PC freezes or reboots (thread stuck in device driver)

[di_Sulmona]

My wife and daughter both have had the HP Pavilion 10 TS Notebook PC for several years.  It has served them well until we "upgraded" to Windows 10.   Both laptops became slower and slower.  Now both laptops either freeze after 5 to 10 minutes or without warning they  give the "blue screen of death" with the message of "Thread stuck in device driver".  Both PC's are now unreliable and therefore unusable.

I have done all the basics.  I upgraded the Bios, cleaned the laptop (with CC Cleaner & Wise Cleaner), defragged the hard drives, used MalewareBytes, scanned with Defender, reloaded the Video Driver - all to no avail.

1. Has anyone else had this problem and if so did you solve it (and how)?

2. Could it be that Windows 10 is just too much for its little AMD Processor (and if so how can I go back to Windows 8.1)?

Thanks!

[IT_WinSec]

Hello,

Welcome to the HP Support forum.

Based on your description and the BSOD error code, I can conclude this is a software issue caused by faulty Windows 10 installation or some driver is not compatible with WIndows 10. It's not the processor itself.

Your options:

1) Depending on how you deployed W10, you may be able to revert back to previous OS without too much of a hassle >> http://www.howtogeek.com/220723/how-to-uninstall-windows-10-and-downgrade-to-windows-7-or-8.1/

2) If Windows 10 has activated itsefl successfully, you can perform clean installation of it on both computers to rule out faulty upgrades. Here is more info >> http://h30434.www3.hp.com/t5/Notebook-Operating-System-and-Recovery/ProBook-4740s-Black-screen-on-Wi...

3) Use recovery media or recovery options and restore back to Windows 8/8.1

If I were you, I'd choose this option (Win 8.1) as Windows 8.1 is reliable and stable OS, will be supported until year 2023 and in your case served your girls well (unlikely Windows 10). If it ain't broke - don't fix it 🙂

Let me know if you require specific assistance or step by step guide for anything (step 3 specifically, if step 1 doesn't work).

Cheers 😉

[di_Sulmona]

Thanks for your help.  I tried your recommendations but the problem with the computer locking up and either freezing or rebooting still existed.  So, last night I went into settings and recovery and tried to restore the earlier build.  It took a while (over 30 minutes) but eventally the first screen (with the time and date) came back.  The time was correct - for the central time zone ) we are in the East).   But I was unable to attain the Login screen.  I did Control/Alt/Delete. hit the shift key, right and left clicked my mouse pad - but nothing worked.  BTW - it did automatically hook into my WiFi.

Any suggestions?  Thank you very much.

[di_Sulmona]

Oh - just one other thing.  I plugged in an external mouse and keyboard.  The external mouse worked (as I mentioned the laptop touchpad did not) but neither the keyboard on the PC or the external keyboard worked.

[IT_WinSec]

---

@di_Sulmona wrote:

Thanks for your help.  I tried your recommendations but the problem with the computer locking up and either freezing or rebooting still existed.  So, last night I went into settings and recovery and tried to restore the earlier build.  It took a while (over 30 minutes) but eventally the first screen (with the time and date) came back.  The time was correct - for the central time zone ) we are in the East).   But I was unable to attain the Login screen.  I did Control/Alt/Delete. hit the shift key, right and left clicked my mouse pad - but nothing worked.  BTW - it did automatically hook into my WiFi.

Any suggestions?  Thank you very much.

---

Hello,

Please, clarify "the earlier build".  Usually, I would understand the previous (earlier) build of Windows 10 - but this is still Win 10. Unlikely Windows 7 or 8 , Windows 10 performs major upgrades at least once per year and other updates more often (at least monthly). Windows 10 is like permanent work in progress (supposed to be improving work in progress).

In all cases you have now passed the 10 or 30 days grace period to restore to previous Windows version (like 8.1) the easier way, so you need to do it the "recovery" way - slightly more time consuming. This is option 3 mentioned above.

Please, perform some basic hardware checks

1. Please, shutdown the computer using the power button

2. Power it on.

2.1 As soon as you press the power-on button, immediately begin hitting the Esc button (like tap-tap-tap).

This should open a HP Startup Menu which may look similar to this one

3. Choose F2 to open System Diagnostics. Follow the on-screen instructions to perform System Test >> Quick test.

This will check major hardware componets for issue (do it just in case) . Here is more info >> http://support.hp.com/us-en/document/c03467259#AbT1

*** If there are no system checks/no quick tests, perform HDD and RAM check.

Let me know the test results. If the tests pass without issues, continue. If not, please, let me know

4. Repeat steps 1-2 above but when HP Startup menu opens, please choose F11 for System Recovery options.

The computer should boot from it's recovery partition to open you various recovery options. Note, that F11 option will only work if the recovery partition is there (not deleted) and intact. From there, you have prenty of options to choose from.

Every HP computer comes with recovery partition present to assist in tough moments.

Please, click on Troubleshoot >  Reset this PC

or Troubleshoot > HP Recovery Manager (Recovery Manager)

( this depends on the model)

Restore the PC to factory default condition - this should restore to factory default OS, drivers, preinstalled apps, etc...

 >> http://support.hp.com/us-en/document/c00006110

Follow the on-screen instructions.  Here is video example:

>> https://youtu.be/PC3sUc3lr3E?t=109

>> https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qTlHwkVuv5Q

After successful recovery, when Windows 8 is recovered, you can use this free utility to keep Windows 10 away >> http://blog.ultimateoutsider.com/2015/08/using-gwx-stopper-to-permanently-remove.html

Windows 8.1 will be supported by Microsoft until 2023. Ensure your system is protected against viruses, hackers, online threats.

There is a small chance that the recovery partition may not be working but this is another story. Please, try it.

Hope this helps. Let me know how it goes.

[di_Sulmona]

Great information!  Thank you - you're THE BEST!!! 

I have done a lot since last I wrote.  First, the Quick Scan on the System Diagnostics indicated that the hardware was fine.  So I began to explore the options in System Recovery.  Under Troubleshoot I tried both Refersh and Reset.  Both actions failed.  I accessed Recovery Manager and then tried System Restore.  I am cautiously optomistic because after it apprently reloaded Windows 10, the laptop became functional again (keyboard and mouse pad worked).  My files were saved but the added Apps were gone.  No biggee regarding the Apps.

What happened next is odd.  I downloaded Windows Update after Windows Update.  The laptop never crashed.  However, after a while it rebooted by itself - apparently to reload Windows 10.  It is currently downloading updates again now (and taking its own sweet time about it too).

So, once it is all done I will give it a stress test and see if I can force it to reboot.  If I does not reboot and if the speed response is acceptable, I will be satisfied.  However, if it goes through another reload of Windows 10, reboots because I stressed the system or is slower than molasses in winter, then I will perform the the System Recovery to Factory Original (Windows 8).

Thanks again... and stay tuned!!!

[di_Sulmona]

Sigh...

5 minutes after I wrote my last note I looked over at my little laptop and suddenly I received the blue screen of death that started to reboot my laptop with the cause being "thread stuck in device driver".  So, reloading Windows 10 didn't solve the problem - Windows 10 IS THE PROBLEM!!!  Or at least it would appear that it is.  Wound you agree with this?  Is the next step to go back to the Original Factory setting, which will be Windows 8?  Also, if that works how can I update that to Windows 8.1?

[IT_WinSec]

---

@di_Sulmona wrote:

Sigh...

5 minutes after I wrote my last note I looked over at my little laptop and suddenly I received the blue screen of death that started to reboot my laptop with the cause being "thread stuck in device driver".  So, reloading Windows 10 didn't solve the problem - Windows 10 IS THE PROBLEM!!!  Or at least it would appear that it is.  Wound you agree with this?  Is the next step to go back to the Original Factory setting, which will be Windows 8?  Also, if that works how can I update that to Windows 8.1?

---

Well,  I kind of agree with you  - I am not a big fan of Windows 10, either - personally I don't use it , just have it installed on one device for testing purpose.

Anyway, the Blue screen may be related to hardware or software issue but based on your description - this is software issue with some driver.

You can go back to Windows 8 but if the recovery partition is not working and not able to restore back to Windows 8 >> this is the F11 option mentioned above (Reset option or HP Recovery Manager or just Recovery manager)

>> https://youtu.be/PC3sUc3lr3E?t=109

>> https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qTlHwkVuv5Q

If this does not work, please post back your full HP computer model and the product number (PN):

>> http://support.hp.com/us-en/document/c00033108

Re. the update or upgrade from 8 to 8.1 :  basically you will need to fully update Windows 8 and the upgrade should appear in the Windows Store. Here are instructions:

>> http://support.hp.com/us-en/document/c03847367

>> http://newatlas.com/upgrade-windows-8--to-windows-81/29394/

>> https://support.microsoft.com/en-us/help/15288/windows-8-update-to-windows-8-1

>> https://answers.microsoft.com/en-us/windows/forum/windows8_1-windows_install/windows-81-update-is-no...

[di_Sulmona]

I used the "Recovery" section of my hard drive to restore my litttle laptop to the factory settings which included Windows 8.1.  So far I have seen no problems, although its AMD processor and tiny 2 GB of RAM means that it takes a while to update.  But no crashes and no blue screens.  I will give it more of a test run this weekend and give a final report after.  Thanks again for your most excellent counsel.

[IT_WinSec · Accepted solution]

You are most welcome. Keep me posted 🙂