Random barrage of BSODs - f4 and 7a


  1. Posts : 3
    Windows 7 Ultimate x64
       #1

    Random barrage of BSODs - f4 and 7a


    Hello all, I'm hoping someone is able to help me with my BSOD problems. They are attacking me randomly, sometimes (well most of the time) in lecture. Just now I had a BSOD in lecture, rebooted, and got another one immediately afterward...missing out on like five minutes of lecture (paper and pen time eh? :P )

    I am on a HP laptop - dv7 4060us

    Processor: AMD Phenom II N830 trip-core processor @ 2.1ghz
    RAM: 8GB Crucial RAM (upgraded from original 4GB)
    Hard drives: 500GB SATA drive & upgraded second hard drive - 60GB Patriot Pyro SSD (Micro Center - Patriot 60GB 2.5" SATA III 6Gb/s Pyro Solid State Drives (SSD) with SandForce 2281 Controller PP60GS25SSDR)
    Video graphics: nothing worth mentioning
    OS: Windows 7 Ultimate x64, downloaded from MSDN
    Purchase date: around summer 2010

    This has been happening for several months now...I'm ready to throw this laptop at the wall. My primary boot drive is the SSD, so everything rungs there. Programs are on my 500GB regular SATA drive.

    These blue screens occur by having the screen freeze up (mouse is the spinning icon). Mouse is movable, but nothing is openable. Ctrl+alt+del does nothing, opening programs do nothing, everything is frozen on screen. I use caps lock to check if the laptop is still (somewhat) responsive ... the mouse continues to move and the caps lock LED goes on and off as I press it. At some point, it stops moving/LED turning on and off, and it hits the blue screen.

    Sometimes it recovers (very rare), but the screen will lock up and close to 30 seconds later, it recovers and carries out everything I clicked.

    I tried running memtest and it looked good...but this is also an HP laptop so cooling on this sucks s--t and my laptop becomes a bunsen burner. But before it killed itself, there were no errors...
    But yeah I'm confused. If someone could help me out I'd greatly appreciate it!!

    Edit - just got another one in lecture...smh.
    Last edited by squaredrooted; 18 Apr 2012 at 13:18.
      My Computer


  2. Posts : 28,845
    Win 8 Release candidate 8400
       #2


    These crashes were caused by memory corruption/exception (Cx05) probably a driver.
    Please run these two tests to verify your memory and find which driver is causing the problem.


    * If you are overclocking anything reset to default before running these tests.
    In other words STOP!!!

    * If you have a Raid update its Driver.




    Memtest.
    *Download a copy of Memtest86 and burn the ISO to a CD using Iso Recorder or another ISO burning program. Memtest86+ - Advanced Memory Diagnostic Tool

    *Boot from the CD, and leave it running for at least 5-7 passes.

    Just remember, any time Memtest reports errors, it can be either bad RAM or a bad motherboard slot.

    Test the sticks individually, and if you find a good one, test it in all slots.

    Any errors are indicative of a memory problem.

    If a known good stick fails in a motherboard slot it is probably the slot.


    RAM - Test with Memtest86+






    Driver Verifer

    Using Driver Verifier is an iffy proposition.
    Most times it'll crash and it'll tell you what the driver is.
    But sometimes it'll crash and won't tell you the driver.
    Other times it'll crash before you can log in to Windows.
    If you can't get to Safe Mode, then you'll have to resort to offline editing of the registry to disable Driver Verifier.

    I'd suggest that you first backup your stuff and then make sure you've got access to another computer so you can contact us if problems arise.
    Then make a System Restore point (so you can restore the system using the Vista/Win7 Startup Repair feature).

    In Windows 7 you can make a Startup Repair disk by going to Start....All Programs...Maintenance...Create a System Repair Disc - with Windows Vista you'll have to use your installation disk or the "Repair your computer" option at the top of the Safe Mode menu .

    Then, here's the procedure:
    - Go to Start and type in "verifier" (without the quotes) and press Enter
    - Select "Create custom settings (for code developers)" and click "Next"
    - Select "Select individual settings from a full list" and click "Next"
    - Select everything EXCEPT FOR "Low Resource Simulation" and click "Next"
    NOTE: You can use Low Resource Simulation if you'd like.
    From my limited experimentation it makes the BSOD's come faster.
    - Select "Select driver names from a list" and click "Next"
    Then select all drivers NOT provided by Microsoft and click "Next"
    - Select "Finish" on the next page.

    If you are using win 8 add these

    - Concurrency Stress Test
    - DDI compliance checking

    Reboot the system and wait for it to crash to the Blue Screen.
    Continue to use your system normally, and if you know what causes the crash, do that repeatedly.
    The objective here is to get the system to crash because Driver Verifier is stressing the drivers out.
    If it doesn't crash for you, then let it run for at least 36 hours of continuous operation (an estimate on my part).

    Reboot into Windows (after the crash) and turn off Driver Verifier by going back in and selecting "Delete existing settings" on the first page, then locate and zip up the memory dump file and upload it with your next post.


    If you can't get into Windows because it crashes too soon, try it in Safe Mode.
    If you can't get into Safe Mode, try using System Restore from your installation DVD to set the system back to the previous restore point that you created.

    Thanks to JGriff2 & Usasma.
    Using Driver Verifier to identify issues with Windows drivers for advanced users

    Driver Verifier

    Using Driver Verifier (Windows Drivers)
      My Computer


  3. Posts : 3
    Windows 7 Ultimate x64
    Thread Starter
       #3

    zigzag3143 said:

    These crashes were caused by memory corruption/exception (Cx05) probably a driver.
    Please run these two tests to verify your memory and find which driver is causing the problem.


    * If you are overclocking anything reset to default before running these tests.
    In other words STOP!!!

    * If you have a Raid update its Driver.




    Memtest.
    *Download a copy of Memtest86 and burn the ISO to a CD using Iso Recorder or another ISO burning program. Memtest86+ - Advanced Memory Diagnostic Tool

    *Boot from the CD, and leave it running for at least 5-7 passes.

    Just remember, any time Memtest reports errors, it can be either bad RAM or a bad motherboard slot.

    Test the sticks individually, and if you find a good one, test it in all slots.

    Any errors are indicative of a memory problem.

    If a known good stick fails in a motherboard slot it is probably the slot.


    RAM - Test with Memtest86+






    Driver Verifer

    Using Driver Verifier is an iffy proposition.
    Most times it'll crash and it'll tell you what the driver is.
    But sometimes it'll crash and won't tell you the driver.
    Other times it'll crash before you can log in to Windows.
    If you can't get to Safe Mode, then you'll have to resort to offline editing of the registry to disable Driver Verifier.

    I'd suggest that you first backup your stuff and then make sure you've got access to another computer so you can contact us if problems arise.
    Then make a System Restore point (so you can restore the system using the Vista/Win7 Startup Repair feature).

    In Windows 7 you can make a Startup Repair disk by going to Start....All Programs...Maintenance...Create a System Repair Disc - with Windows Vista you'll have to use your installation disk or the "Repair your computer" option at the top of the Safe Mode menu .

    Then, here's the procedure:
    - Go to Start and type in "verifier" (without the quotes) and press Enter
    - Select "Create custom settings (for code developers)" and click "Next"
    - Select "Select individual settings from a full list" and click "Next"
    - Select everything EXCEPT FOR "Low Resource Simulation" and click "Next"
    NOTE: You can use Low Resource Simulation if you'd like.
    From my limited experimentation it makes the BSOD's come faster.
    - Select "Select driver names from a list" and click "Next"
    Then select all drivers NOT provided by Microsoft and click "Next"
    - Select "Finish" on the next page.

    If you are using win 8 add these

    - Concurrency Stress Test
    - DDI compliance checking

    Reboot the system and wait for it to crash to the Blue Screen.
    Continue to use your system normally, and if you know what causes the crash, do that repeatedly.
    The objective here is to get the system to crash because Driver Verifier is stressing the drivers out.
    If it doesn't crash for you, then let it run for at least 36 hours of continuous operation (an estimate on my part).

    Reboot into Windows (after the crash) and turn off Driver Verifier by going back in and selecting "Delete existing settings" on the first page, then locate and zip up the memory dump file and upload it with your next post.


    If you can't get into Windows because it crashes too soon, try it in Safe Mode.
    If you can't get into Safe Mode, try using System Restore from your installation DVD to set the system back to the previous restore point that you created.

    Thanks to JGriff2 & Usasma.
    Using Driver Verifier to identify issues with Windows drivers for advanced users

    Driver Verifier

    Using Driver Verifier (Windows Drivers)
    Thanks for your help man. I appreciate it.
    I mentioned it earlier in my first post (and realize it was probably hidden somewhere), but I have already tried memtest.

    HP laptops are not the best for cooling...I have tried and don't see any errors, but ultimately the laptop shuts off because the heat has reached such high levels.

    I will try the driver tool, though. Thanks! Didn't know about that. I'll post back with how it turns out :)
      My Computer


  4. Posts : 28,845
    Win 8 Release candidate 8400
       #4

    squaredrooted said:
    zigzag3143 said:

    These crashes were caused by memory corruption/exception (Cx05) probably a driver.
    Please run these two tests to verify your memory and find which driver is causing the problem.


    * If you are overclocking anything reset to default before running these tests.
    In other words STOP!!!

    * If you have a Raid update its Driver.




    Memtest.
    *Download a copy of Memtest86 and burn the ISO to a CD using Iso Recorder or another ISO burning program. Memtest86+ - Advanced Memory Diagnostic Tool

    *Boot from the CD, and leave it running for at least 5-7 passes.

    Just remember, any time Memtest reports errors, it can be either bad RAM or a bad motherboard slot.

    Test the sticks individually, and if you find a good one, test it in all slots.

    Any errors are indicative of a memory problem.

    If a known good stick fails in a motherboard slot it is probably the slot.


    RAM - Test with Memtest86+






    Driver Verifer

    Using Driver Verifier is an iffy proposition.
    Most times it'll crash and it'll tell you what the driver is.
    But sometimes it'll crash and won't tell you the driver.
    Other times it'll crash before you can log in to Windows.
    If you can't get to Safe Mode, then you'll have to resort to offline editing of the registry to disable Driver Verifier.

    I'd suggest that you first backup your stuff and then make sure you've got access to another computer so you can contact us if problems arise.
    Then make a System Restore point (so you can restore the system using the Vista/Win7 Startup Repair feature).

    In Windows 7 you can make a Startup Repair disk by going to Start....All Programs...Maintenance...Create a System Repair Disc - with Windows Vista you'll have to use your installation disk or the "Repair your computer" option at the top of the Safe Mode menu .

    Then, here's the procedure:
    - Go to Start and type in "verifier" (without the quotes) and press Enter
    - Select "Create custom settings (for code developers)" and click "Next"
    - Select "Select individual settings from a full list" and click "Next"
    - Select everything EXCEPT FOR "Low Resource Simulation" and click "Next"
    NOTE: You can use Low Resource Simulation if you'd like.
    From my limited experimentation it makes the BSOD's come faster.
    - Select "Select driver names from a list" and click "Next"
    Then select all drivers NOT provided by Microsoft and click "Next"
    - Select "Finish" on the next page.

    If you are using win 8 add these

    - Concurrency Stress Test
    - DDI compliance checking

    Reboot the system and wait for it to crash to the Blue Screen.
    Continue to use your system normally, and if you know what causes the crash, do that repeatedly.
    The objective here is to get the system to crash because Driver Verifier is stressing the drivers out.
    If it doesn't crash for you, then let it run for at least 36 hours of continuous operation (an estimate on my part).

    Reboot into Windows (after the crash) and turn off Driver Verifier by going back in and selecting "Delete existing settings" on the first page, then locate and zip up the memory dump file and upload it with your next post.


    If you can't get into Windows because it crashes too soon, try it in Safe Mode.
    If you can't get into Safe Mode, try using System Restore from your installation DVD to set the system back to the previous restore point that you created.

    Thanks to JGriff2 & Usasma.
    Using Driver Verifier to identify issues with Windows drivers for advanced users

    Driver Verifier

    Using Driver Verifier (Windows Drivers)
    Thanks for your help man. I appreciate it.
    I mentioned it earlier in my first post (and realize it was probably hidden somewhere), but I have already tried memtest.

    HP laptops are not the best for cooling...I have tried and don't see any errors, but ultimately the laptop shuts off because the heat has reached such high levels.

    I will try the driver tool, though. Thanks! Didn't know about that. I'll post back with how it turns out :)
    I know about HP (Have a dv-7) and heat. My solution was a cooling pad that dropped the temps by 25F. Pm me if you want specs.
      My Computer


  5. Posts : 3
    Windows 7 Ultimate x64
    Thread Starter
       #5

    Just wanted to report back. I basically figured the memory to be bad or something. Before doing anything, I took my newly added SSD and upgraded RAM sticks out and re-plugged them in. Switched the slots the RAM sticks were in and secured the SATA cable for my drive. Been keeping it on for close to 6 hours now and no problems. When I first experienced these issues, leaving it on and not touching it would result randomly in BSODs too. I dunno if the problem is solved, but I will try using it in class tomorrow. If it dies again, I will post back and try the above solutions. Cheers~
      My Computer


 

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