BSOD on start up

[Sitt]

I'm having a problem with my pc at start up, it BSOD just as Windows boots up then restarts then going to the option of Safe Mode when I press normall start up (instead of safe mode) it reboots. I did press safe mode option once and it again restarted.

This happens for about 4 or 5 times then boots up fine after that.

The BSOD flashes so fast that I can't read what the problem is. Is there a way of checking any BSOD history from within Windows?

I'm using Vista Home premium 64bit

 

[cje]

You aren't overclocking your pc by any chance?

Please post your system specifications, and what settings you're running at etc.

have you modified, upgraded your pc recently?

have you installed anything? etc, we need more info.


You say it does this 4-5 times, then it's ok. Does this happen everytime it is switched off, or first time when it's switched on in the morning?

 

[Defenestration]

When in Windows, go to Control Panel->System->Advanced->Startup and Recovery Settings, and un-check "Automatically restart" under System failure. This will allow you to read the BSOD error. Make sure you have "Write debugging Information" set to "Small memory dump", so a BSOD will generate a crash dump.

Also, navigate to C:\WINDOWS\MiniDumps (where Windows crash dumps are stored), and post one here if you can find any and I'll have a look. This will indicate the likely candidate for the BSOD.

 

[Sitt]

I did as you suggested in regard to the minidumps however the last recorded dump was on the 6th Jan 2009. What do you use to open dmp files?

No, I'm not overclocking at the moment, spec as follows:

Processor
Model : Intel(R) Core(TM)2 Quad CPU Q9450 @ 2.66GHz
Speed : 2.67GHz

System
System : Gigabyte Technology Co., Ltd. EX38-DQ6
Mainboard : Gigabyte Technology Co., Ltd. EX38-DQ6

System BIOS : Award Software International, Inc. F4A
Total Memory : 4GB DDR2

Chipset
Model : Giga-Byte X38/X48 Processor to I/O Controller
Front Side Bus Speed : 4x 333MHz (1.33GHz)
Total Memory : 4GB DDR2
Memory Bus Speed : 2x 533MHz (1.07GHz)

Video System
Adapter : NVIDIA GeForce 9800 GTX/9800 GTX+ (512MB DDR3, PCIe 2.00 x16, SM 4.0)

Operating System(s)
Windows System : Microsoft Windows Vista Home 6.00.6001 (Service Pack 1)
Platform Compliance : x64

 

[Defenestration]

I did as you suggested in regard to the minidumps however the last recorded dump was on the 6th Jan 2009. What do you use to open dmp files?

Visual Studio or WinDbg (which you can get for free from MS as part of the Debugging Tools for MS windows package).

After you have opened the crash dump in WinDbg, you can run the command "!analyze -v" to get more info.

 

[Sitt]

Visual Studio or WinDbg (which you can get for free from MS as part of the Debugging Tools for MS windows package).

After you have opened the crash dump in WinDbg, you can run the command "!analyze -v" to get more info.

I have downloaded WinDbg as suggested, do I now need to download the Windows Symbal Files too as the mini dump looks all gobligook??? I can't seem to find the command "!analyze -v"

 

[Defenestration]

You don't need the symbols for this basic analysis. You need to type "!analyze -v" on the command-line at the bottom of the WinDbg window. The output will then give an indication of what caused the crash. You can post the output here if you're having trouble deciphering it.