XP locks up (hardware issue ?)

[Guest]

Hi,

I've been trying to resolve an issue for several months now where windows XP
Pro just locks up, no mouse response and eventually no keyboard either.
Occasionally it will throw an IRQL_NOT_LESS_THAN_OR_EQUAL,
KERNEL_STACK_INPAGE_ERROR, and last night it threw
PAGE_FAULT_IN_NON_PAGED_AREA. Chkdsk, & defrag lock up, including running
chkdsk from the recovery console (booted from XP CD) on all the partitions on
all three drives. The event log reported a problem with the boot disk
related to the PAGE_FAULT error.

I'll list out the specs of the machine and what I've tried so far below.

System is a home built dual P3-733 system.
MSI 694D Pro (v1) Motherboard (just ATA100 no RAID)
2 * P3 733 Processors
3 * 256MB PC133 Non ECC SDRam (768MB total)
1 * 20GB IBM Boot disk (ATA100 - Primary master)
2 * 120GB Western Digital Data disk (ATA100 - Secondary master and slave)
1 * LS120 floppy (Standard IDE - Primary master)
1 * Liteon DVD/RW (Standard IDE - Primary slave)
1 * GEForce FX5200 (the ASUS v9250 video suite model)
1 * Sound Blaster Live platinum with Live drive)
1 * PCI Card for USB2.0 and Firewire (inc 2.5" front bay).
1 * Enermax 350W P4 capable PSU.
1 * Extra case fan (All fans on all components are working).

The system has anti-virus, anti-spyware protection along with both hardwire
and software firewalls, and is completely patched, with updated signature
files. Running a full virus scan locks the machine but it does state
in-memory processes are virus free, and the anti-spyware comes up clean.

The drive partitions are
~20GB C: IBM 23% free (oldest disk - circa 2000),
~120GB D: WD master 56% free (newest disk),
~60GB F: & ~60GB G: WD slave ~20% each free

Bios is the latest version (needed to allow 120GB drives).

I've checked my machine specs against a PSU calculator and I think that I
have enough wattage to cope.

I've run the Windiag and Memtester-86 v3.2 and both give the memory a clean
bill of health.

I've run the manufacturers drive testers on each of the disks, along with
the Segate tester. All come back clean.

I've taken the system to pieces cleaned out the dust and reseated all the
cards, and done a visual inspection for bad capacitors on the motherboard but
didn't find any.

I originally had the swap file on the boot disk, but moved it to the D:
Drive but this hasn't helped.

Well that's the situation, I'm looking for any suggestions on how to
identify the problem, and fix it as cheaply as possible. I'm planning on
getting a new machine for gaming but I wanted to wait for Vista to come out,
and then I'd rebuild this machine as a home media server.

Thanks in advance

Kaitain

 

[Will Denny]

Hi

Please have a look at the following link to Jim Eshelman's web page for the
BSOD (stop) messages:

http://aumha.org/win5/kbestop.htm

--


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

 

[Gerry Cornell]

I suggest you Disable automatic restart on system failure. This should
help by allowing time to write down the STOP code properly. Right click
on the My Computer icon on the Desktop and select Properties, Advanced,
StartUp and Recovery, System Failure and uncheck box before
Automatically Restart.

Enable automatic restart on system failure after you have captured /
copied and pasted the message in a further post here.

There will also be Error Reports in Event Viewer. Please post copies.

You can access Event Viewer by selecting Start, Administrative Tools,
Event Viewer. When researching the meaning of the error, information
regarding Event ID, Source and Description are important.

HOW TO: View and Manage Event Logs in Event Viewer in Windows XP
http://support.microsoft.com/default.aspx?scid=kb;en-us;308427&Product=winxp

A tip for posting copies of Error Reports! Run Event Viewer and double
click on the error you want to copy. In the window, which appears is a
button resembling two pages. Double click the button and close Event
Viewer. Now start your message (email) and do a paste into the body of
the message. This will paste the info from the Event Viewer Error Report
complete with links into the message. Make sure this is the first paste
after exiting from Event Viewer.

--

Hope this helps.

Gerry
~~~~
FCA
Stourport, England

Enquire, plan and execute
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

 

[Guest]

Hi Gerry,

The BSODs are intermittent, with the main symptom being a frozen keyboard
and mouse. Sometimes I'll just hit reset, on other occasions I'll walk away
and wait for a BSOD.

The last BSOD error was PAGE_FAULT_IN_NON_PAGED_AREA
0x00000050 (0xDD001015, 0x00000000, 0x80592C90, 0x00000000)

however I can't look at the event viewer as accessing the error has locked
it up (event viewer not responding in the title bar). In fact the machine
has completely locked up. Note that I'm writing this on my work laptop. I'll
reboot the desktop into safe mode and have a look at the error log.

 

[Guest]

Well I've just had another BSOD, with the following details:-

0x0000008e (0xc0000005, 0xF551630B, 0xB96A9B88, 0x00000000)

ousbehci.sys - Address F551630B base at F5516000 Datestamp 40cf6246

It created a dump memory dump on the D: Drive (768Mb) but I'm not sure what
to do with it. Also the crash failed to write anything to the event log.
I've just done a search for the file and I think its a USB2 driver file and
its on the C: drive.

Regards

kaitain

 

[Guest]

Just another bit of the puzzle. I've just run the signature verifier on the
machine and its hung at 54% of the scanning files stage, and I've got a HDD
activity light which stays on for long periods and then goes off. Is it just
a failing boot disk and should I just bite the bullet and buy a replacement
and rebuild the system.

 

[Gerry Cornell]

I think you need to resolve the driver problem. It may resolve what appears
to be a hard drive problem.

ousbehci.sys is a driver from Via Technologies.

Are there any yellow question marks in Device Manager? Right click on
the My Computer icon on your Desktop and select Properties. Hardware,
Device Manager. If yes what is the Device Error code? It will also highlight
the actual device giving problem

Armed with this information ascertain the Via product and Model reference
using Everest. This freeware programme is excellent for getting information
about your computer:
Everest Home Edition (freeware)
http://www.majorgeeks.com/download4181.html

Tip: To copy select Report, Quick Report, Plain Text, highlight required
text, right click and select copy. However, whilst this is fine for
posting small amounts of information into newsgroup messages
longer reports will irritate other newsgroup subscribers.

It is then a matter of exploring the Via site to get the latest driver
http://www.viaarena.com/default.aspx?PageID=2&OSID=1&CatID=1200

This can be a frustrating process involving going up many cul de sacs.

--

Hope this helps.

Gerry
~~~~
FCA
Stourport, England

Enquire, plan and execute
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

 

[cquirke (MVP Windows shell/user)]

On Sun, 8 Jan 2006 20:02:11 -0000, "Gerry Cornell"

I think you need to resolve the driver problem. It may resolve what appears
to be a hard drive problem.

OTOH, HD bad-sector failures can create static failure patterns like
"always locks up when I do xxx", based on where the bad sectors are.
This can include a bad sector in a driver file, the MBR, or some file
that your verifier tried to check.

A bad driver may corrupt data if running Windows.

A bad HD can eat your whole installation at any time.

So given the risks, I'd hedge against the bad HD scenario first, even
if you think abad driver is more likely. BING imaging and (if unable
to boot Windows) Bart CDR-booted file recovery come to mind.

---------- ----- ---- --- -- - - - -

Don't pay malware vendors - boycott Sony

 

[Guest]

Hi,

Thanks for all the advice. I've done the deed an ordered a new 120GB disk,
and will start the rebuild when it arrives. I've also ordered an external
USB2/firewire caddy to allow me to recover anything useful off the old boot
disk. Hopefully I'll be able to start playing games again.

Regards

Kaitain