BSOD after installing VMWare Workstation

peachy5860 · 16 Sep 2013

Hi,

My laptop is a HP 8470p Elitebook, Windows 7 32bit, 4GB ram, Windows Enterprise.

I recently installed VMWare workstation and all was well for a day or 2. Unfortunately I was had to force powering off (holding down power button) because my laptop was not responding whatsoever and ever since then I am facing BSOD no matter what I try.

There seems to be 3 different messages i get during the BSOD:

1. IRQL_NOT_LESS_OR_EQUAL
2. MEMORY_MANAGEMENT
3. The driver is mismanaging system PTEs

I have tried the following:

- Before installing VMWare Workstation i enabled virtualization in BIOS. I have disabled this.
- I've tried uninstalling VMWare workstation, i recieve an error ("MSI '' error") and am unable to uninstall.
- Removing RAM modules independently.
- Selective Startup

Out of the above, the only one that made a difference was selective startup. I disabled all startup items and restarted. It loaded the Windows boot animation and then went to a black screen with just the mouse cursor.

Since then it will no longer let me boot into safe mode, it just goes straight into a BSOD with the "mismanaging system PTEs" error.

Could someone please help, this is driving me nuts!

I should add that I'm not 100% sure it it VMWare Workstation that caused this, but that was the last thing i did before the BSODs.

Thanks in advance.

YoYo155 · 16 Sep 2013

Welcome :) .
If you're able to access your desktop, please follow
Blue Screen of Death (BSOD) Posting Instructions

If you're unable to follow the instructions rules, please report back.
What is the bugcheck code you're getting?

Follow this tutorial and select Disable Automatic Restart on System Failure that way it won't restart
right away and you can snap a picture of the BSOD.

Advanced Boot Options

Upload it here.

Screenshots and Files - Upload and Post in Seven Forums

peachy5860 · 16 Sep 2013

Hi,

Thanks for your reply.

Unfortunately i cant get to my desktop, even safe mode gets a BSOD now.

Attached is the a picture of the BSOD.

Thanks again.

peachy5860 · 17 Sep 2013

Is there anyone that can help?

YoYo155 · 18 Sep 2013

Hi sorry for the late reply, STOP 0x0000001A: MEMORY_MANAGEMENT.

Code:

Usual causes:  Device driver, memory

I suspect a faulty driver is set to load at startup seeing you can't access the windows environment.
Is it the same bugcheck (*** STOP:0x0000001A) every time?
At what stage of the boot does the bugcheck appear?
Is it predictable?

Try option two of this tutorial in order to set the registry back before it started to happen.
System Restore

peachy5860 · 20 Sep 2013

Hi, Sorry for my late reply also.

I tried your suggestion of Option 2 of the link you posted however i get another BSOD ("BAD_POOL_CALLER") when booting from my Windows CD, right after the Windows animation (after the "Windows is loading files" progress bar). The new BSOD is attached.

Its not the same bugcheck every time, its a combination of:

1. IRQL_NOT_LESS_OR_EQUAL
2. MEMORY_MANAGEMENT
3. The driver is mismanaging system PTEs

When starting Windows normally, it happens during the Windows animation. The animation suddenly stops half way through and the BSOD appears. More often than not when trying to start Window normally i get 0x0000007E (no plaint text message at the top, just these codes at the bottom).

I also just tried the Startup Repair option and i got "PAGE_FAULT_IN_NONPAGED_AREA".

Is there anything else i can try?

Thanks for your help, i appreciate it!

UPDATE:

I just tried Safe Mode again and it let me put in my Windows password but then i got a BSOD with "win32k.sys". Trying Safe Mode again results is a BSOD straight away

YoYo155 · 20 Sep 2013

Even though I still suspect a software/device driver is responsible, a good counter measure is to first backup any important data. Follow this tutorial to save any file which are important to you :: Emergency Kit - save your files from a dead OS :: (use a different PC to create the USB).

The way I see it is that there are several possible causes, I'll list them in descending
order from most likely to lesser but still an option worth investigating.

Something in Kernel being an infection of some sort or a driver (this includes corrupted files).
Bad DISK.
Bad RAM.
Bad SATA-Data cable.
Bad SATA-port.

The simplest way would be to backup everything and reinstall Windows to eliminate the most likely
of causes, is it something you'd consider?

A different approach I would take is a bit more cumbersome and requires some amount of technical
know-how, that would be booting into miniXP via a USB through the HBCD and loading the offline system
into Autoruns then deciding what should be disabled in-order to try and regain control of the OS
but seeing that safe-mode is resulting with a BSOD this approach is less likely to work in this case.

Look into a fresh reinstall:

Clean Reinstall - Factory OEM Windows 7

Testing the HDD:

Download SeaTools for Windows if you don't want to use a CD to test the HDD you can use YUMI – Multiboot USB Creator to create a bootable USB (instructions are found at the bottom of both pages).
If SeaTools for Windows is unable to recognize your HDD visit HDDdiag and follow the instructions.

Test the RAM:

koolkat77 said:

Test and Diagnose RAM Issues with Memtest86+:

RAM - Test with Memtest86+

Tip

Pay close attention to part 3 of the tutorial "If you have errors"
Test the RAM with Memtest86+ for at least 7-10 passes. It may take up to 22 passes to find problems. Make sure to run it once after the system has been on for a few hours and is warm, and then also run it again when the system has been off for a few hours and is cold.

Keep us posted :) .