Bluescreen Help!!

[Mosquito Jon]

Hi

My Vista machine is suffering from repeated bluescreen crashes, caused by a
variety programs, but the usual running program is ntoskrnl.exe, although I
think it 's another driver which I haven't been able to identify causing the
problem. I've checked memory in memtest86 and all is ok. The PC can go a
couple of months without crashing and then I can get several crashes in a day.

Any help would be greatly appreciated.

Jon

 

[R. C. White]

Hi, Jon.

Well, ntoskrnl.exe is, as the name suggests, the NT Operating System
Kernel - in other words, the heart of the system.

Please post the exact text of the BSOD (Blue Screen of Death). Not the
whole screen; we've all seen the "boilerplate" paragraphs too many times.
But the Stop Code, including all the hex codes and the exact text name.

If your computer reboots when the BSOD appears, then you need to change the
default setting for what to do on System failure. It's easy to do, but
takes a lot of mouse-clicks to get there:
Start | Control Panel | System | Advanced System Settings (need
Administrator credentials to pass here | Advanced | Startup and Recovery /
Settings.

On this screen, clear the checkbox under System failure that says
Automatically restart. Next time the BSOD appears, your computer won't do
anything else until you press the hardware Reset button, so you'll have all
the time you need to read and copy those error codes. Paste them here,
verbatim, and somebody should be able to point you in the right direction.

RC
--
R. C. White, CPA
San Marcos, TX
(e-mail address removed)
Microsoft Windows MVP
Windows Live Mail 2009 (14.0.8089.0726) in Win7 Ultimate x64

 

[Mosquito Jon]

RC, thanks for your reply.

I have posted below the details of 6 of the crashes (there have been many
more) as reported from software "Whocrashed".

Regards
Jon

-----
30/08/2009 19:02:08
This was likely caused by the following module: ntoskrnl.exe
Bugcheck code: 0xC1 (0xFFFFF98010F28FD0, 0xFFFFF98010F28A3F, 0xFD4038, 0x32)
Error: SPECIAL_POOL_DETECTED_MEMORY_CORRUPTION
file path: C:\Windows\system32\ntoskrnl.exe
The crash took place in a standard Microsoft module. Likely the culprit is
another driver on your system which cannot be identified.

23/08/2009 20:08:03
This was likely caused by the following module: ntoskrnl.exe
Bugcheck code: 0xA (0x4E00000040, 0x2, 0x0, 0xFFFFF80001EF06F2)
Error: IRQL_NOT_LESS_OR_EQUAL
file path: C:\Windows\system32\ntoskrnl.exe
The crash took place in a standard Microsoft module. Likely the culprit is
another driver on your system which cannot be identified.

08/08/2009 17:12:30
This was likely caused by the following module: usbstor.sys
Bugcheck code: 0xD6 (0xFFFFF98011C07000, 0x1, 0xFFFFFA60035C8D30, 0x0)
Error: DRIVER_PAGE_FAULT_BEYOND_END_OF_ALLOCATION
file path: C:\Windows\system32\drivers\usbstor.sys
The crash took place in a standard Microsoft module. Likely the culprit is
another driver on your system which cannot be identified.

28/07/2009 22:02:34
This was likely caused by the following module: ntoskrnl.exe
Bugcheck code: 0x1A (0x8885, 0xFFFFFA80006F9480, 0xFFFFFA80006E9670, 0x500)
Error: MEMORY_MANAGEMENT
file path: C:\Windows\system32\ntoskrnl.exe
The crash took place in a standard Microsoft module. Likely the culprit is
another driver on your system which cannot be identified.

28/07/2009 08:58:39
This was likely caused by the following module: ntoskrnl.exe
Bugcheck code: 0xA (0x368391, 0x2, 0x1, 0xFFFFF80001ED9DBB)
Error: IRQL_NOT_LESS_OR_EQUAL
file path: C:\Windows\system32\ntoskrnl.exe
The crash took place in a standard Microsoft module. Likely the culprit is
another driver on your system which cannot be identified.

27/07/2009 23:00:20 your computer crashed
This was likely caused by the following module: ntoskrnl.exe
Bugcheck code: 0x4E (0x7, 0x25318, 0xFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFF, 0x0)
Error: PFN_LIST_CORRUPT
file path: C:\Windows\system32\ntoskrnl.exe
The crash took place in a standard Microsoft module. Likely the culprit is
another driver on your system which cannot be identified.

 

[R. C. White]

Hi, Jon.

Thanks for that additional detail.

As I feared, the Stop Codes are all different. As I said, ntoskrnl.exe is
the heart of the system, so many kinds of errors can refer to it. When we
get the same Stop Code (equals "Bugcheck code") each time, we can zero in on
the problem area pretty quickly. But when the Stop Codes vary, seemingly at
random, as yours have done, then we can almost certainly conclude that the
problem is in your hardware, not in the operating system at all. As the
final line in each of your instances says, "The crash took place in a
standard Microsoft module. Likely the culprit is another driver on your
system which cannot be identified."

Hardware errors can come from an almost unlimited number of sources. The
simplest causes are loose or defective cables or connectors. Some of the
most elusive problems can be caused by heat buildup or by RF interference
from other equipment in the computer's environment. Heat buildup can be
caused by something as simple as dust bunnies in the case and fans. Failing
power supplies can produce a variety of strange symptoms. Memory is a
suspect; you've said it passes Memtest86; so did mine, about a year ago, but
OCZ still replaced the newest pair of RAM sticks - which had performed fine
for about 6 months - and then my mysterious problems disappeared.

Hardware problems are almost impossible to diagnose online. Do you have a
dependable local computer shop that you would trust to examine your system?

You haven't told us anything about your hardware. It might not help us help
you, but then it might. You can see your computer; we can't. Can you tell
us make and model of the computer, or of the motherboard/chipset if you
built it yourself? How many hard drives? IDE, SATA or...? What other
peripherals: optical drives, USB devices, and on and on...

I hope you can get this worked out. I know how frustrating these things can
be.

RC
--
R. C. White, CPA
San Marcos, TX
(e-mail address removed)
Microsoft Windows MVP
Windows Live Mail 2009 (14.0.8089.0726) in Win7 Ultimate x64

 

[Mosquito Jon]

RC

Not very good news then .... as for my hardware, here is a report from
SiSoft Sandra - hope it helps you figure this out:

Many thanks
Jon

-----START-----
SiSoftware Sandra

Computer
Model : System manufacturer Rampage Formula
Workgroup : HOME NETWORK
Host Name : XXXXX
User : XXXXX

Processor
Model : Intel(R) Core(TM)2 Quad CPU Q9300 @ 2.50GHz
Speed : 2.5GHz
Cores per Processor : 4 Unit(s)
Threads per Core : 1 Unit(s)
Type : Quad-Core
Integrated Data Cache : 4x 32kB, Synchronous, Write-Thru, 8-way, 64 byte
line size
L2 On-board Cache : 2x 3MB, ECC, Synchronous, ATC, 12-way, 64 byte line
size, 2 threads sharing

Computer
Mainboard : Asus Rampage Formula
BIOS : American Megatrends Inc. 0403 04/24/2008
Bus(es) : ISA X-Bus PCI PCIe IMB USB FireWire/1394 i2c/SMBus
Multi-Processor (MP) Support : No
Multi-Processor Advanced PIC (APIC) : Yes
Total Memory : 4GB DIMM DDR2

Chipset
Model : ASUS X48 Processor to I/O Controller
Front Side Bus Speed : 4x 334MHz (1.34GHz)
Total Memory : 4GB DIMM DDR2
Memory Bus Speed : 2x 401MHz (802MHz)

Memory Module(s)
Memory Module : Crucial 2GB DIMM DDR2 PC2-8000U DDR2-1000 (5-5-5-18 3-23-6-3)
Memory Module : Crucial 2GB DIMM DDR2 PC2-8000U DDR2-1000 (5-5-5-18 3-23-6-3)

Video System
Video Adapter : ATI Radeon HD 3870 X2 (2x 320 SM4.1 851MHz, 2x 512MB DDR3
2x954MHz, PCIe 2.00 x16)

Storage Devices
WDC WD740ADFD-00NLR5 (74.4GB, SATA150, 3.5", 10000rpm, NCQ, 16MB Cache) :
69GB (C
WDC WD5000AAVS-00ZTB0 (500.1GB, SATA300, 3.5", 5400rpm, NCQ, 8MB Cache) :
466GB (D
SEAGATE ST3250823A (250GB, USB, 3.5", 5400rpm) : 233GB (H
OEI-USB CompactFlash (USB) : N/A (G
WDC WD2500BEVS-00UST0 (250GB, USB/SATA150, 2.5", 5400rpm, NCQ, 8MB Cache) :
233GB (I
ASUS DRW-2014L1 (ATA66, DVD+-RW, CD-RW, 2MB Cache) : N/A (E
ATAPI DVD A DH20A4P (ATA66, DVD+-RW, CD-RW, 2MB Cache) : N/A (F

Logical Storage Devices
Hard Disk (C : 69GB (NTFS) @ WDC WD740ADFD-00NLR5 (74.4GB, SATA150, 3.5",
10000rpm, NCQ, 16MB Cache)
Hard Disk (D : 466GB (NTFS) @ WDC WD5000AAVS-00ZTB0 (500.1GB, SATA300,
3.5", 5400rpm, NCQ, 8MB Cache)
Optical Drive (E : N/A @ ASUS DRW-2014L1 (ATA66, DVD+-RW, CD-RW, 2MB
Cache)
Optical Drive (F : N/A @ ATAPI DVD A DH20A4P (ATA66, DVD+-RW, CD-RW,
2MB Cache)
3.5" 1.44MB (A : N/A
LACIE (H : 233GB (FAT32) @ SEAGATE ST3250823A (250GB, USB, 3.5", 5400rpm)
Removable Drive (G : N/A @ OEI-USB CompactFlash (USB)
My Passport (I : 233GB (FAT32) @ WDC WD2500BEVS-00UST0 (250GB,
USB/SATA150, 2.5", 5400rpm, NCQ, 8MB Cache)

Peripherals
LPC Hub Controller 1 : ASUS (ICH9) LPC Interface Controller
LPC Legacy Controller 1 : Winbond W83627DHG
Audio Device : ASUS (ICH9) HD Audio Controller
Audio Codec : Analog Devices AD1988B Sound Chip
Audio Device : ASUS Radeon HD 3870 Audio device
Audio Codec : ATI (AMD) AA01h
Disk Controller : ASUS (ICH9) 4 port Serial ATA Storage Controller 1
Disk Controller : ASUS (ICH9) 2 port Serial ATA Storage Controller 2
Disk Controller : ASUS JMB368 IDE Controller
USB Controller 1 : ASUS (ICH9) USB Universal Host Controller
USB Controller 2 : ASUS (ICH9) USB Universal Host Controller
USB Controller 3 : ASUS (ICH9) USB Universal Host Controller
USB Controller 4 : ASUS (ICH9) USB2 Enhanced Host Controller
USB Controller 5 : ASUS (ICH9) USB Universal Host Controller
USB Controller 6 : ASUS (ICH9) USB Universal Host Controller
USB Controller 7 : ASUS (ICH9) USB Universal Host Controller
USB Controller 8 : ASUS (ICH9) USB2 Enhanced Host Controller
FireWire/1394 Controller 1 : ASUS VT6306 VIA Fire II IEEE-1394 OHCI Link
Layer Controller
SMBus/i2c Controller 1 : Intel 801xx/63xx SMBus

Printers and Faxes
Printer : Microsoft XPS Document Writer (600x600, Colour)
Printer : HP Photosmart C7100 series fax (200x200, Colour)
Printer : HP Photosmart C7100 series (1200x1200, Colour)
Fax : Microsoft Shared Fax Driver (200x200)

Scanners and Cameras
Digital Camera : OEI-USB CompactFlash (Digital Camera, USB)

Peripherals
Media Player : ()

Network Services
Network Adapter : Marvell Yukon 88E8056 PCI-E Gigabit Ethernet Controller
(Ethernet, 100Mbps)
Network Adapter : Marvell Yukon 88E8056 PCI-E Gigabit Ethernet Controller #2

Power Management
Mains (AC) Line Status : On-Line

Operating System
Windows System : Microsoft Windows Vista Ultimate 6.00.6002 (Service Pack 2)
Platform Compliance : x64

Windows Experience Index
Current System : 5.9

Performance Tips
Tip 2546 : Large memory modules should be ECC/Parity.
Tip 2 : Double-click tip or press Enter while a tip is selected for more
information about the tip.

----- END -----

 

[R. C. White]

Hi, Jon.

No, you don't understand. WE don't figure it out. We're here to HELP YOU
figure it out.

YOU can actually see your machine. All we can do is try to make sense of
what you tell us about it and suggest solutions for you to try.

With rare exceptions, nobody from Microsoft monitors these newsgroups.
We're all just users - like you - who volunteer many hours of our time to
try to help each other solve problems. But we are not paid to be Tech
Support for anybody.

I hope that somebody here (and "here" is - quite literally - all over the
world!) can get enough clues from your posts to point you in the right
direction so that you can figure it out.

I'm an accountant, fer gosh sakes, and long retired at that, not a techie of
any kind. But I hope that one of the true gurus here can help you figure
this out. About all I can say is what I've already said: With the varying
Stop Codes you are seeing, the problem is almost certainly in hardware, not
in Windows at all.

RC
--
R. C. White, CPA
San Marcos, TX
(e-mail address removed)
Microsoft Windows MVP
Windows Live Mail 2009 (14.0.8089.0726) in Win7 Ultimate x64

 

[Rick Rogers]

Hi,

Run the memory diagnostic, just type it into the start/search line and click
on it to begin. With a variety of blue screens such as you describe (they
indicate a combination of hardware and driver errors), the problem generally
stems from hardware. Most likely the memory is faulty or you have a power
supply issue, though it's possible that it can be the hard drive or
motherboard as well.

--
Best of Luck,

Rick Rogers, aka "Nutcase" - Microsoft MVP

Windows help - www.rickrogers.org
Vote for my shoe: http://rick-mvp.blogspot.com