FalconFour
New Member
For the rest of the story (and the intro), see: http://windows7forums.com/windows-7...lp-fix-my-boot-hang-issue-sorry-newtopic.html and its linked topic... I thought the title wasn't appropriate to the content so I'm starting yet another topic on the matter.
So, today my laptop has entered a new realm of instability. The "infection" (NOT literal... figurative) is getting resistant to my "cures". My old "cures" have stopped working and I'm having to find ever more creative ways to fix it.
The issues are ALWAYS preceded by a lockup of some kind, typically related to enabling/disabling/changing hardware.
First mutation: coming out of standby, a few minutes later, "DRIVER_POWER_STATE_FAILURE" BSOD. Fixed by using "Last known good configuration". This worked about 3 times each time it locked up/hung on restart.
Second mutation: same lead-up (BSOD as above), no longer fixed by last-good, wrote the above topic(s). Fixed by removing a stick of RAM, booting up, shutting down, replacing RAM, and booting up again.
Third mutation: *deep breath*
The thing linking all these together is the boot-time lockup symptom. It doesn't write a bootlog (according to MS, if you select to write a boot log "ntbtlog.txt", the boot log isn't written until, well... until the file is TOO DAMN USELESS TO USE - until after the startup is successful!). The system finishes loading the .sys drivers that it loads before the animation starts. It plays the shiny Windows animation, then the hard drive blinks once. The logo continues to animate but the system is totally locked, no HDD activity ad infinitum.
Ideas? I'll probably have it fixed later tonight since this is my main PC and my essential work computer (I back it up nightly with Windows Home Server). Buuut... come on, this is crap and has been going on for a while now...
So, today my laptop has entered a new realm of instability. The "infection" (NOT literal... figurative) is getting resistant to my "cures". My old "cures" have stopped working and I'm having to find ever more creative ways to fix it.
The issues are ALWAYS preceded by a lockup of some kind, typically related to enabling/disabling/changing hardware.
First mutation: coming out of standby, a few minutes later, "DRIVER_POWER_STATE_FAILURE" BSOD. Fixed by using "Last known good configuration". This worked about 3 times each time it locked up/hung on restart.
Second mutation: same lead-up (BSOD as above), no longer fixed by last-good, wrote the above topic(s). Fixed by removing a stick of RAM, booting up, shutting down, replacing RAM, and booting up again.
Third mutation: *deep breath*
Partial system lock-up, anything relating to device detection (Plug and Play) fails to work. Unplug a USB drive and it won't notice you unplugged it (drive stays there, but any folder navigation shows an empty folder). Plug in a USB drive and it doesn't notice (no ding, no Device Manager refresh). Try to disable a device in Device Manager (such as disabling the USB controller to re-initialize it), and it hangs at the hourglass.
Fixed by the "30 second voodoo trick" - taking out the battery, RAM, HDD, hold power for 30 seconds, replace devices and power on.
Current mutation: Same as above except now the 30 second voodoo trick doesn't even work. Don't know of a solution... and that is a BIG PROBLEM!Fixed by the "30 second voodoo trick" - taking out the battery, RAM, HDD, hold power for 30 seconds, replace devices and power on.
The thing linking all these together is the boot-time lockup symptom. It doesn't write a bootlog (according to MS, if you select to write a boot log "ntbtlog.txt", the boot log isn't written until, well... until the file is TOO DAMN USELESS TO USE - until after the startup is successful!). The system finishes loading the .sys drivers that it loads before the animation starts. It plays the shiny Windows animation, then the hard drive blinks once. The logo continues to animate but the system is totally locked, no HDD activity ad infinitum.
Ideas? I'll probably have it fixed later tonight since this is my main PC and my essential work computer (I back it up nightly with Windows Home Server). Buuut... come on, this is crap and has been going on for a while now...
