Laptop randomly restarts with black screen & HP logo

[jlawlor91]

Hi, I'm having a regular issue with my notebook.

It boots fine and I'll be using it, but on random ocassions it switches to a black screen with the HP logo and the loading circle below it. It then loads up and takes me back to the login page where I have to sign in as if I've just turned the system on. This means my programs and work I was in the process of using is lost, with no reason for this occurring.

I contacted twitter support and reset the BIOS settings but it still keeps restarting at random times. I've also changed settings so it doesn't restart after Windows updates and have ran a full virus scan to find there are no threats on my system.

Any help would be much appreciated.

Thanks

[IT_WinSec]

Hello @jlawlor91

Welcome to the HP Support forum. Thank you for posting.

HP has created an official article about such issue you experience how - please, check it and follow the steps:

>> https://support.hp.com/us-en/document/c03413399

If I understand you correctly, you fall into the criteria "Windows restarts for no apparent reason"

Let me know how it goes and provide detailed update, please.

Cheers !

[jlawlor91]

The problem still persists. I already used the topic you replied with to fix my problems...

[IT_WinSec]

Hi,

Please, clarify and provide more details about this.

- When it restarts do you see the blue screen error -> similar to these >> https://support.hp.com/hk-en/document/c04593971

- Did you disable Automatic restart ?

- Did you check the hardware (F2) and what were the results ? Did it pass or fail ? What kind of test you performed ?

- If you do notice the blue screen error (BSOD), what is the error message ?

If BSOD screen appears and if Automatic restart is disabled, your computer shall not reboot but the blue screen will remain on top. Please, write here absolutely everything you will see on the screen. (of take a picture and upload it here or somewhere else). There can be some code which may help me help you. After that you will have to hard restart your computer.

Collect dump files

After reboot/restart , open the Computer (Windows Explorer) and go to C:\Windows\

Open Minidump folder

There should be some dump files inside the folder.

Mark them all, right click them all (when marked) -> choose Send to -> Compressed (zipped) folder

Windows will now create a zip archive

I will need this zip archive containing the dump files. They may help me providing technical information about why the issue happens. Once you have the files, upload them somewhere (e.g. OneDrive, Google Drive, Dropbox, etc...) and provide me with link to download

Check your PC for viruses/malware

You can use the free HitmanPro from Sophos 

and the ESET Online scanner

>> http://www.surfright.nl/en/hitmanpro

>> https://www.eset.com/us/online-scanner/

Let me know the malware test results. If any malware is found, please take detailed notice of what/where or take a picture and post it back.

Looking forward to your reply.

[jlawlor91]

I disabled the automatic restart a long time ago and it still happens. I've also ran the system test which shows everything to pass.

I'll be in the middle of using my laptop for a number of hours and it randomly appears with the black screen as shown below, the HP circle going round on the black screen and the notebook loads back up as if I've just turned it on.

results from testthe screen which appears after the random restart

Edit: The minidump folder is empty - I have already set this to show hidden files and folders. No malware or viruses on my system either

[IT_WinSec]

Thank you for the reply.

It's strange and unusual. It seems it restarts without producing a BSOD screen - without stop error.

The HP icon and dots circling is a normal Windows start up screen. The problem is why it restarts.

Based on all the latest information, the major hardware components are OK.

Root cause / It could be:

- some sort of overheating (less likely)

or

- Windows problem (software problem).

Also, let me know if you have performed any sort of hardware changes which are not standart for the PC ?

Check for overheating:

I recommend you download and run Speccy and monitor the temperatures of your HDD and CPU:

Here is more info :

>> http://www.techulator.com/resources/8028-How-check-temperature-CPU-your-computer.aspx

Download Speccy Free version >> https://www.ccleaner.com/speccy/download

Install it

Run it

Check the HDD section and the CPU sections and take pictures of them, and post them back here so that I can see

Monitor the temps for a few days and let me know how it goes, let me know the readings/results.

Reduce potential overheating and clean from dust >> https://support.hp.com/ca-en/document/c01657439

Perform Windows system files check and repair:

Open Start , search for and open Command Prompt (CMD)

In CMD, please type Dism /Online /Cleanup-Image /RestoreHealth

This is used to scan the Windows image for component store corruption, perform repair operations automatically, and records that corruption to the log file. This can take around 10-15 minutes up to a few hours to finish depending on the level of corruption. It may stay at certain % for a while before continuing.

Let me know how it goes after monitoring and repair... Cheers !

[jlawlor91]

Thank you, I’ll give it a go when I get a chance and let you know

[jlawlor91]

Hi again, I've been using my computer again today and it's just restarted out of nowhere again. I looked in the minidump folder and there was a file this time.

The link for the file in Google Drive:

https://drive.google.com/file/d/1P4PbuC1x8y9NBopD9rc4siHY0Ipl5S8g/view?usp=sharing

I've also downloaded Speccy to show you the temperature of my machine:

I've also ran the command prompt for checkhealth and it says 'no component store corruption detected. The operation completed successfully'.

Thanks

[IT_WinSec]

Hello @jlawlor91

Something else you may try :

1. Turn off Fast Startup in Windows - here are instructions >> https://www.tenforums.com/tutorials/4189-turn-off-fast-startup-windows-10-a.html

* Restart the computer and test if the issue persists*

2. Erase (uninstall) the latest updates from Windows  - go to Start, type control.exe to load Control Panel

Go to Programs and features

On the left side of the screen, choose to view Installed Updates

Make sure these are sorted by date.

Uninstall all updates uninstalled the last 1-2 months or from when the issue started.

When ready, restart your computer.

Eventually, you might download a special tool from Microsoft which will block the updates from auto-downloading. Here is more info :

>> https://www.howtogeek.com/223864/how-to-uninstall-and-block-updates-and-drivers-on-windows-10/

>> https://support.microsoft.com/en-us/help/3073930/how-to-temporarily-prevent-a-driver-update-from-rei...

Hope this helps. Let me know how it goes 🙂

[MQ_1]

I am currently employed by a large Healthcare provider and we are currently experiencing the same issue.

We have around 50 machines (a mixture of Laptops and Desktops - mostly Elitebook 840 / 850 laptops and Compaq Desktops) currently reported as experiencing this issue.

I suspect there are far more (we employ 4000 and they are not all good at reporting issues like this). 

We currently run on Windows 7, but are due to be upgrading to Windows 10 late next month. Our experiences have been almost identical to the above - no warning, no dump files, an identical BSOD when the auto restart is unset. The event viewer either has no details or states 'unexpected'.

It is definitely not an over heating issue, or a boot issue. This happens to my machine probably twice a week. It happens from startup or if I have had the machine on hibernate over night. It sometimes happens after ten minutes, 30 seconds or a couple of hours. there seems to be no pattern.

The only 'good' thing is it only seems to happen once, and I've only experienced it in the morning.