FIX 'THREAD STUCK IN DEVICE DRIVER' error for Windows 8/8.1/10

I am a proud owner of a Dell Inspiron 15R 7520 SE laptop with a superb performance.

However a villain attacked the paradise when, to remove the annoying 'Please update to Windows 8.1 for free' notifications that begged sadly to me, I updated to Windows 8.1. It took around an hour and a half before laptop was fully back online! But it wasn't the same as before, it was crippled, limping, slow, sluggish and worse than a 2004 Pentium4 PC.


 ERRORS:

1) Boot time went from around 1 minute to a maximum of 7 minutes.

2) Unable to recover laptop from sleep mode. When I pressed power key to revive it, it used to RESTART. Very annoying!

3) Blue Screen appeared every time I Shut down and booted up again..something like this one.
And it showed 'THREAD STUCK IN DEVICE DRIVER'

4) ATI Technologies (AMD Graphics card) not working properly message in Notification centre.

So I searched online and found that many other Dell Inspiron brothers had the same problem.

SOLUTION:

I searched for that Thread Stuck in Device driver error. It means that the Graphics card is getting confused on start-up and goes in infinite loop. That causes blue screen.

The problem is the latest 'Intel HD Graphics 4000' Driver updated on 30th September was clashing with my AMD Raedon HD 7730 Graphics driver.

So reinstall the Intel HD Graphics 4000 driver and reinstall the AMD Readon HD 7730 Graphics card driver after that. You will have to download them from Dell website.

Note:
- DO NOT uninstall any graphics driver...you may lose your display. (It'll be working but no driver to interface with Windows).
- Video driver updating takes patience and calm! Don't hurry!

Step 1: Service Tag

--> Go to support.dell.com
--> Type in your 'Service Tag' (Its under your laptop...if it isn't then dell can detect automatically too so don't worry if you cannot find)

Step 2: Download Drivers

--> Got to the 'Drivers and Downloads' tab and select the 'Video' drivers.
--> You will see that your current Intel HD Graphics 4000 Driver is a newer version of the one listed there by Dell. That is causing this problem in the first place.
--> Download them. (around 300 MB+ so it takes time)

Here are the links:

Intel HD Graphics 4000 driver for Windows 8.1/10 x64

AMD Raedon HD 7670M/7730M Graphics Driver for Windows 8.1/10 x64

Note: These are links to latest drivers present on Dell Support website as of 6th Nov 2014. Dell may update them so better visit website and check instead of downloading from link

Step 3: Install Intel HD Graphics drivers

--> First execute the Intel HD Graphics exe file and it will tell you 'Newer version of driver already installed'. Ignore this message and install anyway. Your screen may flash (turn ON and OFF at times) so don't worry and be patient. Restart your laptop.

Step 4: Install Graphic card drivers

--> Next execute AMD Graphics driver file and install it. (This takes around 5-10 minutes so be patient). Screen flashes (turns ON and OFF) but don't worry. Restart after installation complete!

Step 5: Disable automatic driver updates

For Windows 8.1, Press Windows + x ---> Select Control Panel ---> Go into Windows Update ---> Be sure you have the 'Intel HD Graphics chipset driver' update unchecked whenever you install updates and go into Update Settings and select 'Download updates but let me choose when to install them'.

For Windows 10, follow this link - Disable driver updates on Windows 10 -> How-To Geek
(Special shout-out to How-To Geek as they are my favorite website for almost anything related to software debugging)

Enjoy your Windows 8.1/10 original performance! You will see it has improved a lot over Windows 8! Cheers!

EDIT: I have edited this old but famous post on my blog and tailored it to Windows 10 too as many people faced this problem after upgrading to Windows 10.

Nokia C7 disassembling

Back in August 2011 my sister had a Nokia C7 whose touchpad was damaged and thus replaced..but the technician did not remove the plastic protector on the touchpad and assembled the phone. Thus it looked very bad with the protector sandwiched between the screen and touchpad. So to prevent further charges and waste of time I decided to do it myself.

I found this Tutorial on YouTube for disassembling a Nokia C7 (thanks a lot LE55ONS) and thankfully I had all the tools mentioned.

Scariest part was removing separating the base plate housing the 3 buttons with a plastic knife as there was danger of breaking the joints. But I managed it successfully. My Dad was more scared than I was as a C7 costed upto Rs.17,000 back then. It was a risk that paid off and was totally worth the experience!

Note: I did this only because laptop was out of warranty. Doing so may void your warranty if dealer comes to know. If you are confident...go ahead! :)

Here are some photos and steps

1)First remove the base and unscrew the screen (careful not to pull at connecting bus wire).  

2) Remove the plastic protector.

3) Clean the touchpad thoroughly with KleenSafe ScratchGard liquid and a soft cloth.

4) Assemble the phone.

5) Make a memory! :)

Cut your SIM card to MicroSIM yourself

At times Vodafone or AirTel galleries may charge ₹50 to ₹100 for cutting your SIM card...cut it yourself instead! I have cut 5 cards for family and friends including myself and ALL SUCCESSFULLY! So you see how easy this is with little skill.

Prerequisites :
Patience and calm! :)
Download MicroSIM template and print 1:1 scale on A4 size paper
Pair of scissors.
Cellophane tape or double sticky tape.
Ball pen (for drawing fine lines).
Ruler (as thin and sturdy as possible).

Steps :

1) Note down this number and keep it safe in your device or anywhere.

2) Download and print 1:1 scale this PDF file which acts as a template for marking cutting lines.

3) Fold a single sided tape as shown to make 2 sided and paste on template. Or use a thin double sticky tape.

4) Carefully place the SIM card on the template ensuring it perfectly fits and is centered. Perfection is important!

5) Now look perpendicularly from above to avoid Parallax Error and draw the perfect line. Parallax error will cause the line to be displaced from the required line.

6) Now with a steady and single stroke cut along the line looking closely where you cut.
If you cut outside the border its okay but do not cut too much inside border to render the card useless. (Even if you do its okay...take this as an experience and there is a solution to that below). Small error is okay. Some cards may have the circuit too close to the line. Its okay if you have to cut along the yellow part as the manufacturer knows it will be cut during MicroSIM cutting.

7) Now check if it goes inside the slot properly and make fine adjustments if it doesn't. The happiness when you hear that perfect 'click' is priceless! :)

Solution if you commit too much of an error :
Cut the SIM to NanoSIM and use a MicroSIM Adapter!! :)

Adapters :
If you want to revert to normal SIM you can buy Griffin Adapters like this one available for less than ₹50. Dont buy online as they sell it for upto ₹100 with shipping.

USB Cable and Headphone care

I have always seen people being very careless about taking MicroUSB cable and Headphones! What eventually happens is that they end up reducing its life as it is not built to take on a beating and tight knots getting tossed around in your bags. Do buy a small plastic box and then then toss it anywhere you want...it will be safe! Plus you can also add a 'spring support' as I have described below.

Safe way to keep headphones:

Avoid keeping things with a magnetic field or powerful magnets near headphones.

Safe way to keep USB cable:

If the cable is bent and tied as it arrives in the box (some people say, "Always keep as it arrives in box" which may be a wrong notion) then after some days you will notice cracks in the rubber. Keep it curled instead.

Spring support

Hook one end of the spring to the cable and go on rotating it clockwise until it is completely curled around the wire...we now have added strength and rigidity to the joint...so it will be safe from tight bends.

Tutorial for curling the spring

Don't try to covert original Nokia MicroUSB cable to OTG

I recently searched around for a cheaper option to the pocket burning MicroUSB OTG cables available on the market. I ended up on YouTube searching how to solder one myself. I found the tutorial which asked to short the pins 4 and 5 on the uUSB module for OTG recognition on devices.

I started the process. The only mistake? I chose an old 2010 Nokia MicroUSB cable that came with my old Nokia phone to operate on. I cut open the sheath to find a steel encasing, opened it to find yet another casted rubber case and when I cut open that there was no circuit inside for me to be able to jump that pin 4 and 5 connection! 

Just ended up wasting a good MicroUSB cable. So to all my fellow geeks out there...please don't waste your Nokia cable for OTG making. :) 

Also don't try to rip up a Samsung cable either! Its MicroUSB module doesn't have the pin 4 at all! Check out the inside from the front. There is no metal connector in slot 4.