Solved Random BSODs, problem with minidump file but not with kernel mem dump

[redcloud111]

Hey, guys

I have been having some odd behavior with my Win 7 (64) OS. First, I experienced several BSODs but no files were written to my windows\minidump directory. I made sure to have the Startup and Recovery settings selected (ie., Write an Event checkbox was selected and small memory dump was selected). But no memory dump file was ever created. I switched to kernel memory dump, and I think one was written, and should be reflected in the SF Diagnostic Tool report.

Anyway, I simply want know what is causing the BSOD and how to fix it. And guidance will be greatly appreciated.

OS Name Microsoft Windows 7 Home Premium
Version 6.1.7601 Service Pack 1 Build 7601
System Manufacturer ASUSTeK Computer Inc.
System Model G74Sx
System Type x64-based PC
Processor Intel(R) Core(TM) i7-2630QM CPU @ 2.00GHz, 2001 Mhz, 4 Core(s), 8 Logical Processor(s)
BIOS Version/Date American Megatrends Inc. G74Sx.201, 4/27/2011
SMBIOS Version 2.6
Installed Physical Memory (RAM) 12.0 GB
Total Physical Memory 12.0 GB
Available Physical Memory 9.98 GB
Total Virtual Memory 29.9 GB
Available Virtual Memory 27.7 GB
Page File Space 18.0 GB
Page File C:\pagefile.sys


Thanks!

 

[Arc]

There is no dump file in the zip you uploaded.

Follow the tutorial http://www.sevenforums.com/tutorials/174459-dump-files-configure-windows-create-bsod.html, make windows create dumps at the subsequent crashes.

At the same time, search in C:\Windows\Minidump manually. If there is any, upload those.

 

[redcloud111]

Arc

Thanks for the speedy reply. Here's the thing: I have followed the instructions to have the minidump file created. It never gets created. It's never in windows/minidump. Really odd. The path in the settings dialog box is also correct. I have the checkbox to create the file, and I have small memory dump selected. The odd thing: I changed the settings last night to have it create a kernel memory dump. When I saw the bluescreen, it said the kernel memory dump was created. Now that you've told me it wasn't in the zip file I sent, I ran searches for *.dmp on my machine and nothing. I am at a loss as to how to get these reports created. Any idea what's stopping them from being created and where to go from here?

Thanks!

 

[centaur78]

1. The posted system logs are only till 3rd July 2012.
Please go to event viewer directly and right click on the system logs and application logs and save it as .evtx file and upload here.

2. Once you did the above .... clear the logs so that new event can be seen clearly.

3. Disable the below from the startup.. Some version of this is known to cause BSOD.

AirVideoServer c:\program files (x86)\airvideoserver\airvideoserver.exe

4. Based on the uploaded logs .. i can see you had a bsod in 13th June 2012... Bugcheck 1a... which is a memory management error.. Though this may not be related to the recent BSOD's... its a good idea to do a memtest of each of your rams for each slot to rule out the possibility of bad RAM... one you upload the logs again ... i will check and advice accordingly.

5. Though your paging files are in the system drive... its better to check if the setting on the virtual memory is set to system managed and point to system drive...( i know this is silly and you have already done it ..)

6. Use this program and post a snapshot of the SMART value of your HDD's

7. Disable or remove these network drive from Network connections for the time being (you can reenable it later once we finish troubleshooting)

X: \\mybooklive\redcloud111
Z: \\Base-station\wd 500

Do these and let me know..so i can advice you the next steps.

 

[redcloud111]

Centaur

Thanks for the detailed instructions!

1. Uploaded .evtx files
2. okay, done
3. okay, done
4. memtest is good
5. I verified it's set to system managed (it wasn't before. this is something i changed a few days ago in hopes my memory dump files would be written. i haven't had a bsod in a few days, though. weird)
6. Uploaded a snapshot
7. Disabled

 

[centaur78]

Memtest needs to be done for atleast 6 to 8 passes.... not just 1 pass

Well just as i feared... look at those reading....your Current pending sector count and Uncorrectable sector counts both are above the threshold... which means you are having problem with you disk... if you also check your logs you can see lots of disk i/o errors... though these values are not very high ... thats an impending sign of danger... that also explain why you are not able to create the dumps...

If its under warranty... get it replaced...

Current Pending sector count means Count of "unstable" sectors (waiting to be remapped, because of read errors). If an unstable sector is subsequently read successfully, this value is decreased and the sector is not remapped. Read errors on a sector will not remap the sector (since it might be readable later); instead, the drive firmware should remember that the sector needs to be remapped, and remap it the next time it's written.[29] However some drives will not immediately remap such sectors when written; instead the drive will first attempt to write to the problem sector and if the write operation is successful then the sector will be marked good. This is a serious shortcoming, for if such a drive contains marginal sectors that consistently fail only after some time has passed following a successful write operation, then the drive will never remap these problem sectors.

Uncorrectable sector counts means The total count of uncorrectable errors when reading/writing a sector. A rise in the value of this attribute indicates defects of the disk surface and/or problems in the mechanical subsystem.

 

[redcloud111]

Centaur

Damn! That sux. Thanks, though, for the head's up. I live over seas, and my Asus laptop just went past the year warranty.

Anyway, it's a 750 gig drive with four partitions. I use one for the OS, and the others for my media server.

Also, it looks like the errors are just in the C and D partitions. Would reformatting the partitions help, or even the entire drive? Is there any sort of utility I can run on it? If I can repair the drive it will be less of a headache than trying to get one sent here.

Also, if the problem is just with C and D, would moving my media to E and F keep them safe, even if the drive fails?

 

[centaur78]

Red

I presume you have 2 drives in your laptop... Since the drive that hold E and F is good... try installing windows 7 on that and using it. Try doing this and see if you still get any BSOD... as far as i can tell ... the problem should be resolved when you do this.

You can try doing Chkdsk on the drive and look for errors.. and it should probably remap the sectors as Bad sectors.. when you check SMART values after this ... you would probably see the "Reallocated sector counts" showing some value.

You could still use the problem drive... its just that ... there is no guarantee when this drive would give up on you, it might take weeks or maybe months before it happens...

 

[redcloud111]

Centaur

You are, in fact, correct. I have two 750 gig drives. It seems the damaged sectors are on the C: drive, which also has the D: partition. I have moved my media off D: to E:

I have run memtest several times (so no RAM errors).

Also, I have run chkdsk /f /r on both C: and D: and was told the drives are fine. This seems odd to me.

Are there any tools for me to use to try to repair C: (and if not repair, at least format it or something to avoid the damage sectors)? I'd love to avoid the yellow warning sign in Crystaldisk.

Thanks for the advice.

 

[centaur78]

there are tools like Spinrite, MHDD, and the like that are known to resolve problem with bad sectors.. again these are only helpful if you have surface errors where these programs write to bad sectors ... if the error is more physical ... then these tools are not good as well...

As far as i Know...as soon as you see values in "Current Pending sector count" .. they are usually remapped and the values shown in "Reallocated Sector Counts"....But in your hdd this is not the case... the "Uncorrectable sector counts" are showing the same value as "Current Pending sector count" which is a sign of mechanical problem.

Like you said the chkdsk is showing no errors... as the current pending sector count is zero. then how is windows going to know where the error lies ??


hmm ok... since you backed up everything.... lets do some experimenting .....do a full format on the problem drive and then install windows on them... try using the system for a while and keep lookin at the SMART values as well as your logs... if you start seeing disk i/o errors... and again not able to produce dumps. etc then you have problems with the drive physically .. there is nothing much you can do abt it ...other than buying a new one .

Let me Know

 

[redcloud111]

Centaur

Okay, tell me if this seems right to you. My setup is one disk (C: and D: ) that is a problem, while the other disk (E: and F: ) are good.

1. I plan to install Win 7 on E: because I want to do a low level format on the other damaged disk. I am assuming this is possible, that in the Win7 Setup I can select the E: drive as my destination for the install. I guess I then have to boot from that drive. I would hope to be able to remap it as the C drive. Do you know if this is possible? (Of course, if I could do the low level format during the Win installation, that would be easier, but I have no idea if it formats in this way.)

2. I'll then use HDD Guru to do a low level format on the damaged disk. Theoretically, I'd then use the old C: and D: (hopefully remapped to different letters) for my media.

How does this sound?

 

[centaur78]

Red

let me put it this way.....

Disk1 => contains C: and D: => Problem
Disk2 => contains E: and F: => Good.

Next step ... make sure you dont have anything on E partition because you are going to install Windows 7 ... while installation.. this would format the partition. The partition that windows install is automatically taken as C: ... the rest of the letters goes from there... so in ur case.. the E: and F: will change to C: and D: ( all the files remain in F: and only the drive letter changes to D: )

HDD guru or any other software will most probably do the low level formats by booting from a usb or cd/dvd because low level format cannot be done while windows in working.... Low level format now means more like writing zero filling the sectors

Hope its clear now...

 

[redcloud111]

Centaur

Here's the update: I ended up doing the reinstall on the working drive. Spent all day tweaking the OS and installing apps. I also ran HDD Guru's low level format on the damaged drive. And, when it was done: success! Everything was blue. Both drives were showing good health.

Here's the problem

So, at the end of the night, I do a restart because I've added drivers and updated Windows and all that.

I got a boot error. So I went into the usb install, tried to repair. That didn't work. I read some tutorials on how to use the cmd prompt in the repair program to select the proper volume. I think I made it worse. I am now getting a

BOOTMGR is missing Press Ctrl Alt Delete

error every time I start. No matter how I set the BIOS it won't read my USB. If I had Win 7 on a DVD I could probably get back into the repair. Since all my other machines are OS X (none with an optical drive!), I am going to bend the knee and take it to a technician. I only had yesterday to work on it, anyway.

But, in the end, the disks both looked good, so that's a success. I just have to get the darn thing to boot now!

Thanks

 

[centaur78]

Centaur

Here's the update: I ended up doing the reinstall on the working drive. Spent all day tweaking the OS and installing apps. I also ran HDD Guru's low level format on the damaged drive. And, when it was done: success! Everything was blue. Both drives were showing good health.

Here's the problem

So, at the end of the night, I do a restart because I've added drivers and updated Windows and all that.

I got a boot error. So I went into the usb install, tried to repair. That didn't work. I read some tutorials on how to use the cmd prompt in the repair program to select the proper volume. I think I made it worse. I am now getting a

BOOTMGR is missing Press Ctrl Alt Delete

error every time I start. No matter how I set the BIOS it won't read my USB. If I had Win 7 on a DVD I could probably get back into the repair. Since all my other machines are OS X (none with an optical drive!), I am going to bend the knee and take it to a technician. I only had yesterday to work on it, anyway.

But, in the end, the disks both looked good, so that's a success. I just have to get the darn thing to boot now!

Thanks

Good to hear that red.... but i would still tell you to be careful and keep my sole eye on that drive...You never know when the whole thing would come down...

You can use partition magic and set the partition where windows is installed to boot flag.. that should solve the problem.... It would be much easier if you had a windows 7 disc though!

anyway keep me posted... and if its resolved.. do close the thread .. and rep those helped.

 

[redcloud111]

Centaur

I took it to a technician, who installed the proper boot file for me. Got it running quickly.

I've attached the crystaldiskinfo for my two disks. If you could be so gracious as to explain what C5 and C6 mean, I'd appreciate it. As you can see, I have 100s in both rows , as well as in both Best and Worst columns. In the other disk the properties are 100 and 93. What do these mean? I realize they are reading healthy. I just would like some clarification as to what each row means, as well as best and worst.

Again, thanks for all the help. You were very clear and thorough and gave me great direction. We can consider this thread closed.

Red