Intermittent ntoskrnl.exe+7c229 BSOD

usasma · 29 Apr 2012

Wedding was great! Reception ended at midnight and we had to leave for the airport at 3am. I'm exhausted - so take everything that I say with a grain of salt!

Run Seagate Seatools on ALL drives. Can't hurt - and it might reveal something.

Your VIA High Definition Audio Function Driver dates from 2009. Please update or uninstall and remove the device from the system.

Keep running Driver Verifier for at least 36 hours of operation.

Intel storage drivers date from 2010 - were those the most current at the Intel site?

Intel Management Engine Interface also dates from 2009. Please update it.

If not using the Microsoft Lifecam a lot, please uninstall it's software and remove the device from the system while we're testing. It's not that there's anything wrong with it (dates from Jan 2010) - it's just that the driver sticks out like a sore thumb, so I have to wonder about it.

Further info on BSOD error messages available at: http://www.carrona.org/bsodindx.html

The following info is just FYI, I've already addressed the issues that I saw in the above paragraphs
3RD PARTY DRIVERS PRESENT IN THE DUMP FILES

Code:


MpFilter.sys Fri Mar 09 06:05:26 2012 (4F59E3F6)
iaStor.sys   Tue Jun 08 13:33:03 2010 (4C0E7ECF)
iaStorV.sys  Thu Jun 10 20:46:19 2010 (4C11875B)
amdxata.sys  Fri Mar 19 12:18:18 2010 (4BA3A3CA)
ASACPI.sys   Wed Jul 15 23:31:29 2009 (4A5E9F11)
HECIx64.sys  Thu Sep 17 15:54:16 2009 (4AB293E8)
viahduaa.sys Tue Oct 20 23:30:30 2009 (4ADE8056)
nvlddmkm.sys Wed Feb 29 13:04:52 2012 (4F4E68C4)
Rt64win7.sys Fri Jun 10 02:33:15 2011 (4DF1BAAB)
nx6000.sys   Wed Jan 27 18:36:09 2010 (4B60CDE9)

Code:


Loading Dump File [C:\Users\FUBAR\_jcgriff2_\dbug\__Kernel__\042912-13384-01.dmp]
Built by: 7601.17790.amd64fre.win7sp1_gdr.120305-1505
Debug session time: Sun Apr 29 08:54:17.464 2012 (UTC - 4:00)
System Uptime: 0 days 0:17:25.339
Probably caused by : memory_corruption
DEFAULT_BUCKET_ID:  CODE_CORRUPTION
BUGCHECK_STR:  0x3B
PROCESS_NAME:  SearchProtocol
FAILURE_BUCKET_ID:  X64_MEMORY_CORRUPTION_ONE_BIT
Bugcheck code 0000003B
Arguments 00000000`c0000005 fffff880`015b2b9a fffff880`09c50760 00000000`00000000
BiosVersion = 0905   
BiosReleaseDate = 07/15/2010
CPUID:        "Intel(R) Core(TM) i3 CPU         540  @ 3.07GHz"
MaxSpeed:     3070
CurrentSpeed: 3066
¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨``

xandermac05 · 29 Apr 2012

Oh, jeez. Glad it was good though!

Yeah, those were the most recent drivers I could find. I've switched back to IDE mode anyway, though (I stopped getting the AHCI controller errors after updating the driver, but I did originally switch from IDE to AHCI before the BSODs started). The Intel Management Interface should've been removed when I installed the new driver set - it was replaced with Intel Rapid Storage Technology software, which does much the same job but much better. If it's still sitting there, it shouldn't be... I'll look into that.

You know what? Screw it, I'll try AHCI again for the sake of consistency.

I didn't manage to update the audio drivers; I had no idea which drivers to update them to. However, I've just found out which particular onboard sound chip my mobo uses so I'm installing the 2010 driver now.

By the way, I did run Seatools on every drive; I only have 2 installed now though. The third one was an extremely slow PATA drive which I figured was probably doing more damage (heat, case space) than it was worth. Also, not using it means I can switch off the IDE controller in the BIOS and avoid having to wait a few extra seconds on boot while the system looks for PATA drives.

Thanks for your continued patience and help on this.

EDIT: Right! I'm now up to a 2011 Intel AHCI driver (with RST), 2010 VIA audio, and 2011 Realtek ethernet (had to do rather a lot of hunting; found the right one listed for use with a different ASUS board). Driver Verifier is on. Let's see what happens now.

xandermac05 · 01 May 2012

... Aaaaaand there we go.

Was listening to music, got a BSOD which resulted in a very loud buzzing noise from speakers then powered off. It's happened like that a few times (though not every time).

See anything useful this time round?

usasma · 01 May 2012

Almost done with the 3rd party stuff! Once we finish ruling out 3rd party stuff - then we have to choose between troubleshooting hardware (more likely IMO) or Windows (less likely IMO).

So, here's what to do next:

You'll have to update the Intel Management Engine stuff - it's still dating from 2009. IMO it's not the same thing as the Rapid Storage Technology stuff and I frequently find it on systems that also have the Rapid Storage Technology stuff installed from the factory.

Are you running HotspotShield? If so, uninstall it immediately! There have been recent problems with it. It's taphss.sys driver dates from 2009 also. Driver Reference Table - taphss.sys
All other suspicions are off if this fixes things (it works at a low-level on the system, so it may resemble a hardware problem).

Fix those 2 and then we wait for the next BSOD
Is Driver Verifier still running (if so, this seems to me to indicate a hardware problem)
While waiting for another BSOD, please run Prime95 to see if it generates any errors. You can download it for free from the link here: Additional Hardware Diagnostics

Further info on BSOD error messages available at: http://www.carrona.org/bsodindx.html

The following info is just FYI, I've already addressed the issues that I saw in the above paragraphs
3RD PARTY DRIVERS PRESENT IN THE DUMP FILES

Code:


MpFilter.sys Fri Mar 09 06:05:26 2012 (4F59E3F6)
iaStor.sys   Mon Oct 17 18:54:08 2011 (4E9CB210)
amdxata.sys  Fri Mar 19 12:18:18 2010 (4BA3A3CA)
iaStorV.sys  Thu Jun 10 20:46:19 2010 (4C11875B)
HssDrv.sys   Thu Sep 02 13:46:48 2010 (4C7FE308)
ASACPI.sys   Wed Jul 15 23:31:29 2009 (4A5E9F11)
HECIx64.sys  Thu Sep 17 15:54:16 2009 (4AB293E8)
nx6000.sys   Wed Jan 27 18:36:09 2010 (4B60CDE9)
taphss.sys   Tue Sep 15 15:58:23 2009 (4AAFF1DF)
nvlddmkm.sys Wed Feb 29 13:04:52 2012 (4F4E68C4)
Rt64win7.sys Fri Jun 10 02:33:15 2011 (4DF1BAAB)
viahduaa.sys Wed Aug 04 03:51:53 2010 (4C591C19)

Code:


Loading Dump File [C:\Users\FUBAR\_jcgriff2_\dbug\__Kernel__\050112-15334-01.dmp]
Built by: 7601.17790.amd64fre.win7sp1_gdr.120305-1505
Debug session time: Tue May  1 07:53:26.375 2012 (UTC - 4:00)
System Uptime: 0 days 10:14:00.000
*** WARNING: Unable to verify timestamp for win32k.sys
*** ERROR: Module load completed but symbols could not be loaded for win32k.sys
Probably caused by : memory_corruption
BUGCHECK_STR:  0x109
DEFAULT_BUCKET_ID:  CODE_CORRUPTION
PROCESS_NAME:  System
FAILURE_BUCKET_ID:  X64_MEMORY_CORRUPTION_ONE_BIT
Bugcheck code 00000109
Arguments a3a039d8`9e2e67f2 b3b7465e`f0ac37f4 fffff800`0220099c 00000000`00000001
BiosVersion = 0905   
BiosReleaseDate = 07/15/2010
CPUID:        "Intel(R) Core(TM) i3 CPU         540  @ 3.07GHz"
MaxSpeed:     3070
CurrentSpeed: 3066
¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨``

xandermac05 · 01 May 2012

I turned off verifier after BSOD in accordance with the instructions on the page you linked at the start, but yes, it was still running 'til I did.

Hotspot Shield's gone now. The Matrix Storage Manager, on the other hand, is supposedly just an older version of the RST which hasn't fully uninstalled for some reason. See Intel RST 9.6 or Intel matrix storage manager?? Which driver or both? - AnandTech Forums for instance. The software was automatically removed by the RST installer, but the driver wasn't. I've uninstalled it now, so we'll see if that changes anything. Nothing crashed or anything when I removed it, anyway. EDIT: The system seems to be happy enough running the RST (iastor.sys driver + software) without Matrix Storage Manager driver (iastorV.sys), but devmgmt is now complaining that I don't have it installed. Reinstalling the RST just ignores it. Would you recommend disabling it or just reinstalling the outdated iastorV.sys? The reason that driver was dated 2009 is that there is no newer version - after that it became the RST, which seems to only use iastor.sys. A bit of Googling suggests that I might not be the only one seeing instability when both iastor and iastorV are installed, so perhaps that was my issue after all... but if that's the case, I'm not sure how to stop devmgmt moaning about the "PCI Simple Communications Controller" (the removed iastorV). I've disabled it for the time being.

Shall I start up verifier again then? Also, I already ran Prime95 and it found bugger all. You still want me to run it again?

Also: This might be nothing, I'm not sure... but I wonder if my case isn't entirely grounded properly. The main speaker socket in the back panel is flakey as hell in that rotating the jack in the socket sometimes makes the speakers crackle and cut out sequentially. Front panel's problem-free. If there was a grounding issue, I suppose that might explain crashes that are happening many hours after boot, since there'd be a lot of buildup by then. However, I don't see why there'd be an issue with grounding - unless I've just made some major rookie mistake with the build over a year ago and it's only now becoming an issue.

usasma · 01 May 2012

Matrix Storage Manager is the old version of Rapid Storage Technology
Management Engine is a different creature from that (and, IMO, a confusing one).

Here's the links to the download for the Management Engine for your chipset (double check just-in-case I screwed up): http://downloadcenter.intel.com/Deta...=%0ADrivers%0A I'm having difficulty extracting the files from the download - so I can't tell you if the HECIx64.sys driver is more recent or not (the package itself dates from05/24/2010). If it's not older, then it's a good idea (anyway) to remove it and install a fresh copy (in case of file corruption in the original).

Please see the description at the link above as it appears to address your errors with the PCI Simple Communications Controller:

Additional Notes

If the Intel® Management Engine (Intel ME) driver has not been successfully installed, you may see an error on a "PCI Simple Communications Controller" in Device Manager.

usasma · 01 May 2012

I've changed the above post a couple of times - and just noticed that you're here also. Please reread it.
Also, don't worry about Driver Verifier right now - I was just thinking aloud.
I suggested Prime95 to get a head start on hardware diagnostics (without having to use a boot disk for MemTest86+). We'll see what happens and will move on from there.

Good luck!

xandermac05 · 01 May 2012

Well, I have Memtest on a bootable USB drive if that's preferable to Prime95. Actually, I think I uninstalled Prime95, not that reinstallation is difficult or anything. Might I as well just use Memtest or is Prime95 preferable? Downloading the above driver now, thanks for that - it is rather confusing indeed. EDIT: Yeah, it's the same date as the old driver methinks (2009, anyway).

ANOTHER EDIT, FOR WHICH I APOLOGISE: Just thought it might be worth mentioning that Hotspot Shield definitely is NOT the cause of this - I only installed it yesterday to try something out.

usasma · 01 May 2012

MemTest86+ is better at detecting errors.
Prime95 is better at stressing RAM (which causes errors in defective RAM).
Run MemTest overnight.

Since Prime95 didn't find errors, then you'll want to run MemTest86+ for a long time to see if it spits out any errors.

xandermac05 · 01 May 2012

Will do, then. I just ran two passes last time (0 errors, though). Thanks again for the suggestions!