Win 7 BSOD

Hello all! Long time reader, first time poster. I have been using the Windows 7 RTM release since it was available. Occasionally I would get a BSOD out of no where...sometimes I wouldn't even be using the computer. Now they are getting worse and I need some advise on what the culprit might be. They happened all the time when I had Vista installed as well. My rig was overclocked and to narrow down the variables the computer has been running at stock, but the crashes still happen. I will attach my most current mini dump files if someone could please help me out.

I've looked through the dump files and always see ntkrnlpa.exe in there...

If you are interested I will also include those from my Vista install...maybe they are related? I am usually using Firefox when the crashes occur, but like I said it happens when it is just idle too.

I did have to send this motherboard to Gigabyte not too long ago...it 'lost' the BIOS. Maybe it is on its way out again...or the memory is going bad.

I have updated drivers to the most current I could find too.

If I forgot anything let me know.

Any input would be appreciated.

It's quite likely that these don't all stem from the same underlying root cause. It's a plethora of 3rd-party drivers sometimes doing weird things:

1) Update your RealTek NIC drivers. There's a May '09 version and you're on the Feb '09 build.

2) Update (or remove) AVG. I see you previously experienced issues with Norton, only to then go over to AVG. Make sure the scan engine (driver) is up-to-date.

3) Remove Acronis. The last crash is linked to its operation.

4) Update the ATI video driver. One of the crashes is in the video subsystem and your video driver is old.

5) Perform a full CHKDSK /R. One crash is in the file system.


By themselves, each of these crashes looks entirely "softwary", and it's entirely possible that you're the victim of several unrelated software issues. Together, this many different problems raises the sceptre of possible hardware unreliability. It's good that you're no longer over-clocking. You might also want to make sure the machine is adequately cooled, and the BIOS is up to date. If the crashes continue past all that, run some memory diagnostics.

I actually had problems with AVG from what I saw in the dump files & went with Norton (it was free). Also, how did you know Acronis caused the last crash..what are you using to analyze the files?

I also can't seem to get the more recent ATI drivers for this card. Windows assures me they are up to date, when I install.

number23 said:

Also, how did you know Acronis caused the last crash..what are you using to analyze the files?

I didn't say Acronis "caused" the crash. I said its operation was linked to the crash. Subtle but important difference :)

Minidumps are never a good way to prove the culpability of any given component. They're just sparse summaries of the address space at the time, analogous to a photo of the aftermath of a car crash.

I'm using the standard "debugging tools for windows" package. Check out the sticky post in this section for more details.

Did all that you said. Got hit hard these last few days. The system would not even post at one point. I removed one stick of RAM and it would finally get to windows. It will not do anything if there is memory installed in the third slot...I don't understand. I ran memtest for 3+ hours and it did not detect problems with the RAM. The last BSOD just occurred right when 7 was loading....first time it has done this. I uninstalled NIS 2010 and ThreatFire as well. Minidumps are attached. I am in Safe Mode right now. Thanks for your help.

number23 said:

... I uninstalled NIS 2010 and ThreatFire as well.

Acronis and ThreatFire drivers are all over the stack in 3 out of the 4 dumps, so presumably the ThreatFire "uninstall" didn't work or didn't remove the drivers:

ChildEBP RetAddr
abc3f97c 82f4bf03 nt!KeBugCheckEx+0x1e
abc3f99c 82f5ba31 nt!VerifierBugCheckIfAppropriate+0x30
abc3f9b4 82f47b7b nt!ExAllocatePoolSanityChecks+0xb2
abc3f9e8 82f4774f nt!VeAllocatePoolWithTagPriority+0x68
abc3fa04 839f02ab nt!VerifierExAllocatePoolWithTag+0x1e
WARNING: Stack unwind information not available. Following frames may be wrong.
abc3fa18 839f151d TfFsMon+0x12ab
abc3fa84 839f1a9d TfFsMon+0x251d
abc3fab4 839f4060 TfFsMon+0x2a9d
abc3fac4 839f5727 TfFsMon+0x5060
abc3fb1c 82f466c3 TfFsMon+0x6727
abc3fb40 82c53473 nt!IovCallDriver+0x258
abc3fb54 85042f4e nt!IofCallDriver+0x1b
abc3fbf4 82c53473 tdrpm228+0x9f4e
abc3fc08 82e72ea2 nt!IofCallDriver+0x1b
abc3fc48 82e39c0a nt!IopCloseFile+0x2f3
abc3fc94 82e5c772 nt!ObpDecrementHandleCount+0x139
abc3fcdc 82e5df72 nt!ObpCloseHandleTableEntry+0x203
abc3fd0c 82e5e0ea nt!ObpCloseHandle+0x7f
abc3fd28 82c5a42a nt!NtClose+0x4e
abc3fd28 770e64f4 nt!KiFastCallEntry+0x12a

I'd suggest getting rid of ThreatFire for real, and then Acronis if that doesn't do the trick.

The 4th crash is more difficult to pick. You've got driver verifier enabled on some rather severe settings, so I'd suggest you disable that, at least for now. Run this from an elevated (run as admin) CMD prompt:

VERIFIER /RESET

Then, reboot.

number23 said:

Thanks for your help.

No problem at all :)

Any idea why the computer won't always post with both the memory sticks installed?

number23 said:

Any idea why the computer won't always post with both the memory sticks installed?

No.

Some sort of memory mismatch? Too-aggressive timings? Voltage issues? A BIOS badly in need of an update? One or more RAM sticks (or the motherboard) subtly broken? I don't think it's possible to say without more testing.

Hello, Again...computer had been fine for awhile, but is acting up again. Would someone mind taking a look at this mini dump? I can't figure it out.