I've been running RC1 on a Dell Latitude E6400 laptop since early June. Up until a few days ago, I had experienced one or two unexplained lockups...which I didn't bother to troubleshoot. Starting a few days ago, however, I began experiencing lockups numerous times each day. I just experienced another lockup. The lockups are occurring when I step away from the PC--so I don't actually see what might be going on at the time of the lockup. When the lockups occur, the PC is completely unresponsive--even pressing the CAPS LOCK key has no effect. My only recourse is to hold down the power button until the PC reboots. The only two noteworthy events are in the System log, both events having a level of 'Critical': Event ID: 6008Description: The previous system shutdown at 7:37:33 PM on 08/25/2009 was unexpected. Event ID: 41Task Category: (63)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. Throughout the day today, I performed all of the hardware tests that are built-in to the PC--including many memory tests. There were no errors found. Afterward, after booting into Windows 7, however, I experienced another lockup. I don't recall installing any recent updates from Windows Update. What could be causing this problem to occur so frequently lately...and what more can I do to troubleshoot it?

Hi cgwaters, Since this issue was first occurred a few days ago, I recommend we use System Restore to check this issue. To do so, please go to Start, type System Restore in the search box, choose System Restore, click Next, choose the date you would like to restore to (which shall be the date before the issue occurred) and then complete the wizard. What is the result? However, if the issue persists after restoring the system or if the System Restore cannot be performed, please understand that to troubleshoot this kind of issues, we may need to debug the crashed system dump. Unfortunately, debugging is beyond what we can do in the forum. A suggestion would be to contact Microsoft Customer Service and Support (CSS) via telephone so that a dedicated Support Professional can assist with your request. Please be advised that contacting phone support will be a charged call. To obtain the phone numbers for specific technology request please take a look at the web site listed below: http://support.microsoft.com/default.aspx?scid=fh;EN-US;PHONENUMBERS If you are outside the US please see http://support.microsoft.com for regional support phone numbers. In addition, we also can try the suggestions below to see if the issue can be resolved: Suggestion 1: Check the processes =========== 1. When the computer lockups again, please press Ctrl+Shift+Esc combine key on the keyboard to bring up Task Manager. 2. Click the Processes tab and then fine the process which is taking the most usage of the CPU. Further suggestions can be tried based on the result we found. Also, we can test the issue in Clean Boot mode to check the result. Suggestion 2: Test in Clean Boot mode =========== Since the issue can also be caused by third party software installed, let's disable all startup items and third party services when booting. This method will help us determine if this issue is caused by a loading program or service. Please perform the following steps: 1. Click the Start Button type "msconfig" (without quotation marks) in the Start Search box, and then press Enter. Note: If prompted, please click Continue on the User Account Control (UAC) window. 2. Click the "Services" tab, check the "Hide All Microsoft Services" box and click "Disable All" (if it is not gray). 3. Click the "Startup" tab, click "Disable All" and click "OK". Then, restart the computer. When the "System Configuration Utility" window appears, please check the "Don't show this message or launch the System Configuration Utility when Windows starts" box and click OK. Please test this issue in the Clean Boot environment, if the issue disappears in the Clean Boot environment, we can use a 50/50 approach to quickly narrow down which entry is causing the issue. Hope the above information addressed your issue. Regards, Linda

Thanks. I have plenty of System Restore points to choose from.If I go back to a restore point from say, a week ago, and the problem persists, can I thereafter go back to an even older restore point?Regardless of the restore point I choose, what happens to any Windows Updates that were installed after that point (like the four updates that were just installed today)? Will those updates need to be re-downloaded and installed? And once installed, couldn't that result in the lock ups occurring again? If so, what's the best way to proceed?

I've been running RC1 on a Dell Latitude E6400 laptop since early June. Up until a few days ago, I had experienced one or two unexplained lockups...which I didn't bother to troubleshoot. Starting a few days ago, however, I began experiencing lockups numerous times each day. I just experienced another lockup. The lockups are occurring when I step away from the PC--so I don't actually see what might be going on at the time of the lockup. When the lockups occur, the PC is completely unresponsive--even pressing the CAPS LOCK key has no effect. My only recourse is to hold down the power button until the PC reboots. The only two noteworthy events are in the System log, both events having a level of 'Critical': Event ID: 6008Description: The previous system shutdown at 7:37:33 PM on 08/25/2009 was unexpected. Event ID: 41Task Category: (63)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. Throughout the day today, I performed all of the hardware tests that are built-in to the PC--including many memory tests. There were no errors found. Afterward, after booting into Windows 7, however, I experienced another lockup. I don't recall installing any recent updates from Windows Update. What could be causing this problem to occur so frequently lately...and what more can I do to troubleshoot it? I have been having this issue as well. I have read several answers some about seagate drives and some about audio drivers, and even more about video drivers. None of these things have helped. I have been re-installing 7 for two weeks now, going from Pro 64 and 32 to Ultimate 64 and 32, but nothing has helped. I have seen many post with the info from the event viewer. Mine looks exactly the same. I have run memtest all day today with no issues reported. Now on 32bit Ultimate with basically nothing installed....still happening.I guess my question is how can I get more specific information on what is happening so that I can hopefully fix it?Again, my problem is non-responsive, no bsod, just can't move mouse or use kb and if something is showing as "working", it stops moving. I am again posting my events in hopes of an answer. Thanks for reading.Log Name: SystemSource: EventLogDate: 8/29/2009 8:53:51 PMEvent ID: 6008Task Category: NoneLevel: ErrorKeywords: ClassicUser: N/AComputer: Seriously-PCDescription:The previous system shutdown at 8:52:11 PM on 8/29/2009 was unexpected.Event Xml:<Event xmlns="http://schemas.microsoft.com/win/2004/08/events/event"> <System> <Provider Name="EventLog" /> <EventID Qualifiers="32768">6008</EventID> <Level>2</Level> <Task>0</Task> <Keywords>0x80000000000000</Keywords> <TimeCreated SystemTime="2009-08-30T00:53:51.000000000Z" /> <EventRecordID>1530</EventRecordID> <Channel>System</Channel> <Computer>Seriously-PC</Computer> <Security /> </System> <EventData> <Data>8:52:11 PM</Data> <Data>8/29/2009</Data> <Data> </Data> <Data> </Data> <Data>1145</Data> <Data> </Data> <Data> </Data> <Binary>D907080006001D00140034000B000301D907080000001E00000034000B000301600900003C000000010000006009000000000000B00400000100000000000000</Binary> </EventData></Event>And of course:Log Name: SystemSource: Microsoft-Windows-Kernel-PowerDate: 8/29/2009 8:53:47 PMEvent ID: 41Task Category: (63)Level: CriticalKeywords: (2)User: SYSTEMComputer: Seriously-PCDescription: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="2009-08-30T00:53:47.367200000Z" /> <EventRecordID>1534</EventRecordID> <Correlation /> <Execution ProcessID="4" ThreadID="8" /> <Channel>System</Channel> <Computer>Seriously-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>Thanks again,Seriously

As I mentioned earlier, four updates were installed from Windows Update on Friday. Over the last two days, I didn't experience any new lockups. Could the problem have disappeared as mysteriously as it appeared? Unfortunately, no. The system just experienced another complete lockup. Similar to the other poster to this thread, my system becomes completely non-responsive--no mouse or keyboard, yet no BSOD. Very frustrating, especially since it was working fine for many weeks up until that time.I had considered formatting the drive and re-installing RC1; from the other poster's experiences, however, I'm not sure that would help.I ask my follow-up questions again: If I go back to a restore point from say, a week ago, and the problem persists, can I thereafter go back to an even older restore point to see if the problem goes away? Regardless of the restore point I choose, what happens to any Windows Updates that were installed after that point ? Will those updates need to be re-downloaded and installed? And once installed, couldn't that result in the lock ups occurring again? If so, what's the best way to proceed?

Hi cgwaters, Thank you very much for your reply. Regarding your question about the System Restore, if the issue persists after restoring the system, we can try an earlier restore point to check the result. In addition, the updates installed after the restore point will be removed as you assumed. If the issue does not occur after restoring the system, the issue shall be caused by incompatibility between hardware and the update. We can manually install the updates one by one to narrow down the cause. In addition, we can check the issue by monitoring the processes and testing in Clean Boot mode to check the result. However, if the issue persists after trying all the suggestions, the most possible cause shall be related to the hardware. As previously mentioned, you may need to contact Microsoft Customer Service and Support (CSS) via telephone and they will provide the specific troubleshooting suggestions as previously mentioned. For your reference, I have included their contact information below again: http://support.microsoft.com/default.aspx?scid=fh;EN-US;PHONENUMBERS If you are outside the US please see http://support.microsoft.com for regional support phone numbers. I apologize if you feel that I am passing you off to others. My goal at this point is to assist you in the most timely and efficient manner. Sincerely, Linda

Thanks. So regarding System Restore, if I restore to a restore point, I should then refrain from installing any updates from Windows Update until I'm satisfied that the lockups are no longer occurring; is that correct? That could be tricky, since the lockups don't seem to occur with any pattern or frequency..nor does performing any particular action cause a lockup to occur.I'm reluctant to contact CSS until I can get a better idea as to what the cause might be.