Random (mostly during games) BSOD Stopcode 0x0000101

Savrill · 24 Jan 2012

Hello everyone,

Since last year I am the proud owner of a custom build rig, especially made for gaming.

Now it just so happens that during games (and sometimes during windows aswell) it gets a BSOD with stopcode 0x0000101 (dont know exactly how many zeros :P)
Can anyone please help me? I am not sure what the cause is. They just started popping up after a month or 3 after I got the system. First, it was once in a month or so, but now they are more frequent (random intervals. Sometimes once a day, other times 4x a day)
Recently, other crashes also popped up (screen freezes). So now, its either a screen freeze or a BSOD.
One time, I also got a 'American Trend' screen with it. It was only on for a second, and I was not facing my pc so I could only catch that logo. That hasnt come back since.
I have done all kinds of tests on all kinds of problems (Virus, the whole Tune up suite, memtest) but nothing can be found.
I hope I gave enough information with this post to help. If there is something else you need, let me know.

Greetings,
Roy

zigzag3143 · 24 Jan 2012

Savrill said:

Hello everyone,

Since last year I am the proud owner of a custom build rig, especially made for gaming.

Now it just so happens that during games (and sometimes during windows aswell) it gets a BSOD with stopcode 0x0000101 (dont know exactly how many zeros :P)
Can anyone please help me? I am not sure what the cause is. They just started popping up after a month or 3 after I got the system. First, it was once in a month or so, but now they are more frequent (random intervals. Sometimes once a day, other times 4x a day)
Recently, other crashes also popped up (screen freezes). So now, its either a screen freeze or a BSOD.
One time, I also got a 'American Trend' screen with it. It was only on for a second, and I was not facing my pc so I could only catch that logo. That hasnt come back since.
I have done all kinds of tests on all kinds of problems (Virus, the whole Tune up suite, memtest) but nothing can be found.
I hope I gave enough information with this post to help. If there is something else you need, let me know.

Greetings,
Roy

Hi Roy and welcome.

Please read the below link for help in diagnosing the exact problem. If you are overclocking please revert to default until you are stable

STOP 0x101: CLOCK_WATCHDOG_TIMEOUT troubleshtg

Savrill · 24 Jan 2012

Thanks for the reply. I will start the diagnostics process asap.

I can already tell you that I did not overclock anything (I let the shop install the hardware, they just bought the parts, put them in, then send it to me) When the pc came at my house, I just installed windows and started using it. No overclocking/fiddeling with parts or anything has been done

Savrill · 27 Jan 2012

Well, after a few days of intensive testing (did alot of gaming these past few days) I can almost safely conclude that the drivers were the problem. Since the update was applied with help from the program in the link, it seems all problems are gone for now. Thank you!

One final question though: if it is a cpu lockup which has now been resolved, has it done any lasting damage to said cpu? I mean do lockups have any lasting damage effects, or is it just a annoying bluescreen?

zigzag3143 · 27 Jan 2012

Savrill said:

Well, after a few days of intensive testing (did alot of gaming these past few days) I can almost safely conclude that the drivers were the problem. Since the update was applied with help from the program in the link, it seems all problems are gone for now. Thank you!

One final question though: if it is a cpu lockup which has now been resolved, has it done any lasting damage to said cpu? I mean do lockups have any lasting damage effects, or is it just a annoying bluescreen?

If software was the cure there was probably no hardware damage. You can check by running the stress tests again.

Savrill · 30 Jan 2012

AANNNDDD I am back, because the BSOD is back. Yesterday it crashed while I was playing Battlefield 3. Ran the remaining tests in the linked thread immediately afterwards. All tests passed, everything. Ram, CPU...according to the tests it all works as it should. So the next step is 'replace parts'. But if it a;; works as it should, what should I replace? Or is there something else I can do?

zigzag3143 · 30 Jan 2012

Savrill said:

AANNNDDD I am back, because the BSOD is back. Yesterday it crashed while I was playing Battlefield 3. Ran the remaining tests in the linked thread immediately afterwards. All tests passed, everything. Ram, CPU...according to the tests it all works as it should. So the next step is 'replace parts'. But if it a;; works as it should, what should I replace? Or is there something else I can do?

Guess it is time to get serious with this problem. Lets re-run memtest, driver verifier, and SFC /scannow.

If you are overclocking anything reset to default before running these tests.
In other words STOP!!!

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

Using Driver Verifier is an iffy proposition. Most times it'll crash and it'll tell you what the driver is. But sometimes it'll crash and won't tell you the driver. Other times it'll crash before you can log in to Windows. If you can't get to Safe Mode, then you'll have to resort to offline editing of the registry to disable Driver Verifier.

So, I'd suggest that you first backup your stuff 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).

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 "Special Pool", "Force Pending I/O Requests" and "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).

Reboot into Windows (after the crash) and turn off Driver Verifier by going back in and selecting "Delete existing settings" on the first page, then locate and zip up the memory dump file and upload it with your next post.

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.

Using Driver Verifier to identify issues with Windows drivers for advanced users

Run a system file check to verify and repair OS files.

How to use the System File Checker tool to troubleshoot missing or corrupted system files on Windows Vista or on Windows 7

Savrill · 01 Feb 2012

Alright, I installed memtest on a usb (as that was needed to execute) but everytime I insert the usb it opens windows with explorer with the files, it does not bootup anything. How do I run the test? How do I manually boot the program from the stick?

Also, again 1 BSOD during this time (gamed intensively)...also, again in BF3, this is getting supicious....

zigzag3143 · 06 Feb 2012

Savrill said:

Alright, I installed memtest on a usb (as that was needed to execute) but everytime I insert the usb it opens windows with explorer with the files, it does not bootup anything. How do I run the test? How do I manually boot the program from the stick?

Also, again 1 BSOD during this time (gamed intensively)...also, again in BF3, this is getting supicious....

Whats your current status?

Savrill · 06 Feb 2012

No BSODS so far, still trying to run the test but I still dont know how to boot it up. I put it on a USB stick (talking about memtest 86) but when I put the stick in the pc it just says: show files in windows explorer? hen I say yes and it opens the files inside windows explorer without actually booting the test. So, how do I boot the test? it formatted the stick and everything...