Windows 10 BSOD indicates a hardware problem - but what hardware is the problem?

On Wed, 16 Sep 2020 11:34:26 -0700, Mike Easter wrote:

Not really; I have no comprehension or insight into why whatever happens
at the BSOD has some great impact on a reboot or rather a 'boot again'.

- one possibility is that the install is some kind of 'mess' which is
not overcome by your restore strategies
- another possibility is that some kind of hardware condition persists
in spite of all kinds of efforts to get the hardware back to a 'cold'
state, such as where the software is on the hdd
- I don't think the difficulty and the steps are at all informative

Hi Mike,

I think the BSOD is one problem, which only then causes the second problem.
o The second problem is the BSOD corrupts the boot session.

However... and this is a biggie... the BSOD is repeatable (six times) for a
period after the first recoverable reboot (only the BSOD changes in name).

Actually, let me check my photographic date stamps...
o BSOD #1 (with white lines) SYSTEM SERVICE EXCEPTION
https://i.postimg.cc/BnCkxJXG/bsod203.jpg
Time: 20200914 06:50am

o BSOD #2 (with white lines) SYSTEM THREAD EXCEPTION NOT HANDLED
https://i.postimg.cc/5t7rRpB7/bsod204.jpg
Time: 20200914 07:09am

o BSOD #3 SYSTEM THREAD EXCEPTION NOT HANDLED
https://i.postimg.cc/RFWY5fGM/bsod205.jpg
Time: 20200914 07:28am

o BSOD #4 (just the white lines)
https://i.postimg.cc/tT8MXTmF/bsod206.jpg
Time: 20200914 10:32am

o BSOD #5 (with white lines) DRIVER OVERRAN STACK BUFFER
https://i.postimg.cc/FFJ6Ty7p/bsod207.jpg
Time: 20200914 10:49am

o BSOD #6 KERNEL SECURITY CHECK FAILURE
https://i.postimg.cc/gkFTQxhW/bsod208.jpg
Time: 20200914 2:10pm

The final repair happened at 3:18pm, and that has been stable for
the past few days.

Note that each time, in between BSODs, I was able to get Windows to boot;
usually it happened automatically with a "diagnosing" & "automatic repair",
but sometimes it booted directly to Windows (rarely though).

In general, it took a few restarts to get it back to Windows between BSODs.

Also note there were periods where I left the desk so the time is only the
elapsed time unless the BSOD happened in front of me, where the pictures
were taken when I returned to the BSOD screen as a fait accompli.
--
I took a picture of every step, which I need to document better.

On Wed, 16 Sep 2020 17:12:02 -0700, Mike Easter wrote:

If the sequence is:
- BSOD followed by
- consistent inability to POST
- then the same hardware problem that is causing the inability to POST
likely *caused* the crash/BSOD;

Hi Mike,

Again, you know this better'n I do, as I agree with you.
o The hardware problem likely caused both the BSOD & the inability to boot.

as opposed to
- a software/windows crash/BSOD isn't going to cause a POST failure,
but the other way around

I don't think at this point that the BSOD is due to software, per se.

Sometimes a machine might 'accidentally' fail to POST but that should
not persist through such as removing the power to the PS.

Yup. EVERY boot, of about a score or two (I didn't count them but I wrote
'em down so that I can count them if I want to), was from a position of
power removed from the computer for long enough for the green LED to go off
on the power supply & on the motherboard.

The business about capacitor discharge is that the capacitors discharge
*sooner* if the power to the PS is NOT removed; but I believe an
alternate strategy which involves removing the power to the PS (by rear
case switch or power block switch) can be aided by holding down the case
power switch.

What I did, every time, was:
a. Shut down the machine via the power button
b. Turn the power strip off
c. Wait for the green LED on the motherboard to go out
d. Turn the power strip back on
e. Turn the machine on via the power button

I was religious about it as I wanted every step to be only a small
deviation from the prior step if there was any (e.g., if I hit a different
key after POST to do something else).

Eventually I can get to a POST though, so I should build a "rescue stick".
o Create a recovery drive
https://support.microsoft.com/en-us/help/4026852

I don't know exactly what that is for win10, but it doesn't seem any
better or more useful than the Hirens PE.

I have never used a Windows "RECOVERY" drive before, but it "claims" to be
able to recover your operating system, which Hirens PE does _not_ do.

While Microsoft doesn't say how big it needs to be, I think this'll work:
1. Put an 8GB empty USB stick into the PC
2. Win+R %windir%\system32\RecoveryDrive.exe

I read that it wants 8-16.

Oh, I read plenty. It's all wrong. Most of what I've read said that for a
32-bit Windows 10, you need 8GB and for a 64-bit Windows 10 you need 16GB.

Turns out the Microsoft web page I referenced _did_ say, and it said 16GB;
but the software itself also did say, and it clearly said 8GB, and both
were wrong.

It took 5.47GB and it named the drive "RECOVERY" with the following dir:
o Boot
o EFI
o sources
o System Volume Information
o bootmgr 405kb
o BOOTNXT 1kb
o reagent.xml 2kb

So all always benefit from every action, here is my log how I created it.
o Create a recovery drive
https://support.microsoft.com/en-us/help/4026852
1. Boot to Windows normally
2. Make sure you have no USB sticks in the computer
3. Some say the USB stick needs to be 16GB for a 64-bit Windows 10
(but others say 8GB will suffice if you don't add "system files").
4. Win+R %windir%\system32\RecoveryDrive.exe
Create a recovery drive
[x]Back up system files to the recovery drive [Next]
Please wait...
About five minutes later, it said:
Connect a USB flash drive:
The drive must be able to hold at least 8GB and everything on the
drive will be deleted.
That's odd, because the 16GB drive was already connected.
So I unplugged & re-plugged it in again (in another USB port).
Please wait...
About three minutes later, it said:
"Select the USB flash drive"
The drive must be able to hold at least 8GB
and everything on the drive will be deleted.
There is a warning:
"Everything on the drive will be deleted.
If you have any personal files on this drive,
make sure you've backed up the files.
[Create] (4:15
Creating the recovery drive
Formatting the drive
Copying utilities
Copying system (this took 2-1/2 hours)
The recovery drive is ready.
[Finish]
5. The resulting USB stick was named RECOVERY & was 5.47GB.

o To restore or recover using the recovery drive:
https://support.microsoft.com/en-us/help/12415/windows-10-recovery-options

Those are confusing instructions indeed, but here they a
1. Connect the recovery drive
2. Then "turn on" your PC.
(Hmmm... to me, that "boots" the PC to POST.)
3. Press Win+L to get to the sign-in screen
(I never heard of that; is it a replacement for "F8"?)
4. Then restart your PC by locating at the bottom right
of your login screen a "power" button icon and then
a "restart" icon.
5. That starts your PC in the WinRE environment
(aka the Windows Recovery Environment)
6. You will see a "Choose an option" screen.
7. Select "Troubleshoot"
8. Then select "Advanced Options"
9. Then select "System Restore"

(I'm not sure "when" to press the "Win+L" for example,
i.e., whether that's before, during, or after POST).

On Thu, 17 Sep 2020 02:12:07 -0000 (UTC), Arlen Holder wrote:

(I'm not sure "when" to press the "Win+L" for example,
i.e., whether that's before, during, or after POST).

BTW, Microsoft's instructions for recovering are confusing.
I'll just have to actually do it at some point because they don't even
bother to tell you when you're supposed to used "Win+L" for example.
o To restore or recover using the recovery drive:
https://support.microsoft.com/en-us/help/12415/windows-10-recovery-options

You're just supposed to guess, I guess.

It's kind of like what settings you're supposed to use to generate a Hirens
Boot CD USB from Rufus 3.11 for BIOS (and not for UEFI); you just have to
guess. I've always been annoyed by lousy instructions like that, which is
why my tutorials are at least explicit, step by step, such that you could
cut and past most of my tutorials, and if you start with the same versions
of software, they should work out of the box.

Sigh.

Anyway, I never see the Windows lock screen, i.e., the idiotic one that
happens _before_ the actual login screen, 'cuz I turned that waste of time
off long ago.

Eliminate the lock screen upon startup & go right to the login prompt:
o HKLM\SOFTWARE\Policies\Microsoft\Windows\Personali zation NoLockScreen = 1
1. Regedit [HKLM\SOFTWARE\Policies\Microsoft\Windows]
2. Add a New Key = Personalization
3. Add to it a New 32-bit DWORD - NoLockScreen
4. Set the Value = 1

In summary, I'm ready, I think, for the next time Windows won't boot after
a BSOD, if I can get to POST, I will press Win+L a hundred times, and then
I'll hope it gets me to the point where I can use the 5-1/2 GB RECOVERY USB
stick I just created (which took 2-1/2 hours crunching time to create).