Windows 7: BSOD caused by watchdog.sys

Hi,

Since last monday i'm using windows7 (x64 pro) aswell. I bought a new Sata Hard Drive, installed windows xp 32 bit + SP3 and activated it. Then i upgraded to windows 7 64 bit using the clean install function. Everything seemed to be okay until i got a BSOD while playing a video in WMP (or WMP classic, i don't remember). I thought it was because i installed the CCCP-codec pack, so i uninstalled it and installed the Shark007 pack instead. Sadly enough it didnt help. From the moment i started using windows 7 i've had 4 BSODs, all when playing media files (avi/mkv/wmv/mp3) which are stored on different hard drives in either WMP or WMP classic. Playing games is no problem at all.

The BSODS told me that watchdog.sys was most likely the cause of all this. I checked the .dmp files with BlueScreenView and this is what the BSOD's say:

Watchdog.sys seems to be the problem, but BlueScreenView marked other .sys files red aswell.
I ran a sfc /scannow, and i ran it as admin. No problems were detected. I've installed an older Catalyst driver (9.12) because it could be a solution for this type of BSOD but that didn't work either.
I would run memtest, but that's gonna be a problem because i have neither a cd+rw drive nor a floppy drive, and as far as i know i can't boot from an USB-stick. But i don't think my RAM is the problem because it worked fine with windows XP.

My system specs are:
Asrock AlivesataII-glan
AMD Athlon x2 5200+
2x1Gb Kingston DDRII 667
ATI HD4850
Samsung Spinpoint f1 500 gb Sata
Samsung spinpoint 250 gb IDE (2x)
Creative Audigy SE

Hopefully somebody here can tell me where i need to look. I've attached my .dmp files to this post. Help would be appreciated, thanks in advance for your time!

Hi,

I just got a new BSOD, a different one this time. I was trying things out with the verifier.exe program. First i did as suggested here by zigzag3143 and checked all the drivers that arent from microsoft. No problems. Then i checked the watchdog.sys and the dxgmms1.sys drivers simultaneously and i got a BSOD while shutting down. I've attached the .dmp file to this post. The weird thing is that those two drivers weren't tagged as the problem. This time it's ntoskrnl.sys.

The message said this:

Quote:

A problem has been detected and Windows has been shut down to prevent damage
to your computer.

The problem seems to be caused by the following file: ntoskrnl.exe

SPECIAL_POOL_DETECTED_MEMORY_CORRUPTION

If this is the first time you've seen this stop error screen,
restart your computer. If this screen appears again, follow
these steps:

Check to make sure any new hardware or software is properly installed.
If this is a new installation, ask your hardware or software manufacturer
for any Windows updates you might need.

If problems continue, disable or remove any newly installed hardware
or software. Disable BIOS memory options such as caching or shadowing.
If you need to use safe mode to remove or disable components, restart
your computer, press F8 to select Advanced Startup Options, and then
select Safe Mode.

Technical Information:

*** STOP: 0x000000c1 (0xfffff98019c68fe0, 0xfffff98019c68ff8, 0x0000000000334020,
0x0000000000000024)
*** ntoskrnl.exe - Address 0xfffff800028c5f00 base at 0xfffff80002854000 DateStamp
0x4a5bc600

After all this i tried checking just the watchdog.sys driver and just the dxgmms1.sys driver with the verifier. No BSOD's. It seems to me that both these drivers are causing the BSOD's, or am i mistaken? Or could it be my RAM after all? I dont know what to do anymore, so any help would be very much appreciated.

Hi there,

I think i can exclude my RAM from being the cause. I just tested it with Memtest86+ for five and a half hours (8 Cycles) and no errors were reported. I was already pretty sure about this, because my RAM worked fine with Windows XP for over two years. But it's a nice peace of mind.

I still havent found the cause of my BSOD's though. This morning i tested the Verifier again, with dxgmms1.sys and watchdog.sys marked. NO BSOD! Weird huh? Then i played various video files (wmv in WMP, avi in WMP classic, youtube and an .asf on a website where dutch people like me are able to see the broadcasted dutch television again via the internet) simultaneously for about an hour and a half, no BSOD. The BSODs are appearing very randomly (about 1 a day), and always when playing media files so i tried creating one. All the video's played down fine though.

I just tried the verifier again with dxgmms1.sys and watchdog.sys checked after finishing the memtesting, and again no BSOD. I don't know if they'll come back, but i think that is very likely because i didnt change drivers or settings whatsoever since i installed the catalyst 9.12 driver after removing the 10.1. Is anyone able to point me in the direction of what might be the cause of these BSOD's?

Thanks again for your time (i know somebody is reading this! :P)

Driver Verifier results aren't significant unless there's a reason found to run Driver Verifier.
This is because Driver Verifier stresses drivers - and the stress may cause the error in a driver that works normally under Windows.

Normally STOP 0x119 errors aren't a good reason for running Driver Verifier.

But, the results are used to generally determine which one of the following is occurring:
- the 3rd party driver to replace (most likely)
- a hardware problem
- or, a Windows corruption (least likely)

We often use SFC.EXE /SCANNOW and the verification of ALL drivers to help rule out the Windows corruption - but the emphasis is on isolating the hardware issue.

First, Memtest must be run for 5 passes as described - if any errors occur let us know.

Finally, as the last resort, we recommend reinstalling Windows in a plain vanilla installation. This is to rule out the less-likely Windows corruption. And we do that to save you money in purchasing a new video card (if the vanilla reinstallation fixes things, a new video card isn't needed).
Then, try this free video stress test: FurMark: Graphics Card Stability and Stress Test, OpenGL Benchmark and GPU Temperature | oZone3D.Net
This is because the first error (the STOP 0x119) is a video error, and the second (STOP 0xC2) is a memory error - so we want to stress the video memory in the video card to see if it fails.

This must be combined with a physical examination of the system and the video card.
Turn the system off, then unplug the system from the wall, open the case and hold onto the metal of the case with one hand.
Then CAREFULLY feel around inside the case to see if anything is especially hot. Make a note of what you've felt and about how hot it was (warm, hot, or it's gonna burn my finger!)

Next, plug the computer back in (with the case still open). DO NOT touch anything inside the case!!!
Look to see that all the fans are working and that all the airflow paths are unobstructed.

Then, point a housefan at the video card and run it to see if that decreases the crashes.

Thanks for the input Usasma!

I ran Memtest86+ for 8 passes and i got no errors, so i think i can cross my RAM of the list. Also i tested my new Samsung HDD with the HUTIL-tool, no errors were reported aswell.

I read on www.carrona.org (a site i found somewhere in the tutorials here on this forum) that the STOP 0x119 error indeed is a video error, and thats why i replaced my catalyst drivers. I'm running catalyst 9.11 at the moment.

I tested the furmarktest for about half an hour, no artifacts. I don't how long to run the test, but i can tell you that watching the FURMARK test is incredibly boring . My videocard gets incredibly hot though (the copper that covers the GPU and the V-mem istoo hot to touch), but i guess that's normal with this program. I neither have artifacts/BSODs during playing games.

But why do you think it's a hardware issue? I never got any BSODs with windows XP. I do remember getting some Lock-ups while watching TV with my TV-card though. I tried installing this TV-card on Windows 7, but that didn't work. I sold my TV-card a couple of days ago and removed the software. Could the (remains of the) drivers i installed for this TV-card be the cause of my problems?

carrona.org is my website - I use it to hold the stuff that I need for my work here (and on other forums).

Yes, it's possible that the remains of the TVCard could be causing this.
Let's just wait for the next BSOD (making sure that Driver Verifier is off) and we'll move on from there.

Will do. I'll report back when the next BSOD appears or if it doesn't, in a week. From the moment i installed the Catalyst 9.11 driver i haven't had any issues, but thats only 28 hours ago tops.

And i have to say: carrona.org is a great site! And that you have the knack is great too for many users here :P

EDIT Sunday 9:30 PM:
I just ran DriverCleaner.NET and that program removed some hauppauge (the brand of my tv-card) files and registerkeys. Still no BSOD's since installing 9.11.

Well, it has been a week since the last BSOD so i think we're in the clear now . I still don't know what the cause was though. The things that is changed after my last bsod were these:

- Uninstalled catalyst 10.1, installed 9.12, uninstalled 9.12, installed 9.11
- Removed Hauppauge software with Drivercleaner.net
- Removed netlimiter 2 pro and installed netlimter 1.3

Many thanks go out to Usasma, who pointed me in the right direction!