BSOD nvlddmkm.sys

LiquidFlames said:

Hey folks,
I've been getting a BSOD on boot lately.

DRIVER_IRQL_NOT_LESS_OR EQUIL
STOP: 0x000000D1
nvlddmkm.sys
address FFFFF8800FFAC22E base at FFFFF8800FE2000

What have I done so far?

I looked up nvlddmkm.sys. Seems like this is a problematic file for lots of folks. My workaround up until recently has been to boot into safe mode, totaly uninstall all of my Nvidia drivers, boot back into normal mode, reinstall the latest video drivers. After doing that it works fine for a couple of days.

More recently I noticed that when my PC was totaly shut down my external hard drive's lights were alternating as if the drive was transfering data. This external is a Western Digital My Book Essential 1TB USB 2.0 hdd.

Puzzled as to why the hard drive would be on and seem to be active when the system is totaly shut down I powered on the system. BSOD before the Windows logon screen.

I shut it down with the power switch on the PSU, unplugged the USB cable for the external, powered back on... everything booted normally.

So, now my workaround is to just remember to unplug the external hard drive before I power the system on. Granted, its a much shorter and easier workaround, but still a workaround nonetheless. I'd like to solve the issue totally.

The only conclusion I can draw from this is that the external hard drive or something to do with USB is screwing with the video drivers somehow.... I lean toward the hard drive and not USB in general because I have a USB gaming headset that stays plugged in. I also sometimes leave my iPhone and iPods connected during power cycles and reboots with no problems. It only seems to happen with this external WD hdd is hooked up.

I'm usually pretty good at troubleshooting this kind of thing but I am stumped on this one.

I tried finding the \Windows\minidump folder and I don't seem to have one even after enabling show hidden files files and system files.

Any ideas? :)

Thanks,
LF

LF

The DMP could be elsewhere (on 64 bit in c:\windows) but you can simply search for *.DMP.

That bug check is usually caused by a device driver and if we cant find it we should get more aggressive by using driver verifier.

Ken

LF

The DMP could be elsewhere (on 64 bit in c:\windows) but you can simply search for *.DMP.

That bug check is usually caused by a device driver and if we cant find it we should get more aggressive by using driver verifier.

Ken

Ken,
Thanks for the prompt reply. I tried searching every way I know how to no avail. Still no dump file. Tell me more about using driver verifier....?

Thanks TG,
I did not have that set. So, now with that in place I tried rebooting 3 times to recreate the issue to generate a minidump but everything seems to be working fine for now. lol Go figure, right? Next time it happens I'll come straight here with the dump file.

By the way, TG, I 100% agree with your quote.

Alright, I made sure my settings are exactly like the ones pictured... checked write an event to the system log, automatically restart, the dropdown is on Small memory dump (256KB), and the directory is set to %SystemRoot%\Minidump.

Restarted the system, got the same BSOD, but this time it restarted automatically as per the changes to the settings. I disconnected the hard drive, it started normally.

I clicked on start and typed %SystemRoot%\Minidump into the quicksearch. No such file. I tried browsing it out... still no such file. I don't know where else that file could be.

LiquidFlames said:

Alright, I made sure my settings are exactly like the ones pictured... checked write an event to the system log, automatically restart, the dropdown is on Small memory dump (256KB), and the directory is set to %SystemRoot%\Minidump.

Restarted the system, got the same BSOD, but this time it restarted automatically as per the changes to the settings. I disconnected the hard drive, it started normally.

I clicked on start and typed %SystemRoot%\Minidump into the quicksearch. No such file. I tried browsing it out... still no such file. I don't know where else that file could be.

Skip it. this has gone on far too long. Driver verifier will make your system crash so before you use it you MUST have a backup and a boot-able win 7 dvd, just in case.

Let me know when you are ready. In the mean time here is some info about DV. Using Driver Verifier to identify issues with Drivers

Ken

Hey Ken,

Thanks for that link. That was a huge help. It will take some time to set up the necessary precautions before running the verifier. While reading the info in the last link you posted it occurred to me that this is a Vista install that was upgraded to 7. I don't know if thats relevant so I thought I'd mention it.

I'll let you know how the verifier goes. Is there anything else I should know before trying the verifier that is not mentioned in the link?

-LF

Related to BSOD (Nvidia: nvlddmkm.sys/0x00000116 or ATI: ati3duag.dll/0x00000XXX)

I would like to share a success story in regards to this error message that hopefully will help others...

My specs are below for both PCs.

I received this error message with 3 different video cards and 2 manufactures Nvidia & ATI (the ATI BSOD

was a bit different but same results). I did all of the basic and advance steps in troubleshooting

including testing all of my hardware components on identical motherboards & power supplies; however, the

BSOD would only show up on one motherboard with the video card in the first PCIe 2.0 x16 slot but work

fine in the second slot.

The actual issue was related to the North Bridge and the first PCIe 2.0 x16 slot not running the correct

voltage for the video card. Needless to say, here are the steps that corrected my issue, from ASUS

Support, and reset the voltage for the video card:

1. Uninstall video card driver utilities from Programs
2. Uninstall video card driver from Device Manager/Display Adapters
3. Shut down computer
4. Unplug everything including power connector... wait 30 seconds
5. Remove the video card from the motherboard
6. Clear the motherboard CMOS for 20 seconds (my motherboard has a convenient CMOS button on the back but

you may have to use a jumper or remove the battery... follow your MB instructions)
7. Plug in the power and start PC... wait 15 seconds and shut back down
8. Unplug power and put the video card back on your motherboard
9. Plug back in power and start back up... DO NOT modify your BIOS settings yet
10. OPTIONAL: I use RAID drives so I had to turn back on my RAID management in the BIOS when starting up
11. Once Windows loads, install video drivers, restart and see if the issue is fixed
12. If the issue is fixed go back into BIOS update RAM Timings and any other component settings needed

My hope is that this may work for anyone else's issue as this step was not documented anywhere. Usually

most people RMA'd their motherboards on all of the forums I read through without knowing this step.

PC Spec #1
Motherboard: ASUS P6X58D Premium
-BIOS: 1402
-Intel X58 Chipset: 9.1.1.1020
CPU: Intel Core i7 920
Video Card: ATI Radeon HD 4870
-Driver Version: 8.85
-Catalyst Version: 11.5
Memory: G.Skill F3-16000CL9-2GBTD (2GBx2)
-Timings: 9-9-9-27-2N 1.6V
OS Hard Drive: Intel SSD on SATA 6
PSU: Corsair TX650
Windows 7 Professional x64

PC Spec #2
Motherboard: ASUS P6X58D Premium
-BIOS: 1402
-Intel X58 Chipset: 9.1.1.1020
CPU: Intel Core i7 960
Video Card: Nvidia EVGA GeForce GTX 570 HD
-Driver Version: 270.61
Memory: G.Skill F3-10666CL9T-12GBRL (4GBx3)
-Timings: 9-9-9-24-2N 1.5V
OS Hard Drive: Intel SSD on SATA 6
PSU: Corsair TX650
Windows 7 Home Premium x64

Thank you very much! I've been having this problem on an Asrock X58 extreme regardless of what video card I tried. At first I had an HD6770 and as soon as I installed the ATI drivers I started getting blue screens. I tried several versions of the driver but the problem persisted. I switched to a GT440, booted in to windows, installed the nvidia driver but with nvidia, I was completely unable to get to the desktop. After reading this thread, I manually increased the pci-e voltage to 1.64 and the computer now works with any video card I put in it. You're a life saver:)