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Windows 8 Stuck in Automatic Repair (amdsbs.sys corrupt)

Hello,

Basic PC Specs:
  • Windows 8 64-bit
  • 8GB of RAM
  • SSD OS Drive RAID 0 (80GBx2)
  • AMD Phenom II X6 1090T BE (OC to 3.8Ghz)
  • 2x MSI Radeon HD 6970 Lightning
  • MSI 990FXA - GD80 (Motherboard)

Over the past two days my FrankenPC (read: custom built) has been getting stuck in the Automatic Repair Loop. I took some time to read what other's have posted in the forums and none of them are related to my situation. First a little background on the issue.

The problem was first discovered after returning from a trip on Sunday May19th. The computer had been left on, with the Desktop app launched. There are some programs I have that run automatically in the background and they range from 3rd-party backup software (CrashPlan) to Anti-Virus (Webroot). The first time this has occurred, and I was able to use System Restore. A Windows Update had occurred (by the way I think this is where the issue lies) and I restored to before that point. Unfortunately this time, I only have the option of restoring to the latest backup which is yesterday at 2:00AM. As a side note: this is weird considering my backups are scheduled to run everyday at 6:00AM. But after doing some research I discovered that the timestamps are in GMT-8:00, my computer is set properly to my timezone which is EDT. I'm assuming Windows always maintains GMT-8:00 for logging? This evening around 7:30PM EDT, I had sent the computer for a reboot and then laid down for a nap.

Early this morning (May 22nd @ 1:30AM) EDT I arrived at my computer again to find it in the same state. After trying Automatic Repair again, it came back to same couldn't repair screen. Instead of restoring, I went and looked at the SrtTrail.txt file that is located on the Windows System Disk under \Windows\System32\LogFiles\Srt\SrtTrail.txt. I used the Command Prompt tool available, in which simple functions like notepad open up quite nicely to review the log and found this:

Root cause found:

Boot critical file G:\Windows\System32\drivers\amdsbs.sys is corrupt

If I can determine what was updated in the last Windows Update this might point to the issue at hand. This log is appended, so I do see the entry from when it occurred last time (May 20th). The only other thing that seems out of place for me, is that the Windows Systen Disk is on G:\ which I'm assuming is normal? I know C:\ is the default, which my working install matches. Perhaps this is the way the system drive is represented in this blue recovery mode?

My next steps involve simply trying to replace the amdsbs.sys file with a fresh copy. I should be able to access my backup drive and copy it over. If not, then I will do another restore, and investigate whether the Windows Update is updating that file or not.

I will report back my findings.

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Update 1:

I detached my Backup Drive from my computer and attempted to recover the file (amdsbs.sys); that was a failure. But I was able to recover the file through CrashPlan. I used my notebook to boot into Windows 7 (It's a MacBook Pro in case you are curious), then downloaded the file from my restore archive on CrashPlan. I replaced the file on the System Drive. Restarted.

No success.

Instead of the saying the file is corrupted in the SrtTrail.txt, it instead said it tried several times to discover the reason for the error, but was unable to determine it. These means two things. First the most obvious; system restore, like Obi Wan, might be my only hope. Second by replacing that file, I've correctly pinpointed the issue. As for a resolution, I'm still far from it...

I'm going to call it quits for now and return to it this evening. I'd rather attempt to restore it manually to fully understand the issue. The problem with my Windows Backup is that it lags behind changes for the day. And of course, I made changes that I'd like to persist. There are some other options like refreshing the PC, but I fear the options and settings portion might be too tedious to redo to my preferences.

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Update 2:

After restoring using the system image, I encountered the same issue. From what I can gather, the Windows Update is causing the issue. In that cause, I think I might submit a ticket to support to have them investigate. I cannot move forward and I will definitely be restoring until I find a good place that will work.

I will then disable Windows Update, and update all drivers manually. After which I will do the Windows Update and see if the machine will restart and boot properly.What is most frustrating about this, is I've narrowed it down to a system process. The workaround is not as easy as, uninstall software or something even more trivial.

What's the proper method for getting in touch with Microsoft for support for this type of issue?

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Hi, 

I have exactly the same issue. After a Windows update, the PC will not boot - and cannot recover. 

Investigating the SrtTrail.txt led me to your post. 

Do you know which Update is causing it? My list is about 15 updates long - but none of them standout as the culprit. 

I suspect one of these : 

KB2820330
KB2836988


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Hi, 

I have exactly the same issue. After a Windows update, the PC will not boot - and cannot recover. 

Investigating the SrtTrail.txt led me to your post. 

Do you know which Update is causing it? My list is about 15 updates long - but none of them standout as the culprit. 

I suspect one of these : 

KB2820330
KB2836988

Edit - not those 2. I just updated and deselected those. Same problem. Ill keep working through the list. 


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Same problem here. Like you, I was away on a trip, and came back on May 24th to find my computer inoperable. After a lot of investigation, I've got back to about the same stage as you - amdsbs.sys is supposedly corrupt, and replacing it still leaves Windows 8 attempting and failing to perform an automatic repair.

Unfortunately my only restore point, for some reason, appears to be from 20th May, and therefore after restoring Windows immediately attempts to configure updates during bootup, which throws the system back into a non-booting state.

Will be interested to hear any further progress you make.

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No further progress here sorry to note. 

Ive turned off automatic updates, so Im stuck in purgatory until I attempt 8.1

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No further progress here sorry to note. 

Ive turned off automatic updates, so Im stuck in purgatory until I attempt 8.1
Same here; I finally managed to get back into Windows, but trying to install KB2836988 results in the same error. I'm pretty sure that's the culprit.

Incidentally, to get back into Windows, I had to boot to a command prompt, then run the following command (E:\ being my Windows SSD, as listed by diskpart "list volume": 

dism.exe /image:E:\ /cleanup-image /revertpendingactions

After rebooting, Windows then detects a failed update, and reverts.

By the way, I'm booting from a Crucial M4 SSD - what models are each of you using?

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By the way, I'm booting from a Crucial M4 SSD - what models are each of you using?

I have a SanDisk SSD Im booting from. My motherboard is a Gigabyte GA-880GA-UDH3 

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Hello Everyone,

I haven't been able to test until this morning in which I ran into the issue again.

To catch-up, I haven't actually narrowed down which one it is, which I think is the best thing to do for now. Same issue, restarted after updates and then was exhibiting the same issue. I do have a couple of concerns:

  1. How does one submit issues like this to Microsoft for feedback. Other OS companies actually review their community support forums, and then have moderators escalate legit issues.
  2. In the event this is only isolated to our configurations, is there any risk to not installing this update.
As for SSD model and configuration, I am using RAID 0 on two Toshiba SSDs. I do have a Crucial M4, but it's not the primary drive... Still I don't believe we should rule that out, but I presume Windows not starting is only related to the %WinDir% disk (Toshiba for me). By the way this is not a Toshiba System, I got the disks off eBay off someone who believed they weren't working...lol.

I'm going to exclude KB2836988. Let's see what happens.

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Surely enough, I excluded that update (KB2836988) from Windows Update and had no issues. I'm going to create a restore point, and then hide that update for now. I will need to submit something to Microsoft, but once again, need to know what the process is.

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Last updated July 13, 2018 Views 2,688 Applies to: