BSOD hell

[asiafish]

Argh, this is frustrating.

So my brand-new X220 likes to BSOD. Nothing connected except a USB dongle for a wireless mouse (Logitech), so probably not a USB or driver issue. Computer frequently BSODs when a browser window hangs. Not sure if it is the SSD drive or RAM, but those are the two primary suspects in my experience.

Lenovo said they are out of stock on the 128 GB SSD, and I think I talked them into sending me the 160 GB that they do have in stock. Crucial is replacing the 8 GB RAM I ordered.

Can't wait until this thing is working, right now its only usable if I am VERY careful with IE9.

[ausmike]

hi there
Not sure if this will work for you .....
but try "BACKNG OUT" (remove via Cntl Panel and it will go back to IE8) the IE9
(am not a big fan of some MS products ......nope not a MS hater) ......but it did give me WHOLE LOT oGREIF on my T220t.........and after numerious calls to MS&Lenovo....someone @work suggested - REMOVE IE9 and WOW ,,, no more BSOD!!!!

but you can try that - not sure even if its relevant or of any help...
Cheers
Mike

[Atreides]

I spent a few days in BSOD hell not too long ago, testing every part of my machine only to find out it was caused by some driver conflict with Windows 7.

Fortunately (as its a direct fix) yours seems to be caused by some hardware issue (likely RAM), so odds are getting new memory will fix the issue.

[ausmike]

asiafish;
you might want to check this posting.....
unless you can rule out hardware (i spent days like the other user) and found that it was the stupid IE9 in clash with SP1!!!! ,,,, now I got IE8 which i was much happier with in first place - my TP9s) runs much much better! Not one BSOD yet on two x series !!

[penartur]

I wonder why everybody there are advising to fix something they feel may cause the problem before they even know what exact problem this is.

asiafish, what is written on the BSOD? There should be some specific error message and error code.
Also, are there any related events in Event Viewer (WinR, eventvwr.msc)?

[asiafish]

I wonder why everybody there are advising to fix something they feel may cause the problem before they even know what exact problem this is.

asiafish, what is written on the BSOD? There should be some specific error message and error code.
Also, are there any related events in Event Viewer (WinR, eventvwr.msc)?

No clue, it pops up so fast that I can't possibly read it.

[Harryc]

It should be red flaged in the system log. Look for it there.

[asiafish]

It should be red flaged in the system log. Look for it there.

I found this:

The computer has rebooted from a bugcheck. The bugcheck was: 0x0000007a (0xfffff6fc400099d0, 0xffffffffc000000e, 0x0000000131e35860, 0xfffff8800133a788). A dump was saved in: C:\Windows\MEMORY.DMP. Report Id: 091611-6988-01.

I have no clue what that means.

[penartur]

No clue, it pops up so fast that I can't possibly read it.

In Computer Properties (WinBreak, or Start, Computer, right-click, Properties) go to "Advanced System Settings", then to "Settings" under the "Startup and Recovery" section and uncheck the "Automatically restart" checkbox.

[penartur]

The bugcheck was: 0x0000007a (0xfffff6fc400099d0, 0xffffffffc000000e, 0x0000000131e35860, 0xfffff8800133a788).

Try to run Windows Memory Diagnostic (Control Panel, System and Security, Administrative tools, Windows memory diagnostic) to check whether it is the RAM fault.

[asiafish]

hi there
Not sure if this will work for you .....
but try "BACKNG OUT" (remove via Cntl Panel and it will go back to IE8) the IE9
(am not a big fan of some MS products ......nope not a MS hater) ......but it did give me WHOLE LOT oGREIF on my T220t.........and after numerious calls to MS&Lenovo....someone @work suggested - REMOVE IE9 and WOW ,,, no more BSOD!!!!

but you can try that - not sure even if its relevant or of any help...
Cheers
Mike

How did you go back to IE8? I tried disabling IE9 in Windows features and that just leaves me without any IE version at all. There is no option to uninstall IE9.

[pianowizard]

Have you tried these methods:

http://support.microsoft.com/kb/2579295

[asiafish]

Try to run Windows Memory Diagnostic (Control Panel, System and Security, Administrative tools, Windows memory diagnostic) to check whether it is the RAM fault.

System passed Memory Diagnostic with no errors

[asiafish]

Have you tried these methods:

http://support.microsoft.com/kb/2579295

That worked, IE9 uninstalled.

[asiafish]

Some more BSOD info. It seems most of the time it BSODs a fw minutes after resuming from hibernation. It will resume, work okay for a few minutes, then BSOD. Haven't tried it since uninstalling IE9.

My gut feeling tells me bad SSD, we shall see.

[illini71]

My gut feeling says a fresh install of windows will cure all. So does this mean you can never use ie9 i use ie9 all the time never a problem.

[asiafish]

My gut feeling says a fresh install of windows will cure all. So does this mean you can never use ie9 i use ie9 all the time never a problem.

Uninstalling IE9 seems to have done the trick. I've since suspended, resumed, hibernated and generally done everything I could to stress the system and it has not given a BSOD yet.

Thing is, this was my fourth fresh install of Windows, and I will likely do another just to make sure nothing was compromised during any of the many BSOD incidents.

I would like to know if there is a safe way to install IE9 in Win9 SP1. I generally try to use the latest versions of everything for security reasons, so moving to IE9 is something I definitely want to do, but not with the frequent BSOD issues I've been having.

[ausmike]

well, well..... SO AM NOT THE ONLY one <B**> to MS about the CLASH of IE9 with SP1.

MS Lvl2 tech Support told me its LENOVO HARDWARE; and not IE9!!
and I feel thats BS > as you cannt get SAME BOSD with TWO SEPERATE MACHINES
( as I generally do my updates nearly always the same way on all TPs.....baloah blah...)

if and WHEN i get a fix emailed to me I WILL POST IT HERE

Cheers Asiafish - sorry for your frustrating - wished you had tried that earlier ....happy thinkpadding!


Great weekend everyone

[asiafish]

well, well..... SO AM NOT THE ONLY one <B**> to MS about the CLASH of IE( with SP1.

MS Lvl2 tech Support told me its LENOVO HARDWARE; and not IE9!!


if and WHEN i get a fix emailed to me I WILL POST IT HERE

Cheers Asiafish - happy thinkpadding!


Great weekend everyone

Thanks ausmike, and no, you are not alone.

I have REALLY tried to crash this thing since uninstalling IE9 and haven't been able to yet. Four browsers running at least six windows each, including youtube movies. Two email clients, iTunes connected to an iPhone, wifi, bluetooth, MS Word and yes, Dragon Age II AND Mass Effect 2 running, AT THE SAME TIME, hibernated, slept, waken, taken from AC to battery and back. You name it, I tried to do it, and so far no BSOD.

[penartur]

I doubt IE9 could cause the BSOD. After all, BSODs are occuring in kernel/drivers, while IE9 is an application and runs on a completely different level. No application could cause the BSOD, only the hardware fault or driver could (btw, firewalls, some anti-virus software etc install their own kernel-level driver but that's due to their nature - in order to intercept suspicious applications activity you need to work on a lower level). Oh, and a malware designed with the only intent of exploiting some hole in windows; well, i doubt IE9 was designed to get you to BSOD.
The correlation you see (with IE9 there are BSODs, without IE9 there are no BSODs) may be caused by completely different reason. For example, IE9, as opposed to other browsers, may use some new improved NX/XD Windows features which rely on CPU support, and the defective CPU may return something weird in response to such request from Windows, and then you're getting BSOD.

Shortly, removing IE9 is a workaround, but you probably didn't solve the problem; the problem might surface up later with some other software; and you shouldn't blame IE9 or any other user-level application.

PS: Now, when we ruled out the RAM, it is likely caused by SSD returning wrong data under some conditions (especially if you have pagefile enabled). You can run some surface scan checks on it (with chkdsk and/or MHDD), but the SSD may go wrong under certain real-life conditions (e.g. high simultaneous multi-threaded load), not met by chkdsk/MHDD.

[asiafish]

Lenovo sent the 160GB Intel SSD and did a reinstall from recovery disks. Currently running Windows 7 Pro SP1 64, IE8 (I'm not brave enough to go back to IE9) and have the pagefile on a 40 GB Intel 310 mSATA SSD. With 8 GB RAM the system is extremely fast, hasn't crashed since I removed IE9 and is repidly becomming my favorite laptop ever (my 11" MacBook Air is jealous).

[ausmike]

hi Asia*;
sounds like you got near SAME SETUP as my x220. I also have a x220T and that also does NOT HAVE IE9 and its very fast and nice.
Glad you got NEW SSDs from Lenovo - they give me hard drive before they replaced mine ...
Enjoy and place fancy toy dressed up as and some pple mistake it as a computer ---- ASIDE ...lol lol <jk> my non keyboard version (ipad2) is PURE JOY!

Cheers

[asiafish]

hi Asia*;
sounds like you got near SAME SETUP as my x220. I also have a x220T and that also does NOT HAVE IE9 and its very fast and nice.
Glad you got NEW SSDs from Lenovo - they give me hard drive before they replaced mine ...
Enjoy and place fancy toy dressed up as and some pple mistake it as a computer ---- ASIDE ...lol lol <jk> my non keyboard version (ipad2) is PURE JOY!

Cheers

MacBook Air is also a delightful machine that is used everyday for work. X220 is used for military duty, which requires Windows, and light gaming when I travel. I VERY STRONGLY prefer OS X and an OS X-only database/CRM package (DayLite 3) for my business, and sadly the X220 in that role is absolutely useless. No, I won't consider a Hackintosh.

[ausmike]

..yip ,,, Mil.man with 'gaming' ...... lol lol

nah > I had my daughter's Mac pro for a weekend (installed SSD + wi7 -dueal boot)before I handed it to her - its amazin speed was nicest part of it. but I must say - having LINUX/Unix background i can see why pple like APPLE MAC stuff; its easy peezy!
Pity we HAVE TO use win (cut down/cloned linux in my view) but most of my work laptops are all dual boot - Win7x64+ SuSe Linux. SO am never worried there

You can try and install OSX- Lion and see ,,,, you might be suprised ! ((forum has lots of guys doing that as dual boot)) Tablet = pure joy with OSX = closed to Ipad2 like feel !! (with few clunky stuff thrown in) cant waite for win 8 to have those things fixed (win8 on 1:2DO lists)

cheers

[craigmontHunter]

If anyone is still experiencing this problem, I seem to remember seeing something somewhere (sorry, can't remember where exactly), that said this problem is caused by an issue with the gpu acceleration with IE9 on a thinkpad x220. If anyone is still experiencing this issue, try going into the IE settings and disabling the hardware acceleration - I know this removes some of the incentive to run IE9, but it *should* solve the problem.

If someone does try this, please post back and let us know if it works.

[asiafish]

..yip ,,, Mil.man with 'gaming' ...... lol lol

nah > I had my daughter's Mac pro for a weekend (installed SSD + wi7 -dueal boot)before I handed it to her - its amazin speed was nicest part of it. but I must say - having LINUX/Unix background i can see why pple like APPLE MAC stuff; its easy peezy!
Pity we HAVE TO use win (cut down/cloned linux in my view) but most of my work laptops are all dual boot - Win7x64+ SuSe Linux. SO am never worried there

You can try and install OSX- Lion and see ,,,, you might be suprised ! ((forum has lots of guys doing that as dual boot)) Tablet = pure joy with OSX = closed to Ipad2 like feel !! (with few clunky stuff thrown in) cant waite for win 8 to have those things fixed (win8 on 1:2DO lists)

cheers

Linux is not an option for me, and why use an unsupported Hackintosh for work when I have a perfectly lovely 11" MacBook Air that is better suited than the X220 for running into and out of courtrooms all day? X220 is better for longer trips, Air is better for day-to-day. One key feature of OS X that I rely on daily is the reliable and fast sleep function, which no other OS has yet to match.

[penartur]

If anyone is still experiencing this problem, I seem to remember seeing something somewhere (sorry, can't remember where exactly), that said this problem is caused by an issue with the gpu acceleration with IE9 on a thinkpad x220. If anyone is still experiencing this issue, try going into the IE settings and disabling the hardware acceleration - I know this removes some of the incentive to run IE9, but it *should* solve the problem.

If someone does try this, please post back and let us know if it works.

Then GPU drivers update and/or BIOS update will likely fix the problem...

[asiafish]

So, after Lenovo sent me a replacement SSD (upgraded from Micron 128 GB to Intel 160 GB due to their stock issues), my X220 worked fine for about 10 days. Just today, I was sitting in a coffee shop and pressed the power button to resume from hibernation (hibernated last night) and ..... NOTHING.

The machine just hung, I had a cursor, but nothing else, FOR TEN MINUTES.

I pressed and held the power button to try and force a restart, and it seemed to start booting Windows just fine until I got to the cursor on a black desktop with no icons, AND HUNG AGAIN.

I tried to use Windows recovery tools and was told to see my system administrator (just what any small business owner without an IT department wants to here). I tried Lenovo rescue and recovery, tried system restore and even tried to reinstall Windows on top of my existing installation. End result was all tools I have access to say that I have a bad hard disk, AGAIN!!!!!!

So, after a long call to Lenovo tech support they offered to replace the system this time, but I told them to give me my money back instead as I really don't want to wait how ever many days or weeks it would take to get another system from China or take my chances again.

What the heck was I ever thinking getting a PC when I have an office full of perfectly reliable and hassle-free Macs.

So, back in the box the X220 goes, and hopefully I can find someone to buy my Intel 310 mSATA 40 GB SSD that I no longer have any use for whatsoever.

[asiafish]

A week and a half later on a new SSD (Intel 320 160GB) and BSOD hell briefly returned, followed by total death of the SSD. Won't mount, not even in an external enclosure.

I have no idea what is wrong with my X220, but I am so fed-up that I declined a replacement and talked them into issuing an RMA with no restocking on this defective piece of shaving cream that has now eaten 2 SSDs to the point that they cannot mount even in external enclosures or different computers.

No, its not a software issue as all that was installed on top of Lenovo's base image was MS Office 2010 and Adobe Acrobat 9 Professional. On the new SSD I didn't even install IE9.

I've had it, and will buy another MacBook Air to use for my military duty.


Mod note: Duplicate threads merged. Please refrain from duplicate topics on the same subject as it splinters the discussion.

[pianowizard]

Sorry to hear that.

One of the reasons I usually buy used computers is that they have been tested to work.