BSOD - ntoskrnl.exe

James Park · 11 Dec 2010

UPDATE: Please read my most recent reply

Hello, I've been doing some research on this issue. It appears that others have trouble with the BSOD regarding ntoskrnl.exe. I used a tool called "BlueScreenView". It basically gives me a summary of all computer crashes. With an exception of a few, ntoskrnl.exe has been the primary cause of my BSOD. My laptop has crashed before, but today has been very frustrating while my computer hit BSOD 9 times and counting! I followed the instructions from the sticky and included a .ZIP file of BSOD's data so it can be analysed.

HP dv8t-1200 - Windows 7 Ultimate 64-bit

Windows 7 64-bit Home Edition - Preinstalled
I did a clean install*

Hardware is less than a year old.
OS is less than 3 months old.
Intel i5
6GB Ram

Help would be appreciated! Thanks!

Also if it would be of anymore help, I could set up a remote desktop session using programs: Mikogo or Team Viewer and communicate over Skype.

yowanvista · 11 Dec 2010

The dmp(s) point to ntoskrnl.exe as the probable cause. We know this is not the case, as these are core OS files, and will definitely not cause a BSOD. They are just the default files the debuggers blame when they can't see a better cause. We need to run driver verifier to pinpoint the faulting driver...

- Go to Start and type in "verifier" (without the quotes) and press Enter
- Select "Create custom settings (for code developers)" and click "Next"
- Select "Select individual settings from a full list" and click "Next"
- Select everything EXCEPT FOR "Low Resource Simulation" and click "Next"
- Select "Select driver names from a list" and click "Next"
Then select all drivers NOT provided by Microsoft and click "Next"
- Select "Finish" on the next page.

Reboot the system and wait for it to crash to the Blue Screen. Continue to use your system normally, and if you know what causes the crash, do that repeatedly. The objective here is to get the system to crash because Driver Verifier is stressing the drivers out.

Then if it blue screens again upload the contents of C:\Windows\Minidump

DeanP · 11 Dec 2010

ntoskrnl.exe is a file used in Windows, I don't really think that may cause the problem.
While the BSOD Team is analyzing your dump files, here's some things you should do.
---------------------------------------
Uninstall your current anti-virus software and replace it with Microsoft Security Essentials (it's free and easy to use).

Do chkdsk /f and sfc /scannow in command prompt for corrupt files/damaged/missing files.

Update all of your drivers to the latest.

Please remove any CD virtualization programs such as Daemon Tools and Alcohol 120%. They use a driver, found in your dmp, sptd.sys, that is notorious for causing BSODs. Use this SPTD uninstaller when you're done: DuplexSecure - Downloads
You can use MagicDisc as an alternative.

If you recently installed software, uninstall it or use system restore if you have problems uninstalling it. Software can conflict with the system because of incompatibility or other reasons and cause errors or BSODs.

EDIT: Typed a little bit slow, ignore some bits.

yowanvista · 11 Dec 2010

DeanP said:

ntoskrnl.exe is a file used in Windows, I don't really think that may cause the problem.
While the BSOD Team is analyzing your dump files, here's some things you should do.
---------------------------------------
Uninstall your current anti-virus software and replace it with Microsoft Security Essentials (it's free and easy to use).

Do chkdsk /f and sfc /scannow in command prompt for corrupt files/damaged/missing files.

Update all of your drivers to the latest.

Please remove any CD virtualization programs such as Daemon Tools and Alcohol 120%. They use a driver, found in your dmp, sptd.sys, that is notorious for causing BSODs. Use this SPTD uninstaller when you're done: DuplexSecure - Downloads
You can use MagicDisc as an alternative.

If you recently installed software, uninstall it or use system restore if you have problems uninstalling it. Software can conflict with the system because of incompatibility or other reasons and cause errors or BSODs.

EDIT: Typed a little bit slow, ignore some bits.

The posted doesn't have any sptd.sys in the dumps

DeanP · 11 Dec 2010

Quote: Originally Posted by DeanP

ntoskrnl.exe is a file used in Windows, I don't really think that may cause the problem.
While the BSOD Team is analyzing your dump files, here's some things you should do.
---------------------------------------
Uninstall your current anti-virus software and replace it with Microsoft Security Essentials (it's free and easy to use).

Do chkdsk /f and sfc /scannow in command prompt for corrupt files/damaged/missing files.

Update all of your drivers to the latest.
Quote:
Please remove any CD virtualization programs such as Daemon Tools and Alcohol 120%. They use a driver, found in your dmp, sptd.sys, that is notorious for causing BSODs. Use this SPTD uninstaller when you're done: DuplexSecure - Downloads
You can use MagicDisc as an alternative.

If you recently installed software, uninstall it or use system restore if you have problems uninstalling it. Software can conflict with the system because of incompatibility or other reasons and cause errors or BSODs.

EDIT: Typed a little bit slow, ignore some bits.

The posted doesn't have any sptd.sys in the dumps

How can you and the BSOD Team analyze the crash dumps? I try to analyze my crash dumps with WinDBG and BlueScreenViewer, doesn't work well.

It end up saying that the driver was caused by a file to do with Windows, not by software. (ie. win32k.sys, csrss.exe)

James Park · 11 Dec 2010

Alright guys thanks for the input. I'll let you know when BSOD appears again.

My security system is ZoneAlarm Extreme. It's my Firewall/Anti-Virus/Anti-Spyware.

James Park · 11 Dec 2010

yowanvista said:

The dmp(s) point to ntoskrnl.exe as the probable cause. We know this is not the case, as these are core OS files, and will definitely not cause a BSOD. They are just the default files the debuggers blame when they can't see a better cause. We need to run driver verifier to pinpoint the faulting driver...

- Go to Start and type in "verifier" (without the quotes) and press Enter
- Select "Create custom settings (for code developers)" and click "Next"
- Select "Select individual settings from a full list" and click "Next"
- Select everything EXCEPT FOR "Low Resource Simulation" and click "Next"
- Select "Select driver names from a list" and click "Next"
Then select all drivers NOT provided by Microsoft and click "Next"
- Select "Finish" on the next page.

Reboot the system and wait for it to crash to the Blue Screen. Continue to use your system normally, and if you know what causes the crash, do that repeatedly. The objective here is to get the system to crash because Driver Verifier is stressing the drivers out.

Then if it blue screens again upload the contents of C:\Windows\Minidump

So basically what I have to do is start up the Driver Verier and use my computer until it crashes? And when it does, send the BSOD Team another crash file?

yowanvista · 11 Dec 2010

James Park said:

yowanvista said:

The dmp(s) point to ntoskrnl.exe as the probable cause. We know this is not the case, as these are core OS files, and will definitely not cause a BSOD. They are just the default files the debuggers blame when they can't see a better cause. We need to run driver verifier to pinpoint the faulting driver...

- Go to Start and type in "verifier" (without the quotes) and press Enter
- Select "Create custom settings (for code developers)" and click "Next"
- Select "Select individual settings from a full list" and click "Next"
- Select everything EXCEPT FOR "Low Resource Simulation" and click "Next"
- Select "Select driver names from a list" and click "Next"
Then select all drivers NOT provided by Microsoft and click "Next"
- Select "Finish" on the next page.

Reboot the system and wait for it to crash to the Blue Screen. Continue to use your system normally, and if you know what causes the crash, do that repeatedly. The objective here is to get the system to crash because Driver Verifier is stressing the drivers out.

Then if it blue screens again upload the contents of C:\Windows\Minidump

So basically what I have to do is start up the Driver Verier and use my computer until it crashes? And when it does, send the BSOD Team another crash file?

Yes this is what you have to do :)

James Park · 11 Dec 2010

yowanvista said:

James Park said:

yowanvista said:

The dmp(s) point to ntoskrnl.exe as the probable cause. We know this is not the case, as these are core OS files, and will definitely not cause a BSOD. They are just the default files the debuggers blame when they can't see a better cause. We need to run driver verifier to pinpoint the faulting driver...

- Go to Start and type in "verifier" (without the quotes) and press Enter
- Select "Create custom settings (for code developers)" and click "Next"
- Select "Select individual settings from a full list" and click "Next"
- Select everything EXCEPT FOR "Low Resource Simulation" and click "Next"
- Select "Select driver names from a list" and click "Next"
Then select all drivers NOT provided by Microsoft and click "Next"
- Select "Finish" on the next page.

Reboot the system and wait for it to crash to the Blue Screen. Continue to use your system normally, and if you know what causes the crash, do that repeatedly. The objective here is to get the system to crash because Driver Verifier is stressing the drivers out.

Then if it blue screens again upload the contents of C:\Windows\Minidump

So basically what I have to do is start up the Driver Verier and use my computer until it crashes? And when it does, send the BSOD Team another crash file?

Yes this is what you have to do :)

I noticed that a lot of people are having the same problem regarding ntoskrnl.exe. What exactly is it and why is it so hard to just point to a specific cause?

James Park · 26 Dec 2010

Ok, I'm still having trouble with the BSOD. It hasn't happened 10 times in a day like before, but it's been happening every other day. It feels entirely random as I cannot pinpoint what software or program might be causing this. I followed all the directions the first time and I'm not sure what I can do! I have no viruses or spywares on my computer because I scan regularly with Zone Alarm Extreme Security. Does this have anything to do with my registry? I have no programs that "cleans" it out. Please help!

Thanks and happy holidays!