J
JohnBreen3
I reported this as a reply to someone else's post, but I thought it might make more sense to make a separate post.
System: AlienWare 17 R2 laptop, Windows 10 (upgraded from Windows 8 in 2016)
Summary:
Below is a detailed description of everything that happened:
This started on April 5 or 6 (2021). The laptop had been on and my daughter was logged in, but when she went back to it after being AFK, it was at the blue Recovery window (with choices "See advanced repair options" and "Restart my PC"). Restarting caused it to go through BSOD three times and then back to the Recovery window.
First thing I tried was System Restore. There was one restore point, from April 3 (no system changes that we know of), and restoring it seemed to work. But at some point when she was AFK, it had apparently crashed again and was at the Recovery window. I did the System Restore again, and she baby-sat it all evening (interestingly, not letting the screen saver come on for any length of time). It never crashed. She shut it down, and the next day it still booted up and let her log in. But when she left it alone for a period of time, it (apparently) crashed again and wouldn't reboot (same symptoms, same error). So it seems like the System Restore "fixed" something, but whatever it was would get broken again (maybe when the screen saver was running?).
I ran the diagnostics in the BIOS - no problems.
Here's where it gets strange. The next day, we tried System Restore again, but it failed with an error (sorry, I didn't record it). After that, [COLOR=rgba(255, 0, 0, 1)]the restore point was gone[/COLOR]!
I booted in safe mode (took a while to find it) without networking and let her log in (we both have admin accounts but I wasn't sure I remembered my password). I couldn't figure out anything to do, so I rebooted in safe mode with networking, hoping to be able to update the drivers (which I found out later that you can't do in safe mode). It seemed to work normally, but I knew I needed to research more of what to do.
The next morning, I did the "thorough" disk diagnostic in the BIOS - took a couple of hours, but no problems found.
Now it gets more interesting: since my daughter was at work, I booted in safe mode (with networking), remembered my password, and logged in. Windows immediately starting installing an update. After that, it logged me in, but some things didn't work. I couldn't type in the search bar, the Windows button didn't seem to work, left-clicking on the Start icon didn't do anything, and although right-clicking brought up a menu, about half of the items were inoperative (although I found other ways to open most of the things I needed via msconfig).
With very few options left, I rebooted and tried the AlienWare Respawn. The second step (scanning the files) took a really long time, and the third step (repairing the files) took over 2 hours. But it said it was successful, so I rebooted. And I was greeted by a BSoD that said:
I don't have a recovery USB, but I created an installation USB with the Windows Media Creation Tool on another PC. Trying a restore with that failed without giving a specific reason. It did create Srt and DISM log files, though. I can share those if needed.
I was able to access the C: drive via a Linux recovery USB, and hopefully copied off everything I need, so a complete reinstall is possible. I would like to repair the OS if possible, though.
Thanks.
--
John
Continue reading...
System: AlienWare 17 R2 laptop, Windows 10 (upgraded from Windows 8 in 2016)
Summary:
- On April 5 or 6, the laptop rebooted itself while idle, got consecutive BSoDs saying "PnP DETECTED FATAL ERROR", and ended in the Recovery Window. This happened with every reboot or power cycle.
- Restoring to the last/only restore point (dated April 3 2021) fixed it for a while, but it would happen again when left idle. On the third attempt to restore from the restore point, an error occurred (no details recorded, sorry) and the restore point disappeared.
- After trying various scans, checks, and recovery attempts, I tried AlienWare's Respawn. After ~3 hours it said it had restored successfully, but rebooting gave a different BSoD: "Your operating system couldn't be loaded because the NLS data is missing or contains errors. Error code: 0xc0000242"
- Now, the system is only accessible via USB recovery sticks (I've tried Windows 10 installation, and Linux SystemRescue - sorry, I didn't make a recovery disk for this system).
- Minidumps and a MEMORY.DMP file are available here: Minidump_20210410
Below is a detailed description of everything that happened:
This started on April 5 or 6 (2021). The laptop had been on and my daughter was logged in, but when she went back to it after being AFK, it was at the blue Recovery window (with choices "See advanced repair options" and "Restart my PC"). Restarting caused it to go through BSOD three times and then back to the Recovery window.
First thing I tried was System Restore. There was one restore point, from April 3 (no system changes that we know of), and restoring it seemed to work. But at some point when she was AFK, it had apparently crashed again and was at the Recovery window. I did the System Restore again, and she baby-sat it all evening (interestingly, not letting the screen saver come on for any length of time). It never crashed. She shut it down, and the next day it still booted up and let her log in. But when she left it alone for a period of time, it (apparently) crashed again and wouldn't reboot (same symptoms, same error). So it seems like the System Restore "fixed" something, but whatever it was would get broken again (maybe when the screen saver was running?).
I ran the diagnostics in the BIOS - no problems.
Here's where it gets strange. The next day, we tried System Restore again, but it failed with an error (sorry, I didn't record it). After that, [COLOR=rgba(255, 0, 0, 1)]the restore point was gone[/COLOR]!
I booted in safe mode (took a while to find it) without networking and let her log in (we both have admin accounts but I wasn't sure I remembered my password). I couldn't figure out anything to do, so I rebooted in safe mode with networking, hoping to be able to update the drivers (which I found out later that you can't do in safe mode). It seemed to work normally, but I knew I needed to research more of what to do.
The next morning, I did the "thorough" disk diagnostic in the BIOS - took a couple of hours, but no problems found.
Now it gets more interesting: since my daughter was at work, I booted in safe mode (with networking), remembered my password, and logged in. Windows immediately starting installing an update. After that, it logged me in, but some things didn't work. I couldn't type in the search bar, the Windows button didn't seem to work, left-clicking on the Start icon didn't do anything, and although right-clicking brought up a menu, about half of the items were inoperative (although I found other ways to open most of the things I needed via msconfig).
With very few options left, I rebooted and tried the AlienWare Respawn. The second step (scanning the files) took a really long time, and the third step (repairing the files) took over 2 hours. But it said it was successful, so I rebooted. And I was greeted by a BSoD that said:
[COLOR=rgba(42, 0, 170, 1)]Recovery[/COLOR]
[COLOR=rgba(42, 0, 170, 1)]Your PC/Device needs to be repaired[/COLOR]
[COLOR=rgba(42, 0, 170, 1)]The operating system couldn't be loaded because the NLS data is missing or contains errors.[/COLOR]
[COLOR=rgba(42, 0, 170, 1)]Error code: 0xc0000242[/COLOR]
[COLOR=rgba(42, 0, 170, 1)]You'll need to use recovery tools. If you don't have any installation media (like a disc or USB device), contact your PC administrator or PC/Device manufacturer.[/COLOR]
[COLOR=rgba(42, 0, 170, 1)]Press Enter to try again[/COLOR]
[COLOR=rgba(42, 0, 170, 1)]Press F1 to enter Recovery Environment[/COLOR]
[COLOR=rgba(42, 0, 170, 1)]Press F8 for Startup Settings[/COLOR]
[COLOR=rgba(42, 0, 170, 1)]Press Esc for UEFI Firmware Settings[/COLOR]
I don't have a recovery USB, but I created an installation USB with the Windows Media Creation Tool on another PC. Trying a restore with that failed without giving a specific reason. It did create Srt and DISM log files, though. I can share those if needed.
I was able to access the C: drive via a Linux recovery USB, and hopefully copied off everything I need, so a complete reinstall is possible. I would like to repair the OS if possible, though.
Thanks.
--
John
Continue reading...