[SOLVED] Repeated BSOD Win Vista Starter 32 bit

[Bright Future]

After changing over from HDD to SSD, and re-installing Win Vista Starter 32 bit, updated it successfully via Win Updates till the latest OS updates. But found that Win Defender Updates are not all coming in via Win Updates. Win Defender updates get installed manually but does not appear in Win Updates or Defender updates for installation. My guess is that some thing is wrong with MS servers since April 2019 for Win defender updates only.

Secondly, Win Vista Starter 32 bit is now not accepting any freeware that it earlier used to. It slips into Hardware monitoring, verifying pool...building pool, AMD Data changes to DMI ..updating ...changes .. then if all goes well ... we get desktop or else ... slips into bluedump saying - BIOS not fully compliant with ACPI.... error A5, 11, 6, 0, 0 ... Then by using disk did a system repair ... says cannot repair ... perhaps system config changes is root cause... did system restore via disk... successful. ... (came to this stage of reporting). Sometime earlier also did successful MBR rebuild via disk / system repair / CMD prompt... but constantly this has become an issue with this PC. The device manager does not show any yellow or red marks. Besides Safe removal icon comes up in Task Bar showing internal drives -- SSD and CD ROM drive (this development is after SSD installation only). Did sfc and chkdsk ... no problems found.

Also Autoruns shows total 3 Yellow highlighted items ... what to do? (see screenshots)

Check sysnativecollectionapp details attached.

Afraid to run Driver verifier and Memory Diagnostic Tool .... PC freezes.... becomes difficult to get back to start/boot.....may go in reboot loops ... even in safe boots. .. although not tried after re-installation of OS. But the issues remain same before and after re-installation of OS except that this time I changed over to SSD from HDD. But computer showing all similar symptoms as earlier. Looks like OS is trying to create problems for hardware.

The issue of Win Updates for win defender was taken up on other thread in Sysnative forum and the thread is live (not closed) but since BSOD is also involved, starting a new thread on the Sysnative forum, if it is Ok.... Lets get started...

From my side I am thinking of running anti malware -- malwarebytes in the meantime....

 

[Bright Future]

Meantime... was a very short time .... I ran Malwarebytes (Legacy) for Vista .... Result - No Threats detected. ..... Awesome!

The problem lies .... somewhere ... else... in settings ... or ... something very .. obvious to a pro .. but completely out of knowledge of a layman/user....

 

[Sysnative Windows Update]

Pasting here for reference:

Nope. It's not MS Servers. You seem to be convinced it is and there is simply no evidence of anything like that. If that were the case, millions if not billions of people would be complaining about the issue.

The message about rdpclip not being found is normal as it is a part of clipboard copying feature which is not available in all Vista versions (Starter is unsupported).

The rest of the files are normal and even covered in the Sysinternals Administrators Reference as typical of Vista systems.

The fact that you are still experiecing BSODs likely means there is still something wrong. We will find out what in your BSOD thread.

The drives showing up as removable means that your BIOS settings are likely incorrect or that there is an incorrect setting in the registry: https://support.microsoft.com/en-us/help/3083627/internal-sata-drives-show-up-as-removeable-media

Thread: Windows Update Fails to Install Win Defender Sign Updates in Win Vista Starter 32 bit

 

[Bright Future]

Yes .. something is wrong. The registry settings to correct mentioned in --

The drives showing up as removable means that your BIOS settings are likely incorrect or that there is an incorrect setting in the registry:https://support.microsoft.com/en-us/help/3083627/internal-sata-drives-show-up-as-removeable-media

-- does not say anything about Win Vista Starter bit only Win 7 and above.

What to do? Shall I follow the regedit correction as per Win 7 ? If you give a go ahead ... I can take the leap...

Yes the BIOS settings seem to be wrong... Error said -- Bios not fully compliant with APCI (if I remember correctly). Update Bios...
Error with all zeros .... A5 , 11, 6, 0, 0.

What do you make out of it?

And BSOD or F8 type of screen also says -- InsertOS disk and do start up repairs .... but the cursor will not move from Start Windows Normally...

Then finally I restarted PC, pressing F9, entered System config screen -- just to see that Removable drive was no. 1 in boot sequence , then HDD or CD-ROM.
I put CDROM on top and HDD next and Removable (USB) last. Then started got up to desk ttop some how (and kept PC on to do some surfing for solution)

Something may also be wrong in Power Management ... I need to check... or have I gone wrong in drivers ... doesn't seem likely...

or does the BIOS need an update ? Already AMD K8 Update came through Win Update.

But Win Update gives updates for OS and drivers and not for Win Defenders..... how come... this canot be set by my computer...
..it has to be at server end .. MS ? No? I don't know. You are the expert....

In the meantime I ran Malwarebytes -- nothing detected... Run Rogue killer -- nothing detected... so giving up on Virus/malware theory .
Yes.. Rootkit and deep scan was not done... WMI was not scanned... etc... that would need a paid version...

And 26 errors in registry related to .NET Framework 1.0 and 1.1 and 1 start up error were noted. I think I will run ReImage repair for it I am waiting for key activation...

But that is not going to solve the BSOD issue. I will need your guidance.. Hardware seems to be at risk because of some settings...as you say..I follow that.

Or is it RAM or Drivers...?

I have not made any changes to Registry or anything yet. Waiting for your permission....

Whenever my computer shows problems I feel let down.... so sometimes I may be venting out on MS, modern technology, costs, etc..
But then there are experts like you who are guiding us to keep our computers working....or else this technology would have perhaps
remained with a small circle of knowledge-able people only...I would have been only a distant onlooker with hands off .. watching and wondering...
Nothing much has changed though... but an attempt... an effort ... is worth ... making it...

 

[Patrick]

There are no dumps in your collection zips. Ensure your system is actually set to generate them.

 

[Sysnative Windows Update]

Unfortunately, you system doesn't appear to have generated any crash dumps, please check settings: BSODs but no Dump Files? - Windows Crashes and Blue Screen of Death (BSOD) Help and Support

No, do not change anything for now. I'd start by flashing the latest version of your BIOS onto the motherboard first.

After you have done that, please configure it again to boot from the SSD and let me know whether you are able to boot into the OS.

The first question is why are you using Windows Defender? It's just an Antispyware app and not a fully fledged AV. I would recommend you uninstall it and switch over to Microsoft Security Essentials, which will protect you better. (unless you are already running a third-party antivirus). If you are, please keep using it.

I am 100% certain this is not malware.

Those are fake. there are no errors. This Reimage software is very unreliable and untrustworthy. Please do not use it.

It's always worth trying. Please flash your BIOS and monitor for problems. If you keep having them, do the following:

Test RAM with PassMark MemTest86

 

[Bright Future]

Many things are surfacing now .....

1- I do not know -- How to set computer to generate dump or mini dump logs.
This issue I had noticed earlier also. That is when I was using HDD.
I have contacted the forum after switching over to SSD. But the issues remain the same as in HDD.

2- I have not made any changes in Registry. Not used Registry cleaner or any cleaner of any sort.
Yes I have installed some freewares and softwares and then uninstalled them using Geek uninstaller.

3- I was using third party Antivirus (Trustport Sphere). I kept it uninstalled thinking that it may come in
way of repairs, especially System restore, etc. as I doubt it has unsigned drivers which may cause
problems during boot up as Vista is enforcing driver verification. I do not use MS Security Essentials
as it is also not supported. Besides in Vista Starter, Windows Defender has all the good things that
MS security essentials has and if I use MS Security Essentials, it blocks and swallows Win Defender.
Win Defender, UAC, DEP are the best security feature of Win Vista Starter. I want to have the advantage
of both 3rd party AV and Win defender. Sometimes I use Super Antispyware or Spybot and then uninstall it.

4-I have installed but not used ReImage yet ( I was waiting for activation keys).
But now I will not use it...until you say.

5- No repairs have been carried out yet from my side. We are still on discussion mode.

6- I do not know whether there is a BIOS update for this Biostar mother board MCP6PB M2+ . I checked on Biostar website.
Saw here and there ...located the motherboard number but further I do not know. I understand that a bootable USB
is needed to flash / update BIOS but first an update must be located. I was wondering if BIOS Agent is the one from
where I can get a BIOS update. So far BIOS Agent only scans and I have not ever seen a Bios Update being offered.

7- And flashing monitor ? Never heard of ? Yes monitor seems to have some problem -- it seems to be getting more brightness
and more contrast that it at times strains my eyes to read .... and at times upon boot up its colours change to blue or red.
It was corrected by pressing buttons on monitor to Normal.... it shifts to monochrome by itself. ... giving a fright that it is also gone.
I was about to take that monitor problem also .... one step at a time.

8- Glanced through the webpage you forwarded --
BSODs but no Dump Files? - Windows Crashes and Blue Screen of Death (BSOD) Help and Support
But I have not taken any action...except run 2 programs to check system settings ... Results are attached.
Not tried the Hotfix -- it also seems to be for Win 7 .... but will try when you say so..

9- Test RAM is what I am going to do .... but late tonight... after dinner.... today being Sunday.... I shall post the results by Monday morning
if Computer does not get stuck in the Memory test... I am afraid that it may.... and perhaps RAM is the culprit. Computer has two RAMs of 1 GB each.
It can house a maximum of two RAMs of 2 GB each.

Only when things got started I have to leave the computer ..... after dinner , please don't mind....

 

[Sysnative Windows Update]

The dumps can be configured here: NirBlog » Blog Archive » How to configure Windows to create MiniDump files on BSOD The steps are the same in Windows 7 and Vista.

It is still unclear to me why you prefer Windows Defender over MSE as MSE offers everything that Windows Defender does and more.

SAS and Spybot are scanners, not full blown AVs. From what I read, you system is currently not running any AV, which should be taken care of immediately by installing something like Avast free or simlilar. I am not 100% sure which offer something that supports Vista as it's obsolete.

There are two versions available on the site: Best motherboard manufacturers. Biostar provides various high quality motherboard gaming series, including am4 motherboa

Please note down the version numbers, boot to your BIOS and compare the versions to determine which version is currently installed and report back.

Flashing monitor can be caused by bad capacitors. You should have an electric technican inspect it for faults.

When testing the RAM, please bear in mind to test one RAM stick at a time and not both simultaneously.

Try different RAM slots on the motherboard in order to rule out a failing RAM slot.

Enjoy your dinner!

 

[Bright Future]

1- If you say so I will go for Microsoft Security Essentials as AV .... for me it is for free. I never considered MS as an AV company. To me it is an OS company. Besides I never saw MS safety scanner, etc ever come up with a virus quarantined. For many years I stayed with Norton AV till it became too large in size and Heavy that PC was real sluggish. Then for sometime with Avira and then with Bit Defender and finally with Trustport Sphere AV. After installing OS I wanted to deal with each and every problem of computer -- software or hardware -- for which I needed to do trial and error and jump forward and do a somersault with system restore -- and for such things AV usually comes in the way. As such the fear of malware and virus are minimal these days. The last virus that I remember had given trouble was stuxnet. Ransomeware, etc never created a ripple on this computer. In times of Norton, trojans were a big catch. Nowadays hardly there is anything to report by any AV. If one succeeds in adblock and does not use social networking, no virus or malware of any kind is interested in the computer. I have become very bold to run the computer and surf the net without antivirus. So to say my computer is IMMUNE to any such attacks. (Now I am boasting.... atlast I found something to boast .... Ego ...ego.... ) I am yet to install MS Office 2007 on PC. I have the CD and keys.

2- The dumps can be configured here: NirBlog » Blog Archive » How to configure Windows to create MiniDump files on BSOD. The settings were made as instructed on the webpage. It was earlier set as Kernel memory Dump. Now changed it to small memory dump. Does that solve the problem ?

There was no need to do the Registry changes as it was already as mentioned on the above webpage. Does that solve the problem ?

3- One thing I noticed .... when ever the PC upon booting goes for verifying DRI pool .... just restart PC forcibly and go straight to Set Sytem Configuration by keeping F9 pressed and switch first boot order to hard disk.... the PC immediately comes to desktop. No blue dump ... no building DMi , etc.... it bounces to life. This seems to be the setting that needs to be made set and not to be done with every power on during booting. Surely from where to make this change a proper setting will solve the issue. F9 shows - Removable as first priority, CD ROM as second and HDD as last. Everytime I have to go through F9 to set the order reverse to come to desktop without any hitch needs to be set properly... perhaps the answer lies somewhere here...or is a part of the problem.

4 On Biostar webpage, you mention, there are 2 versions mentioned.... I don't see 2 but many (see attached screenshot) ver 6.0 to 6.7... and upon booting PC, where do I get to see version number... ..I don't think i will be able to locate BIOS version from BIOS setup while booting... so I checked webpage---

Find Your Computer’s BIOS Version From the Command Line

--- and the result is in screenshot -- that is ver 6.0 PG (Brand is Phoenix).
But the motherboard number / model looks different in Speccy than what we are seeing (or what I mentioned in my earlier post) on Biostar webpage.
I don't know which one is correct. How be double sure...?

5- I checked with Electrician -- a faulty capacitor will appear swollen or leaking... Yet to double check...

6- Now I run the Memtest for RAM -- one at a time and changing slots. In my next post I shall send results.

 

[Sysnative Windows Update]

1. I would then recommend uninstalling Windows Defender and using only Avast Free + Malwarebytes free for ocassional scanning.

2. Yes, it should.

3. There could be a number of reasons for the verification. Some of them are listed here: Computer stops at verifying DMI pool data...

4. You are mising up motherboard revisions and BIOS versions, please choose version 6, go to downloads and download the latest version of BIOS. Instructions on how to flash it are available here: https://www.biostar.com.tw/app/en/manual/bios_update.pdf

Make sure you flash it from within the BIOS and not through Windows!

Awaiting Memtest results...

 

[Bright Future]

Alright.....now I think I will have to do ... something... knowledge gathering... is all done...

1-In the meantime I installed MS Essentials AV.And Win Defender got Turned Off by itself.
Windows Defender cannot be uninstalled. It is a part of OS in Win Vista Starter.

No more argument about MS.... I give up ..I am no expert.

2-Next upon starting up today, got the same old blue dump... then did restart... verifying DMI.. then force restart..
....Press F9 for system configuration>set Hard disk on top (earlier setting showed Removable)>verifying
DMI pool data... >Building DMI > AMD Data change in DMI....update....success.. > all done in a moment & computer
goes straight to login & then desktop.

3-Now ran BSODCollectionApp & Recovoropage. See the attached files.
Now atleast we must get the cause for bluedump.

4-Shall I try out these steps -- Computer stops at verifying DMI pool data...

5-What does this mean --Make sure you flash it from within the BIOS and not through Windows!
I understand if Bios update goes wrong,.... everything goes....

6-Memtest is yet to be done.... DVD to prepare...to takeup on Wednesday ...July 31... all work to do on
July 31 ... non-working day for me... coolly... including BIOS update..

I know ...I talk a lot ... do a little...but to gain confidence in self to do something that I have never done before...

See you on Wednesday afternoon..

 

[Sysnative Windows Update]

Hi!

No, if you've fixed the DMI, you do not need to carry out the steps on the link.

By flashing from the BIOS, I meant that you should not do it from the Windows environment, but boot to BIOS and use a dedicated utility there (I am not sure what the name is for BIOSTAR).

I would like you to first test the RAM.

 

[Bright Future]

Did you check collection files that I sent in the previous email, especially for bluedump...

 

[Sysnative Windows Update]

There were no dumps. I am waiting for Memtest results for now.

 

[Bright Future]

Impossible. There was a dump or mini dump -- Bluedump ...I had recorded it after all settings and then run collectionapp.
If it does not record BSOD or any dumps even after setting changes then something wrong with your collection app.

Now I am preparing a USB for MEMTest. I will be back... Asta la Vista!
You heard --- VISTA !

 

[Sysnative Windows Update]

The collection app works fine as it's been forking fine on thousands of computers. I would double-check these: BSODs but no Dump Files? - Windows Crashes and Blue Screen of Death (BSOD) Help and Support

But first and foremost, Memtest.

 

[Bright Future]

Dump files -- God knows where it is? It is supposed to be in C:\Windows\Minidump\

This does not exist in my PC ? Earlier (before re-installing this OS) it used to. Now what ?

Also Memtest went on default test... No errors. Pass 1.

But I could not locate any html file for result log.

The iso downloaded was memtest 86 ver 4.3.7.

As the time to flash comes nearer I am getting dull and dumb.... But I will get over it.

This crash dump files are missing or not recorded is a problem. how to solve?

Shall I run Startup Repairs from CD?

 

[Sysnative Windows Update]

Run Memtest to completion first. After that's done, we'll proceed.

 

[Bright Future]

Just now started computer. It started smooth upto log -in desktop. In BIOS sequence-- Hard Disk is kept for first & second and 3rd option is CD ROM. Is that Okay.
I think this was the problem. The sequence by default was - CD ROM then Hard Disk & then again hard Disk.

Earlier also, many a times it used to start straight to log-in desktop. But then again Blue dump used to appear.
In Memtest there is nothing further to complete. For BIOS type of PC, version 4.3.7 only is available.
If some user friendly mem test utility is available, it would be better.

 

[Sysnative Windows Update]

There should have been 4 passes, not one. Did you follow the instructions on the link exactly?