Not so much dreaded as damned annoying. I have a Dell Dimension E520 that worked like a dream for the first 3/4 months. Then it started crashing with the Blue Screen of Death. It would crash about 2/3 times after each logon but, after the final reset, would work happily for hours after until such time as I had to log off & on again.
I have only recently found out about the Reliability Monitor so I scrolled back to when it first started crashing. It was after the installation of a number of Automatic Updates on the 11th Oct 2007 and has been ongoing since that time. To date I have not been able to find a fix.
I would like to list the updates as a comparison check with others who may be experiencing the same problem. All these numbers come under specific headings......
KB 915597
KB 941833
KB 941202
KB 933729
KB 94
KB 90
KB 941651
KB 89083
KB 915597
I have been able to remove some of these updates but not all. Nothing else was installed (Software, hardware, drivers etc) for weeks prior to the above mentioned updates.
If anyone has any ideas I would be most receptive.
How-To Geek Forums » Windows Vista
Dreaded BSoD
(38 posts)
Vista SP1 (KB 936330) was installed on the 19th Apr.2008, long after the problem arose. The offer of Windows to go find the problem after each crash was an utter waste of time. The first time it told me that it was the Analogue Clock in my Gadget Bar that was causing the problem so I got rid of that. Then it told me it was my Weather Station on my Gadget Bar which I also removed. Then it told me it was a confict with my Virus Checker within the Internet Security System I was using and to update it, which I did. Windows still kept pointing to that so, as I was using a free Security System at the time I uninstalled it and paid $40 (Aust) for a pucker Security System, making sure it was Vista complient. Needless to say I still have the problem and Windows still points to a conflict with my Virus Checker.
What puzzeles me is the fact that, after the initial 2/3 crashes each time I logon, my computer continues to work fine.
Since it crashes after logon (when the start-up programs are being started) one could suspect one of those start-up programs. Did you ever disable those and see what happens? You can do this with MSCONFIG or I use the WinPatrol program (free from the web ) which is much more convenient. If this fixes the problem, you could reenable them one by one or in small batches of e.g. 3 at a time and observe the reaction.
I'm sorry, whs, perhaps I should have been more specific. The crashes do occur after the initial start-up but at various times. Sometimes just a few minutes after and sometimes up to 10/15 minutes or even later. Then, as mentioned, after the 2nd or 3rd crash it never happens again for the rest of my session which could last several hours. I have noticed that reading documents via the web or checking my bank statements is almost guaranteed to cause a crash although, after saying that, there really isn't a pattern that I can put my finger on.
Hmm, that is a lot more random then. Lighthouse may be right - but it could also be a lot of other things. Without a "pattern", it is quasi impossible to diagnose. Do you by any chance have the Security System Firewall AND the Windows Firewall both enabled? Two firewalls active are a lot of trouble.
I do indeed have two Firewalls running....Windows and Steganos (my Security System) I have now turned off Windows Firewall although I am not sure which would be the best one to keep active. Any ideas on that would be appreciated. I will keep this Forum posted re the results of the above.
I must say I do appreciate the help in this matter.
Hmm, maybe the damage is already done. Sometimes it's good to start from scratch. But then I would get another security system. This Steganos I have never heard of. Kaspersky, Bitdefender, Norton 2008 would appear to be a better option. Security systems are one of the main causes of trouble because they are so interwoven with the system. You don't want to skimp on that.
My thanks to you all for the posts. One of our Aussie computer mags did a survey recently on security systems. Kapersky came out on top with 98% reliability (ie. picking up just about everything they threw at it) Steganos came 2nd at 96%. Apart from the 2% difference there was also about $50 difference in the price, hence my opting for Steganos.
I have to say that, at the moment (touch wood), I have been logged on for about 2 hours and haven't yet crashed. Perhaps disabling one of my firewalls has done the trick after all. If it stays this way I may leave Windows Firewall disabled unless I am strongly advised otherwise (ie. that Windows would be the prefered firewall) Everything I have read to date about Windows security has not been very encouraging. Thanks anyway for the advice, Lighthouse.
Hopefully the saga will not continue but will keep this post informed for the benefit of others who may be experiancing the same problem.
6 hours later.............I woke up my computer after watching one hour of TV and, after about 2 minutes, it CRASHED again!! Certainly an improvement on past crashes and I can probably live with it (not that I have much choice). I still haven't given up the idea that disabling one of my two firewalls (see above) has not improved things. For those having similar problems watch this space for further progress reports.
Further to the above and, sad to say, my comp crashed again today approx 3 mins after logon. I did live in hope that disabling one of my firewalls may have fixed the problem. There now doesn't seem to be much point in continuing this thread. For all those poor unfortunates out there, like myself, who are experiancing similar crashes, we may have to wait until Microsoft comes up with a difinitive answer to the problem. While not knocking Vista I have to say that, in all the years I was using XP, I never suffered one crash. Such is life.
I would follow billbonzas suggestion, but add 1 thing.
We have seen quite a few problems here, caused by AVG.
So I suggest you scan with this instead.
http://filehippo.com/download_antivir/
Thank you for the suggestion, billbonza, but it doesn't make much sense to me. You see, I was using Avast Internet Security (free) 3 months prior to this problem occurring. When I decided to take onboard what Windows was telling me (that my problem was with my virus checker) and decided to install Steganos I uninstalled Avast and then, before I actually installed Steganos, my computer crashed. In other words it crashed without any Internet Security installed!!
I am totally convinced that the problem lies with the automatic downloads from Microsoft that occurred the day before my problems started. This is the reason I gave all the numbers (at the start of this post) of those downloads in the hope that others may have started having the same problems after installing those Windows updates.
As a point of interest, the Vista Reliability Monitor is great for checking what programs, and automatic updates, were successfully installed, the date of installation and the date any crashes occurred. It also shows (graph style) how efficiently your computer is running. Needless to say, with all my crashes, my graph is running near the bottom of the scale.
For the sake of readers who may not be familiar with the Vista Reliability Monitor try the following.....
Right click Computer
Click Manage
Expand Reliability & Performance
Expand Monitoring Tools
Click on Reliability Monitor
Now you have are complete record of your computers performance going back at least 12 months.
If anyone has any feedback with respect to those updates (if they have caused you a problem) I would be pleased to hear about it. (please refer to the first post for the numbers of those updates)
I dont claim to be an expert, and you seem very competant- but did you uninstall Avast with the vista uninstaller? Try Revo. I think you may be wide of the mark and your problems are at a more basic level. You have a conflict somewhere. Run Ccleaner, then Glary utilities.Then defrag and pray.
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