[Mark1956]

Looks like AVG has completely gone but no sign of MSE, you should not even think about going on-line without an Anti Virus. Microsoft Security Essentials click on the link, install update and run it to be sure nothing has slipped in while you have had no protection.

There is no sign of any suspicious files.

The only bad thing in your system is Utorrent, use of P2P sites is asking for an infection.

SwitchBoard is an out of date and an unsupported program from Adobe and should be uninstalled. I can't see it in the programs list but may be worth a check as it appears to be running at startup and as a service.

I do wonder if the Dell on line back up utility could be causing a problem, is it scheduled to run a regular back up?

Everything else appears to be ok.

When your system is up and running are there any problems, no matter how small, that could indicate even a minor error in the system, anything running slower than usual, etc?

Report back on the System File Checker scan.

Here are a few things you can do then we will just have to see how it goes, any more BSOD's please post the minidumps.

You used Seagate for Windows to test the hard drive, you get a more accurate test by using the CD version as this can run a test when the hard drive is out of use, please correct me if I am wrong, I am simply going on the fact that you have the Seagate for Windows software installed.

Install and run this to clean out all your temporary files. Passwords saved for websites will need to be re-entered. Temporary file cleaner
Do not be tempted to use Registry Reviver.

The following is advice to make you system more secure which at present it is not.

Download and install Winpatrol and use the Startup section to stop running non-essential software at boot up.

Go Here, scroll down the page to the blue arrow where it says "Download our FREE WinPatrol here" and click on it to download. Install the program. Launch the program and click on the "Start up Programs" tab. Any programs you do not regularly use can be disabled.

Secunia PSI is a FREE security tool designed to detect vulnerable and out-dated programs and plug-ins which expose your PC to attacks. Attacks exploiting vulnerable programs and plug-ins are rarely blocked by traditional anti-virus and are therefore increasingly "popular"among criminals. Once installed, run a scan and it will warn you of any outdated programs.

Some additional security measures.
If your present security software does not include a third party Firewall or AntiSpyware.
Go Here for a selection of third party Firewalls.
Go Here or Here for Anti Spyware.

[adnanbhat]

Mark, MSE has been installed and can be detected in the control panel when i click on uninstall any program there.

Adobe Switchboard : I am not aware of this. i can see the following files from adobe.

Adobe AIR, Adobe Community help, Adobe Flash Player 10 ActiveX, Adobe Flash player 11 plughin 64 biy, Adobe media player, Adobe Photoshop and Adobe reader x MUI.

Yes I do get Dell online backup utility alerts in intervals and I click 'remind me later' option.

SYSTEM FILE CHECKER SCAN IN COMMAND went perfect. I already posted the result up, it said Windows resource protection did not find any integrity violation.

Yes, I used seagate for windows but I won't be able to get it on a cd or usb as I am not having one with me at the moment.

And will follow your advice on the methods you suggested.

ALSO,

My system works perfect when running, no errors nothing, speed is great. Only that Sleep Mode BSOD.

Also, if nothing works, if ultimately I install a new windows will it be fine?

[adnanbhat]

I saw the switchboard prgram and removed it using winpatrol. also i am pasting the picture of the results from psi scan.

[Mark1956]

Sorry I forgot you had already done the SFC routine.

Ok, everything is looking good, allow Secunia to upgrade all the out of date software, it is a very usefull program for keeping your programs up to date.

The only thing I can think off is that your hard drive is getting a bit worn and is a bit slow to come out of sleep mode. Try this:
1. Click Start, Control Panel, Power Options.
2. Click "Change Plan Settings" on the Balanced (recommended).
3. Click "Change Advanced Power Settings".
4. Click on the + next to "Hard Disk" and then the + next to "Turn off Hard Disc after", change the timing to 0 which will set it to Never. Click Apply and OK.

As long as your hard drive is not on the brink of failing then there should be no problem doing a re-install.

[adnanbhat]

but I just got the laptop a month back. can it really happen? Kind of worried..if the hard drive is screwed up should I return it to the manufacturers? the problem is I study abroad and I have purchased the laptop in the middle east.

and how to do a reinstall of harddisk? will it become like new?

[Mark1956]

At present we really don't know what has caused this problem, but there is always a possibility that some item of hardware, including the hard drive, has a minor fault. Unfortunately it can and does happen with brand new components from time to time.

Try the setting I suggested in my last post and see if it helps, this problem is seen to be caused by this setting, allowing the disc to switch off, in new and old PC's alike.

Obviously if you were nearer to the supplier I would recommend you return it under the guarantee.

If you look in the Disc Management you should see if the PC has a Recovery partion, in the user manual it will explain how to use this to return the PC to factory condition, but you will loose all the software you installed and your documents. There is no guarantee this will fix the problem if it is due to a hardware fault.

It is common for the PC to suggest you make Recovery discs when you first start to use it, or did it come with Recovery discs.

Have you kept back ups of all your important documents, this is a must for any PC user to be prepared for any breakdown or you risk loosing everything.

[adnanbhat]

i have kept all backups in the pc. there is practically nothing in my Pc except for fifa 12 and mozilla...no documents..i already followed your advice and did the change in the settings with the harddisk. i will be going back in a few months to where i purchased it from..if problems persist i can ask for a new one. till then i hope all is ok.

so if i reinstall windows 7 maybe the problem might end for once? same thing happened with my friend. he said that he faced some bluescreen problem and now he had the windows u copy reinstalled and everything is better. no problems.

i just hope that by using my system i dont further deteriote the condition IF anything IS wrong..coz I play just one game on it and thats why I purchased it.

thanks for all the help and effort you're pouring in

[adnanbhat]

also, I asked one other expert he said that first crashdump caught a DV driver that ended up being MS driver..n had no subcodes..

in the other two crash dumps, the 9F crashes, both of them involve cxir and cxcir64.sys drivers realted to CXIR infrared reciever and is outdated 2009 and suggested I update em...

is this valid?

[Mark1956]

It is always wise to keep any drivers up to date but with a new machine I doubt an outdated driver relating to the infra red remote control could cause the problem you have, but stranger things have happened. Crash dumps often point at Microsoft drivers which actually have nothing wrong with them.

See if the hard drive sleep setting makes any difference and let me know.

A re-install may fix the issue but it's up to you if you want to give it a try.

I would also suggest that you make a set of Recovery discs for future use in event of a system failure there should be instructions for this in the manual. And make a Windows 7 Recovery disc which can be a great help when things go wrong:

Go to Control Panel and select Backup and Restore. In the left hand pane select Create a System Recovery disc and follow the prompts.

Don't be confused by these discs having the same name, a set of Recovery discs will produce a copy of the Recovery partition so you can do a full re-install from them. The Windows 7 Recovery disc allows access to the Recovery console to run repairs in the event that the system becomes unbootable.

[adnanbhat]

@mark : can I use a usb for creating backup or something? And the official windows 7 copy that comes with the laptop, isn't that a recovery disc too?

I have already enabled your suggestions about the power state of the harddisk...it hasn't had any problem yet.

Oh yesterday what happened is, When i clicked on sleep mode, the computer kept running but the screen had shut down and gone black. then I closed the lid it was still running. then I opened the lid and pressed the power button for long to shut down. On opening, it said windows did not respond.

earlier it would shut down on its own and say windows shut down unexpectedly..

are these two problems different or same.

also whenever I normally shut down the laptop, first that window pops up saying closing the programs in the background which are running (end task)...
shouldn't it just shut down or is this a normal procedure?

[adnanbhat]

there were no dump files or error msg on restart yesterday..

[Mark1956]

I was not aware you had a disc supplied with the PC. It's most probably a Recovery disc which you can do a Factory reinstall with, this returns the PC to the state in which it left the Factory, what is written on the disc and how many are there? If this is a full system recovery disc then you will probably not find a recovery partition on the hard drive. If it is a genuine Microsoft Windows 7 disc (very unlikely) then you can use that to access the recovery console and the other recovery disc I suggested you made would not be required.

You cannot access the Recovery Console to run repairs with a manufacturer's Recovery disc. The one that you can make yourself using the instructions I gave in post 53:

Go to Control Panel and select Backup and Restore. In the left hand pane select Create a System Recovery disc and follow the prompts

.
Will allow you to do repairs to the system in the event of a failure. It is worth having this as the only other option is to use the full Recovery disc to re-install Windows.

It is very confusing that these two completely different discs have been given the same name.

It would appear something is still not quite correct but I am at a loss to suggest anything else, at least there have been no more crashes apart from the unexpected shutdown. I would definately get it looked at by the supplier as soon as you can and before the guarantee expires. It would do no harm to run the Recovery to return the PC to Factory settings as you have so little installed, might be worth a try, save any data first or you will loose it.

You can use a USB device, either external hard drive or a USB thumb drive, for backups. All depends on how much data you need to save, thumb drives can be obtained with very large capacities these days.

also whenever I normally shut down the laptop, first that window pops up saying closing the programs in the background which are running (end task)...
shouldn't it just shut down or is this a normal procedure?

This is normal if you have left any programs running, if you leave it for a while on this screen the programs should all be closed by Windows and then the shutdown will complete. If you click on End Task it can loose any unsaved data, leaving it for Windows to close will save any data.

[adnanbhat]

Ok i thought so about the shut down.

The CD i have is alienware Microsoft windows 7 home premium sp1 and it has a description media provided for recovery purposes. then i have a alienware resource dvd, resource media, mc afee, roxio. thsse came with the laptop.

i think that recovery partition you talk about is the one in HP laptops? Dell we insert the cd and re-install or repair windows right?

[adnanbhat]

http://www.hwinfo.com/

is this download safe? I could get some information out of this software..

[adnanbhat]

through my intel rapid storage technology, i can run a hardware scan. should i do that? it's inbuilt factory setting..right now the status is no problem. all good.