PCG-K315B random crash + shutdown problem

[tomcrane2]

Dear All,
    Can anyone suggest any pointers for dealing with this problem? A colleague has a PCG-K315B which crashes randomly.  The worst part is that it does not produce a BSOD, instead it appears to shutdown+poweroff instantly, usually just after booting.  Our initial suspicion was that the machine was overheating and it has recently been taken apart and its fans cleaned.  The problem continued.  I have
reformatted the HD and reinstalled with a virgin copy of Windows XPPRO SP3+updates and installed the Sony drivers.  The problem continued.  I don't believe the problem is purely a Windows one, due to the
reinstall.  Moreover, the machine is stable when running in Safe Mode & Safe Mode With Networking.  It is also stable when running Linux (from a Knoppix Live CD).  I have exhaustively checked the RAM with
Memtest86 and the HD for bad blocks, both of which are fine.  I also tried exercising the H/W (HD/graphics etc.) from a Linux session to precipitate any thermal problem but without a result.

I an effort to get a crashdump I have tried turning on the various options;

Setting HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\{CurrentControlSet,ControlSet001,ControlSet003}\Control\CrashControl\CrashDumpEnabled = 3 (minidump)
Setting HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\{CurrentControlSet,ControlSet001,ControlSet003}\Control\CrashControl\CrashDumpEnabled = 2 (kernel dump)
Setting HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\{CurrentControlSet,ControlSet001,ControlSet003}\Control\CrashControl\CrashDumpEnabled = 1 (complete dump)

NB: This has to be done from Safe Mode due to the crash/shutdown just after booting in normal mode.  I can often get a minidump but the machine appears to shutdown+poweroff long before the other options
could dump to disc.  Here is an example of the analysis (DebugDiag 1.1 (x86)) of a minidump (performed from Safe Mode).  I was hoping for some indication of the where (ie. in a driver) the exception occurred.
The Minidump*.dmp file is typically left in eg.  C:\Documents and  settings\user\Local Settings\Temp\WER7c58.dir00 rather than in C:\Windows\Minidump [as specified in the CrashControl registry entries], due to the following shutdown+poweroff.

===========================================================================================
Analysis Summary 
  Type Description Recommendation
  Warning
DebugDiag failed to locate the PEB (Process Environment Block) in
Mini031511-01_29mar11.dmp, and as a result, debug analysis for this
dump may be incomplete or inaccurate.

It is recommended that you get another dump of the target process when
the issue occurs to ensure accurate data is reported

Analysis Details

Table Of Contents
Mini031511-01_29mar11.dmp

   Top 5 threads by CPU time

   Thread report

Report for Mini031511-01_29mar11.dmp

Report for Mini031511-01_29mar11.dmp
Type of Analysis Performed   Hang Analysis
Machine Name   
Operating System   Windows XP Service Pack 3
Number Of Processors   
Process ID   455848
Process Image   ntoskrnl.exe
System Up-Time   00:01:06
Process Up-Time   00:00:00

Top 5 Threads by CPU time
Note - Times include both user mode and kernel mode for each thread
Extended thread information (including thread CPU times) is
unavailable in this dump

Script Summary 
  Script Name Status Error Code Error Source Error Description Source Line
CrashHangAnalysis.asp Failed 0x80010105   Line 9186, Column 3
===========================================================================================

I also turned on the shutdown logging feature;

Setting HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Reliability\ShutdownReason = 1

but there are no shutdown events being logged w.r.t. the problem crash/shutdowns -- the power appears to go down so fast.

Just to check that the machine is capable of producing a BSOD I tried;

http://social.technet.microsoft.com/Forums/en-US/winservergen/thread/33650eb0-24d0-49bc-b1da-3cc79c3...

which produces the BSOD on demand as expected.

I also tried installing [from Safe Mode] the Omega Radion drivers (v.4.8.442) for the graphics adapter in place of the default Sony ones but the crashes/shutdowns continue.

Any ideas on how to proceed?

Thanks
Tom Crane

[Blencogo]

Hi Tom,

We are not ignoring you - just stumped like you!

This is not a common problem.  I have a K215M and would have noticed if we had seen the same or a similar problem over the years.

The fact that it is stable in safe mode would indicate a driver conflict and, as you have already checked, the graphics driver is favorite.  I take it there is nothing showing up in device manager - even if you choose 'Show Hidden Devices?

Nothing in the Event Viewer Logs I suppose?

Sorry I can't be of more help - I hope someone else has some ideas.

[tomcrane2]

Hi Blencogo,

     Thanks for the tips.  I had not thought to check the Hidden Devices but there was in fact nothing amiss there.  There was nothing useful in the Event Viewer logs, not originally anyway.  However, since installing the Omega grahpics adapter drivers I have seen the ati2mtag "I2c return failed" error described in http://www.pcreview.co.uk/forums/ati2mtag-gives-blue-screens-t2979037.html which looks suspicious.  I am going to try turning off some Services and Startup feature using msconfig and see what happens.  If I get anywhere I'll post it here.

Cheers

Tom Crane

[tomcrane2]

Dear All,

    Here is the workaround I eventually found, which makes the machine usable.  I'm pretty sure there is a H/W fault here, probably on the graphics adapter and associated with the power management (ACPI).

(1) Installed the ATI Radeon Omega drivers for the graphics adapter in place of the Sony supplied ones.  Download file was ati_omega_xp2k_48442.exe.

(2) Disabled the power management using the instructions on http://www.sharkyforums.com/archive/index.php/t-127828.html.  NB: in the Device Manager one needs to select "device by connection".

HTH anyone else with the same problem.

Cheers

Tom Crane.