Windows 7: Seemingly Random BSOD (System Exception Error)

Hi,
I'm attempting to fix my father's computer but am in (slightly) over my head. I just restored it to the factory state, thinking that it was some sort of software conflict, but no dice. Any ideas?

There are several things that need fixing. All of them can be done be you. All of these crashes were related to a 3 year old video driver named igdkmd64.sys. Go to Intel and download the newest version available. Install it using this method.


When upgrading your graphic driver you MUST remove all traces of the current driver.

In order to do that we recommend using
Phyxion.net - Driver Sweeper

When it is removed then download and install the fresh copy.

Please remove the software Related to dtsoftbus01.sys Virtual Bus Driver from DT Soft Ltd

Dont bother updating the McAfee it is problematic. Follow JMH's suggestions to switch to MSE.

Other old drivers
How To Find Drivers:

Quote:

- search Google for the name of the driver
- compare the Google results with what's installed on your system to figure out which device/program it belongs to
- visit the web site of the manufacturer of the hardware/program to get the latest drivers (DON'T use Windows Update or the Update driver function of Device Manager).
- if there are difficulties in locating them, post back with questions and someone will try and help you locate the appropriate program.

- - The most common drivers are listed on this page: Driver Reference Driver Reference
- - Driver manufacturer links are on this page: Drivers and Downloads

After you have followed the considered advice of zigzag3143...

1. McAfee is a frequent cause of BSOD's.
I would remove and replace it with Microsoft Security Essentials AT LEAST TO TEST!

http://download.mcafee.com/products/...tches/MCPR.exe

Microsoft Security Essentials - Free Antivirus for Windows


2. Please run the System Update Readiness Tool (SURT) and then update to SP-1

32 Bit

Download: System Update Readiness Tool for Windows 7 (KB947821) [February 2012] - Microsoft Download Center - Download Details

64 Bit

Download: System Update Readiness Tool for Windows 7 for x64-based Systems (KB947821) [February 2012] - Microsoft Download Center - Download Details


Now update to SP-1

Learn how to install Windows 7 Service Pack 1 (SP1)


3. After you have followed the advice in our Posts above, & used the computer for some time, let us know how you go please...

Hello,

I thought I'd gotten things repaired - the machine was running for about six hours without incident. Then, I gave it back to my father and he said that it BSOD'd when he left it alone for about ten minutes (and he does nothing but use Office / play solitaire), and it BSOD'd again when I resumed working on it as I clicked to open the Start Menu. I uninstalled Mcafee and installed MSE. I installed SP1 and attempted to use Driver Sweeper (though I had difficulty with that - wasn't sure which driver(s) to remove)and then install newer Intel drivers. I figured it was best to go with the manufacturer's (Lenovo's) drivers, but theirs were last updated in 2010 - am I better off going with Intel's, or does it not matter?

Also, could the Netgear N150 Wireless USB I purchased a few months ago be contributing to the issues? The internetz suggested that other people are experiencing similar issues.

I didn't attach a Performance Monitor report because it gave me the following error when I ran it: 'An error occured while attempting to generate the report. The wait for the report generation tool to finish has timed out.'

I looked through some of the crash dump dealies with Windbg and the two most recent yielded 'Probably caused by : athurx.sys ( athurx+7558a )' and 'Probably caused by : ntkrnlmp.exe'. Didn't try the whole !analyze -v thing.

Thanks for your efforts!
-Brian

Most recent ones are Related to athur.sys CB42/CB43/MB42/MB43 Network Adapter from Atheros Communications, Inc.

Yours is 2+ years old. I would re-install newest available.