Repeating "Clock_Watchdog_Timeout" BSOD - can you assist?

[SpyderTracks]

Thanks, Spyder. I was not aware that that facility existed. (Bet you've heard THAT one before).

There were 3 "optional updates" available. I have downloaded & installed them.

I'll reboot & see how it goes.

The only other thing is what anti virus are you using? If you're just using windows defender, that's good, that's all you need. 3rd party AV's just cause many issues and are totally irrelevant since windows 7, they actually decrease security, not improve it.

If you're using a 3rd party AV, it's worth uninstalling it fully, but you have to use the official uninstaller from the vendor, can't uninstall it through the normal method in windows.

Then, just as a last precaution, I would load powershell as administrator and run the following commands:

sfc /scannow

Dism /Online /Cleanup-Image /RestoreHealth

Note the DISM cmd could take some time depending how much corruption is found.

If you're still getting the BSOD after that, don't put up with it, it doesn't include what warranty you chose in your specs, but no matter what, you're covered for labour for 3 years, and whatever parts warranty you selected.

You can raise an RMA through your main PCS account, login and on the right you've got the Returns / Request and RMA

It does mean sending the laptop back, but an issue like this can get worse over time if it is a hardware issue with the CPU, it's best to get it looked at sooner rather than risking your warranty expiring or it starting to affect other components. Even if your parts warranty has expired, it's worth getting a quotation from PCS to see if it's worth them fixing. Hopefully you chose a decent warranty though in which case you're fully covered.

 

[PeterE]

The only other thing is what anti virus are you using? If you're just using windows defender, that's good, that's all you need. 3rd party AV's just cause many issues and are totally irrelevant since windows 7, they actually decrease security, not improve it.

If you're using a 3rd party AV, it's worth uninstalling it fully, but you have to use the official uninstaller from the vendor, can't uninstall it through the normal method in windows.

Then, just as a last precaution, I would load powershell as administrator and run the following commands:

sfc /scannow

Dism /Online /Cleanup-Image /RestoreHealth

Note the DISM cmd could take some time depending how much corruption is found.

If you're still getting the BSOD after that, don't put up with it, it doesn't include what warranty you chose in your specs, but no matter what, you're covered for labour for 3 years, and whatever parts warranty you selected.

You can raise an RMA through your main PCS account, login and on the right you've got the Returns / Request and RMA

It does mean sending the laptop back, but an issue like this can get worse over time if it is a hardware issue with the CPU, it's best to get it looked at sooner rather than risking your warranty expiring or it starting to affect other components. Even if your parts warranty has expired, it's worth getting a quotation from PCS to see if it's worth them fixing. Hopefully you chose a decent warranty though in which case you're fully covered.

Wow! Now THAT is a mind-blower.

1. I am using ESET NOD32 anti-virus, & have done for years. It is due for renewal this month, so I will cancel the auto-renewal. I will also uninstall as you have advised. Can you point me to a link explaining what you have said about 3rd party AVs being unnecessary since Windows 7?

2. I will load powershell & run the command you advise.

3. Re Windows Defender: does it require activating, or is it already humming away in the background? Do I uninstall the 3rd party AV first & then activate WD, or the other way around?

Incidentally, I had a BSOD during the typing of this response, but again there was no .dmp file to be found in the C:\Windows folder.

 

[Martinr36]

3. Re Windows Defender: does it require activating, or is it already humming away in the background? Do I uninstall the 3rd party AV first & then activate WD, or the other way around?

Uninstall ESET, and Windows defender will take over and do a perfect job

 

[ubuysa]

If you're getting 0x101 BSODs then the ONLY way to resolve them (without guessing) is to upload the FILE C:\Windows\Memory.dmp each time you get a new BSOD.

 

[SpyderTracks]

1. I am using ESET NOD32 anti-virus, & have done for years. It is due for renewal this month, so I will cancel the auto-renewal. I will also uninstall as you have advised. Can you point me to a link explaining what you have said about 3rd party AVs being unnecessary since Windows 7?

There is no conclusive article stating this, but those that work in the industry generally all use windows defender by default for their customers. 3rd party AV know this as their subscriber base has fallen off a cliff so there is a lot of paid content out there falsely hailing their supremacy which is simply false. Windows Defender started being included with windows at the tail end of Windows 7.

ESET NOD32 Antivirus

An effective antivirus that's best for techies

uk.pcmag.com

Windows Defender vs third-party antivirus

Microsoft Defender – formerly known as Windows Defender – now covers a broad range of home, enterprise and cloud security and antivirus solutions. Let's | Trusted Reviews

www.trustedreviews.com

3. Re Windows Defender: does it require activating, or is it already humming away in the background? Do I uninstall the 3rd party AV first & then activate WD, or the other way around?

Once you've fully uninstalled Nod32, Defender will activate and take over automatically

It doesn't look like ESET do a proper uninstaller tool which is concerning

[KB5547] Uninstall your ESET home and small office product for Windows on Windows 10 and later

support.eset.com

 

[PeterE]

Once again, thanks guys (inc Martinr36) for your assistance.

1. ESET NOD32 has now been uninstalled. After rebooting, I had a message from ESET asking why I had uninstalled, etc. So it is now OFF my computer.

2. In reply to ubuysa: I understand what you are saying, but (with respect) I can only repeat - after the BSOD there was no .dmp file in the C:\Windows folder. It is not there.

3. Thanks for the links, Spyder: I will read up on them.

4. I will now proceed with the powershell & sfc /scannow & Dism /Online /Cleanup-Image /RestoreHealth commands.

Update:
1. sfc scan - "no integrity violations"
2. Dism scan - "restore op completed successfully".

 

[ubuysa]

2. In reply to ubuysa: I understand what you are saying, but (with respect) I can only repeat - after the BSOD there was no .dmp file in the C:\Windows folder. It is not there.

And that in itself is a problem. If you're seeing repeated BSODs and you're not writing dumps then you have a problem. To properly write dump ALL of the following must be true...

• The page file must be on the same drive as your operating system
• Set page file to "system managed"
• Set system crash/recovery options to "Automatic memory dump"
• Windows Error Reporting (WER) system service should be set to MANUAL
• User account control must be running

In addition, the following can also prevent you seeing dumps...

• SSD drives with older firmware do not create dumps (update the drive firmware)
• Cleaner applications like Ccleaner delete dump files, so don't run them until you are fixed
• Bad RAM may prevent the data from being saved and written to a file on reboot, so if all else fails test your RAM

Without a kernel dump, you can't tell what's causing these 0x101 BSODs.