Having a lot of crashes lately

mike6623 · 14 Mar 2012

I have done multiple disk scans, antivirus/malware scans, and cannot seem to find anything malicious. Here is the report from "who crashed". My computer updates regularly, so I am not sure where, or what drivers(if that is the problem) can be found to update.

windows version: Windows 7 Service Pack 1, 6.1, build: 7601
windows dir: C:\Windows
CPU: AuthenticAMD AMD Phenom(tm) II X6 1055T Processor AMD586, level: 16
6 logical processors, active mask: 63
RAM: 8589185024 total
VM: 2147352576, free: 1947774976

Crash Dump Analysis
Crash dump directory: C:\Windows\minidump

Crash dumps are enabled on your computer.

On Wed 3/14/2012 7:47:11 AM GMT your computer crashed
crash dump file: C:\Windows\memory.dmp
This was probably caused by the following module: hal.dll (hal!HalSendSoftwareInterrupt+0x47)
Bugcheck code: 0x3B (0xC0000005, 0xFFFFF8000317CED1, 0xFFFFF8800ADAA580, 0x0)
Error: SYSTEM_SERVICE_EXCEPTION
file path: C:\Windows\system32\hal.dll
product: Microsoft® Windows® Operating System
company: Microsoft Corporation
description: Hardware Abstraction Layer DLL
Bug check description: This indicates that an exception happened while executing a routine that transitions from non-privileged code to privileged code.
This appears to be a typical software driver bug and is not likely to be caused by a hardware problem.
The crash took place in a standard Microsoft module. Your system configuration may be incorrect. Possibly this problem is caused by another driver on your system which cannot be identified at this time.

On Mon 3/12/2012 2:29:55 AM GMT your computer crashed
crash dump file: C:\Windows\minidump\031112-61479-01.dmp
This was probably caused by the following module: ntoskrnl.exe (nt+0x7CC40)
Bugcheck code: 0x18 (0x0, 0xFFFFFA800B1345A0, 0x2, 0xFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFF)
Error: REFERENCE_BY_POINTER
file path: C:\Windows\system32\ntoskrnl.exe
product: Microsoft® Windows® Operating System
company: Microsoft Corporation
description: NT Kernel & System
Bug check description: This indicates that the reference count of an object is illegal for the current state of the object.
This appears to be a typical software driver bug and is not likely to be caused by a hardware problem. This might be a case of memory corruption. More often memory corruption happens because of software errors in buggy drivers, not because of faulty RAM modules.
The crash took place in the Windows kernel. Possibly this problem is caused by another driver which cannot be identified at this time.

On Mon 3/12/2012 2:19:08 AM GMT your computer crashed
crash dump file: C:\Windows\minidump\031112-63352-01.dmp
This was probably caused by the following module: ntoskrnl.exe (nt+0x7CC40)
Bugcheck code: 0x3B (0xC0000005, 0xFFFFF800031D1422, 0xFFFFF8800C9101D0, 0x0)
Error: SYSTEM_SERVICE_EXCEPTION
file path: C:\Windows\system32\ntoskrnl.exe
product: Microsoft® Windows® Operating System
company: Microsoft Corporation
description: NT Kernel & System
Bug check description: This indicates that an exception happened while executing a routine that transitions from non-privileged code to privileged code.
This appears to be a typical software driver bug and is not likely to be caused by a hardware problem.
The crash took place in the Windows kernel. Possibly this problem is caused by another driver which cannot be identified at this time.

Conclusion
3 crash dumps have been found and analyzed.
Read the topic general suggestions for troubleshooting system crashes for more information.

Note that it's not always possible to state with certainty whether a reported driver is actually responsible for crashing your system or that the root cause is in another module. Nonetheless it's suggested you look for updates for the products that these drivers belong to and regularly visit Windows update or enable automatic updates for Windows. In case a piece of malfunctioning hardware is causing trouble, a search with Google on the bug check errors together with the model name and brand of your computer may help you investigate this further.

OldMX · 14 Mar 2012

Run memtest for a couple of loops and see if it reports any error? Also, try running hard disk manufacturer diagnostics.

mike6623 · 14 Mar 2012

OldMX said:

Run memtest for a couple of loops and see if it reports any error? Also, try running hard disk manufacturer diagnostics.

Sorry for my ignorance, but what is memtest?

writhziden · 15 Mar 2012

Run the boot version of Memtest86+ paying close attention to Parts 2 and 3 of the tutorial. Also, in case Memtest86+ misses anything and comes up with no errors, run the extended version of the Windows Memory Diagnostics Tool for at least five passes. These you may want to run overnight since they take a long time to complete (run them an hour before bed each of the next two nights and check before going to sleep that they are still running).

If you swap any memory components, follow these steps for ESD safety:
1. Shut down and turn off your computer.
2. Unplug all power supplies to the computer (AC Power then battery for laptops, AC power for desktops)
3. Hold down the power button for 30 seconds to close the circuit and ensure all power drains from components.
4. Make sure you are grounded by using proper grounding techniques, i.e. work on an anti-static workbench, anti-static desk, or an anti-static pad. Hold something metallic while touching it to the anti-static surface, or use an anti-static wristband to attach to the anti-static material while working.
Once these steps have been followed, it is safe to remove and replace components within your computer.