Random BSOD, susspect Xonar HDA1.3 driver/Win7 conflict. pointers appr

tattozy · 04 Feb 2014

My PC runs into random BSOD at different points, it is not consistant so tracking the issue down is not that simple.

I suspected a bad Hard drive and has since upgraded to a SSD but had the same problem after re-installing windows 7 on the new HD, so it probably was not the issue.

I suspect issues with my Audio card as sometimes the BSOD errors list sys files related to audio. I have installed the latest drivers from the ASUS website but the problem remains.

I have updated windows, updated video card drivers and all drivers really, have ran Kaspersky and avast antivirus progarms and got clear results but the BSOD remain.

I have now ran out of options and hope some gurus in this forum can share some ideas.

Best Regards!

Arc · 04 Feb 2014

Yes, you are right. It is the audio card.

Code:

fffff800`00b9c4c8  fffff880`048da840Unable to load image \SystemRoot\system32\drivers\cmhdav.sys, Win32 error 0n2
*** WARNING: Unable to verify timestamp for cmhdav.sys
*** ERROR: Module load completed but symbols could not be loaded for cmhdav.sys
 cmhdav+0x5840

As per ASUS .......
Attachment 304841

So there is no feasible driver update to that device.

You either contract ASUS, explain the situation to them and ask for appropriate drivers, or remove the card and see if the situation is stable there or not.

tattozy · 13 Feb 2014

Thanks for the reply Arc, I needed to have some selfassurance as to the reason for the BSOD.

With that info I went deep into the cofiguration of the Audio Card and noticed I was using the S/PDIF Pass-thru Device as the default Playback device for windows.

I changed this so now the default device is the "Speakers" device also provided by the "ASUS Xonar HDAV 1.3 Slim Driver"

As I understand the S/PDIF Pass-thru send the audio signal directly to the AV Receiver while in the "Speakers" setting the signal is manipulated by the audio card and then sent to the Receiver.

After a lot of playing around with the Xonar HDAV Center software I managed to get stereo signals converted into Dolby Digital the sound is a lot richer and best of all no BSOD anymore.

I know that this is not really pin pointing the reason for the original problem but I'm happy with no more crashes and hope that this might help people faceing similar issues.

May the actual problem lay in the "S/PDIF Pass-through Device"???....

Arc · 14 Feb 2014

Not impossible. Because:

If you are having difficulty getting your computer's S/PDIF passthrough connection to transmit data to an external receiver, look for a device driver update for your computer's sound card or integrated audio chip. If Windows is using a generic device driver, some hardware-specific features such as S/PDIF passthrough may not work. If you continue to experience a problem, you may need to use the Windows update service to download and install all available updates for your operating system. Some Windows versions such as Windows 98 SE require updates to process S/PDIF passthrough data. Note that versions of Windows older than Windows 98 SE do not support S/PDIF passthrough at all.

Read more: What Is an S/PDIF Passthrough? | eHow

We failed at that point, to update the audio driver, so the S/PDIF did not work properly. It is not impossible that the issue originated from this point.

To be sure, observe the situation over a more time.

But, you have done a great job. Congrats. I am sure that your experiment will help a lot of other users in future.

Random BSOD, susspect Xonar HDA1.3 driver/Win7 conflict. pointers appr

Random BSOD, susspect Xonar HDA1.3 driver/Win7 conflict. pointers appr

ASUS Xonar & S/PDIF Pass-through Device