T420 BSOD (ssd?)

Hello guys,

I have been very satisfied with my T420 but recently started getting BSODs.

It happened while I was watching a YouTube video, another time when playing a MP3 through Winamp and also after closing my web-browser after viewing a random video.

I noticed that when it happens, the OS doesn't completely freeze automatically but every little UI thing (and sound) stops working one after the other and then the computer freezes with a BSOD. The drive activity light keeps flashing as if there was a lot of writing/reading too... which makes me wonder, is this SSD related? I had no problems at first, and I heard that some SSDs can start giving trouble a few weeks after using them if you are unlucky.

I have no problem with it when I am just writing notes at school, doing light office-based things it seems.

I am thinking of replacing the SSD with the stock HDD (need to re-install Windows) to see if it fixes it. Of course I'd rather be able to keep using the SSD.

Any thoughts?

Thank you.

 

Can you post the error code that appears on the BSOD?

 

What is the best way to get it? I know it creates some dump files but I don't know much about that - how to access them etc.

I could always try to snap a quick picture the next time it happens, but that would be hard as it only stays for about a second.

 

Every BSOD gets registered in the Windows Event log. Just open up the Event Viewer (press Win button and type eventvwr.msc or simply 'Event Viewer') and navigate to Windows Logs -> System (or it could be under Application log). Then see if there are any recent error records (marked as 'red') that contain 'BlueScreen' reference in the details pane. The detailed information usually contains an error code and exact path to dump files. Let us know what you see.

 

Thank you,

Because there are so many different errors and I am not sure of the time the BSODs occurred, I am providing you with a saved filtered log. It might be easier this way for you to identify the problem(s).

http://dl.dropbox.com/u/7953322/system.evtx
http://dl.dropbox.com/u/7953322/applications.evtx

The next time I get a BSOD though, I will make sure to note the time so I can easily identify it in the eventviewer.

 

Thanks for the logs. Yes, it does contain some useful information, for example, it reported the following error:

The computer has rebooted from a bugcheck. The bugcheck was: 0x000000f4 (0x0000000000000003, 0xfffffa8006b17b30, 0xfffffa8006b17e10, 0xfffff80002f9ff40). A dump was saved in: C:\Windows\MEMORY.DMP. Report Id: 070211-7222-01.

This code 0xF4 (CRITICAL_OBJECT_TERMINATION) usually indicates a problem with a hardware or its driver. Could you also upload file C:\Windows\MEMORY.DMP to Dropbox (you might need to zip it before) ? Thanks.

 

Good thing I zipped it, it was 400mb uncompressed... now 90mb

http://dl.dropbox.com/u/7953322/MEMORY.zip

 

Thanks - downloading now..

 

Ok, I have attached the analyze results at the end of this post. I'm suspecting there is some issue with your SSD because I also saw a few more errors in Event viewer which point to failures during the IO operations, like these ones:

Code:

Windows detected your registry file is still in use by other applications or services. The file will be unloaded now. The applications or services that hold your registry file may not function properly afterwards.  

 DETAIL - 
 1 user registry handles leaked from \Registry\User\S-1-5-21-3116659589-969366364-2793876314-1000:
Process 1136 (\Device\HarddiskVolume2\Program Files\Common Files\Microsoft Shared\Windows Live\WLIDSVC.EXE) 
has opened key \REGISTRY\USER\S-1-5-21-3116659589-969366364-2793876314-1000\Software\Microsoft\SystemCertificates\Root

Code:

wlcomm (1952) C:\Users\..\AppData\Local\Microsoft\Windows Live\Contacts\..\15.4\: 
A request to write to the file "C:\Users\..\AppData\Local\Microsoft\Windows Live\Contacts\..\15.4\DBStore\contacts.edb" at offset 1458176 (0x0000000000164000) for 8192 (0x00002000) bytes succeeded, 
but took an abnormally long time (968 seconds) to be serviced by the OS. This problem is likely due to faulty hardware. 
Please contact your hardware vendor for further assistance diagnosing the problem.

Code:

The content source iehistory://{S-1-5-21-3116659589-969366364-2793876314-1000} cannot be accessed.

BTW, what brand / model of SSD do you have?


Summary of the dump file:

Code:

Microsoft (R) Windows Debugger Version 6.12.0002.633 AMD64
Copyright (c) Microsoft Corporation. All rights reserved.


Loading Dump File [D:\Temp\MEMORY.DMP]
Kernel Summary Dump File: Only kernel address space is available

Symbol search path is: SRV*R:\Symbols*http://msdl.microsoft.com/download/symbols
Executable search path is: 
Windows 7 Kernel Version 7601 (Service Pack 1) MP (4 procs) Free x64
Product: WinNt, suite: TerminalServer SingleUserTS Personal
Built by: 7601.17592.amd64fre.win7sp1_gdr.110408-1631
Machine Name:
Kernel base = 0xfffff800`02c1d000 PsLoadedModuleList = 0xfffff800`02e62650
Debug session time: Sun Jul  3 06:38:14.938 2011 (UTC + 5:00)
System Uptime: 0 days 0:53:21.187
Loading Kernel Symbols
...............................................................
................................................................
.............................
Loading User Symbols
PEB is paged out (Peb.Ldr = 000007ff`fffde018).  Type ".hh dbgerr001" for details
Loading unloaded module list
............
*******************************************************************************
*                                                                             *
*                        Bugcheck Analysis                                    *
*                                                                             *
*******************************************************************************

Use !analyze -v to get detailed debugging information.

BugCheck F4, {3, fffffa8006b17b30, fffffa8006b17e10, fffff80002f9ff40}

Probably caused by : csrss.exe

Followup: MachineOwner
---------

2: kd> !analyze -v
*******************************************************************************
*                                                                             *
*                        Bugcheck Analysis                                    *
*                                                                             *
*******************************************************************************

CRITICAL_OBJECT_TERMINATION (f4)
A process or thread crucial to system operation has unexpectedly exited or been
terminated.
Several processes and threads are necessary for the operation of the
system; when they are terminated (for any reason), the system can no
longer function.
Arguments:
Arg1: 0000000000000003, Process
Arg2: fffffa8006b17b30, Terminating object
Arg3: fffffa8006b17e10, Process image file name
Arg4: fffff80002f9ff40, Explanatory message (ascii)

Debugging Details:
------------------


PROCESS_OBJECT: fffffa8006b17b30

IMAGE_NAME:  csrss.exe

DEBUG_FLR_IMAGE_TIMESTAMP:  0

MODULE_NAME: csrss

FAULTING_MODULE: 0000000000000000 

PROCESS_NAME:  csrss.exe

EXCEPTION_CODE: (NTSTATUS) 0xc0000006 - The instruction at 0x%p referenced memory at 0x%p. The required data was not placed into memory because of an I/O error status of 0x%x.

BUGCHECK_STR:  0xF4_IOERR

DEFAULT_BUCKET_ID:  VISTA_DRIVER_FAULT

CURRENT_IRQL:  0

STACK_TEXT:  
fffff880`09dfbe38 fffff800`030247d2 : 00000000`000000f4 00000000`00000003 fffffa80`06b17b30 fffffa80`06b17e10 : nt!KeBugCheckEx
fffff880`09dfbe40 fffff800`02fd2bdb : ffffffff`ffffffff fffffa80`07ce6b60 fffffa80`06b17b30 fffffa80`06b17b30 : nt!PspCatchCriticalBreak+0x92
fffff880`09dfbe80 fffff800`02f55838 : ffffffff`ffffffff 00000000`00000001 fffffa80`06b17b30 00000000`00000008 : nt! ?? ::NNGAKEGL::`string'+0x179e6
fffff880`09dfbed0 fffff800`02c9bf93 : fffffa80`06b17b30 fffff800`c0000006 fffffa80`07ce6b60 00000000`002a0dc0 : nt!NtTerminateProcess+0xf4
fffff880`09dfbf50 fffff800`02c98530 : fffff800`02ce86cf fffff880`09dfca38 fffff880`09dfc790 fffff880`09dfcae0 : nt!KiSystemServiceCopyEnd+0x13
fffff880`09dfc0e8 fffff800`02ce86cf : fffff880`09dfca38 fffff880`09dfc790 fffff880`09dfcae0 00000000`002a1ad0 : nt!KiServiceLinkage
fffff880`09dfc0f0 fffff800`02c9c382 : fffff880`09dfca38 00000000`0001200f fffff880`09dfcae0 00000000`002a15a8 : nt! ?? ::FNODOBFM::`string'+0x49974
fffff880`09dfc900 fffff800`02c9aefa : 00000000`00000000 000007fe`fd59d89c fffffa80`07ce6b01 00000000`0001200f : nt!KiExceptionDispatch+0xc2
fffff880`09dfcae0 00000000`77129c12 : 00000000`00000000 00000000`00000000 00000000`00000000 00000000`00000000 : nt!KiPageFault+0x23a
00000000`002a14f0 00000000`00000000 : 00000000`00000000 00000000`00000000 00000000`00000000 00000000`00000000 : 0x77129c12


STACK_COMMAND:  kb

FOLLOWUP_NAME:  MachineOwner

FAILURE_BUCKET_ID:  X64_0xF4_IOERR_IMAGE_csrss.exe

BUCKET_ID:  X64_0xF4_IOERR_IMAGE_csrss.exe

Followup: MachineOwner
---------

 

Thanks so much for helping!

I have a Crucial C300 128gb SATA3. I also have the exact same model in my Desktop PC and I have no problems so far with that computer (had the SSDs for about two months).

Do you believe it could be something that can be fixed on the software end or would I need to get it replaced?

 

If it's a faulty drive, then it definitely needs to be replaced (firmware update could help also if it's available for your drive).. do you know if the manufacturer (Crucial) provides any diagnostic tool to run some test on the drive (you might check the SSD section in the forum)? For example, Intel gives the SSD Toolbox that allows running full / quick tests which sometimes might be quite helpful. In the meantime, I would suggest to replace the drive with the stock one (regular HDD) and see if the problem goes away.

 

I believe that it is eligible for a firmware update so I will definitely try that out. Since my T420 has more recent hardware than my Desktop, that could be one reason why the older firmware is causing problems. I will also check to see if there is any diagnostic tool available.

After upgrading the firmware, would re-installing Windows be required?

 

You could try tweking the registry since the Crucial C300 SSD can stall without doing the LPM fix on the Intel RST driver. As well as upgrading the firmware try applying these settings to the registry (via safe mode).

 

Thanks a lot guys, I just upgraded the firmware and applied the reg script.

Hopefully that'll solve it!

Thanks,
Nicholas