7200 HDD,
    Desktop: eSATA ports,
    External eSATA Seagate 500GB SATA2 7200rpm,
Cold boot related/Hardware:

RAM - Ran one long (multiple passes) cold boot MemTest86-test, and several shorter ones, and found no errors. I did have the laptop reboot on its own a couple of minutes into one of these tests, just as I put something somewhat heavy down beside the laptop on my desk. That might be significant, and if I end up opening the laptop, I'll make a point of checking for lose components.

CPU - Ran the CPU:OCCT tests you suggested, using the 64 bit version and the large data set. Here are the results:

View attachment 8648View attachment 8649View attachment 8650View attachment 8651View attachment 8652View attachment 8653View attachment 8654View attachment 8655View attachment 8656

The 4C drop in temperature at around the 12 minute mark was me moving the laptop from its usual position on my desk to a table in the middle of the room for better air circulation.

HDD - Ran the two (quick + normal) Bios self-tests for the HDD. No errors. The SeaTools can't seem to find my disk at all, which seems to be a known issue with SeaTools (1206) and windows 8. In any case, I'll run scandisk tonight and see if that uncovers something.

USB - No usb hubs connected. Could it refer to an usb controller, or something else? Or is there such a thing as an internal usb hub? In any case, I have no external devices connected, except a pretty standard usb mouse.

Windows 8 itself:

I don't doubt the general stability of Win8 - but if these issues occurs on windows 8 and not 7, we can't really rule out the possibility that one of the changes is the root of these problems. This is pretty low on my list of likely causes, though.

Drivers:

I've installed the latest drivers from HP/others. After doing so, I installed Easy Driver Pro (I think I saw it recommended somewhere on this forum) - and it told me I had 44 outdated ones. Does it usually know what it's talking about? Once I have a few hours free, perhaps tomorrow night, I'm going to sit down and manually work my way through the list and look for likely culprits.

I've updated the GPU driver to the latest from HP. Pretty sure I used to run the latest from ATI, so I'll give this one a shot. Too bad I didn't note the version number of the one I got rid of. If I see any more GPU-related crashes, I'll go back to the previous one.

I also updated the Intel Rapid Storage drivers to the ones from Intel, as you suggested.

Furthermore, there are no "?" devices in Device Manager. I don't think I've seen any, even right after installation.

BIOS:

My BIOS is outright confusing me now. It claims to be version F.2C (Dated 06.12.2005). The latest version on hp.com seems to be F.2B A (Released 20.10.2010). Do bios version numbers work differently than software ones? Going from F.2C to F.2B A sounds like a downgrade, but the dates tells another story. I bought my laptop in the summer of 2010, and the bios being from 2005 sounds bordering on implausible. I'm very tempted to upgrade, but I'm going to make absolutely sure I do it right before I try, and that includes finding a bios version history that includes my current version. So far I haven't.

Temperatures:

The idle temperature is too high, and a couple of the events from the event log was pointing towards overheating. Do you think it's likely that this could be the root cause here?

Event log analysis:

In my System Event Log, I seem to get one Error and one Critical event with some regularity. The latter one occurs after every crash, the former may do. I'll double check that the next time it happens.

Error: (Occurs a second or two before the above)
Log Name: System
Source: volmgr
Event ID: 46
Level: Error
User: N/A
OpCode:
Task Category: None
Keywords: Classic
Description: "Crash dump initialization failed!"

The top google hits suggest making sure that your virtual memory/pagefile is located on your system disk, and/or is set to a fixed size. The latter wasn't the case for me, so I fixed it. The event still pops up in my event log, however, and setting this didn't seem to impact the number of crashes I get either.

Critical:
Log Name: System
Source: Kernel-Power
Event ID: 41
Level: Critical
User: System
OpCode: Info
Task Category: (63)
Keywords(2)
Description: "The system has rebooted without clearly shutting down first. This error could be caused if the system stopped responding, crashesd or lost power unexepectedly."

This one just says "Windows failed to boot", essentially, from what google tells me, and not much about the cause.

Attachments:

I've attached a new collection of logs and so on, which also includes all the screenshots from the OCCT test posted above.
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Windows 8
    System Manufacturer/Model
    HP Envy 15" 1099 eo
    CPU
    Intel Core I7 Q720@1.60GHz
    Memory
    4 GB
    Graphics Card(s)
    ATI Mobility Radeon HD 4830
I'd also just like to say that I really appreciate the feedback, both for the effort involved and for all I'm learning. Thanks. :)
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Windows 8
    System Manufacturer/Model
    HP Envy 15" 1099 eo
    CPU
    Intel Core I7 Q720@1.60GHz
    Memory
    4 GB
    Graphics Card(s)
    ATI Mobility Radeon HD 4830
Good info and testing.

If the laptop reboots during memtest86+ it is considered a failure.
The vibration next to it may indicate one of the RAM cards isn't seated, actually could be other components.
If you open it up reseat the RAM cards and HDD, check if anything appears to be loose on the CPU.

The OCCT tests look good, besides the hot CPU which is normal for your laptop.
Was there a CPU Vcore graph?

What USB mouse are you using?
Have you installed a driver for it?
Try a different mouse to check if it's causing issues. Have seen mouse and keyboards cause very difficult to find problems.

It's possible that Win8 may be causing the issue, more likely a driver or some sort of corruption in the OS.

I don't recommend any driver finding programs, just get the drivers from HP and the Intel RST from Intel, graphics driver from ATI if you think the HP driver may be causing problems. Stay with the HP graphics driver if you can.

BIOS. I've seen some strange version numbers, some do look like dates, they should be in ascending order.
F.2C (Dated 06.12.2005) has to be an error, this is too old to be for your laptop. I see F.2B A (20 Oct 2010) on your support site.
It is possible they did have a F.2C, and pulled it for some reason. They usually put up a newer version in that type of situation.
I would update it to F.2B A.

The CPU temps are definitely an issue that will cause a lot of problems.
Clean the inside of the laptop, get a laptop cooler.
You might want to consider turning off Turbo Mode in the BIOS, this will make it a little cooler.

Event Logs.
Leave your page file set to 'Let Windows manage'.
The page file has to be slightly larger than your amount of RAM to generate a dump file, if you let Windows manage it, it will adjust to the size needed, when needed.

The first event can be caused by many things.
The second is a standard entry when the system crashes or is powered off. It's just to let you know it was an improper shutdown.

You're welcome for the help, sometimes these issues are difficult to analyze.

The last four crashes are the same.
Code:
STOP 0x0000009C: MACHINE_CHECK_EXCEPTION 
Usual causes:  Hardware error (similar to STOP 0x124)
A fatal Machine Check Exception has occurred.
OVERLAPPED_MODULE: Address regions for 'dump_iaStor' and 'dump_iaStor.' overlap
BUGCHECK_STR:  0x9C_GenuineIntel
FAILURE_BUCKET_ID:  0x9C_GenuineIntel_nt!KxMcheckAbort
These are results from your CPU overheating.

System Event Logs
Code:
Event[3328]:
  Log Name: System
  Source: Microsoft-Windows-Kernel-Power
  Date: 2012-09-17T17:16:13.903
  Event ID: 41
  Task: N/A
  Level: Critical
  Opcode: Info
  Keyword: N/A
  User: S-1-5-18
  User Name: NT AUTHORITY\SYSTEM
  Computer: laptop
  Description: 
The system has rebooted without cleanly shutting down first. This error could be caused if the system stopped responding, crashed, or lost power unexpectedly.

Event[3330]:
  Log Name: System
  Source: Microsoft-Windows-Kernel-Power
  Date: 2012-09-17T17:16:15.416
  Event ID: 125
  Task: N/A
  Level: Information
  Opcode: Info
  Keyword: N/A
  User: S-1-5-18
  User Name: NT AUTHORITY\SYSTEM
  Computer: laptop
  Description: 
ACPI[COLOR="#FF0000"]   thermal zone[/COLOR] \_TZ.TZ01 has been enumerated.             
_PSV = 408K           
_TC1 = 2             
_TC2 = 5             
_TSP = 5000ms             
_AC0 = 0K             
_AC1 = 0K             
_AC2 = 0K             
_AC3 = 0K             
_AC4 = 0K             
_AC5 = 0K             
_AC6 = 0K             
_AC7 = 0K             
_AC8 = 0K             
_AC9 = 0K             
_CRT = 372K             
_HOT = 370K

Event[3334]:
  Log Name: System
  Source: Microsoft-Windows-Kernel-Processor-Power
  Date: 2012-09-17T17:16:16.509
  Event ID: 55
  Task: N/A
  Level: Information
  Opcode: Info
  Keyword: N/A
  User: S-1-5-18
  User Name: NT AUTHORITY\SYSTEM
  Computer: laptop
  Description: 
Processor 0 in group 0 exposes the following power management capabilities:

Idle state type: ACPI Idle (C) States (2 state(s))

Performance state type: ACPI Performance (P) / Throttle (T) States
Nominal Frequency (MHz): 1597
Maximum performance percentage: 100
Minimum performance percentage: 58
Minimum throttle percentage: 6

Event[3335]:
  Log Name: System
  Source: Microsoft-Windows-Kernel-Processor-Power
  Date: 2012-09-17T17:16:16.509
  Event ID: 55
  Task: N/A
  Level: Information
  Opcode: Info
  Keyword: N/A
  User: S-1-5-18
  User Name: NT AUTHORITY\SYSTEM
  Computer: laptop
  Description: 
Processor 1 in group 0 exposes the following power management capabilities:

Idle state type: ACPI Idle (C) States (2 state(s))

Performance state type: ACPI Performance (P) / Throttle (T) States
Nominal Frequency (MHz): 1597
Maximum performance percentage: 100
Minimum performance percentage: 58
Minimum throttle percentage: 6

Event[3336]:
  Log Name: System
  Source: Microsoft-Windows-Kernel-Processor-Power
  Date: 2012-09-17T17:16:16.509
  Event ID: 55
  Task: N/A
  Level: Information
  Opcode: Info
  Keyword: N/A
  User: S-1-5-18
  User Name: NT AUTHORITY\SYSTEM
  Computer: laptop
  Description: 
Processor 2 in group 0 exposes the following power management capabilities:

Idle state type: ACPI Idle (C) States (2 state(s))

Performance state type: ACPI Performance (P) / Throttle (T) States
Nominal Frequency (MHz): 1597
Maximum performance percentage: 100
Minimum performance percentage: 58
Minimum throttle percentage: 6

Event[3337]:
  Log Name: System
  Source: Microsoft-Windows-Kernel-Processor-Power
  Date: 2012-09-17T17:16:16.509
  Event ID: 55
  Task: N/A
  Level: Information
  Opcode: Info
  Keyword: N/A
  User: S-1-5-18
  User Name: NT AUTHORITY\SYSTEM
  Computer: laptop
  Description: 
Processor 3 in group 0 exposes the following power management capabilities:

Idle state type: ACPI Idle (C) States (2 state(s))

Performance state type: ACPI Performance (P) / Throttle (T) States
Nominal Frequency (MHz): 1597
Maximum performance percentage: 100
Minimum performance percentage: 58
Minimum throttle percentage: 6

Event[3338]:
  Log Name: System
  Source: Microsoft-Windows-Kernel-Processor-Power
  Date: 2012-09-17T17:16:16.509
  Event ID: 55
  Task: N/A
  Level: Information
  Opcode: Info
  Keyword: N/A
  User: S-1-5-18
  User Name: NT AUTHORITY\SYSTEM
  Computer: laptop
  Description: 
Processor 4 in group 0 exposes the following power management capabilities:

Idle state type: ACPI Idle (C) States (2 state(s))

Performance state type: ACPI Performance (P) / Throttle (T) States
Nominal Frequency (MHz): 1597
Maximum performance percentage: 100
Minimum performance percentage: 58
Minimum throttle percentage: 6

Event[3339]:
  Log Name: System
  Source: Microsoft-Windows-Kernel-Processor-Power
  Date: 2012-09-17T17:16:16.539
  Event ID: 55
  Task: N/A
  Level: Information
  Opcode: Info
  Keyword: N/A
  User: S-1-5-18
  User Name: NT AUTHORITY\SYSTEM
  Computer: laptop
  Description: 
Processor 5 in group 0 exposes the following power management capabilities:

Idle state type: ACPI Idle (C) States (2 state(s))

Performance state type: ACPI Performance (P) / Throttle (T) States
Nominal Frequency (MHz): 1597
Maximum performance percentage: 100
Minimum performance percentage: 58
Minimum throttle percentage: 6

Event[3340]:
  Log Name: System
  Source: Microsoft-Windows-Kernel-Processor-Power
  Date: 2012-09-17T17:16:16.539
  Event ID: 55
  Task: N/A
  Level: Information
  Opcode: Info
  Keyword: N/A
  User: S-1-5-18
  User Name: NT AUTHORITY\SYSTEM
  Computer: laptop
  Description: 
Processor 6 in group 0 exposes the following power management capabilities:

Idle state type: ACPI Idle (C) States (2 state(s))

Performance state type: ACPI Performance (P) / Throttle (T) States
Nominal Frequency (MHz): 1597
Maximum performance percentage: 100
Minimum performance percentage: 58
Minimum throttle percentage: 6

Event[3341]:
  Log Name: System
  Source: Microsoft-Windows-Kernel-Processor-Power
  Date: 2012-09-17T17:16:16.539
  Event ID: 55
  Task: N/A
  Level: Information
  Opcode: Info
  Keyword: N/A
  User: S-1-5-18
  User Name: NT AUTHORITY\SYSTEM
  Computer: laptop
  Description: 
Processor 7 in group 0 exposes the following power management capabilities:

Idle state type: ACPI Idle (C) States (2 state(s))

Performance state type: ACPI Performance (P) / Throttle (T) States
Nominal Frequency (MHz): 1597
Maximum performance percentage: 100
Minimum performance percentage: 58
Minimum throttle percentage: 6
 
Last edited:

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Windows 8.1 Pro x64/ Windows 7 Ult x64
    Computer type
    PC/Desktop
    System Manufacturer/Model
    76~2.0
    CPU
    Intel Core i5-3570K 4.6GHz
    Motherboard
    GIGABYTE GA-Z77X UD3H f18
    Memory
    8GB (2X4GB) DDR3 1600 CORSAIR Vengeance CL8 1.5v
    Graphics Card(s)
    Sapphire HD 7770 Vapor-X 1GB DDR5
    Sound Card
    Onboard VIA VT2021
    Monitor(s) Displays
    22" LCD Dell SP2208WFP
    Screen Resolution
    1680x1050
    Hard Drives
    Samaung 840Pro 128GB, Seagate 500GB SATA2 7200rpm 32mb, Seagate 1TB SATA2 7200rpm 32mb,
    PSU
    Corsair HX650W
    Case
    Cooler Master Storm Scout
    Cooling
    Corsair H80 w/Noctua NF P12 12cm fan, case fans 2X14cm
    Keyboard
    Logitech Wave
    Mouse
    CM Sentinel
    Internet Speed
    Abysmal
    Browser
    Opera Next
    Other Info
    Dell Venue 8Pro: Baytrail Z3740D, 2GB Ram, 64GB HDD, 8" IPS Display 1280 x 800, Active Stylus.
    Haswell laptop: HP Envy 17t-j, i7-4700MQ, GeForce 740M 2GB DDR3, 17.3" Full HD 1920x1080, 16GB RAM, Samsung 840 Pro 128GB, 1TB Hitachi 7200 HDD,
    Desktop: eSATA ports,
    External eSATA Seagate 500GB SATA2 7200rpm,

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Windows 8
    System Manufacturer/Model
    HP Envy 15" 1099 eo
    CPU
    Intel Core I7 Q720@1.60GHz
    Memory
    4 GB
    Graphics Card(s)
    ATI Mobility Radeon HD 4830
With the reboot during memtest86 explained, that lead isn't taking us anywhere.

Just for the sake of completion, I've tried without any usb mice connected, and I still get the same crashes as the same time. I'm currently using some logitec gaming mouse, but I've tried others as well as none, and it doesn't seem to make a difference. Unless windows installed some drivers automatically the first time, which now causes problems regardless of what's plugged in, I don't think the mouse is the problem. If any of the memory dumps/logs had pointed towards the mouse, I might have wanted to spend more time on this, but as things stand now, I don't think it's worth it. Or do you think those "USB hub" errors could be related to the mouse somehow?

I can't find any VCore images - OCCT 4.3.1 only seem to generate those nine I posted.

Yeah, I share your opinion on driver programs. The only reason I gave it a shot was I saw it recommended somewhere here on the forum. Probably not going to bother with it again, though.

Bought one of those usb-driven fan boards to put your laptop on. Haven't really done a test to check the effect yet, but I'm sure it won't hurt.

As for virtual memory, I'll probably go back to what you suggested. It's currently 1.5 times my physical memory size. (Which I think I've seen as a recommendation in some previous windows version, so I always default to that when setting it manually.)

The way I see it, I now have a couple of options to go from here:

  1. Wait for the release of the full version of Windows 8 and/or drivers, and hope that something will fix the problem.
  2. Download, format and reinstall windows 8 again, based on the assumption that my current installation got corrupted somehow. Unlikely since previous installations have had similar problems, but perhaps installing from a dvd will work better than my usb pen. In any case, this would probably be followed by a very careful attention to what drivers I'm installing.
  3. Disassemble the whole laptop and clean it before doing step 2.
  4. Upgrade BIOS, followed by step 2 (and possibly 3).

I haven't really made up my mind on where to start yet, and as my private life is very busy at the moment (Moving into a new apartment in about a week), I'm not sure when I'll get around to it. And I'd rather not attempt 3 or 4 until then, since I'm probably going to use the laptop a bit around then, and wouldn't risk bricking it right now low as that chance might be. :)

In any case, if you have any other thoughts or suggestions, I'm open for suggestions. If not, I think I'm just going to let this issue rest for a couple of weeks.

In either case, I'm going to report back if I figure out what the problem is, or ask more questions if not.

Thanks for all the help so far, much appriciated. :)
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Windows 8
    System Manufacturer/Model
    HP Envy 15" 1099 eo
    CPU
    Intel Core I7 Q720@1.60GHz
    Memory
    4 GB
    Graphics Card(s)
    ATI Mobility Radeon HD 4830
Sounds like a good plan.

The Laptop cooler should help the temps.

Let me know your progress when you get around to it.
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Windows 8.1 Pro x64/ Windows 7 Ult x64
    Computer type
    PC/Desktop
    System Manufacturer/Model
    76~2.0
    CPU
    Intel Core i5-3570K 4.6GHz
    Motherboard
    GIGABYTE GA-Z77X UD3H f18
    Memory
    8GB (2X4GB) DDR3 1600 CORSAIR Vengeance CL8 1.5v
    Graphics Card(s)
    Sapphire HD 7770 Vapor-X 1GB DDR5
    Sound Card
    Onboard VIA VT2021
    Monitor(s) Displays
    22" LCD Dell SP2208WFP
    Screen Resolution
    1680x1050
    Hard Drives
    Samaung 840Pro 128GB, Seagate 500GB SATA2 7200rpm 32mb, Seagate 1TB SATA2 7200rpm 32mb,
    PSU
    Corsair HX650W
    Case
    Cooler Master Storm Scout
    Cooling
    Corsair H80 w/Noctua NF P12 12cm fan, case fans 2X14cm
    Keyboard
    Logitech Wave
    Mouse
    CM Sentinel
    Internet Speed
    Abysmal
    Browser
    Opera Next
    Other Info
    Dell Venue 8Pro: Baytrail Z3740D, 2GB Ram, 64GB HDD, 8" IPS Display 1280 x 800, Active Stylus.
    Haswell laptop: HP Envy 17t-j, i7-4700MQ, GeForce 740M 2GB DDR3, 17.3" Full HD 1920x1080, 16GB RAM, Samsung 840 Pro 128GB, 1TB Hitachi 7200 HDD,
    Desktop: eSATA ports,
    External eSATA Seagate 500GB SATA2 7200rpm,
Ok, back again, unfortunately.

I'm still having the same problem, despite having:


  1. Upgraded/downgraded the bios to F.2B (Previously F.2C - see post #8 on the last page for details.)
  2. I disassembled the laptop and removed what dust I could find using one of those canned air boxes. Found a few small dust balls, but not much.
  3. Downloaded Windows 8 again using the official upgrade assistant. Created a bootable USB stick and did a clean install.
  4. Initially, I disabled windows update to make sure no extra drivers were installed
  5. Since 4. didn't seem to make any difference, I enabled it again, downloaded the suggested drivers and a few other updates, but it still crashes exactly like before.

Is it possible that the fans are somewhat slow to start, and thus a temperature spike during windows boot can trigger this behaviour? I have a couple of bios settings that delays windows boot by some seconds - I could experiment with those.

Also, can you think of anything that would let me log CPU temperatures during boot? If, say, the crash occurs after windows starts services, a temperature logging service might actually be able to record it.
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Windows 8
    System Manufacturer/Model
    HP Envy 15" 1099 eo
    CPU
    Intel Core I7 Q720@1.60GHz
    Memory
    4 GB
    Graphics Card(s)
    ATI Mobility Radeon HD 4830
Have you had anymore BSoDs?
If you have, always post the full System File Collection and health reports.
Blue Screen of Death (BSOD) Posting Instructions

Good steps taken, and good info posted.
As for fans starting slow, that is a possibility, will depend on your BIOS.
Delay the boot and see if that helps.
Disable Turbo mode for the CPU in BIOS, for testing, this might improve the bootup heat issue and max CPU heat.
You can set Realtemp to run at start up, this should give some info. No program can run during boot.

Your previous link for the memtest86+ issue specifically notes Asus and Acer BIOS, although this may be a factor.
If memtest86+ has stopped with no mouse attached and with other different mice, this definitely indicates a RAM issue .
If you have two RAM cards installed, take one out and run memtest86+ again, for 7 full passes, stop the test if you get any errors.
While you are in the laptop check that the other RAM card is firmly installed.
Also remove the USB mouse before starting the test.
If the single RAM card passes, then swap the RAM cards and run the test again.

I have seen a mouse or keyboard cause all kinds of BSoDs, don't rule this out.
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Windows 8.1 Pro x64/ Windows 7 Ult x64
    Computer type
    PC/Desktop
    System Manufacturer/Model
    76~2.0
    CPU
    Intel Core i5-3570K 4.6GHz
    Motherboard
    GIGABYTE GA-Z77X UD3H f18
    Memory
    8GB (2X4GB) DDR3 1600 CORSAIR Vengeance CL8 1.5v
    Graphics Card(s)
    Sapphire HD 7770 Vapor-X 1GB DDR5
    Sound Card
    Onboard VIA VT2021
    Monitor(s) Displays
    22" LCD Dell SP2208WFP
    Screen Resolution
    1680x1050
    Hard Drives
    Samaung 840Pro 128GB, Seagate 500GB SATA2 7200rpm 32mb, Seagate 1TB SATA2 7200rpm 32mb,
    PSU
    Corsair HX650W
    Case
    Cooler Master Storm Scout
    Cooling
    Corsair H80 w/Noctua NF P12 12cm fan, case fans 2X14cm
    Keyboard
    Logitech Wave
    Mouse
    CM Sentinel
    Internet Speed
    Abysmal
    Browser
    Opera Next
    Other Info
    Dell Venue 8Pro: Baytrail Z3740D, 2GB Ram, 64GB HDD, 8" IPS Display 1280 x 800, Active Stylus.
    Haswell laptop: HP Envy 17t-j, i7-4700MQ, GeForce 740M 2GB DDR3, 17.3" Full HD 1920x1080, 16GB RAM, Samsung 840 Pro 128GB, 1TB Hitachi 7200 HDD,
    Desktop: eSATA ports,
    External eSATA Seagate 500GB SATA2 7200rpm,
Yeah, same bsods and black-screen lockups as I got before.

I've done some bios changes already; I'll document those in my next post, as well as do some testing. Since each test requires some downtime on the laptop, I might not post it until tomorrow. I'll also add some info on my various bios settings.

Running realtemp on startup probably won't do much good, I think. I was rather thinking of exploiting the fact that some services start before the user even logs on. I don't know exactly where in the boot process the crash happens (only that it occurs before user logon), so I figured that there could be a tiny chance that one or more services would have started at that point. That said, I'm quite sure that the crash occurs earlier in the boot process than this, leaving this whole point as little more than wishful thinking.

I'll do another overnight memtest session as you suggest.

My final suggestion would be to reinstall windows 8 from scratch, and document everything I do - especially all the crashes I get until I can actually boot windows properly for the first time. When I get to that point, I'll grab the memory dumps and post those. That should ensure that the system is as clean as it will ever get.
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Windows 8
    System Manufacturer/Model
    HP Envy 15" 1099 eo
    CPU
    Intel Core I7 Q720@1.60GHz
    Memory
    4 GB
    Graphics Card(s)
    ATI Mobility Radeon HD 4830
Agree, running RealTemp at startup probably won't give any useful info.

A crash at the early stages of Windows startup is usually hardware but could be a driver.
If you haven't already, Disable all startup programs from Task Manager - Startup, except the AV (Anti-Virus).
If it still crashes, then disable the AV.
What AV are you using?

Let's see what memtest86+ does.

Is the DVD removable, some laptops have a release on the bottom that will let you take out the DVD player.
If you can, remove it and take a look at the connector, clean, and make sure it is firmly connected.
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Windows 8.1 Pro x64/ Windows 7 Ult x64
    Computer type
    PC/Desktop
    System Manufacturer/Model
    76~2.0
    CPU
    Intel Core i5-3570K 4.6GHz
    Motherboard
    GIGABYTE GA-Z77X UD3H f18
    Memory
    8GB (2X4GB) DDR3 1600 CORSAIR Vengeance CL8 1.5v
    Graphics Card(s)
    Sapphire HD 7770 Vapor-X 1GB DDR5
    Sound Card
    Onboard VIA VT2021
    Monitor(s) Displays
    22" LCD Dell SP2208WFP
    Screen Resolution
    1680x1050
    Hard Drives
    Samaung 840Pro 128GB, Seagate 500GB SATA2 7200rpm 32mb, Seagate 1TB SATA2 7200rpm 32mb,
    PSU
    Corsair HX650W
    Case
    Cooler Master Storm Scout
    Cooling
    Corsair H80 w/Noctua NF P12 12cm fan, case fans 2X14cm
    Keyboard
    Logitech Wave
    Mouse
    CM Sentinel
    Internet Speed
    Abysmal
    Browser
    Opera Next
    Other Info
    Dell Venue 8Pro: Baytrail Z3740D, 2GB Ram, 64GB HDD, 8" IPS Display 1280 x 800, Active Stylus.
    Haswell laptop: HP Envy 17t-j, i7-4700MQ, GeForce 740M 2GB DDR3, 17.3" Full HD 1920x1080, 16GB RAM, Samsung 840 Pro 128GB, 1TB Hitachi 7200 HDD,
    Desktop: eSATA ports,
    External eSATA Seagate 500GB SATA2 7200rpm,
Memtest86+ result: 19 passes without error.

All through this thread I've been using Microsoft Security Essentials.

Just to rule out the most likely sources for malware/trojans/viruses, etc, I've tried to:


  1. Remove and re-created all partitions on the laptop during installation.
  2. Disconnecte the laptop from the network, both wireless and ethernet, until I know MSE/ the Firewall is running.

The laptop doesn't have an internal dvd drive, only an external one, connected via USB. Most, but not all, installations I've done has been via USB pens/sticks, however.

Also, my current BIOS settings (the values I could actually change that weren't completely trivial):

System Configuration:
Virtualization Technology: Disabled
Fan Always On: Enabled
Fast Charge Mode: Enabled

Boot Options:
POST HotKey Delay (sec): 20
Instant-On: Enabled
Delay to Boot Windows (sec): 30

Next week I'll describe, step by step, how the installation and boot up experience is, including crashes. More importantly, I'll note down the times when various crashes occur so that I can match those to EventLog entries afterwards.
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Windows 8
    System Manufacturer/Model
    HP Envy 15" 1099 eo
    CPU
    Intel Core I7 Q720@1.60GHz
    Memory
    4 GB
    Graphics Card(s)
    ATI Mobility Radeon HD 4830
Good plan.

Let us know how it's going.
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Windows 8.1 Pro x64/ Windows 7 Ult x64
    Computer type
    PC/Desktop
    System Manufacturer/Model
    76~2.0
    CPU
    Intel Core i5-3570K 4.6GHz
    Motherboard
    GIGABYTE GA-Z77X UD3H f18
    Memory
    8GB (2X4GB) DDR3 1600 CORSAIR Vengeance CL8 1.5v
    Graphics Card(s)
    Sapphire HD 7770 Vapor-X 1GB DDR5
    Sound Card
    Onboard VIA VT2021
    Monitor(s) Displays
    22" LCD Dell SP2208WFP
    Screen Resolution
    1680x1050
    Hard Drives
    Samaung 840Pro 128GB, Seagate 500GB SATA2 7200rpm 32mb, Seagate 1TB SATA2 7200rpm 32mb,
    PSU
    Corsair HX650W
    Case
    Cooler Master Storm Scout
    Cooling
    Corsair H80 w/Noctua NF P12 12cm fan, case fans 2X14cm
    Keyboard
    Logitech Wave
    Mouse
    CM Sentinel
    Internet Speed
    Abysmal
    Browser
    Opera Next
    Other Info
    Dell Venue 8Pro: Baytrail Z3740D, 2GB Ram, 64GB HDD, 8" IPS Display 1280 x 800, Active Stylus.
    Haswell laptop: HP Envy 17t-j, i7-4700MQ, GeForce 740M 2GB DDR3, 17.3" Full HD 1920x1080, 16GB RAM, Samsung 840 Pro 128GB, 1TB Hitachi 7200 HDD,
    Desktop: eSATA ports,
    External eSATA Seagate 500GB SATA2 7200rpm,
Since I'm running out of ideas, I'm going to simply describe a set of installations and bootups goes. I'll add timestamps to crashes to simplify subsequent lookups in the event log.

ATTEMPT ONE:

FIRST BOOT
1. Booting from USB stick.
2. Picking language, time and currency format as well as keyboard/input method.
3. Entering product key & accepting license terms
4. Custom installation (That is, not an upgrade)
5. I delete all my partitions, and add a new c drive. Windows adds one of its own, resulting in this setup:

a. Drive 0 partition 1: System restore.
b. Drive 0 partition 2: 50GB C drive
c. Drive 0 Unallocated space (for now).

6. I install windows on the C drive.
7. Reboot. Removing USB Stick.

SECOND BOOT
1. (18:52) Booting from disk.
2. (18:52) Screen goes black.
3. (19:13) Screen still black. Crash, obviously.

THIRD BOOT
1. Windows attempts to boot again, but gives the error "The computer restarted unexpectedly or encountered an unexpected error. Windows installation cannot proceed. To install Windows, click "OK" to restart the computer, then restart the installation."
2. I click "OK" to restart, then insert the USB stick for a second attempt...


ATTEMPT TWO:

FIRST BOOT
1-7 - Identical to previous attempt

SECOND BOOT
1. (19:37) Booting from disk
2. (19:38) Boots fine.
3. Just to make sure nothing gets installed without my explicit permission, I disable windows update and automatic driver installation.
4. Just for fun, I reboot.

THIRD BOOT
1. (19:47) Crash. Clock_watchdog_timeout.
2. Automatic reboot.

FOURTH BOOT
1. Windows boots fine...

At this point I just want to demonstrate how a normal, cold boot crash usually occurs, so I shut the laptop off for an hour.

COLD BOOT

1. (21:00) Windows booting.
2. (21:00) Black screen.
3. (21:11) Still black screen, forcing a reboot using the power button.
4. (21:12) Boots fine.

----------------------------------------

I'm not able to upload the logs tonight, but I'm fairly confident we'll only see the same errors as before anyway.

The fact that it crashes during the first bootup after installation might be considered a confirmation that the crash isn't user triggered.

I have a few more ideas; I'll write them up once I have a bit more time.
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Windows 8
    System Manufacturer/Model
    HP Envy 15" 1099 eo
    CPU
    Intel Core I7 Q720@1.60GHz
    Memory
    4 GB
    Graphics Card(s)
    ATI Mobility Radeon HD 4830
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