Blue Screen of Death.

[Sir Brian]

right, my laptop has been freezing and shutting itself down A LOT today.

I think i have seen the blue screen 2 times today, maybe 3. It isn't completely screwing me over because i have been able to run hour long Avast anti-virus scans. In Safe Mode though.

I'v also been able to install Mawarebytes Anti-Malware and run a thorough scan. However it is STILL freezing. It first froze on me on friday night, and stupidly i left the laptop on standby since friday night untill midday today.
(Fri night - Monday dinner, on standby).

Does anyone have any suggestions as to what the problem is and what i should do about it...

thankyou :)



oh and by the way, it is Windows Vista.

[Red Dragon]

First of all - what is making you think that it is malware?

Next go to C:\windows\minidump\ <-attach your last few minidumps here

it could be so many things that cause a blue screen we need the error codes

usually it is either a memory issue, a video card issue, or driver

Sometimes it can be malware related - that is why I ask what makes you think that

[Sir Brian]

erm... nothing suggests it is malware. having found 9 dodgy files with the avast scan i thought i would check for malware.

are the codes in those files then? because i cannot access them,

[Dymond]

I was going to also say overheating can also cause BSOD

[Sir Brian]

I was going to also say overheating can also cause BSOD

right... well by the sounds of things... if bsod are mainly caused by physical faults i'll let me laptop sleep for tonight and see how we go tomoro morning. because its performance is definitely improving... :)

thankyou for your help.. because i didnt have a bloody clue what i was looking for or at. :)

:$ i gotta admit i splashed water all over the keyboard friday night... in a rush to get out on the piss... :P

on another note... i tried to install that Comodor firewall you reccomended, but it wouldnt install, could this be because i already have a Windows "firewall" on my laptop?

cheers :)

[Red Dragon]

Possibly - you should download comodo - disable windows firewall - then run the install for Comodo

Also if Avast found 9 infected files - I would definitely run through the preliminary removal instructions and post the logs for me

once your laptop cools off of course

[Sir Brian]

Possibly - you should download comodo - disable windows firewall - then run the install for Comodo

Also if Avast found 9 infected files - I would definitely run through the preliminary removal instructions and post the logs for me

once your laptop cools off of course

what it found was 9 files that it was "unable to scan". however 8 were McAfee files.. which im assuming is why they couldnt be scanned? :S

however the 9th was definitely dodgy, here it is.. it is very similar to these 2 files but also desctinctly different.

C:\Windows\SoftwareDistribution\Download\a58fa8f1a 78b89e6c2a670e288053b8b\x86_microsoft-windows-t..nkrecognition.pt-br_31bf3856ad364e35_6.0.6001.18000_none_c9a8f40d7e 700657

C:\Windows\SoftwareDistribution\Download\a58fa8f1a 78b89e6c2a670e288053b8b\x86_microsoft-windows-t..nkrecognition.en-us_31bf3856ad364e35_6.0.6001.18000_none_c2f9463b6a bc0048

C:\Windows\SoftwareDistribution\Download\a58fa8f1a 78b89e6c2a670e288053b8b\x86_microsoft-windows-t..nkrecognition.pt-br_31bf3856ad364e35_6.0.6001.18000_none_c9a8f40d7e 700657 <<<<<<< File was unable to be scanned.

[Red Dragon]

That looks like a false positive to me. It's where Windows Update client stores the files it downloads

Did you uninstall Mcafee? If you have and there are still files present you should do this

Remove Mcafee products
1. Click Start, Settings, Control Panel.
2. Double-click Add or Remove Programs(programs and features for vista).
3. Select the McAfee SecurityCenter product.
4. Click Remove and follow the steps provided.
5. Download the Mcafee removal tool from http://download.mcafee.com/products/licensed/cust_support_patches/MCPR.exe
6. Click Save and save the file to your desktop
7. Make sure all McAfee windows are closed.
8. Double-click MCPR.exe to run the removal tool. (Vista users need right click and run as administrator)
9. Restart your computer after receiving the message CleanUp Successful.

This could also be causing problems - if Mcafee is conflicting

[ZERAT]

i was having this same problem with my laptop

like every now and then if just resetarts itself

very annoying



i had to enter the setup by pressing f2 as soon as it begins to boot up

i put in my computer backup disc (that i made the day i got the laptop) and then booted up using the disc. It then gave me the option to restore my laptop back to the last time it was working. i did so.

ended up being a trojon virus:

trojan horse and another one

[hoos]

What I'm not sure RD made clear is that on the physical BSOD, there should be an error code. Write that down and then post it. That can usually help. Then It should also tell you where it is dumping memory files. Go find the said file, and upload it to here. RD or myself, can possibly do something with it.

[ZERAT]

i would but the error code is so long and it only stays on the screen for 3 seconds or so and then it restarts :(


it was called the trojan.blusod

[Red Dragon]

yep that is what I was trying to say lol - but it should be dumping them to the minidump folder depending on some settings

you may need to go to control panel -> folder options -> view tab -> then select "veiw hidden files and folders"

before you can access your last few minidumps at C:\windows\minidump folder

=================================

If the blue screen goes away too fast before you can read it do this

Go to start -> right click on computer -> select properties -> click advanced system settings -> click settings under startup and recovery ->

Go to the System Failure section.

Under this section you should be able to see a Check Box that says “Automatically Restart”.

Un-check that box and click on OK. Close out the properties Window as well. You should now be able to read your BSODs when you get them

[ZERAT]

ok done that

but what now?

[hoos]

Make your computer crash.

Also your mini-dumps might not be dumping there. I just had a girl who's files were dumping into C:\DocumentsandSettings\*hername*\Local Settings\Temp\... and it was in there. I forgot how to check where they are dumping... RD...