Receving "Windows did not shut down properly" black screen in the middle of working

This is new computer. Sony Vaio.

While typing an e-mail in Windows Mail, I got a dark blue screen with a bunch of messages scrolling down the page ( (not the blue screen of death) for about 5 seconds.

Then I get a black screen that says Windows did not shut down properly with options to choose normal mode start up, safe mode, etc.

This has happened three times in the past week. The other two times it happened when working on a Word document, and the other time browsing.

 

New computer ----> Get some warranty work done.
A BSOD could be caused by literally, LITERALLY anything.
Before people start speculating on your problem, I'll re-iterate. Anything.
Bad hardware (memory, HDD, mobo issue, heat) software (conflicting software, virus, bad driver). It could literally be anything.
If you'd like to know what specifically is causing it, right click my computer, hit manage, then click event viewer, Windows logs, and finally "system". Sort by source, anything that says "bugcheck" will list the source of your BSOD.
You can also upload your minidumps if you have them, located at C:\Windows\Minidump and I'll analyze them to give you more specifics. With that info, you can start to figure out what is the problem.

But again. New laptop? Warranty. Use it.

 

A dark blue screen with a bunch of messages scrolling down the page, that looks alot like a BSOD Why are you saying it isn't?

And yeah go check out the logs like Hep! said.

 

I can't open the minidump files. Not sure if this information is helpful:

1> The computer has rebooted from a bugcheck. The bugcheck was: 0x0000007e (0xffffffffc0000005, 0xfffff800021cfb81, 0xfffffa60017c7798, 0xfffffa60017c7170). A dump was saved in: C:\Windows\MEMORY.DMP.

2> The computer has rebooted from a bugcheck. The bugcheck was: 0x0000003b (0x0000000080000003, 0xfffff80001e60430, 0xfffffa60162c6e60, 0x0000000000000000). A dump was saved in: C:\Windows\MEMORY.DMP.

3> The computer has rebooted from a bugcheck. The bugcheck was: 0x0000007e (0xffffffffc0000005, 0xfffff800021dab81, 0xfffffa60017b2798, 0xfffffa60017b2170). A dump was saved in: C:\Windows\MEMORY.DMP.

4> The computer has rebooted from a bugcheck. The bugcheck was: 0x0000007e (0xffffffffc0000005, 0xfffff8000221fb8c, 0xfffffa60017c0798, 0xfffffa60017c0170). A dump was saved in: C:\Windows\MEMORY.DMP.

5> The computer has rebooted from a bugcheck. The bugcheck was: 0x0000007e (0xffffffffc0000005, 0xfffff800022403aa, 0xfffffa60017d57d8, 0xfffffa60017d51b0). A dump was saved in: C:\Windows\MEMORY.DMP.

 

It's a good sign that they're almost all the same, that means it's much more likely a software problem, not failing hardware.
Do you have any files stored in C:\Windows\Minidump? If so, zip them up, upload them to megaupload, and I'll take a look at them for you.
If you don't have any files in the Minidump folder, upload the file C:\Windows\Memory.DMP to megaupload and I'll look at it. Sadly this file is usually the size of your RAM (so you have 4GB of RAM? 4GB file - so it can be big). I don't know how to truncate off the few KB I need either. Minidumps are best if you have them.

 

nirsoft has a new utility that analyzes minidumps.

 

Thank G*d it is a software problem. I was getting nervous it might be a hardware problem since Sonys usually have issues.

I will uplaod them to Megaupload the morning. Is the only way to uplad to Megaupload through the crappy toolbar?

 

I never use the toolbar, so yeah, there is a way to upload them without the toolbar.
Put them all in a .zip file (or .rar)
Go to http://megaupload.com/
Click browse. Select the .zip
Type a description below that. Like "kevinla's minidumps"
Then click send.
Post the link here.

Wow, I just googled that tool. "BlueScreenView." That is amazing, looks like it beats out Microsoft's own WinDbg.

 

those are not the files...we want the minidump files in c:\windows\minidumps

 

There is no minidumps folder.

I did a system restore. Could that be why the folder is no longer there?

 

Nah, I've seen this a lot in Vista and I don't know why it happens.
You'll have to disable automatic restart on system failure by tapping F8 whenever you boot up and selecting "disable automatic restart on system failure." Then whenever you get the BSOD, you can note down the code and the faulting module.

 

I contacted Sony customer support. As I guessed they would, they didn't bother to try and diagnose the problem. They just had me do a system restore and reset the BIOS to the original settings. I also ran some system tools on the registry and hard drive.

No problems since.

Hopefully it stays that way.