Intermittent BSODs

[hgw53t]

Does the free edition of Tweaking.com have the capability to repair corrupt driver devices in a Windows 7 personal computer?  I have a BSOD (blue screen of death) intermittent problem only at boot up.

[Boggin]

The best way to deal with a corrupt driver is to reinstall it, but you need to find why you are getting BSODs intermittently.

Did they start after downloading anything ?

Do you get a Stop Error Code and message when you get the BSOD ?

BlueScreenView will analyse your Memory Dump files and can give a clue as to the cause.

http://www.nirsoft.net/utils/blue_screen_view.html

If you use CCleaner then you will need to uncheck the box for Memory Dumps so that it doesn't wipe them.

I've changed your thread title to Intermittent BSODs.

[hgw53t]

  Yes, it started when computer was UPGRADED from Vista to Win 7 back on 4/11/2017. BSOD's are happening more frequent now.
  Yes, I get different STOP Error codes: Ox000000C5, Ox00000001, Ox0000008E, Ox0000007E and others.
  I do have CCleaner installed.  How do I use that in order to find out anything about my BSOD's?

[Boggin]

You need to open CCleaner and under the Windows tab scroll down to System and uncheck the box for Memory Dumps as it will wipe them so BlueScreenView will have nothing to analyse.

Have you downloaded BlueScreenView yet ?

Did you update the drivers for Win 7, although Vista drivers will work in Win 7 unless you are using an AC'97 audio driver, which doesn't sit well in Win 7.

[hgw53t]

I did not upgrade computer, but I do not think he updated any device drivers.
No, have not downloaded Blue Screen View yet.  I would like to start with CCleaner first.
I can get into all the MiniDump files on computer, but when I open any of them with Notepad, Microsoft Office, etc., I am seeing which looks like it is all encrypted.  How would I be able to decrypt or decipher so I can read it?  I believe that would tell me something about the BSOD's.

[Boggin]

I would suggest that you go into Device Manager, make a list of the devices then go to those vendor websites and look for Win 7 drivers.

It's possible that right clicking on each and selecting Update Driver Software and let it default search online will get you the correct drivers, but I would opt for going to the vendor for each device.

Nvidia is the exception because Nvidia graphic drivers can be OEM modified and downloading from Nvidia will quite often produce its own BSOD.

If your audio is Realtek then you could still have the old AC'97 driver which will need updating to one for Win 7.

You could ask the guy who upgraded it for you to see if any of the drivers were updated to be Win 7 compatible.

There may also be a BIOS update, but you would need to go to the computer support site if the machine is a branded one and to the motherboard support site if custom built.

[hgw53t]

  I have ATI Radeon X1200 series graphics drivers and I do have Realtek audio. 
  Attached is a screenshot of my Crash Dump Files.  Does that tell you anything about the BSOD's?   
  I will check out the above reply from you & see what I can find out.
Thank you

[Boggin]

From a Google on that error code, it points to a serious hardware problem.

See if updating all of the drivers will help.

The fact that it is intermittent tends to make it harder to nail down.

Does Event Viewer record any Errors for when you got/get these BSODs ?

[Boggin]

On the off chance that your machine isn't Win 7 compatible, run the upgrade advisor.

https://www.microsoft.com/en-gb/download/details.aspx?id=20

[hgw53t]

  Hi- yes, I did run the upgrade advisor before & after upgrading.  It was compatible, but whether he did it like he was suppose to, I don't know.  Probably not. 
  Here is an attachment (2) of my Event Viewer showing the BSOD problem.  First one shows all critical events & the other is from the latest event that shows the properties.  All other event properties are the same except for the date of the event.
 

[Boggin]

Critical Event ID 41 only tells you what you already know in that it shut down - it's the Error events that may have something recorded for anything that has failed to load properly.

If there's anything of interest in there, you can post them by clicking on each and then on Copy/Copy details as text in the lower right pane and then right click in the reply box and select Paste.

Reliability history may also have some info.

Have you checked for any Win 7 drivers for your devices that don't also cover Vista ?

[satrow]

At least it's consistent...

A 0x124 with the first parameter of 0x0 is a Machine Check Exception, basically the hardware, usually the CPU, is self-reporting an error after a check. This is usually a hardware fault or a hardware incompatibility, sometimes a corrupt driver causing a blockage in the lines of communication.

A good place to begin your research and testing is here: https://www.sevenforums.com/crash-lockup-debug-how/35349-stop-0x124-what-means-what-try.html

If you use the BIOS to disable any components, ports, etc. that are not applicable to your usage/hardware fitted before you begin troubleshooting, it should cut down on the number of drivers/filters that are loaded and might shorten the process a little.

I'd also advise checking for and installing the latest drivers for your hardware, try to ensure that all non-Windows DVD drivers (so 3rd party) are dated later than mid-2011 (SP1 release), more recent if you can find them. Uninstall any utility software that runs close to the hardware: defraggers, antivirus, 3rd party firewall etc. and rely on common sense and the stock Windows security during testing if you must use it online.

[hgw53t]

From a Google on that error code, it points to a serious hardware problem.

See if updating all of the drivers will help.

The fact that it is intermittent tends to make it harder to nail down.

Does Event Viewer record any Errors for when you got/get these BSODs ?

  Latest Update:  my computer now WILL NOT boot up normally WITHOUT using my Windows Startup Repair Disk (DVD-R).  It WILL restart, but when I shut it down for the night & try to start normally the next morning, it won't.   Sometimes will not go into the very first screen & sometimes would go all the way to the desk top, which I see nothing there.  I call it  digital freeze, like a TV set would show when reception is bad using a roof top antenna.
  I can attach screen shots of event viewer if I knew what to look for.  Any help on that, please would be appreciated.

[Boggin]

When you boot up with the repair disk, can you navigate to the Recovery Environment and select Command Prompt.

At the prompt enter bcdedit |find "osdevice" then using the partition letter instead of my x, enter chkdsk x: /f and look to see if reports any KBs in bad sectors.

If that comes back clean and it doesn't find anything to repair, you could go back and run Startup Repair to see what that reports.

You can run that 3 times if at first unsuccessful.

When it restarts after you have booted with the repair disk, does the clock show the correct date and time ?

In Event Viewer click on Error and then on View All Instances of This Event in the lower right pane and then look for date and time stamped errors for when it wouldn't boot normally.

Click on one and then on Copy/Copy details as text in the lower right pane.

Open a Wordpad doc, right click in it and select Paste.

Do that for each one and then File/SaveAS a name and zip it up which you can then attach to your next reply.