Vista - Vista blue screen of death

I am a court reporter, hooked up via USB-serial adaptor to attorneys using a
software called LiveNote to receive my steno translated into English. My
Vista 8mth old computer has crashed 2X in the middle of the day with experts
on the stand and on video. is this a vista issue or a hardware issue??? No
one seems to be able to help me on this.
--
Sandi

Sandi wrote:
There is no way any of us reading your post can answer this question because
we can't see and test your computer. I think the first thing you should do
is contact the LiveNote tech support people to see if their program is
truly compatible with Vista. They will also know of any issues with Vista
and their software.

In the meantime, look at Event Viewer and see if there are clues.
Start Orb>Search Box>type:eventvwr.msc

If the only time the machine locks up (and a better description of what
happens than just "crashes" would be useful) is when you are running
LiveNote, that's where I'd start troubleshooting.

OTOH, if the machine is locking up randomly when you are running other
software, that would be a sign of hardware issues: overheating, bad RAM,
bad hard drive, other stuff.

Malke
--
MS-MVP
Elephant Boy Computers
www.elephantboycomputers.com
Don't Panic!

Check, "Problem Reports and Solutions" and "Reliability and Performance
Moniton" as Malke said check the event log.
Is this a desktop or laptop?

"Sandi" <Sandi@xxxxxx> wrote in message
news:E228436E-FB5E-415E-A6D5-414A7F49F90A@xxxxxx

"Sandi" <Sandi@xxxxxx> wrote in message
news:E228436E-FB5E-415E-A6D5-414A7F49F90A@xxxxxxThere should be a lot of text in the blue screen of death display. When I
suffered from repeated BSOD events I eventually captured this display with
my camera and found the very name of the driver that caused the event. The
display didn't stay on long enough to be read, and the identification of the
culprit was way down in the text.

EVENTVWR is of course also a source of information.

regards Sven

Malke,
Yes, I've talked to the LiveNote people in Palo Alto, the techies who
created the software and of course they say they are compatible. This has
only happened when I'm connected to other computers -- never ever happened
with XP. The problem is the lawyers are aggravated and upset and give me 5
mintues to get it up and running again. I think I've got some bad hardware
but can't take the chance that it isn't Vista either so I've got to purchase
a new laptop with XP Pro and this one is only 8 mths old
--
Sandi


"Malke" wrote:

Sandi wrote:
If you think you have bad hardware - and this is unlikely since you say the
problem only occurs when you're connected to other computers using LiveNote
- then either do hardware troubleshooting or contact the computer mftr.'s
tech support for repair.

The fact the problem didn't happen in XP is irrelevant since you were
running it on a different machine. Here are a few suggestions:

1. Borrow another Vista laptop (preferably a different make/model), install
the software, and see if the same issue happens. If it does, then you've
definitely determined that the problem is with the LiveNote program. If the
problem doesn't occur, then the problem is with your particular computer.

I have a client who is a court reporter but I'm unfamiliar with exactly how
the court reporting software works. If it is possible, try and do your
testing outside of court where you are not under pressure. If you know
other court reporters, talk to them about the software they use, the
operating systems they use, what problems/workarounds they have had, etc.

OR

2. Return the computer for one that is running Windows XP. You can still get
one from Dell (certain models have downgrade rights).

In many instances, running the operating system where your software works
(XP in this case) from a virtual machine using VMware or Virtual PC 2007 is
the answer, but I'm hesitant to suggest this in your case because you use
this USB-serial adapter. Virtualization has nothing to do with the real
hardware in your machine and I'm just not sure that this piece of equipment
will be picked up in a virtual machine running XP.

Malke
--
MS-MVP
Elephant Boy Computers
www.elephantboycomputers.com
Don't Panic!