Random Reboots; Minidump says kmixer

[Marla]

We purchased 8 identical XP workstations around August last year and deployed
them in September through November last year. Each machine is running
identical software. We had 2 reboots in September, one in November, and 2 in
February, on different machines. Then on June 12 we started having frequent
random reboots. They seem hardware rather than software related because the
machine doesn't log anything going down, only coming back up.

The two error messages we are getting are: Error code 8086 with all
parameters 0s or error code 100000d1 with parameters 28, 2, 0 and f7b51be7.
Each minidump always refers to kmixer.sys. We are only using on-board audio.

We have reseated the memory and cleaned the cpu heat sink. We have deployed
SP3 (seemed to make things worse, but still random) and then updated drivers
related to video and audio, although most were already the latest available.
We also updated the BIOS. The reboots continue. These are very critical
machines. We have had 13 reboots now in just over two months. Any ideas on
what we should try next?

 

[Stephen Harris]

We purchased 8 identical XP workstations around August last year and deployed
them in September through November last year. Each machine is running
identical software. We had 2 reboots in September, one in November, and 2 in
February, on different machines. Then on June 12 we started having frequent
random reboots. They seem hardware rather than software related because the
machine doesn't log anything going down, only coming back up.

The two error messages we are getting are: Error code 8086 with all
parameters 0s or error code 100000d1 with parameters 28, 2, 0 and f7b51be7.
Each minidump always refers to kmixer.sys. We are only using on-board audio.

We have reseated the memory and cleaned the cpu heat sink. We have deployed
SP3 (seemed to make things worse, but still random) and then updated drivers
related to video and audio, although most were already the latest available.
We also updated the BIOS. The reboots continue. These are very critical
machines. We have had 13 reboots now in just over two months. Any ideas on
what we should try next?

I googled kmixer.sys and found several recent references to malware.

I used the command prompt to see how many bytes kmixer.sys contained.
172,416 for Windows XP SP3. Use the command prompt to compare the sizes.
Type the following commands at the prompt and then <enter>
cd is short for change directory and dir is short for show directory.

C:\Documents and Settings\Username>cd C:\windows\system32\drivers enter

Then at C:\windows\system32\drivers>dir <enter>

There aren't that many files so you can scroll up to kmixer.sys
and see if the size of the files match up, mine and yours.

Also if you are use XP Home I don't know for sure if the size of
the kmixer.sys files are the same as on the Pro version. You could
check the file size of kmixer.pro on all 8 machines and compare them.
I don't think windows explorer reports file sizes in the exact standard.

 

[Stephen Harris]

We purchased 8 identical XP workstations around August last year and deployed
them in September through November last year. Each machine is running
identical software. We had 2 reboots in September, one in November, and 2 in
February, on different machines. Then on June 12 we started having frequent
random reboots. They seem hardware rather than software related because the
machine doesn't log anything going down, only coming back up.

The two error messages we are getting are: Error code 8086 with all
parameters 0s or error code 100000d1 with parameters 28, 2, 0 and f7b51be7.
Each minidump always refers to kmixer.sys. We are only using on-board audio.

We have reseated the memory and cleaned the cpu heat sink. We have deployed
SP3 (seemed to make things worse, but still random) and then updated drivers
related to video and audio, although most were already the latest available.
We also updated the BIOS. The reboots continue. These are very critical
machines. We have had 13 reboots now in just over two months. Any ideas on
what we should try next?

This may turn out to be useful:

http://www.microsoft.com/downloads/...A5-6A28-4888-93A7-6A6C6A87BE7F&displaylang=en

Overview
This is a reliability update for Windows XP machines. Install this audio
component update to prevent memory corruption issues which may cause an
unstable state on a computer that is running Windows XP Service Pack 2.
After you install this item, you may have to restart your computer.

Kmixer.sys 5.1.2600.2929 172,416 14-Jun-2006 08:50 x86 SP2 SP2QFE

Splitter.sys 5.1.2600.2929 6,272 14-Jun-2006 08:50 x86 SP2 SP2QFE

Wdmaud.sys 5.1.2600.2929 82,944 14-Jun-2006 09:17 x86 SP2 SP2QFE

 

[Marla]

Stephen:

Actually, 5 of the 8 XP Pro PCs are at SP2, and three have been upgraded to
SP3 in the process of troubleshooting this issue. The ones at SP3 are
rebooting more frequently than the others, although it is still random. The
three at SP3 match your file size, and the rest are all the appropriate file
size for SP2 (171,776).

 

[Marla]

Stephen:

This article is actually why we applied SP3 to the 3 PCs that were rebooting
most often. So we are at a revision of these files higher than shown in this
article.

Do you know if SP3 can be uninstalled? I've considered rolling it back and
just applying this patch.

 

[Plato]

We also updated the BIOS. The reboots continue. These are very critical
machines. We have had 13 reboots now in just over two months. Any ideas on

Which means you are using genuine Windows OS Software with proper
licenses

 

[George Yin]

Hello,

I would firstly suggest that you contact the device (audio device,
specifically) manufacturers to see if the device or device drivers can work
well with Windows XP, or if there are any known issues (or updates) on the
specific device or drivers. I saw that you had updated the driver, however,
I would still suggest that you contact the manufacturers for detailed
information.

Saying this is because, based on some research, I found this problem (error
code 100000d1 and kmixer.sys) might be caused by the incompatible device or
driver, or some driver problems (bugs), and usually could be resolved by
updating the driver.

If you are not sure about this, I would highly suggest that you contact our
Microsoft Customer Service and Support (CSS) to find out the root cause.
You can speak directly with a Microsoft Support Professional to analyze the
crash dump. For a complete list of Microsoft Product Support Services phone
numbers and information about support costs, please go to the following
address on the World Wide Web:

http://support.microsoft.com/directory/overview.asp

Additionally, if you want to remove Windows XP SP3, you can try the
following KB article:

How to remove Windows XP Service Pack 3 from your computer:
http://support.microsoft.com/kb/950249

Good luck.

Sincerely,
George Yin
Microsoft Online Support
Microsoft Global Technical Support Center

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[Marla]

Absolutely.
--
Laughter is the best medicine

Which means you are using genuine Windows OS Software with proper
licenses