Blue screen, memory dump

[Guest]

I have a 3 1/2 year old HP Pavilion. A few weeks ago I suddenly got a blue
screen with white type (like an old DOS screen) saying something like, If you
are seeing this message for the first time, reboot. If not - then there were
lengthy instructions I couldn't understand. At the bottom it said "memory
dump" with a countdown. I rebooted but then could not access any programs.

I took the computer to the Best Buy Geek Squad, where they installed more
memory, Service Pack 2, and replaced the video card. Everything was fine for
about six days, then tonight I got that same blue screen message! This time I
rebooted and so far everything is working.

I am not at all knowledgable about computer ops. I have been all over the XP
and HP sites and can find nothing about such a message. What on earth does it
mean! Is it serious! Any help would be appreciated.

 

[lvee]

well, the exact error message is needed in order to help. There are all
kinds of memory dump error messages, what you are looking for is the STOP
error, and/or code number.
It will look something like this
click on the link for an example,
http://www.microsoft.com/resources/...Windows/XP/all/reskit/en-us/prmd_stp_mncs.asp

The rest of the message is not really needed, just the stop numbers, like
0x.... and the Driver_IRQL_...or whatever is displayed.

What you have is called a blue screen error, or fatal exception error.

 

[Ron Martell]

I have a 3 1/2 year old HP Pavilion. A few weeks ago I suddenly got a blue
screen with white type (like an old DOS screen) saying something like, If you
are seeing this message for the first time, reboot. If not - then there were
lengthy instructions I couldn't understand. At the bottom it said "memory
dump" with a countdown. I rebooted but then could not access any programs.

I took the computer to the Best Buy Geek Squad, where they installed more
memory, Service Pack 2, and replaced the video card. Everything was fine for
about six days, then tonight I got that same blue screen message! This time I
rebooted and so far everything is working.

I am not at all knowledgable about computer ops. I have been all over the XP
and HP sites and can find nothing about such a message. What on earth does it
mean! Is it serious! Any help would be appreciated.

Next time the error happens make sure you write down the *all* of the
information on the error message window, especially the STOP code and
the 4 parameters that follow it and also any file or module names
listed with the STOP code.

Here is an example, from the Microsoft Knowledge Base, of the critical
content of a STOP error message:

Stop: 0x0000000A (parameter1, parameter2, parameter3, parameter4)
IRQL_NOT_LESS_OR_EQUAL*** Address <x> has base at <x> - <filename>

Post that information back here and we should be able to help you to
identify the underlying cause of the problem.

Good luck


Ron Martell Duncan B.C. Canada
--
Microsoft MVP
On-Line Help Computer Service
http://onlinehelp.bc.ca

In memory of a dear friend Alex Nichol MVP
http://aumha.org/alex.htm