BSOD 6.1.7601.2.1.0.768.3 locale id 2057

After years of stable operation, I've had several BSODs in the space of a few days. The code is:-

6.1.7601.2.1.0.768.3 locale id 2057

There does not seem to be a pattern - the first one occurred when I wasn't even touching the computer and (I think) the only application running at the time was IE11. Subsequent crashes have occurred while I was using it, but I wasn't doing the same thing each time.

The only warning of trouble was that for a week or two - with increasing frequency - IE kept telling me it had to close and reopen (though it seemed to give the message without actually doing so).

I've not installed any hardware or new drivers recently (other than to uninstall/reinstall my printer driver because there seemed to be a problem with it AFTER the first crash).

I believe I'm current in regard to updates.

I've run a full scan (McAfee) and it came up clean.

I've discovered that several of (but not all) the JPG files in one particular folder have become corrupted. I have run CHKDSK on all my drives (and run it again with the "Scan for and attempt recovery.." option ticked on the drive containing the JPG files) and it reported nothing unusual.

After some Google research I found a thread suggesting this BSOD code can be caused by overclocking (not the case here, and I haven't touched the BIOS in years) or by failed/clogged fans causing overheating. They looked pretty clean, but I have brushed them out and watched them spinning with the side off the case so I don't think that is the problem.

Ideas? Thank you.

Thanks Chris2005.

I'll do that - hopefully tonight - and post results.

I can confirm that I increased the amount of RAM in the PC maybe two years ago (possibly more, I really can't remember now but it wasn't recently) and it hasn't been touched since, so if that is the problem then it is either due to the memory failing or could it be an issue with the contacts needing cleaning?

Anyway, let's do the test first and see what it finds.

Thanks again.

Hi again Chris 2005,

It looks like you hit the jackpot first try - I waited until now that I'd finished for the day on the advice that the test software should run all night to try to find an error. No criticism of the advice, but I didn't need to, it racked up thousands of errors in the first minute!!!

I've not moved onto the next stage (removing banks of memory to try to home in on the defective one) but it looks like some of my RAM is thoroughly kaput.

Based on your experience, is it 'buy new' time or could it be dirty contacts do you think?

I finally got the chance to get back at the computer his morning. I took out the four RAM boards, cleaned the contacts and put each back one at a time. I ran Memtest for a couple of minutes on each board. The first three found nothing, the fourth showed errors immediately.

I already guessed that it would - that board had caught my eye while I was cleaning it. It has a 'shadow' (maybe 1/2" wide) across it on a diagonal near the middle. That looked suspicious. That slot is very close to the CPU cooling fins and I'm guessing its been affected by temperature over time.

I put the other three RAM boards back in and ran Memtest again and it didn't find errors (I let it run for a little over one full pass) so I'm currently running on 4GB (comprising 2 x 1GB and 1 x 2GB). I'll buy a new 2GB board, put that in and then run Memtest for the recommended 8 passes to be sure, but I think the mystery is solved. After that I'll mark this thread as 'solved'.

One thing I haven't tried is putting just one RAM board in, using the slot that had contained the defective board and checking that it behaves OK (I left that one empty when I put the three in).

According to Memtest my CPU is running at about 60 degrees. A quick look on Google suggests that isn't excessive.

Once again, a huge thank you for pointing me in the right direction!

Degrees C.

That temperature was as displayed by the Memtest utility, so I'm guessing that the chip was under load at the time?

The new 2GB RAM board arrived this morning. The computer has recognised it and is showing 6GB again. I'll run Memtest for the recommended 8 passes to prove everything is now OK, but I'm optimistic - there's been no sign of instability since I took out the defective board.