Details on BSOD

[Trevor]

I have been experiencing some unexpected BSOD's with a
stop error of Page Fault in Non Paged Area. Unlike the
Win NT 4 BSOD screen which shows a possible file or
application that is causing a problem there is no such
thing in the one on XP. I know there is a registry
setting that will give a more detailed view of the stop
error (I used it a year or so ago, but do not remember
what it was). If anybody knows what it is would you
please let me know. I have a feeling I know which file is
causing the problem and having a more detailed BSOD might
confirm it.

Thanks

Trevor

 

[dev]

Trevor said:

I have been experiencing some unexpected BSOD's with a
stop error of Page Fault in Non Paged Area. Unlike the
Win NT 4 BSOD screen which shows a possible file or
application that is causing a problem there is no such
thing in the one on XP. I know there is a registry
setting that will give a more detailed view of the stop
error (I used it a year or so ago, but do not remember
what it was). If anybody knows what it is would you
please let me know. I have a feeling I know which file is
causing the problem and having a more detailed BSOD might
confirm it.

Look in the MINIDUMP directory (folder), which can be located with
START|SEARCH.

Options for reporting are in Control Panel|SYSTEM|ADVANCED tab|Start Up &
Recovery

 

[The Unknown P]

You now use what is called the "Event Viewer". It is
located in your control panel in the administrative tools
and has three logs. One for applications one for security
and one for system. Opening each one will open it's log in
the right pane. There you will see red Xs. These are the
errors. Double clicking them will bring up a details
screen that gives you much more information and in the
case of the applications log may point to the application
and even the module that caused your issue. A good 90% of
BSOD's can be stopped by installing the latest drivers
from each manufacturers site of your equipment. This takes
a lot of time and effort as this involves mother boards,
sound cards, video cards, mouse, keyboard, modem, monitor
and so on. That's why XP stands for eXPeriance. Once you
accomplish this you will rarely ever see a BSOD unless you
are testing software or attempting some exotic registry
changes. Have fun.

 

[The Unknown P]

It's now known as the "event viewer" and is found in your
administrative tools in the control panel or under the
start button if you enable aministrative tools by right
clicking the start button then click properties\start menu
tab\customize button\advanced tab then scroll to the
bottom and you can put your admin tools in one of two
places. I use the "display on all programs and start menu"
selection. The event viewer contains three logs.
Applications,System,and Security. Double click on the
applications log to start and look for any red Xs in the
right panel. Double click them to open the details window.
This will not only tell you the application that caused
your problem but sometimes the very module as well. If you
have too many red Xs to figure out which one corresponds
to your BSOD then clear all events in all logs and then
start with an empty log and the next time you BSOD get up
and running and look at the event viewer to see what event
corresponds to the time you BSOD. 90% of BSOD's in XP are
caused by the failure to update the drivers from each
manufacturers site of your hardware. This includes mother
boards, sound cards, video cards, mouse, keyboard,
monitor, printer, camera and so on. The generic drivers
provided by Microsoft only allow minimal functionality and
when a piece of hardware calls for a higher function that
just isn't there then lockup and BSODs occur. Have fun.

 

[Guest]

No dice there. This thing bombs with no trace at all.
The only hint I got was from my antivirus program that
left a crash log. I will check the minidump to see if
anything shows up though, thanks for the tip.