My son's PC crashes when he is playing Minecraft, Age of Empires HD, YouTube, and he reports problems with Java which show up when he's playing Minecraft. I couldn't discern a consistent cause from WhoCrashed. Any suggestions gratefully accepted. I attach a debug file.
Jim
Hello again Jim. :)
It appears that the display driver is very old.
Update it, but install version 13.9 WHQL only.Code:fffff880`03e0e000 fffff880`03e5e000 atikmpag (deferred) Image path: \SystemRoot\system32\DRIVERS\atikmpag.sys Image name: atikmpag.sys Timestamp: Wed Apr 20 06:52:32 2011 (4DAE3558) CheckSum: 00050398 ImageSize: 00050000 Translations: 0000.04b0 0000.04e4 0409.04b0 0409.04e4
When the driver is updated, Stress test the Graphics Card using Furmark.
Video Card - Stress Test with Furmark
Let us know the results.
No difficulties with Furmark as far as I could see. PC has been on for three days and no crashes. My son returns tomorrow and will be using this computer for Minecraft and so on for the rest of this week as he is on school holidays. If it doesn't crash before the weekend I will chalk it up as another win for Arc and mark it 'solved'. Thanks again for your help. It is really appreciated.
PC crashed overnight. I attach a SF Diagnostic file. The graphic display was stopping and recovering a couple of times just now. I recall my son saying something to me about that. Also, I noticed that these three items are listed in Device Manager as 'Other devices' and marked with exclamation marks: Ethernet Controller; SM Bus Controller; Universal Serial Bus (USB) Controller.
I have previously tested this RAM.
A couple of days ago I decided to run verifier. I left it for 24 hours or so but the machine had frozen (possibly the graphics adapter?) and I restarted it. Since I couldn't remember how to read event viewer I had no choice but to just keep verifier going. I checked in just now, after 22 hours uptime and there have been no BSODs. My son has been using another box so the pc has just been running with no load.
I have disabled verifier now. Is that a mistake?
Have you tried running memtest86?
Failing RAM could be an issue here.
Memtest86 will test your RAM
Information
Run Memtest86 for at least 8 passes so we get enough information to confirm that your RAM isn't failing
If you get errors then you'll need to swap your RAM sticks around to determine whether or not it's the RAM sticks or motherboard DIMM slots.
If the output is like this then you have bad RAM so the stick(s) need replacing.
No code has to be inserted here.
If the output is like this then you should replace the motherboard, however you can leave that DIMM slot empty although it's not advised to use a system with a faulty motherboard.
No code has to be inserted here.
What USB devices have you got plugged in?
The RAM has been memtest+-ed previously. The box has the usual usb wifi dongle. Are these things the tools of the devil? Maybe I should just buy a new adapter, they are pretty cheap now. I am concerned about the graphics freeze problem and I have had no luck googling a solution. The problems are likely to be completely unrelated, speaking as an engineer (not).
What settings had you got running with driver verifier?
Can you also enable driver verifier but only enable the options: Standard settings and IRP logging step 3.
Don't enable Force Pending I/O Reuqests
Enable Driver Verifier to monitor the drivers.
Driver Verifier -Enable and Disable
Run Driver Verifier for 24 hours or the occurrence of the next crash, whichever is earlier.
Information
Why Driver Verifier:
It puts a stress on the drivers, and so it makes the unstable drivers crash. Hopefully the driver that crashes is recorded in the memory dump.
How Can we know that DV is enabled:
It will make the system bit of slow, laggy.
Warning
Before enabling DV, make sure that you have earlier System restore points made in your computer. You can check it easily by using CCleaner looking at Tools > System Restore.
If there are no points, make a System Restore Point Manually before enabling DV.
Tip
- If you fail to get on the Desktop because of DV, Boot into Advanced Boot Options > Safe mode. Disable DV there. Now boot normally again, and try following the instruction of enabling DV again.
- If you cannot boot in Safe mode too, do a System Restore to a point you made earlier.
Let us know the results, with the subsequent crash dumps, if any.
Are there still exclamation marks in the device manager? If so you will have to install the correct driver.
If there are exclamation marks what devices are they on?
Check the support page for the motherboard, drivers. You would need the Ethernet/LAN, USB, and chipset drivers.
Doing this sort of troubleshooting from another residence with the happy bonus of the pc being at one's ex-wife's house is tricky. However, I can report that a while back I got to 7 passes of memtest before domestic drama caused the pc to be turned off. I decided to spend a little money and buy a different usb wifi adapter. I also checked Device Manager and fixed some problems with uninstalled drivers. I think it is looking good. I will, of course, advise if it is solved. And thanks for your advice folks.
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