Machine shuts down, can't find boot device

A

Allen

I have a strange (to me) problem. I am running Win7 Home Premium 32, on
a Dell Inspiron 531. Four times since some time during the night it has
shut down for no apparent reason and failed to restart because it could
not find a boot device. I have to restart with F12 key to bring up the
boot menu. The error log shows four entries in the "Critical" category,
all with the description

Log Name: System
Source: Microsoft-Windows-Kernel-Power
Date: 1/4/2010 7:29:48 AM
Event ID: 41
Task Category: (63)
Level: Critical
Keywords: (2)
User: SYSTEM
Computer: Allen-PC
Description:
The system has rebooted without cleanly shutting down first. This error
could be caused if the system stopped responding, crashed, or lost power
unexpectedly.
Event Xml:
<Event xmlns="http://schemas.microsoft.com/win/2004/08/events/event">
<System>
<Provider Name="Microsoft-Windows-Kernel-Power"
Guid="{331C3B3A-2005-44C2-AC5E-77220C37D6B4}" />
<EventID>41</EventID>
<Version>2</Version>
<Level>1</Level>
<Task>63</Task>
<Opcode>0</Opcode>
<Keywords>0x8000000000000002</Keywords>
<TimeCreated SystemTime="2010-01-04T13:29:48.229600000Z" />
<EventRecordID>303845</EventRecordID>
<Correlation />
<Execution ProcessID="4" ThreadID="8" />
<Channel>System</Channel>
<Computer>Allen-PC</Computer>
<Security UserID="S-1-5-18" />
</System>
<EventData>
<Data Name="BugcheckCode">0</Data>
<Data Name="BugcheckParameter1">0x0</Data>
<Data Name="BugcheckParameter2">0x0</Data>
<Data Name="BugcheckParameter3">0x0</Data>
<Data Name="BugcheckParameter4">0x0</Data>
<Data Name="SleepInProgress">false</Data>
<Data Name="PowerButtonTimestamp">0</Data>
</EventData>
</Event>

I tried to run chkdsk (before I thought about the Event Log, but it shut
down while ckhdsk was running. The boot device is SATA 3, my C: drive. I
can access all the files on this drive. There have been no power
failures that I have detected, and I have an APS UPS which is in good
working condition. And, of course, all four shutdowns happened while I
wasn't at the computer.

Hardware? Software? I'm stumped. Does anyone have any ideas?

Allen
 
E

Enkidu

Allen said:
And, of course, all four shutdowns happened while I
wasn't at the computer.
Have you checked your power settings? Could it have been trying to
hibernate and failed? I'd get it rebooted, turn off all powersaving
features (disk spin-down, sleep, hibernate, monitor shut-down) and see
if it happened again. If it does, tell me I'm stupid, and look
elsewhere. If it doesn't happen, then you've narrowed the problem down.
 
M

MJMIII

Allen said:
I have a strange (to me) problem. I am running Win7 Home Premium 32, on a
Dell Inspiron 531. Four times since some time during the night it has shut
down for no apparent reason and failed to restart because it could not
find a boot device. I have to restart with F12 key to bring up the boot
menu. The error log shows four entries in the "Critical" category, all
with the description


I tried to run chkdsk (before I thought about the Event Log, but it shut
down while ckhdsk was running. The boot device is SATA 3, my C: drive. I
can access all the files on this drive. There have been no power failures
that I have detected, and I have an APS UPS which is in good working
condition. And, of course, all four shutdowns happened while I wasn't at
the computer.

Hardware? Software? I'm stumped. Does anyone have any ideas?

Allen
Could be a heat problem. Check the fan.
 
A

Allen

Enkidu said:
Have you checked your power settings? Could it have been trying to
hibernate and failed? I'd get it rebooted, turn off all powersaving
features (disk spin-down, sleep, hibernate, monitor shut-down) and see
if it happened again. If it does, tell me I'm stupid, and look
elsewhere. If it doesn't happen, then you've narrowed the problem down.
Thanks, acquaintance of Gilgamesh. I've checked and all the power
settings I could find were set to keep running--other than the monitor,
which cuts off at three hours.
Allen
 
A

Allen

MJMIII said:
Could be a heat problem. Check the fan.
I had thought about the power supply, but not about the fan. And I don't
hear any sound emanating from the case, nor do I feel any flow around
the grills. I think you have probably solved it. If you're wrong, don't
worry--I won't kill you, although I'll turn 81 in about six weeks.
Allen
 
A

Ato_Zee

If it can't find boot device, go into BIOS and satisfy yourself that
all your drives are seen by BIOS, then check boot order and make
sure the boot drive is the one set to boot from.
For my BIOS boot order can be set with + or -. to shift
drives up and down the list.
Often it is best to put the boot device hard drive on IDE1, or
in the case of SATA on SATA1, since that is what it usually
defaults to.
Then it should see the correct boot device and boot.
As to a permanent solution, kernal power failure, can
point to a process not shutting down correctly, usually
a problem application. So did it always fail to find boot
device? If it was like that from new it would be a warranty
problem.
What you can now try is a process killer, where you can
select what apps/processes to kill. Takes about 3 secs
to run, then you should have a clean shutdown.
There are many, try Aiglon Process Killer.
Useful for burning, or installing apps, where it says
close all apps.
And of course run a full all files rootkit, virus and trojan scan,
with one of the better, authentic retail, tools.
There is a tendency to d/l P2P virus tools, substitute a
patched, compromised .exe, and wonder why the protection
has failed..

Not normal, BIOS should show the make of the drive, and the
drive mfrs site will have a drive test utility, which runs from
floppy or can be burnt to a boot CD.
Run the quick and full tests to satisfy yourself the drive
is OK (athough not necessarily for Win7) since you
may have to fiddle with the BIOS drive settings before
Win7 is happy with it.
 
O

Ophelia

MJMIII said:
Could be a heat problem. Check the fan.
I had that problem with my previous laptop. I bought a fan thingy from pc
world. It is like a tray that the laptop sits on and it has a fan
incorporated. Sorry can't remember what it was called. It worked ok
though.
 
G

Grenou

Ophelia said:
-snip-

I had that problem with my previous laptop. I bought a fan thingy from pc
world. It is like a tray that the laptop sits on and it has a fan
incorporated. Sorry can't remember what it was called. It worked ok
though.
It's called a Laptop Cooling Pad ;-)

Grenou
 
J

James

It's called a Laptop Cooling Pad ;-)

Grenou

Slightly off the point, but I use a transformer-powered cooling pad
inside my audio system cabinet to keep airflow around the equipment.
Used to lose DVR recording due to heat; now it doesn't. (Note to
trollers: I can't install a permanent fan because of the design and
layout of the cabinet.)

James
 
O

Ophelia

Slightly off the point, but I use a transformer-powered cooling pad
inside my audio system cabinet to keep airflow around the equipment.
Used to lose DVR recording due to heat; now it doesn't. (Note to
trollers: I can't install a permanent fan because of the design and
layout of the cabinet.)
Oh allright then! <g>
 
D

Dick Mahar

Allen said:
I have a strange (to me) problem. I am running Win7 Home Premium 32, on a
Dell Inspiron 531. Four times since some time during the night it has shut
down for no apparent reason and failed to restart because it could not
find a boot device. I have to restart with F12 key to bring up the boot
menu. The error log shows four entries in the "Critical" category, all
with the description

Log Name: System
Source: Microsoft-Windows-Kernel-Power
Date: 1/4/2010 7:29:48 AM
Event ID: 41
Task Category: (63)
Level: Critical
Keywords: (2)
User: SYSTEM
Computer: Allen-PC
Description:
The system has rebooted without cleanly shutting down first. This error
could be caused if the system stopped responding, crashed, or lost power
unexpectedly.
Event Xml:
<Event xmlns="http://schemas.microsoft.com/win/2004/08/events/event">
<System>
<Provider Name="Microsoft-Windows-Kernel-Power"
Guid="{331C3B3A-2005-44C2-AC5E-77220C37D6B4}" />
<EventID>41</EventID>
<Version>2</Version>
<Level>1</Level>
<Task>63</Task>
<Opcode>0</Opcode>
<Keywords>0x8000000000000002</Keywords>
<TimeCreated SystemTime="2010-01-04T13:29:48.229600000Z" />
<EventRecordID>303845</EventRecordID>
<Correlation />
<Execution ProcessID="4" ThreadID="8" />
<Channel>System</Channel>
<Computer>Allen-PC</Computer>
<Security UserID="S-1-5-18" />
</System>
<EventData>
<Data Name="BugcheckCode">0</Data>
<Data Name="BugcheckParameter1">0x0</Data>
<Data Name="BugcheckParameter2">0x0</Data>
<Data Name="BugcheckParameter3">0x0</Data>
<Data Name="BugcheckParameter4">0x0</Data>
<Data Name="SleepInProgress">false</Data>
<Data Name="PowerButtonTimestamp">0</Data>
</EventData>
</Event>

I tried to run chkdsk (before I thought about the Event Log, but it shut
down while ckhdsk was running. The boot device is SATA 3, my C: drive. I
can access all the files on this drive. There have been no power failures
that I have detected, and I have an APS UPS which is in good working
condition. And, of course, all four shutdowns happened while I wasn't at
the computer.

Hardware? Software? I'm stumped. Does anyone have any ideas?

Allen
Check your Sleep and or hibernate settings.
 
A

Allen

Dick said:
Check your Sleep and or hibernate settings.
They are all off. The only power-limiting setting is 3 hours on the
monitor display.
Allen
 
A

Ato_Zee

They are all off. The only power-limiting setting is 3 hours on the
monitor display.
Allen
You haven't told us what the BIOS says before boot starts, or
in this case doesn't.
That's the key, does BIOS correctly identify all the drives, and
which drive does it show as the boot drive in boot drive
management.
I have OS and data drives, C:\ and D:\ respectively, and C:\
is in a caddy, so I can easily swap OS's. Like XP supports
some things that Win7 doesn't.
Occasionally, I get the no boot/system drive message, and when
I check in BIOS the boot drive is shown as D:\, I just
reset the boot drive to the C:\ one, and bingo it boots.
It only happens occasionally after swapping boot drives,
but provided your BIOS can see the boot drive, and is
set to boot from it, then it should boot.
 
A

Allen

Ato_Zee said:
You haven't told us what the BIOS says before boot starts, or
in this case doesn't.
That's the key, does BIOS correctly identify all the drives, and
which drive does it show as the boot drive in boot drive
management.
I have OS and data drives, C:\ and D:\ respectively, and C:\
is in a caddy, so I can easily swap OS's. Like XP supports
some things that Win7 doesn't.
Occasionally, I get the no boot/system drive message, and when
I check in BIOS the boot drive is shown as D:\, I just
reset the boot drive to the C:\ one, and bingo it boots.
It only happens occasionally after swapping boot drives,
but provided your BIOS can see the boot drive, and is
set to boot from it, then it should boot.
I cannot access BIOS, unless there is some way unknown to me to see
what's in it while the machine is running. When I try to open it with F8
at boot, I get the same old "no boot device found".
Allen
 
A

Ato_Zee

I cannot access BIOS, unless there is some way unknown to me to see
what's in it while the machine is running. When I try to open it with F8
at boot, I get the same old "no boot device found".
Allen
You need to access BIOS before it tries to boot, and for most
BIOS's you switch on, and keep tapping the Delete key.
If you have a user manual it may give a different key, or
a key combination..
One of the BIOS main functions is to set the device to
boot from, the boot order, my choices are floppy, if that fails
CDROM, and finally if none of these are bootable, hard drive.
Then in hard drive order I can move with + or - which hard
drive to try to boot from.
Selecting C:\ the boot drive, it boots.
The catastrophy for most is hard drive failure when the
restore sector is on the hard drive that has failed.
If you have a restore CD then swapping the drive and
setting to boot from the restore CD may save the
day. Which starts from accessing the BIOS.
Only problem with BIOS's is that they have a battery,
generally a watch type coin cell. After a couple of
years or so that goes flat, and BIOS settings become
unreliable.
With mine it goes to "loading bios defaults" and boots,
except the date time is the year 1900. Time to change
the battery.
Google for your machine model and bios.
 
E

Enkidu

Allen said:
I cannot access BIOS, unless there is some way unknown to me to see
what's in it while the machine is running. When I try to open it with F8
at boot, I get the same old "no boot device found".
Allen
Try F-2 or F-12, or even TAB at boot up. You might have to press it
several times as the system boots so you get it entered after the
keyboard is recognized and before it attemts a normal boot.
 
A

Allen

Enkidu said:
Try F-2 or F-12, or even TAB at boot up. You might have to press it
several times as the system boots so you get it entered after the
keyboard is recognized and before it attemts a normal boot.
As I have said, I CANNOT open BIOS.I've tried all the various keys and
combinations, and all I get is the same old, same old "no boot device".
I would be very surprised if the BIOS battery is shot, as the machine is
21 months old; I have changed a BIOS battery only once, on a CompuAdd
machine bought about 22 years ago. I was the PC guru (I couldn't get out
of it) from the first PCs until I retired in 1993 and nne of those
machines ever had a battery problem.
Allen
 
E

Enkidu

Allen said:
As I have said, I CANNOT open BIOS.I've tried all the various keys and
combinations, and all I get is the same old, same old "no boot device".
I would be very surprised if the BIOS battery is shot, as the machine is
21 months old; I have changed a BIOS battery only once, on a CompuAdd
machine bought about 22 years ago. I was the PC guru (I couldn't get out
of it) from the first PCs until I retired in 1993 and nne of those
machines ever had a battery problem.
I would be surprised to learn that a dead battery on the MB caused you
to not be able to access the BIOS. There somply has to be a keyboard
combination to access the BIOS, but you'd have to enter that key or
combination repreatedly as you booted up, and it should enter the BIOS
setup scree before it tried to boot frm the hard drive. If it doesn't,
your MB or youe BIOS is just dead.

One other idea - you aren't using a wireless keyboard, are you? If you
are, get a different wired keyboard and try that. If you're using a USB
keyboard, try an old PS2 keyboard . . . perhaps your keyboard isn't
being recognized by the BIOS but by the OS which isn't booting. If that
were the case, you the computer never sees what you type.
 
A

Allen

Enkidu said:
I would be surprised to learn that a dead battery on the MB caused you
to not be able to access the BIOS. There somply has to be a keyboard
combination to access the BIOS, but you'd have to enter that key or
combination repreatedly as you booted up, and it should enter the BIOS
setup scree before it tried to boot frm the hard drive. If it doesn't,
your MB or youe BIOS is just dead.

One other idea - you aren't using a wireless keyboard, are you? If you
are, get a different wired keyboard and try that. If you're using a USB
keyboard, try an old PS2 keyboard . . . perhaps your keyboard isn't
being recognized by the BIOS but by the OS which isn't booting. If that
were the case, you the computer never sees what you type.
No, I'm using a USB KB, but I might try another. just in case. Further
comments: you mentioned pressing F keys multiple times--my rule is to
press them at least 60 times, unless something happens sooner. And about
BIOS batteries--my computer is never off for extended periods, except
for opening the case or when bad weather indicates chances for damage; I
have had very, very few hardware problems over the years, going back to
analog days starting in 1954.
Allen
 

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