Random BSOD - STOP: 0X000000F4

Jake87 · 07 Apr 2015

Hi, I've used this site before to diagnose and fix BSOD problems in the past. Hoping someone can help me with this one. The PC is a Dell XPS L702X, seems to run fine until random BSOD after 10-20 minutes of usage.

The crash doesn't create a dump file, so I tried changing the setting to create a small dump file, but it doesn't create a small file either. It does however, stay on the blue screen until you shut down power manually, so I was able to write down the error codes. Here they are:

STOP: 0X000000F4

0X0000000000000003

0XFFFFFA800B87BB30

0XFFFFFA800B87BE10

0XFFFFF800031827B0

I have no idea if those codes help in any way, but I thought it was worth a shot.

Zip file attached.

Any help would be greatly appreciated.

Arc · 08 Apr 2015

Jake87 said:

Hi, I've used this site before to diagnose and fix BSOD problems in the past.

Then you know. Blue Screen of Death (BSOD) Posting Instructions

Jake87 said:

The crash doesn't create a dump file, so I tried changing the setting to create a small dump file, but it doesn't create a small file either. It does however, stay on the blue screen until you shut down power manually, so I was able to write down the error codes. Here they are:

STOP: 0X000000F4

0X0000000000000003

0XFFFFFA800B87BB30

0XFFFFFA800B87BE10

0XFFFFF800031827B0

I have no idea if those codes help in any way, but I thought it was worth a shot.

Any help would be greatly appreciated.

Well, still we need to see those files before suggesting anything.

Jake87 · 09 Apr 2015

My bad, I don't remember using that tool before, but I used it and uploaded the zip file.

The PC works perfectly until it randomly freezes up and eventually goes to blue screen.

Thanks in advance for any & all help.

Arc · 09 Apr 2015

A stop 0xF4 is storage related.

Test your HDD using Seatools: SeaTools for DOS and Windows - How to Use
Take both the short test and the long test. Let us know the results.

Also Get rid of intel rapid storage. First uninstall it from Control Panel > Programs and Features. Then Uninstall the driver from device manager.

Right click on "my computer" icon and click "manage" on the context menu.
It will open the "computer management" window.
Select "Device Manager" in the left pane, It will list all the existing devices up.
Expand "IDE ATA/ATAPI controllers" by clicking on the triangle in front of it.
Select one Intel device item under it, right click, uninstall.
Continue the process for all Intel items under "IDE ATA/ATAPI controllers"
Now restart the computer. At restart, windows will auto configure the appropriate native system driver.

Let us know the situation after doing these two.

Jake87 · 17 Apr 2015

Ok, so I had some trouble with seatools (mouse & keyboard didn't work in DOS version) but I got the legacy version, it worked, and I scanned and repaired 10 errors on the hard drive. Started up the PC and it crashed within 10 minutes. Same error code.

I also tried uninstalling the Intel drivers, but I think it reinstalled. I now see ATA Channel 0, 1, 4 and 5 + a driver named "Intel(R) 6 Series/C200 Series Chipset Family 6 Port SATA AHCI Controller - 1C03"

I did notice that the recovery disk was nearly full, so I deleted a 13GB backup file (not sure why it was so large) and created a new backup that is taking up very little space. I restarted the PC and it stayed on considerably longer this time, but eventually it froze, then came BSOD with the same error code.

Not sure if this is important, but once randomly I got a different BSOD which was blank except for one line at the top which read:
"STOP: c0000135 The program can't start because %hs is missing from your computer. Try reinstalling the program to fix the problem.

Also, the PC seems to run with no issues at all when in safe mode.

I don't know if any of this info helps narrow down the problem, but any further help would be greatly appreciated.

Arc · 17 Apr 2015

I think you should try one thing now. Free up the startup. Windows does not need any other program to auto start with it, but the auto start programs often conflicts and causes various problems including BSODs.

Click on the Start button
Type “msconfig (without quotes), click the resulting link. It will open the System Configuration window.
Select the “Startup” tab.
Deselect all items other than the antivirus.
Apply > OK
Accept then restart.

See how the computer runs in normal mode after doing it. Let us know.

Have you performed another short test after getting the HDD repaired? It might be necessary to know how effectively the HDD repair was done.

Jake87 · 17 Apr 2015

I actually disabled several programs from startup, Ill disable the rest and report back.

In the Seatools program it stated that a short test was done after the repairs and it passed.

Jake87 · 17 Apr 2015

One question:

If this error is storage related, would a system wipe possibly solve it?

I know there is no definitive answer to that, but I'm wondering if its worth a shot, or if its likely caused by hardware that will cause the BSOD even after a wipe.

Arc · 18 Apr 2015

Jake87 said:

One question:

If this error is storage related, would a system wipe possibly solve it?

I know there is no definitive answer to that, but I'm wondering if its worth a shot, or if its likely caused by hardware that will cause the BSOD even after a wipe.

If the storage error is occurring due to disc fragments or the data structure on the disc, then a full format ill solve the issue.

Jake87 · 20 Apr 2015

I'm gonna mark this as solved.

After doing a wipe of the recovery disk and seatools repairs, the BSOD came back (took a lot longer) but then I disabled all the startup processes, and it hasn't crashed since. I also noticed that this PC had never been updated by Windows. I enabled updates, downloaded & installed - and updated a few drivers as well.

Thanks for all your help Arc!