Random BSOD when not even using laptop.

These crashes were caused by memory corruption. Please run these two tests to verify your memory and find which driver is causing the problem.


1-Memtest.

*Download a copy of Memtest86 and burn the ISO to a CD using Iso Recorder or another ISO burning program. Memtest86+ - Advanced Memory Diagnostic Tool

*Boot from the CD, and leave it running for at least 5 or 6 passes.

Just remember, any time Memtest reports errors, it can be either bad RAM or a bad motherboard slot.

Test the sticks individually, and if you find a good one, test it in all slots.

Any errors are indicative of a memory problem.

If a known good stick fails in a motherboard slot it is probably the slot.

RAM - Test with Memtest86+



2-Driver verifier

I'd suggest that you first backup your data and then make sure you've got access to another computer so you can contact us if problems arise. Then make a System Restore point (so you can restore the system using the Vista/Win7 Startup Repair feature).

In Windows 7 you can make a Startup Repair disk by going to Start....All Programs...Maintenance...Create a System Repair Disc - with Windows Vista you'll have to use your installation disk or the "Repair your computer" option at the top of the Safe Mode menu .

Then, here's the procedure:
- 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. If it doesn't crash for you, then let it run for at least 36 hours of continuous operation (an estimate on my part).

If you can't get into Windows because it crashes too soon, try it in Safe Mode.
If you can't get into Safe Mode, try using System Restore from your installation DVD to set the system back to the previous restore point that you created.

Driver Verifier - Enable and Disable

Hi, zigzag!

Cheers for the reply!
I will try this out ASAP (probably tomorrow, since it is pretty late here now), and I will post again once I can tell you more about the result.

Again, thanks a lot for the assistance, I appreciate it.

FrenziedGopher said:

Hi, zigzag!

Cheers for the reply!
I will try this out ASAP (probably tomorrow, since it is pretty late here now), and I will post again once I can tell you more about the result.

Again, thanks a lot for the assistance, I appreciate it.

My pleasure, glad to help. Good luck

I have a question regarding the first step, which is the memtest. I don't actually have a DVD / CD-ROM drive on the laptop, so is there an alternative way?
Is it possible to boot from a USB memory stick or an SD card?

FrenziedGopher said:

I have a question regarding the first step, which is the memtest. I don't actually have a DVD / CD-ROM drive on the laptop, so is there an alternative way?
Is it possible to boot from a USB memory stick or an SD card?

All you need to do is make a bootable USB stick and put memtest on it.

Install Windows 7 Or Windows 8 From USB

Thank you, and I apologise I didn't thoroughly check the links before I asked my previous question; it was well explained right in front of my nose.

I have now left Memtest on for roughly 20 hours, and it has gone through 8 passes, and I'm seeing 9 errors on the screen right now.

The issue now is that I am not really comfortable with removing the memory cover to be able to try the memory sticks individually, as this might void my warranty (there is no warranty seal on top of the screw, however, so perhaps it is safe?)

Would you suggest I move on to the driver stress test for now?


Thanks in advance!

FrenziedGopher said:

Thank you, and I apologise I didn't thoroughly check the links before I asked my previous question; it was well explained right in front of my nose.

I have now left Memtest on for roughly 20 hours, and it has gone through 8 passes, and I'm seeing 9 errors on the screen right now.

The issue now is that I am not really comfortable with removing the memory cover to be able to try the memory sticks individually, as this might void my warranty (there is no warranty seal on top of the screw, however, so perhaps it is safe?)

Would you suggest I move on to the driver stress test for now?


Thanks in advance!

If it is under warranty dont pull the ram. If memtest only kicked 8 errors in 20 hours move onto driver verifier.

If you are at all uncomfortable with doing any of this you should have the mfr do it for you,

While I was going through the "select all drivers NOT provided by Microsoft"-part of the driver verifier step, I noticed the driver "ntoskrnl.exe" in the list, which is a Microsoft driver.

I am fairly sure that that driver has been pointed out to be the cause of many BSODs when I used BlueScreenView to try to fix things on my own.
I don't know if this changes anything, nor if you already knew that this was the case, but I wanted to throw that in there, just in case.
Sorry if I should have mentioned this before, I've just assumed that the mini dumps pretty much provided all the information that I knew.

Oh, and upon rebooting after performing the driver verifier steps, the system crashed before I got into Windows, and was apparently caused by dtsoftbus01.sys, something related to Daemon Tools. I've uninstalled the program in Safe Mode now, however, and there was no problem rebooting the second time.

FrenziedGopher said:

While I was going through the "select all drivers NOT provided by Microsoft"-part of the driver verifier step, I noticed the driver "ntoskrnl.exe" in the list, which is a Microsoft driver.

I am fairly sure that that driver has been pointed out to be the cause of many BSODs when I used BlueScreenView to try to fix things on my own.
I don't know if this changes anything, nor if you already knew that this was the case, but I wanted to throw that in there, just in case.
Sorry if I should have mentioned this before, I've just assumed that the mini dumps pretty much provided all the information that I knew.

Oh, and upon rebooting after performing the driver verifier steps, the system crashed before I got into Windows, and was apparently caused by dtsoftbus01.sys, something related to Daemon Tools. I've uninstalled the program in Safe Mode now, however, and there was no problem rebooting the second time.

Blue screen view often erroniously blames the OS when the true underlying problem is something else.


Removing daemon tools was a good idea. Major cause of BSOD's


If the computer has crashed with verifier running we need the dmp files