HP Spectre x360 15inch version (15-bl000na) Random Blue Screen Of Death / BugCheck problem

[BashingDinosaur]

The laptop occassionally BugChecks (BSOD - "Your PC ran into a problem and needs to restart...") with a number of different stop codes.  I've had the laptop 5 days and it has happened 5 times already.  I get the following stop codes:

- SYSTEM SERVICE EXCEPTION

- DRIVER IRQL NOT LESS OR EQUAL

- BAD POOL HEADER

I've tried upgrading the drivers from HP website.  No effect.

Windows 10 minidump files are available if HP wish to investigate.

Please can HP help with this issue?

Thanks

[MKazi]

@BashingDinosaur

A very warm welcome to the HP community. A very good day to you. 

I understand that you have an HP Spectre x360 - 15-bl000na laptop. I read that the laptop frequently crashes due to a blue screen error. You have tried updating the drivers from the HP website and the issue persists. I appreciate the steps you have performed and have certainly done a good job.

I would like to know the following information to assist you better:

• Does the BSOD appear randomly or while you are using a particular application?
• Do you get any other errors before the BSOD happens?
• Has it been like since day 1?

Meanwhile, I did some research on this case and suggest you to perform the following steps to isolate and fix the issue:

• Hold the power button for at least five seconds to turn off the computer.

• Turn on the computer and immediately press the F2 key repeatedly, about once every second.

• The HP PC Hardware Diagnostics (UEFI) main menu is displayed.

• Select Component tests.

• Please initiate a test one by one on the Processor, Memory, Hard Drive and the System Board. Please refer to "Running the UEFI Component Tests" from this link.

I sincerely hope this fixes the issue. Please feel free to let me know how it goes. Cheers! 🙂

[BashingDinosaur]

Hi MKazi,

Thank you for your response.  I have tried the quick versions of the hardware tests you describe and so far no problems. I will run longer term overnight tonight to see if this shows any problems.

I have had another BugCheck today and investigated further. I again looked at the minidumps with WinDBG and can see the following process candidates when the BugChecks occur which are revealed with "!analyze -v" command:

042817-7453-01.dmp - PROCESS_NAME:  audiodg.exe

042917-6218-01.dmp - PROCESS_NAME:  audiodg.exe

043017-6078-01.dmp - PROCESS_NAME:  chrome.exe

050117-5828-01.dmp - PROCESS_NAME:  audiodg.exe

050117-7265-01.dmp - PROCESS_NAME:  System

050217-5921-01.dmp - PROCESS_NAME:  NvStreamNetworkService.exe (today)

Mostly the problems occur when using Chrome with music playing via the SoundCloud website.  After today's BugCheck I have disabled the NvStreamNetworkService as I don't use the SHIELD streaming game service and will see if this improves the situation.

Yes, this problem has happened since I got the laptop.

No other errors occur before the BugCheck - just frozen audio and then the BugCheck (Blue Screen) immediately follows.

Thanks for your help.

Regards,

BashingDinosaur

[MKazi]

@BashingDinosaur

You're welcome. 🙂

Thanks for the information, it looks like more of a software issue than a hardware However, you may run the extensive tests and let me know the results. This will help me take the next course of action.

If all tests pass, then please try to perform Windows updates. If the laptop crashes and does not let you update Windows then I suggest to repair the Windows operating system known as Windows refresh. 

The Refresh option is primarily a repair method - a way to return your computer to a known good state.

The following list shows what happens when you refresh your computer:

• Your files and personalization settings such as libraries, user accounts, and desktop themes are saved.

• The computer settings are returned to the defaults.

• Apps from the Windows store are reinstalled, and the settings are reset to their defaults. Internet connectivity is not required to reinstall these apps.

• Desktop apps are removed unless they were installed by the computer manufacturer. At the end of the refresh process, an HTML file called Removed Apps.html is placed on the desktop with a list of the desktop apps that were removed.

To continue with a Windows refresh, please click here. 

All the best! 🙂

[BashingDinosaur]

Hi MKazi,

The laptop had a BSOD again even though the NVStreamNetworkService was disabled.  Details from WinDBG:

BugCheck: PFN_LIST_CORRUPT, PROCESS_NAME: HPMSGSVC.exe, IMAGE_NAME: memory_corruption

I then performed a OS refresh as you described.  The laptop is now refreshed, so I will see how this goes and report back.

Regards,

BashingDinosaur

[MKazi]

@BashingDinosaur

Thanks for working tirelessly towards fixing the issue. 

Sure, keep me posted for any further help. Take care! 

[BashingDinosaur]

Still getting the BugChecks even after refreshing the device, but it is not as often. Although I got two within 5 minutes today! The most recent bugchecks have changed their "Crash Address" from ntoskernl.exe+14e7c0 to ntoskrnl.exe+14ec00, but I guess this might be that the address has changed after an MS update. Anyway, still a pain.

I would probably tolerate this if it cost £200, but I can't when it cost £1500.

Any other ideas (apart from returning it)? Is there anybody in HP or Microsoft who can analyse the minidumps and investigate whether or not it is hardware or software?

[The_Fossette]

Hi @BashingDinosaur

 I am the The_Fossette, It looks like you were interacting with @MKazi, but he is out of the office today so I'll take over from here.

I see there are two possibilities, either it is an issue with the drivers or with the memory of your computer.

I check and noticed that you have already performed a hardware test and it seems that all the hardware components are working fine.

I recommend you to download and install HP support assistant and it will automatically update all the drivers for your computer.

You can download HP support assistant from the below link.

http://hp.care/2q41GOR

Let me know how it goes and you have a great day!

Take care.

Cheers!

[BashingDinosaur]

Hi @The_Fossette,

Thanks for responding.  The laptop came with the HP Support Assistant installed.  I checked if any new drivers are available but nothing new was found.  I installed a more recent NVidia driver today after another BugCheck occurred earlier today, but it was of no help as another BugCheck occurred about 5 minutes ago.

I ran the all extensive tests in a "loop until error" overnight but no error was reported.

Regards,

@BashingDinosaur

[The_Fossette]

Hi @BashingDinosaur

I recommend you to perform a complete reset on the computer and check if it resolves the issue.

Follow the steps in the below article to perform the reset.

http://hp.care/2nB7Wrv

Let me know how it goes and you have a great day!

Take care.

Cheers!