BSOD that just won't go away

Blake Bush

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Jan 27, 2014
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18,510
*I should note that i do not have access to desktop or anything past the logo screen besides advanced options.

For the past 3 days I have been trying a plethora of different solutions to fixing my problem.

The issue im having, on the outside is a constant BSOD with every action taken, including reseting my pc but keeping personal files, because I have a ton of pictures and documents that I simply cannot let go of if I do a factory reset.

Before all of these problems, my computer was running fairly well for a 5+ year gaming computer with small problems that could be easily fixed. Nothing had greatly changed since then before the last couple days.

I cannot give detailed information about my computer anymore since it's all on my computer which I can't see the files on besides a few things that i've memorized:
Windows 10 64bit
AMD radeon (240 i believe) GPU
2 sticks of 4gb ram, for 8gb total (one of the sticks may be faulty, although im unsure which one)
A toshiba 2 terrabyte hard drive

What I have tried so far:
Resetting PC but keeping personal files
Chkdsk
System restore - failed everytime, no matter which i start from
Go back to prev. Version
Startup repair
Forcing different safemodes through cmd and advanced options startup settings
Carefully changing bios settings that I was aware of that should have fixed things
Put the bios back to the default settings i had before in-case that was a future problem

Removed both sticks of RAM and tried one at a time
Switched display driver ports (i can only see options on the display when connecting to GPU)



Things I haven't tried but are aware of:
Using a usb to install a new version of windows (need to buy a bigger usb)
Admitting defeat and scrapping the computer

If push comes to shove i'll have to buy an extension connecter for my harddrive and connect it to another computer to transfer files, but this is my last choice.

I don't essentially have a time frame for this to be fixed but I do have a small budget so I can't take the computer to a repair place.

(Sorry if i may have ranted about my problem a little bit, after 3 days of about 5 hours each when i chose to do this at like 3am every night, i got a little annoyed).
 
Solution
I would consider a clean install usingh a Win 10 installer USB instead of a factory reset. Reason being the problem could be caused by the windows image files that Win 10 uses to create the installation

Colif

Win 11 Master
Moderator
What is the Code on the BSOD? there are over 270 codes so I cannot guess what you have. At least, I shouldn't. Some BSOD break parts of windows so you can't boot but those should be fixed by a reset. Some are hardware

In the recovery options you have access to, go to command prompt
type notepad and press enter to open notepad
in notepad, go to files>Open to get access to File explorer. If you have USB you can use, try transferring files off you want to save... beats buying a new drive unless you need the space

Have you run memtest86 on your ram? It creates a bootable USB that you can test each stick with, 1 stick at a time, up to 8 passes. Only error count you want is 0, anything higher could be cause of errors. Ram can cause multiple errors so if its not always same error code, its a good place to start.
 

Blake Bush

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Jan 27, 2014
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Today I tried opening notepad and getting my files but it wasn't working. All my files are in folders on my desktop, which I cannot access, nor can i access the documents, pictures, or video folder, even by going the long way around and into appdata desktop.

The bsod error code i get is:
Stop Code: Critical Process Died

[edit: i think i figured out how to set it, by plugging it in and then restarting into bios again. I saw the new entry and placed it in the spot for boot option 2, or uefi cd/dvd. Still ran into the bsod with the same error above.]

My next step is to do the memtest. I have the bootable usb with memtest on it, but when I go into my bios to set the usb to be priority, i am given many different varients of usb related things that i just don't know which to pick.
Here is my boot order from top to bottom:
Uefi hard disk: windows boot manager
Uefi cd/dvd
Uefi usb hard disk
Uefi usb cd/dvd
Uefi usb key
Uefi network
Usb hard disk
Usb cd/dvd
Hard disk: toshiba DT01ACA200
Cd/dvd:HL-DT-ST Dvdram GH24NSBO
Usb key
Usb floppy
Network
Disabled
 

Colif

Win 11 Master
Moderator
This indicates that a critical system process died. A critical process is one that forces the system to bug check if it terminates. This can happen when the state of the process is corrupted or otherwise is damaged. When this happens, as these processes are critical to the operation of Windows, a system bug check occurs as the operating system integrity is in question.

Built in Windows critical system services include csrss.exe, wininit.exe, logonui.exe, smss.exe, services.exe, conhost.exe, and winlogon.exe.

can you get into safe mode?

if you can, try this
right click start button
choose powershell (admin)
type SFC /scannow and press enter
once its completed, copy/paste this command into same window:
Repair-WindowsImage -Online -RestoreHealth and press enter
SFC fixes system files, second command cleans image files, re run SFC if it failed to fix all files and restart PC

Was win 10 a clean install or an upgrade from win 7? Do you know if HDD is formatted as MBR or GPT? It makes a difference as to which USB choice to go for. Easy way to tell should be what is top choice in boot order now?

If its GPT -

Uefi hard disk: windows boot manager = your normal boot drive
Uefi USB key = USB flash drive

If its MBR then the boot drive should be just the hdd name - Hard disk: toshiba DT01ACA200
and the USB is USB key

What motherboard do you have? its manual might tell us for sure
 

Blake Bush

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Jan 27, 2014
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I am unable to enter safemode. So i tried both sfc and the other from the automatic repair cmd and both failed.

I did manage to complete the memtest, i was just worried that i wouldn't get back into boot menu if i put memtest in the first slot, but i took the risk. All 13 tests turned up zero errors, which was a surprise to me since I was sure my ram was having issues.

My device is GPT then.
The motherboard is msi A78M-E35

My computer was originally windows 8.0, then i upgraded to 8.1, and upgraded yet again to 10, when that time came. (Upgrading to 10 was a big mistake for me. It's caused a lot of pain to deal with).
I never had any major issues with performance on 8.1, but the moment i upgraded to 10, since that day, there have always been problems. Some problems i could fix while others just sat there, taking up ram, or disk. But thats for another tomshardware question.
 

Blake Bush

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Jan 27, 2014
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I finally managed to start downloading my files into a 1tb drive that i found, through appdata desktop using notepads menu. Previously it didnt work but now it is. Once i finish i will be trying a factory reset.
 

Colif

Win 11 Master
Moderator
I would consider a clean install usingh a Win 10 installer USB instead of a factory reset. Reason being the problem could be caused by the windows image files that Win 10 uses to create the installation
 
Solution

Blake Bush

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Jan 27, 2014
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18,510


I had tried a factory reset before i noticed your response but it had also failed.
I have installed windows 10 using a bootable drive and it is working like a charm now.

I also found the exact cause of why I was having these problems.
Microsoft released a broken update that was affecting a lot of people, including myself. Update 1809.
Maybe microsoft needs to give their users some compensation for all the damn trouble they've caused.
 

Colif

Win 11 Master
Moderator
I am on 1809, it hasn't caused me any more problems than what I had before. I know that not all people were that lucky. Hence why they have paused it while they investigate it more. Last version update was also stalled for similar reasons, need to look at whats going on with insider program testing I think.