BSOD alternating between crashes in hal.dll and ntoskrnl.exe

[gogonimago]

I have been struggling with constant game freezes on my Nvidia GT 520 ever since I got it back at the beginning of this year. At first, all was fine but then I started playing some demanding games like Prince of Persia the Forgotten Sands and the 520, of course, couldn't run it at 60 fps but that was ok with me. A few weeks in, I started getting computer lag when playing the game. After something like 2 hours of playing, the screen would go black for a few seconds, then the game would resume. Ok, no big deal I guess the game install has a bug or something. If life were that easy. Eventually, the computer started all out just turning off when I played the game for a few hours. It didn't blue screen but it did sound loop and crash.

A few months ago, I decided that I had had enough. I bought a Diamond Radeon HD 7870 (upgrading my PSU of course) to try and fix the problem. If life were that easy. This time when I played video games, it would run everything I throw at it at 60 fps on max settings, it was a beast! ...for the first 2 minutes and then it crashed and boy was it messy, 100 percent fan and a sound loop, sounded like a leaf blower was inside there, scariest thing ever.

It was time to take action; I went benchmarking. Ran memtest for 7 hours, no errors. Downloaded diagnostics tool for my Hard Drive, no errors. Ran CPU benchmarks with AIDA 64, no errors (although the separate FPU test heated my CPU up quite a bit, I had to stop it. I also had problems when I ran Prime95 and my CPU temp shot up as well). Replaced PSU, problem persists. Switched the card to a GT 520, still the same problem, everything I had done had no effect. There was something going on here.

These crashes continued on and on and I had to endure them because I didn't have the time required to correctly diagnose what was going on but now that it's Winter Break, I hit it with full force because I don't want a 300 dollar paperweight in my computer.

I downloaded AppCrashView and BlueScreenView from Nirsoft and I looked at the error reports. Turns out, that sometimes the computer actually crashes but other times it just disconnects from my monitors. From the crash reports that I WAS able to extract, it turned out to be a 0x124 error which was a hardware error. I did a bit of searching and decided to do a system re-install, maybe it was a driver issue. Did it, didn't work.

I then decided to do another system re-install and put in my GT 520 with just its drivers on there, no AMD drivers. Did it, didn't work.

This time though, I'm getting a different error. Last time around (when my 7870 was in) BlueScreenView was telling me that hal.dll was causing the error with ntoskrnl.exe in second place on the list of files at the bottom. This time with the 520 in, the error is caused by ntoskrnl.exe with hal.dll in second place. The files alternate when I switch cards. WTF!

Another tid-bit that threw me off is that when I run furmark benchmark on my 7870, it runs fine until I turn on the "Dynamic Camera" option which is when it disconnects/crashes within the first few seconds. All the other benchmarks are fine, the only one that fails is Furmark but it's obviously not a graphics card problem.



TL;DR: EVGA GT 520 causing crashes. Switched with Diamond Radeon HD 7870, same thing only crashes appeared faster. Diagnostics and benchmarks ran fine (except maybe for CPU) only thing that crashes is Furmark and only when Dynamic Camera is selected. Re-installed windows to clear drivers, installed latest Catalyst drivers: same crashes. Re-installed windows again, switched in my GT 520, installed only its drivers: still crashing although it actually displays a blue screen as opposed to just turning off as happened with the Radeon HD 7870. BlueScreenView said hal.dll caused crashes with ntoskrnl.exe in second place, while when I switched in the GT 520, ntroskrnl.exe was causing the crashes with hal.dll in second.




Attached is my SF Diagnostic while I'm using the GT 520



System Specs are here:

HP Pavilion p6740f Magnesium Gray Edition Desktop PC Product Specifications HP Pavilion p6740f Desktop PC | HP® Support

Only thing I've added is the Radeon HD 7870/GT 520 and a PSU that is the Silencer MK II 750 watt.



The bottom line is that I am getting errors that look like a graphics card fault when they clearly aren't can anyone shed some light as to what might be causing this?

 

[koolkat77]

Welcome to SevenForums.

Please upload your msinfo32.nfo file. To get this: Start Menu -> Type msinfo32 into the Search programs and files box -> When it opens, go to File, Save -> Save as msinfo32.nfo and save in a place you will remember -> Let it finish the process of gathering and saving the system info -> Right click the .nfo file, click send to compressed (zipped) folder -> Upload the .zip file here.

Please upload your msinfo32.txt file. To get this: Start Menu -> Type msinfo32 into the Search programs and files box -> When it opens, go to File, Export -> Save as msinfo32.txt and save in a place you will remember -> Let it finish the process of gathering and saving the system info -> Right click the .txt file, click send to compressed (zipped) folder -> Upload the .zip file here.

The one .DMP file provided it looks as if Norton is causing the BSOD.

.DMP FILE OUTPUT:

[FONT="Lucida Console"]*******************************************************************************
*                                                                             *
*                        Bugcheck Analysis                                    *
*                                                                             *
*******************************************************************************

Use !analyze -v to get detailed debugging information.

BugCheck A, {10, 2, 1, fffff80002a81365}

*** WARNING: Unable to verify timestamp for [COLOR="red"]SYMNETS.SYS[/COLOR]
*** ERROR: Module load completed but symbols could not be loaded for [COLOR="red"]SYMNETS.SYS[/COLOR]
Probably caused by : [COLOR="Red"]SYMNETS.SYS ( SYMNETS+27ed1 )[/COLOR]

Followup: MachineOwner
---------

1: kd> !analyze -v
*******************************************************************************
*                                                                             *
*                        Bugcheck Analysis                                    *
*                                                                             *
*******************************************************************************

IRQL_NOT_LESS_OR_EQUAL (a)
An attempt was made to access a pageable (or completely invalid) address at an
interrupt request level (IRQL) that is too high.  This is usually
caused by drivers using improper addresses.
If a kernel debugger is available get the stack backtrace.
Arguments:
Arg1: 0000000000000010, memory referenced
Arg2: 0000000000000002, IRQL
Arg3: 0000000000000001, bitfield :
	bit 0 : value 0 = read operation, 1 = write operation
	bit 3 : value 0 = not an execute operation, 1 = execute operation (only on chips which support this level of status)
Arg4: fffff80002a81365, address which referenced memory

Debugging Details:
------------------


WRITE_ADDRESS: GetPointerFromAddress: unable to read from fffff80002cb00e0
GetUlongFromAddress: unable to read from fffff80002cb0198
 0000000000000010 Nonpaged pool

CURRENT_IRQL:  2

FAULTING_IP: 
nt!KeAcquireSpinLockRaiseToDpc+55
fffff800`02a81365 f0480fba2900    lock bts qword ptr [rcx],0

CUSTOMER_CRASH_COUNT:  1

DEFAULT_BUCKET_ID:  WIN7_DRIVER_FAULT

BUGCHECK_STR:  0xA

PROCESS_NAME:  chrome.exe

TRAP_FRAME:  fffff88008255300 -- (.trap 0xfffff88008255300)
NOTE: The trap frame does not contain all registers.
Some register values may be zeroed or incorrect.
rax=0000000000000002 rbx=0000000000000000 rcx=0000000000000010
rdx=00000000000014d0 rsi=0000000000000000 rdi=0000000000000000
rip=fffff80002a81365 rsp=fffff88008255490 rbp=0000000000000010
 r8=fffff88008255eb0  r9=0000000000000000 r10=fffff88003f3d6a8
r11=fffffa8007aeb610 r12=0000000000000000 r13=0000000000000000
r14=0000000000000000 r15=0000000000000000
iopl=0         nv up ei pl nz na po nc
nt!KeAcquireSpinLockRaiseToDpc+0x55:
fffff800`02a81365 f0480fba2900    lock bts qword ptr [rcx],0 ds:00000000`00000010=????????????????
Resetting default scope

LAST_CONTROL_TRANSFER:  from fffff80002a77ca9 to fffff80002a78740

STACK_TEXT:  
fffff880`082551b8 fffff800`02a77ca9 : 00000000`0000000a 00000000`00000010 00000000`00000002 00000000`00000001 : nt!KeBugCheckEx
fffff880`082551c0 fffff800`02a76920 : 00000000`00000000 00000000`00000000 00000000`00000000 00000000`00000000 : nt!KiBugCheckDispatch+0x69
fffff880`08255300 fffff800`02a81365 : 00000000`00000000 00000000`00000000 00000000`00000000 00000000`00000000 : nt!KiPageFault+0x260
fffff880`08255490 fffff880`03f22ed1 : 00000000`000014d0 00000000`00000000 fffff880`03f472e0 00000000`00000000 : nt!KeAcquireSpinLockRaiseToDpc+0x55
fffff880`082554e0 00000000`000014d0 : 00000000`00000000 fffff880`03f472e0 00000000`00000000 00000000`00000000 : SYMNETS+0x27ed1
fffff880`082554e8 00000000`00000000 : fffff880`03f472e0 00000000`00000000 00000000`00000000 00000000`00000000 : 0x14d0


STACK_COMMAND:  kb

FOLLOWUP_IP: 
SYMNETS+27ed1
fffff880`03f22ed1 ??              ???

SYMBOL_STACK_INDEX:  4

SYMBOL_NAME:  SYMNETS+27ed1

FOLLOWUP_NAME:  MachineOwner

MODULE_NAME: SYMNETS

IMAGE_NAME:  SYMNETS.SYS

DEBUG_FLR_IMAGE_TIMESTAMP:  4c33f2f4

FAILURE_BUCKET_ID:  X64_0xA_SYMNETS+27ed1

BUCKET_ID:  X64_0xA_SYMNETS+27ed1

Followup: MachineOwner
---------
kd> k
Child-SP          RetAddr           Call Site
fffff880`082551b8 fffff800`02a77ca9 nt!KeBugCheckEx
fffff880`082551c0 fffff800`02a76920 nt!KiBugCheckDispatch+0x69
fffff880`08255300 fffff800`02a81365 nt!KiPageFault+0x260
fffff880`08255490 fffff880`03f22ed1 nt!KeAcquireSpinLockRaiseToDpc+0x55
fffff880`082554e0 00000000`000014d0 SYMNETS+0x27ed1
fffff880`082554e8 00000000`00000000 0x14d0
[/FONT]

Description: SYMNETS.SYS Symantec/ Norton NIS/ N360 driver

[FONT="Lucida Console"]STOP 0x0000000A: IRQL_NOT_LESS_OR_EQUAL   

Usual causes:  Kernel mode driver, System Service, BIOS, Windows, Virus scanner, Backup tool, compatibility[/FONT]

Network crashes:

fffff880`08255aa8  fffff880`0179409c NETIO!WfpHashtableInsert+0x1c

fffff880`08255ac0  fffff880`01946690 tcpip!ALE_GUID_NULL+0x1c0

Norton is known tp and contributing to your BSOD crashes. Please uninstall it with the Norton Removal Tool and replace with Microsoft Security Essentials at least to test.

• Norton Removal Tool

Microsoft Security Essentials.

Recommended from a strict BSOD perspective, compatibility & stability compared to other antiviruses/internet security software. It is free and lightweight:-
​

• Microsoft Security Essentials - Free Antivirus for Windows
  
  • Malwarebytes - Free
    • http://www.sevenforums.com/system-security/206705-good-free-system-security-combination.html

:ar: Do not start the free trial of Malware Bytes; remember to deselect that option when prompted.

Run a full scan with both (separately) once downloaded, installed and updated.

---

Perform a System File Check

• Click on the start rb:
• Type CMD on Search
• Left click and Run as Administrator
• Type SFC /scannow

Full tutorial here:

• http://www.sevenforums.com/tutorials/1538-sfc-scannow-command-system-file-checker.html

---

Upload a screenshot of your hard disk using CrystalDiskInfo:

• CrystalDiskInfo - Software - Crystal Dew World
• http://www.sevenforums.com/tutorials/9733-screenshots-files-upload-post-seven-forums.html

Make a hard drive test from the hard drive manufacturers website:

• Hard Drive Diagnostic Procedure

Run Disk Check on your hard disk for file system errors and bad sectors on it:

• http://www.sevenforums.com/tutorials/433-disk-check.html

---

Install all updates and Service Pack 1:

• Learn how to install Windows 7 Service Pack 1 (SP1)

That's all for now & look forward to your .nfo file.

1: kd> !sysinfo
!sysinfo [ cpuinfo | cpumicrocode | cpuspeed | gbl | machineid | registers | smbios ] [-csv | -noheaders]
1: kd> !sysinfo cpuspeed
sysinfo: unknown error 80004005
1: kd> !sysinfo machineid
Machine ID Information [From Smbios 2.6, DMIVersion 0, Size=1352]
BiosMajorRelease = 6
BiosMinorRelease = 11
BiosVendor = American Megatrends Inc.
BiosVersion = 6.11
BiosReleaseDate = 12/28/2011
SystemManufacturer = Hewlett-Packard
SystemProductName = HP Pavilion P6000 Series
SystemFamily = 103C_53316J G=D
SystemVersion =  
SystemSKU = BV525AAR#ABA
BaseBoardManufacturer = FOXCONN
BaseBoardProduct = 2AB1 
BaseBoardVersion = 1.00

BTW, are you overclocking any hardware?
Have you performed any stress tests? like Furmark, Prime95, CPUintelburn test?
Checked for a BIOS update?

Thanks.

 

[gogonimago]

Thank you for the thorough reply

I have edited the post with the requested nfo and text files.

I also removed Norton and installed MSE.

The system file checker turned out no errors

Attached is a screenshot of my CrystalDisk results. As you can read in my post, I have run WD's diagnostics tool and chkdsk and both turned out with no errors.

Service Pack 1 is now installed and my BIOS is the latest version.

I am not overclocking anything. As you can read in my post, I have ran memtest, 7 times actually, with no errors. Furmark crashes with my 7870 but only when dynamic camera is turned on. Prime95 heated up my CPU to its max as stated by AMD (62 degrees).

How do I know if Furmark is stable and what does Prime95's heating up of my CPU mean?

 

[centaur78]

gogonimago..

The answer is staring right at your face.. its your CPU !!! It could be heating up due to dust built up on the FAN or the less amount of thermal paste or etc. check these and let us know..

From the crash reports that I WAS able to extract, it turned out to be a 0x124 error which was a hardware error. I did a bit of searching and decided to do a system re-install, maybe it was a driver issue. Did it, didn't work.

Ran CPU benchmarks with AIDA 64, no errors (although the separate FPU test heated my CPU up quite a bit, I had to stop it. I also had problems when I ran Prime95 and my CPU temp shot up as well).

EDIT: If you have done the updates .... is it still BSODing or crashing ???

 

[gogonimago]

Here's the thing though, my 7870 crashed while running FurMark which led me to think that it was a GPU problem, if it was CPU then why would it crash during a graphics test?

 

[centaur78]

A question back to you ..... how would your computer run without a CPU ???

Anything you do via windows will involve the CPU.

Second 0x124 error usually denotes processor error (in some cases could also be BIOS)..... if you have the dump files for this do post it.

Thirdly you answered your own question... FURMARK is used to test your GPU... GPU temps should normalize after about 10 min or so of running it..... usually when you run the temps should increase to about 60 to 70 deg C and then normalize at that range... if the GPU temps keeps on increasing then you have a problem with the GPU fans or the GPU itself.... your CPU temps would be increasing but not much when you do this.... but in your case it the opposite..

Fourthly when you stress test the CPU with Prime your CPU temp should increase... You CPU is not that old and it should be able to take on the stress test without much problem.... Did it report any error or BSOD when your did this ??? It needs to do either one of them or your temps should keep on increasing constantly .... dont just stop at 60 deg c ... continue doing the test... and check the temps if its going above 100 deg c.... if it did in most case it would a single core on the Multicore processor thats gone for a toss... Although your motherboard has a certain ACPI temp setpoint which usually will shutdown the system or BSOD when it reached in the 100 deg C range...

Fifth.. you also said you update your BIOS and Service Pack 1..... has it BSOD after this ????

 

[koolkat77]

Please follow the advise given by Centaur.

Start Menu\Programs\avast! Free Antivirus	Public:Start Menu\Programs\avast! Free Antivirus	Public

You've kept Avast and Norton both on your PC.. Multiple antiviruses will cause conflicts anyway..

Please uninstall Avast antivirus as well.

 

[gogonimago]

OK, Norton came pre-installed on my PC so even if I did a system recovery, it would still be there, I turned it off and I that's when I installed avast. Now that MSE is on, they're both gone.

Back when I was having problems with my 7870, only Norton was installed (the full version)

 

[centaur78]

Has it BSOD yet after the Bios update + Service Pack + Norton removal + AVAST removal and Installing of MSE ????

 

[gogonimago]

...usually when you run the temps should increase to about 60 to 70 deg C and then normalize at that range... if the GPU temps keeps on increasing then you have a problem with the GPU fans or the GPU itself

Well, on the non-dynamic camera, it stabilized at around high 70's and low 80's after 5 or so minutes, although the fan was only about 70 percent. Is that safe or should I adjust the fan curve when I fix the problem?

Fourthly when you stress test the CPU with Prime your CPU temp should increase... You CPU is not that old and it should be able to take on the stress test without much problem....

On AMD's site it says that the max safe temperature is 60 degrees and if you search around, no one is recommending you go anything above mid 60's at optimal use. I wanna fix the problem but I'm really hesitant to heat up my CPU anywhere above the suggested range...

Did it report any error or BSOD when your did this???

There was no error or BSOD although I only ran it for like 2 minutes because my temperatures rapidly increased. When I used AIDA64, only the FPU test made the temperatures go up, the regular CPU test was stable after hours. When I used Prime95, there was no distinction, it was just CPU and it warmed it up.

Fifth.. you also said you update your BIOS and Service Pack 1..... has it BSOD after this ????

For now, no I ran a 15 minute furmark test on Dynamic Camera (the one that insta-crashed before) and it was stable, I also ran Cryengine for a bit which used to crash. It seems quite stable but I don't want to speak too soon.

 

[gogonimago]

Has it BSOD yet after the Bios update + Service Pack + Norton removal + AVAST removal and Installing of MSE ????

No, for today it has been stable, I haven't tested it with the 7870 yet though.

 

[centaur78]

...usually when you run the temps should increase to about 60 to 70 deg C and then normalize at that range... if the GPU temps keeps on increasing then you have a problem with the GPU fans or the GPU itself

Well, on the non-dynamic camera, it stabilized at around high 70's and low 80's after 5 or so minutes, although the fan was only about 70 percent. Is that safe or should I adjust the fan curve when I fix the problem?

Thats safe ..... and what do you mean my adjusting the Fan curve ???

Fourthly when you stress test the CPU with Prime your CPU temp should increase... You CPU is not that old and it should be able to take on the stress test without much problem....

On AMD's site it says that the max safe temperature is 60 degrees and if you search around, no one is recommending you go anything above mid 60's at optimal use. I wanna fix the problem but I'm really hesitant to heat up my CPU anywhere above the suggested range...

Well thats the whole point of doing a stress test !!!! I know what is recommended ... The whole point of doing a stress test is to max out the processor to see when it would give in !!! and this it should do at a resonable temperature .. well Prime will either give you an error report or it will BSOD when you reach a max temp or if there are problem with one of the core's of the processor. Now..if you have BSOD dump with Bugcheck 0x124 error.. it would probably confirm what i mentioned now.

Did it report any error or BSOD when your did this???

There was no error or BSOD although I only ran it for like 2 minutes because my temperatures rapidly increased. When I used AIDA64, only the FPU test made the temperatures go up, the regular CPU test was stable after hours. When I used Prime95, there was no distinction, it was just CPU and it warmed it up.

Same as above

Fifth.. you also said you update your BIOS and Service Pack 1..... has it BSOD after this ????

For now, no I ran a 15 minute furmark test on Dynamic Camera (the one that insta-crashed before) and it was stable, I also ran Cryengine for a bit which used to crash. It seems quite stable but I don't want to speak too soon.

Well like i mentioned before a Bugcheck 0x124 error on certain cases does denote to a BIOS problem as well.. So now that your BIOS is updated and your not having a BSOD... that could be the case..

But we will wait and see

 

[gogonimago]

what do you mean my adjusting the Fan curve ???

Using MSI Afterburner, you can adjust it so that the fan goes to a higher speed on lower temperatures, for example, if I didn't like the fact that it was reaching 80 degrees, I could adjust it so that when the temperature gets near 80 degrees, the fan goes at 100 percent so that it cools it down.

Well like i mentioned before a Bugcheck 0x124 error on certain cases does denote to a BIOS problem as well.. So now that your BIOS is updated and your not having a BSOD... that could be the case..

I had updated the BIOS months before this post and the crashes were still occurring, the only thing different now is that Norton is gone, could that be a possibility? Also, keep in mind that I've only been using the computer for one day, it may not be stable but I just haven't been getting any crashes.

 

[centaur78]

Alright

Stop using the MSI Afterburner to control your fan speed. let it go to 100% fan speed. and do the test..

 

[gogonimago]

I never actually used the Afterburner, I'm just saying that its an option. Also, the fan only gets to around 70 percent when the temperature stabilizes.

 

[gogonimago]

Alright guys, my GT 520 crashed again after almost a month of stability. I was playing starcraft 2 when my comp froze and then shut off.

Attached is my SF Diagnostics File for this crash

 

[gogonimago]

So can I go start a new thread if nobody is replying?

 

[koolkat77]

I have requested Centaur to take a look and you should go through this thread: http://www.sevenforums.com/crash-lockup-debug-how/35349-stop-0x124-what-means-what-try.html if you haven't already.

 

[centaur78]

Gogon

Could you reupload the SF diagnostics again.. The last one you was at Jan 26th. Did you have BSOD after that.. if so upload the whole SF diag again.

 

[gogonimago]

I have requested Centaur to take a look and you should go through this thread: http://www.sevenforums.com/crash-lockup-debug-how/35349-stop-0x124-what-means-what-try.html if you haven't already.

I already checked the 0x124 thread and I'm on the stage of testing the hardware components

Gogon

Could you reupload the SF diagnostics again.. The last one you was at Jan 26th. Did you have BSOD after that.. if so upload the whole SF diag again.

That was the last time that the computer crashed, I haven't done anything to make the system crash in that time so that SF file is relevant. I really just want to know if it's the processor.