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BSoD appeared, and after, it only works on safe mode

Anonymous
2013-08-01T15:39:01+00:00

I have a Toshiba L755D-S5218 that runs on Windows 7 Home Premium; 64-bit.

Last week, I was video chatting with some friends from camp on Google Hangouts when my computer notified me of my low battery. My battery life has been very bad recently and I have gotten notifications to replace it. Anyway, I went to get my charger and when I came back, the computer had shut down, pretty typical. So I plugged the charger in and turned the computer back on. However, instead of turning on normally, the BSoD appeared. I tried all the options I could to get my computer to start working again (Toshiba Recovery Wizard, system restore, startup repair and more). I'm not sure which of these worked, but the BSoD disappeared and I could log on to my computer normally. However, for the few seconds it did work, I noticed that my computer was as if brand new, my desktop was like when I bought my computer for the first time; I couldn't find anything I downloaded over the past two years. I somewhat expected it, though.

I was on this normal mode for a short time when everything froze. So I pressed the power button and restarted the computer. From then, every time I log on to normal, I can't do anything because everything except my cursor is frozen. Sometimes, I don't even make far enough to see my desktop. The screen would black out (except for the cursor) sometimes before prompting me for the login password or right after. However, safe mode seems to work fine except for its slowness and the occasional, few-second freezes.

Other problems I noticed was that my laptop's sound is not working. When I play Youtube videos on safe mode, there's no audio. My laptop could detect the problem, but cannot fix it. However, I know that the speakers work because when I log on, I hear the familiar Windows log in melody.

I tried system restore again, and the system configuration and disabling everything except from Microsoft and Toshiba.

Please help and thank you.

Windows for home | Windows 10 | Performance and system failures

Locked Question. This question was migrated from the Microsoft Support Community. You can vote on whether it's helpful, but you can't add comments or replies or follow the question.

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  1. Anonymous
    2013-08-02T00:33:48+00:00

    Hello Patrick,

    My computer unfortunately did not have DMP files for this crash, although I found some from a while ago. I remember selecting an option to backup all my files during the crash and in the backup folder, I found these two folders. One from my account (renamed Rachel) and one from my brother's (Jae). Here is a link for it just in case it might help:

    https://skydrive.live.com/redir?resid=FC0AF62DC21997EB!121&authkey=!AHnnq7fCyrpiip4

    After I did this, I followed the instructions you gave me. However, there was a problem with Step 4 because when I tried to start it, a message popped up saying that I could not start it in Safe Mode and must be on normal and I can't do anything on normal. I did everything else, though.

    Thank you,

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  2. Anonymous
    2013-08-02T00:55:38+00:00

    Hi Rachel,

    These seem to be application dumps and not crash dumps.

    I am going to recommend from safe mode, you enable Driver Verifier. Once you do that, try and boot into normal Windows (I know you cannot get into normal Windows). I want to see if rather than freezing, with verifier enabled, if it will BSOD instead.

    Driver Verifier:

    What is Driver Verifier?

    Driver Verifier is included in Windows 7, Windows Server 2008 R2, Windows Vista, Windows Server 2008, Windows 2000, Windows XP, and Windows Server 2003 to promote stability and reliability; you can use this tool to troubleshoot driver issues. Windows kernel-mode components can cause system corruption or system failures as a result of an improperly written driver, such as an earlier version of a Windows Driver Model (WDM) driver.

    Essentially, if there's a 3rd party driver believed to be at issue, enabling Driver Verifier will help flush out the rogue driver by flagging it and causing your system to BSOD.

    Before enabling Driver Verifier, it is recommended to create a System Restore Point:

    Vista - START | type rstrui - create a restore point

    Windows 7 - START | type create | select "Create a Restore Point"

    How to enable Driver Verifier:

    Start > type "verifier" without the quotes > Select the following options -

    1. Select - "Create custom settings (for code developers)"
    2. Select - "Select individual settings from a full list"
    3. Check the following boxes -
    • Special Pool
    • Pool Tracking
    • Force IRQL Checking
    • Deadlock Detection
    • Security Checks (Windows 7)
    • Concurrentcy Stress Test (Windows 8)
    • DDI compliance checking (Windows 8)
    • Miscellaneous Checks
    1. Select - "Select driver names from a list"
    2. Click on the "Provider" tab. This will sort all of the drivers by the provider.
    3. Check EVERY box that is [B]NOT[/B] provided by Microsoft / Microsoft Corporation.
    4. Click on Finish.
    5. Restart.

    Important information regarding Driver Verifier:

    • If Driver Verifier finds a violation, the system will BSOD.
    • After enabling Driver Verifier and restarting the system, depending on the culprit, if for example the driver is on start-up, you may not be able to get back into normal Windows because Driver Verifier will flag it, and as stated above, that will cause / force a BSOD.

    If this happens, do [b]not[/b] panic, do the following:

    • Boot into Safe Mode by repeatedly tapping the F8 key during boot-up.
    • Once in Safe Mode - Start > type "system restore" without the quotes.
    • Choose the restore point you created earlier.

    If you did not set up a restore point, do not worry, you can still disable Driver Verifier to get back into normal Windows:

    • Start > Search > type "cmd" without the quotes.
    • To turn off Driver Verifier, type in cmd "verifier /reset" without the quotes.
    • Restart and boot into normal Windows.

    How long should I keep Driver Verifier enabled for?

    It varies, many experts and analysts have different recommendations. Personally, I recommend keeping it enabled for at least 36-48 hours. If you don't BSOD by then, disable Driver Verifier.

    My system BSOD'd, where can I find the crash dumps?

    They will be located in C:\Windows\Minidump

    Any other questions can most likely be answered by this article:

    http://support.microsoft.com/kb/244617

    Regards,

    Patrick

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  3. Anonymous
    2013-08-01T23:13:41+00:00

    Hi,

    In order to assist you, we will need the DMP files to analyze what exactly occurred at the time of the crash, etc.

    If you don't know where DMP files are located, here's how to get to them:

    1. Navigate to the Windows\Minidump folder.
    2. Copy any and all DMP files in the Minidump folder to your Desktop and then zip up these files.
    3. Upload the zip containing the DMP files to Skydrive or a hosting site of your choice and paste in your reply.

    If you are going to use Skydrive but don't know how to upload to it, please visit the following:

    http://www.wikihow.com/Use-SkyDrive

    Please note that any "cleaner" programs such as TuneUp Utilities, CCleaner, etc, by default will delete DMP files upon use due to them taking up space.

    If your computer is not generating DMP files, please do the following:

    1. Start > type %systemroot% which should show the Windows folder, click on it. Once inside that folder, ensure there is a Minidump folder created. If not, CTRL-SHIFT-N to make a New Folder and name it Minidump.
    2. Windows key + Pause key. This should bring up System. Click Advanced System Settings on the left > Advanced > Performance > Settings > Advanced > Ensure there's a check-mark for 'Automatically manage paging file size for all drives'.
    3. Windows key + Pause key. This should bring up System. Click Advanced System Settings on the left > Advanced > Startup and Recovery > Settings > System Failure > ensure there is a check mark next to 'Write an event to the system log' > Ensure 'Automatically restart' is un-checked.

    Ensure Small memory dump is selected and ensure the path is %SystemRoot%\Minidump.

    1. Double check that the WERS is ENABLED:

    Start > Search > type services.msc > Under the name tab, find Windows Error Reporting Service > If the status of the service is not Started then right click it and select Start. Also ensure that under Startup Type it is set to Automatic rather than Manual. You can do this by right clicking it, selecting properties, and under General selecting startup type to 'Automatic', and then click Apply.

    If you cannot get into normal mode to do any of this, please do this via Safe Mode.

    Regards,

    Patrick

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