BSOD on hibernate/shut down when not in safe mode

L

liammars

Member
32-bit Vista Home Premium OEM, roughly 3.5 years old.

My problem--well, the main one I want sorted--is that of late, my laptop will BSOD and restart when I attempt to hibernate or shut down. In such a situation, all I can do is opt to restart in safe mode, from which it shuts down very quickly and easily. This is essentially an intensification of an earlier problem where to get my computer to shut off, I'd have to disconnect it from the mains electricity and try from there. Now it doesn't seem to care either way whether it's on the mains or not.

BlueScreenView flags up acpi.sys, hal.dll and ntkrnlpa.exe as problematic files, but despite Googling extensively the problem looks pretty specific to my machine so I've had to ask for pro help.

Can somebody please help me identify what's wrong? :(
 

My Computer

System One

The problem seems to be caused by an unindentified driver. Try Driver Verifier to help find the cause.

Driver Verifier

I'd suggest that you firstbackup your data and then make sure you've got access to another computer soyou can contact us if problems arise. Then make a System Restore point (so youcan restore the system using the Vista/Windows 7 Startup Repair feature).

In Windows 7 you can make a Startup Repair disk by going to Start....AllPrograms...Maintenance...Create a System Repair Disc - with Windows Vistayou'll have to use your installation disk or the "Repair your computer"option at the top of the Safe Mode menu .

Then, here's the procedure:
- Go to Start and type in "verifier" (without the quotes) and press Enter
- Select "Create custom settings (for code developers)" and click"Next"
- Select "Select individual settings from a full list" and click"Next"
- Select everything EXCEPT FOR "Low Resource Simulation" and click"Next"
- Select "Select driver names from a list" and click "Next"
Then select all drivers NOT provided by Microsoft and click "Next"
- Select "Finish" on the next page.

Reboot the system and wait for it to crash to the Blue Screen. Continue to useyour system normally, and if you know what causes the crash, do thatrepeatedly. The objective here is to get the system to crash because Driver Verifier isstressing the drivers out. If it doesn't crash for you, then let it run for atleast 36 hours of continuous operation (an estimate on my part).

If you can't get into Windows because it crashes too soon, try it in Safe Mode.
If you can't get into Safe Mode, try using System Restore from yourinstallation DVD to set the system back to the previous restore point that youcreated.

DriverVerifier - Enable and Disable

You may want to try a clean boot, too. That may show the software and driver that is the cause of the problem
http://www.sevenforums.com/tutorial...ation-conflicts-performing-clean-startup.html
 

My Computer

System One

  • Manufacturer/Model
    Dell XPS420
    Memory
    6 gig
    Graphics card(s)
    ATI Radeon HD3650 256 MB
    Sound Card
    Intergrated 7.1 Channel Audio
    Monitor(s) Displays
    Dell SP2009W 20 inch Flat Panel w Webcam
    Hard Drives
    640 gb
    Cooling
    Fan
    Mouse
    Dell USB 4 button optical
    Keyboard
    Dell USB
    Other Info
    DSL provided by ATT
Okay, well I don't presently have a spare computer or even a spare disc lying around as I've just moved house. That process sounds a little terrifying -- I will do it, but it might take me a few days, around work and whatnot. Thank you.
 

My Computer

System One

Try the easy one first, the clean boot. Just take your time and ask questions. We wish you luck
 

My Computer

System One

  • Manufacturer/Model
    Dell XPS420
    Memory
    6 gig
    Graphics card(s)
    ATI Radeon HD3650 256 MB
    Sound Card
    Intergrated 7.1 Channel Audio
    Monitor(s) Displays
    Dell SP2009W 20 inch Flat Panel w Webcam
    Hard Drives
    640 gb
    Cooling
    Fan
    Mouse
    Dell USB 4 button optical
    Keyboard
    Dell USB
    Other Info
    DSL provided by ATT
Okay, I will do it at the weekend. (My current weekdays go like this: sleep... work... sleep... work.) My Vista CD is at my old home in storage, too, so msconfig sounds like a simpler utility for now. Given that the BSOD only occurs when I try shut down, what should I do to try and trigger a BSOD?
 

My Computer

System One

Driver verifier should cause a BSOD, thats the purpose of the verifier.
 

My Computer

System One

  • Manufacturer/Model
    Dell XPS420
    Memory
    6 gig
    Graphics card(s)
    ATI Radeon HD3650 256 MB
    Sound Card
    Intergrated 7.1 Channel Audio
    Monitor(s) Displays
    Dell SP2009W 20 inch Flat Panel w Webcam
    Hard Drives
    640 gb
    Cooling
    Fan
    Mouse
    Dell USB 4 button optical
    Keyboard
    Dell USB
    Other Info
    DSL provided by ATT
I meant with the clean boot, which I'll be attempting now. How will I trigger a BSOD on just a clean boot? Or could you recommend using DriverVerifier without a backup disc?
 

My Computer

System One

With a clean boot you are starting the computer without the use of many drivers. If one of those drivers is the cause of your BSOD, you will not BSOD. As you slowly put the services back you will eventually BSOD. We then know that the BSOD is caused by the service that you just put back.
 

My Computer

System One

  • Manufacturer/Model
    Dell XPS420
    Memory
    6 gig
    Graphics card(s)
    ATI Radeon HD3650 256 MB
    Sound Card
    Intergrated 7.1 Channel Audio
    Monitor(s) Displays
    Dell SP2009W 20 inch Flat Panel w Webcam
    Hard Drives
    640 gb
    Cooling
    Fan
    Mouse
    Dell USB 4 button optical
    Keyboard
    Dell USB
    Other Info
    DSL provided by ATT
So, hibernating and restarting lots and lots with different settings, I isolated that it was NOT a service and I thought I had the startup file narrowed down to either HP Light-Scribe or Google Update, but then on the last test, it hibernated just fine. So I'm a bit stumped. It's certainly, based on getting a BSOD with half of my startups selected, one of them... but it's hard to tell. Will try one last hibernate just to make sure it wasn't a fluke.
 

My Computer

System One

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