Fault Reports

[RonH]

I have (hopefully 'had') experienced many issues when updating to the version 1809. Such as ... very wide screen/no screen/numerous lock ups/no AMD driver/Windows failing to load etc. But after many crashes and reboots I finally seem to have a stable system again ... long may it continue. If I get further major issues then maybe I should simply reinstall 10 with a clean version of Windows 10 ... mine is W7 to W10 upgrade. What is the 'least painful' way of doing this?

It seems very difficult to determine (hence correct) what causes failures ... information is mostly in tech speak. I wonder if the below 'system report' actually means anything specific other than just a 'hardware error? If so then how does one go about finding out?

Source
Windows

Summary
Hardware error

Date
‎16/‎12/‎2018 17:43

Status
Not reported

Description
A problem with your hardware caused Windows to stop working correctly.

Problem signature
Problem Event Name: LiveKernelEvent
Code: 187
Parameter 1: 1
Parameter 2: 0
Parameter 3: 0
Parameter 4: 0
OS version: 10_0_17763
Service Pack: 0_0
Product: 768_1
OS Version: 10.0.17763.2.0.0.768.101
Locale ID: 1044

Files that help describe the problem
WATCHDOG-20181216-1740.dmp
sysdata.xml
WERInternalMetadata.xml
WERInternalRequest.xml
memory.csv
sysinfo.txt

[HansV]

In my experience, it is difficult to find out what the error message actually means. The files mentioned at the end of the message are generally incomprehensible if they are human-readable at all.
To reinstall Windows 10, I would download the ISO image from https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/softwar ... ndows10ISO" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

[RonH]

Thanks Hans ... makes me wonder how the repair techo's actually fault find and repair. If you take a faulty pc into a repair centre here it seems that the first thing they do (if they can!) is to reinstall W10 such that you loose all additional software and personal records ...saved on Ext HD of course ... all at a cost that makes one wonder if it is not best to trash the pc and buy a new one!

Will keep your link on file.

[Rick Corbett]

... makes me wonder how the repair techo's actually fault find and repair. If you take a faulty pc into a repair centre here it seems that the first thing they do (if they can!) is to reinstall W10 such that you loose all additional software and personal records ...saved on Ext HD of course ... all at a cost that makes one wonder if it is not best to trash the pc and buy a new one!

It all comes down to cost, i.e. the minutes it takes to begin an automated/scripted data backup followed by kicking off an automated clean OS install (and then just letting it get on with it to the 'Out Of Box Experience' point) vs potentially hours of diagnostics and tests of solutions which may or may not fix 'the problem'. Which method are you as a customer most likely to want to pay for... particularly if the latter method results in a repair bill that's more than the value of your device?

It's even more difficult for the techies when the OS in question is a very recently-released one that's well-known to have issues as an upgrade path (hence the often painful experience of early-adopters). IMO a clean install is the only logical approach in this situation.

[RonH]

Totally agree with you Rick but are hardware faults repaired by reinstalling software?
Perhaps 'hardware' is not 'hardware' these days.

[Rick Corbett]

Totally agree with you Rick but are hardware faults repaired by reinstalling software?
Perhaps 'hardware' is not 'hardware' these days.

If everything was working fine prior to the 1809 upgrade then it's 99.9% probable that there was no coincidental hardware fault... just a bad software upgrade. If you reinstall the upgrade using the same bad software upgrade then it's not likely to improve matters, is it? Instead, I suggest it's better to not be an 'early adopter' and, instead, let other 'crash test dummies' take the strain. Have you considered just rolling back within the 10-day grace period? (The advantage of a clean install is that it's easier to apportion blame if the same fault appears as a 'hardware error', i.e. there's fewer complicating factors.)

Win 10 upgrades appear to stagger the process, i.e. during stage 1 the OS upgrade installs first then (stage 2) the new OS looks around for what hardware there is in place in order to decide what device drivers are 'required' for stage 3. I try to keep MS device drivers at bay using a .REG file that (is supposed to) prevent MS from installing its own device drivers. If not already merged prior to the upgrade then this can be merged between stages 1 and 2.

Automatically download device driver updates - Turn OFF.reg

Code: Select all

Windows Registry Editor Version 5.00
; Include driver updates in Windows Update - Turn OFF
[HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Policies\Microsoft\Windows\WindowsUpdate]
"ExcludeWUDriversInQualityUpdate"=dword:00000001

; Automatically download manufacturers' apps and custom icons - Turn OFF
[HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Device Metadata]
"PreventDeviceMetadataFromNetwork"=dword:00000001

To turn that prohibition OFF again, use another .REG file:

Automatically download device driver updates - Turn ON (Default).reg

Code: Select all

Windows Registry Editor Version 5.00
; Include driver updates in Windows Update - Turn ON (Default)
[HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Policies\Microsoft\Windows\WindowsUpdate]
"ExcludeWUDriversInQualityUpdate"=dword:00000000

; Automatically download manufacturers' apps and custom icons - Turn ON (Default)
[HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Device Metadata]
"PreventDeviceMetadataFromNetwork"=dword:00000000

Hope this helps...

[RonH]

Thanks again for taking time out Rick.

As indicated in my first post my pc is now stable and will leave 'well alone' until the next features upgrade. If that installs without major issues then
Checking as best possible in the Events listings I think my major problem was that the update totally trashed my AMD drivers and associated controls resulting in a low grade or no screen display etc.

I will tag this thread just in case! These days I am not an early adopter having learnt my lesson when MSoft issued their first update to W10.
Cheers
Ron