physical memory dump etc

[Guest]

OK here we go... Every once in a while I get this blue screen of death except
that it is no normal blue screen. It is a physical memory dump and it says
that the computer is shutting down because if it didn't then it would be
damaged otherwise. The message after that says IRQL_NOT_LESS_OR_EQUAL. (Also,
sometimes the error messages are PAGE_FAULT_IN_NON_PAGED_AREA,
BAD_POOL_CALLER, or MEMORY_MANAGEMENT. The files associated with the errors
are Win32k.sys and Win:caseSpy[Trj]. I don't know what this means.) Then it
says something like "To prevent this from happening in the future, disable
caching and/or shadowing in BIOS", but I don't know how to do that. Finally,
at the bottom of the screen it says "Physical Memory Dump" and then a count
up to some number going about one number a second. I recently purchased this
2.8 Ghz computer, 512 RAM, and I bought a seperate video card. It is a
GeForce FX 5600 128 Mb (AGP 8x). This problem occurs randomly.
My computer always crashes when I try to run certain games. A couple of
minutes after I am into a game, the screen freezes, sometimes asking me to
send an error report.
Also, programs such as Mozilla Firefox and Internet Explorer close
randomly, asking me to send an error report to Microsoft. I originally
thought that these problems were being caused by SP2, and uninstalled it, but
the symptoms are still there. I don't know if the problems are linked, but
it's a new computer with up to date anti-virus protection, anti-malware
protection, and I keep everything updated, so I don't think that it's a virus
or worm or anything. I also have all the correct drivers for my video card.
Please send help before I put my head through my monitor.

 

[Will Denny]

Hi

You may have too many problems to solve!! Best way could be a 'Repair'
install of XP:

"How to Perform a Windows XP Repair Install"
http://michaelstevenstech.com/XPrepairinstall.htm

--


Will Denny
MS-MVP Windows Shell/User
Please reply to the News Groups

 

[Malke]

OK here we go... Every once in a while I get this blue screen of death
except that it is no normal blue screen. It is a physical memory dump
and it says that the computer is shutting down because if it didn't
then it would be damaged otherwise. The message after that says
IRQL_NOT_LESS_OR_EQUAL. (Also, sometimes the error messages are
PAGE_FAULT_IN_NON_PAGED_AREA, BAD_POOL_CALLER, or MEMORY_MANAGEMENT.
The files associated with the errors are Win32k.sys and
Win:caseSpy[Trj]. I don't know what this means.) Then it says
something like "To prevent this from happening in the future, disable
caching and/or shadowing in BIOS", but I don't know how to do that.
Finally, at the bottom of the screen it says "Physical Memory Dump"
and then a count up to some number going about one number a second. I
recently purchased this 2.8 Ghz computer, 512 RAM, and I bought a
seperate video card. It is a GeForce FX 5600 128 Mb (AGP 8x). This
problem occurs randomly. My computer always crashes when I try to run
certain games. A couple of minutes after I am into a game, the screen
freezes, sometimes asking me to send an error report. Also, programs
such as Mozilla Firefox and Internet Explorer close randomly, asking
me to send an error report to Microsoft. I originally thought that
these problems were being caused by SP2, and uninstalled it, but
the symptoms are still there. I don't know if the problems are
linked, but it's a new computer with up to date anti-virus protection,
anti-malware protection, and I keep everything updated, so I don't
think that it's a virus or worm or anything. I also have all the
correct drivers for my video card. Please send help before I put my
head through my monitor.

Wow. Next time use paragraphs, please. That was really hard to read. I
think you have hardware problems, not software problems. The random
lockups you are experiencing are symptomatic of failing hardware, and
it doesn't matter if the hardware is new. Here are general hardware
troubleshooting steps. Run through them:

1) Open the computer and run it open, cleaning out all dust bunnies and
observing all fans (overheating will cause system freezing). Obviously
you can't do this with a laptop, but you can hear if the fan is running
and feel if the laptop is getting too hot.

2) Test the RAM - I like Memtest86+ from www.memtest.org - let the test
run for an extended (like overnight) period of time - unless errors are
seen immediately.

3) Test the hard drive with a diagnostic utility from the mftr.

4) The power supply may be going bad or be inadequate for the devices
you have in the system - this isn't applicable to a laptop, of course.

5) Test the motherboard with something like TuffTest from
www.tufftest.com.

Testing hardware failures often involves swapping out suspected parts
with known-good parts. If you can't do the testing yourself and/or are
uncomfortable opening your computer, take the machine to a good local
computer repair shop (not a CompUSA or Best Buy type of store).

Malke