Windows 7 blue screen

[Prosperi-Tees]

So I have my computer on. I step away to print a case of shirts for about 30 minutes and come back to a blue screen and I have to force the shutdown and restart. Sometimes it loads windows back up and sometimes not. Sometimes it takes 5 or 6 forced restarts for it to boot up normally. Right now I am in safe mode with networking which loads just fine. What's wrong here?

[Admiral]

I had something like this just a couple weeks ago, it was due to my hard drive / windows installation.  At first the computer was having trouble identifying the hard drive when booting up and would say missing operating system so I would have to try 2-7 times booting up.  I had to flash the firmware of my SSD(if you are using a regular hard drive don't worry about this).  Then that was working but somehow my OS became corrupt and would BSOD every time it almost booted into windows.

I had to do a fresh install and it's been fine since then.



What is it doing when windows isn't loading? In the BIOS does the drive show up?

[JBLUE]

So I have my computer on. I step away to print a case of shirts for about 30 minutes and come back to a blue screen and I have to force the shutdown and restart. Sometimes it loads windows back up and sometimes not. Sometimes it takes 5 or 6 forced restarts for it to boot up normally. Right now I am in safe mode with networking which loads just fine. What's wrong here?

Gerry the best way to fix that is buy a Mac.

[Prosperi-Tees]

LOL. Mac shmack. I don't know how to operate a windows machine! How the heck am I gonna learn a Mac.


How do you reinstall windows?

[screenxpress]

with a Windows CD (about 100 bux). 

What we have been doing lately, and you can do with 7 is make an System Image backup that you can even store and reload.

Find it in - Control Panel\System and Security\Back up your computer\Create a System Image\on a separate hard disk (will not let you backup to C and copy C at the same time).   

Think of it.  You get a new PC or you reinstall Windows.  Once you have everything installed and ready to use, you use the System Image to create a copy.  10 days later or whenever, the drive craps out.  Buy a new drive, pull out the System Image, restore it and back on-line hardly missing a beat, except the time to buy a drive.

p.s. I might suggest you get in the operating mode of using the C drive for JUST system and programs and do all data saving on a separate drive.  One that is regularly backed up externally.

p.s.2. Long live Kaspersky Internet Security software.  I cannot remember the last time I got malware, spyware, virus, or even a blip.  Never, ever count on "free" virus software to protect your most valuable working tool.  Just my 2c.

[Gilligan]

So much to say.

First off, it could be the hard drive failing.  I'll send you an email with a way to check that Gerry.

GIVEN that... JBLUE... umm... how would a Mac be better when a hard drive dies?  Do Mac's hard drives work even after they are broken?  Makes me wonder why I've changed so many Mac hard drives out then. *shrug*

ScreenXpress... umm... sorta agree with you, Kapersky isn't bad.  BUT  If you are gonna pay for it, I would honestly recommend Eset Nod32 (I can email someone a link that would give me a few bucks if they bought it through that   )  I only affiliated with them because I recommended them before and I wasn't getting a dime for my endorsement.  BUT, if you want to go free... Avira ranks right up there on top of the pay ones... possibly even against Kapersky.  Avira is a really great free anti-virus (it is only free for "personal" use technically).

[Prosperi-Tees]

Drive going bad. Sheesh this thing is only a couple months old. Maybe thats what I get for being cheap.

[Gilligan]

Sometimes it just happens man.

It could also be mother board and possibly a firmware/bios update might fixit.

It could also be a flaky windows system... but no sense fighting it if you end up having a bunk hard drive.

[Frog]

Drive going bad. Sheesh this thing is only a couple months old. Maybe thats what I get for being cheap.

What's cheap? or more importantly, what drive is it? At least at that age, it will be warrantied and replaced .

I see that hard drives are starting to come down again to their prices of two years ago. It was tough for a while for both internal and external, easily up 50% if not more.

[Gilligan]

Double Andy.

It almost happened over night.  I had bought a 500 gig drive for $49 bucks and then I went to buy another set and it was $99.

[beanie357]

We run Acronis on our clients and server. Have ext. drives connected all the time. When we lose a drive, reload from external and it is like it never happened.

Mac or pc, data and drives need attention.

[jsheridan]

Sounds like it's time for a fresh install, at least that's what I would do. nothing like a fresh system to play with.

any hard drive made since the flood.. is junk. I've read and heard about so many failures it's stupid.
For whatever reason quality control went out the window to meet the supply demand over the last year.

Just keep a 2nd HD on the network with auto backup or do some sort of on-line backup from here out.

[Prosperi-Tees]

Thanks for the email Kevin. I will try and do that when I get a breather from printing.

[ScreenPrinter123]

I could've sworn "blue screen" and "windows" were synonymous terms used for the same OS? . I think Jblue has a point.

In all seriousness, hope your woes are addressed quickly Gerry.

[Gilligan]

I'll make another point... his woes are possibly salvageable.  Mac often when woes show up are catastrophic, and not many people have an understanding of what is going on under the hood to get it fixed.

I love Linux, so I'm quite comfortable with the inside of OS X... saved my brother-in-law a TON of time and frustration with a quick simple permissions/ownership commands -R (recursive) on several external hard drives that were giving him fits (TONS of files).