Solved BSOD - address ntoskrnl.exe

[caerroil]

Hi all,
As you can see from the title I had several BSODs since January, when I did the last clean install of Windows. There is no some special pattern to it. I remember that the last one happened when BWMeter did not start and I tried to do it manually. Following your advice I ran 8 passes of Memtest and it returned no errors. The same thing happened when Driver Verifier ran for about 10 hours. I use MSE, Windows Firewall is on, all updates are in place. The system is about 1 1/2 old (the specs are in the signature) and when I think about it now I have had some BSODs since the beginning, but I never paid too much attention to it. But right now I need the computer for some serious work and I cannot neglect the problem any longer. I hope you guys and gals will be kind enough to help me with this if possible, before I go to the retailer and claim my rights (I do not like them very much because of the paperwork, poor customer service etc. but sometimes they are the last solution).
Thank you

 

[JaidynM]

Run an sfc/scannow command in an elevated command prompt. If errors are found, run it twice more with each scan followed by a reboot.
http://www.sevenforums.com/tutorials/1538-sfc-scannow-command-system-file-checker.html

ASACPI.sys may be the cause of the problem. The pre-2009 version of the driver is notorious for causing BSOD's. From the below link, click on Utilities and download and install the 'ATK0110 driver for WindowsXP/Vista/Win7 32&64-bit'.
ASUSTeK Computer Inc. -Support- Drivers and Download P7P55D LE

What anti-virus are you using?

 

[caerroil]

Thanks for the quick answer. SFC did not find any integrity violations. The currently installed ASACPI.sys is 1043.6.0.0 while the one on the ASUS download site is 1043.5.0.0 so I guess that is OK. The anti-virus is MSE, updated on regular bases.

 

[JaidynM]

Make sure all Windows updates are installed including the latest Service Pack.

I would also enable Driver Verifier once again just to see if it comes up with anything new:

Enable Driver Verifier. Enabling this should hopefully crash your system and then point to the faulty driver that is causing problems. However before you do, it is advised that you create a system restore point and backup first.
http://www.sevenforums.com/tutorials/101379-driver-verifier-enable-disable.html

You said that you've already run a Memtest scan? How long ago was that?

 

[caerroil]

SP1 is there, as well as all other important updates (those that MS says are important). I will go with another 24 hour session of Driver Verifier. I ran 8 passes of Memtest 5-6 days ago. I will do it again and let you know what happens after all this. Regards

 

[JaidynM]

Okay, keep us posted.

 

[caerroil]

Hi again. Unfortunately, I have to report that I had another 3 BSODs since last night. The story goes like this: I started the verifier 3 days ago and kept it running all this time because Memtest was busy working with the memory and there was no real utilization of drivers. Strange enough, after 8 repeated passes Memtest returned 6 errors this time and then I continued testing one module at a time. In single tests they showed no errors, but when I swapped their places and tested both of them at the same time (just like when it returned 6 errors) everything was OK. Just to confirm, I put all back together like it was the first time and it showed errors again, just four of them this time. Again, single modules show no errors, even when they are not in their original slots. One odd thing too is that the slot#2 identifies the module (I tested both) as RAM 200 Mhz (DDR 400) while the first one (slot #1) displays it right (at least in my opinion) as RAM 800 MHz (DDR 1600). When I wanted to check with 2 blue slots, the system would not boot, even when I tried with one module at a time in different slots. Also, one of the three last BSODs was caused by the verifier trying to verify the graphics driver when I was actually installing the new version. The SFC showed no errors after all this. I will stop the verifier now and I am waiting for your further instructions .

 

[JaidynM]

With this current RAM setup, how does the memtest go?

Also, what RAM are you using specifically? Brand, model etc.

 

[caerroil]

After 9 passes this RAM setup returned no errors. The memory modules are Kingston HyperX Blu KHX1600C9AD3B1K2/4G. This is the setup where I swapped the memory modules because the previous one showed 6 errors. Also, this all happens in 2 black slots. The blue slots are, for some unknown reason, non-responsive.
2.5 hours of Prime 95 resulted in "FATAL ERROR: Rounding was 0.453125, expected less than 0.4
Hardware failure detected, consult stress.txt file.
FATAL ERROR: Final result was A1FFEDBE, expected: F97F1E2B.
Hardware failure detected, consult stress.txt file."
These stress.txt are just general guidelines.

 

[JaidynM]

Could you upload the stress.txt file?

 

[caerroil]

The only relevant document is the results file, and perhaps the stress.txt, as a guideline. However, "knowledge is yours"

 

[JaidynM]

If you are overclocking any hardware, STOP. Reset any changed values back to default.

As you may have read in the stress.txt document, the exact hardware component that is faulty is hard to find. Prime95 may tell us that your hardware is faulty but it may not tell us which hardware specifically is causing the problem.

Test your video card using Furmark. Watch your machine's temps and stop the test if it starts to overheat or artifacts appear on the screen.
http://www.sevenforums.com/tutorials/100356-video-card-stress-test-furmark.html

 

[caerroil]

The only "overclock" I did was when I changed the RAM frequency from 666 MHz to 800 (DDR 1333 to DDR 1600) and timing from 9-9-9-24 to 9-9-9-27. But the memory module is made for that frequency and timing and can withstand the "overclock". That is at least what Kingston says. I carefully checked that option before I made any changes because I am not a great fan of extremes in any case.
I have already ran the Furmark earlier today and the temps were OK. I spotted something that could be defined as an artifact but I waited for you to verify that. The picture is attached. Please pay attention to the upper right corner and a small square in the lower left corner (but a bit to the right).
P.S. I am aware that the picture is of somewhat bad quality but that is the best that I could make at that moment.

 

[JaidynM]

Hm, that looks like an artifact to me but I'll see if I can get someone more experienced with Furmark to verify that.

As for the RAM timings and frequency, set everything back to default. Even thought is may seem okay, it might not be. Think of it as a temporary test. If the BSOD's continue, you may be able to 'overclock' it again.

 

[caerroil]

OK, I have returned everything to auto. Thank you for your advice so far and I am awaiting your further instructions.

 

[JaidynM]

Okay, so far so good. Any BSOD's of late?

 

[caerroil]

None since the last one a day ago.

 

[caerroil]

:roflmao::roflmao: I`ll have to go to bed now, my wife is screaming from the other room... It`s 3 AM here. I will see you in the morning. Have a nice day

 

[JaidynM]

Good night.

With the Furmark picture, could you recapture it using the snipping tool. You can follow the below tutorial if you don't know how.
http://www.sevenforums.com/tutorials/9733-screenshots-files-upload-post-seven-forums.html

 

[caerroil]

Uploading and posting are not the problem at all. I have reached that level all right. The issue I am facing is capturing the screenshot with Furmark running in behind. First, it covered the whole screen and then I adjusted the resolution just to have the start orb free so I could start the snipping tool. Of course, Furmark, perhaps it is supposed to do that, makes all other applications and services, including the snipping tool, sooo slow or totally unresponsive, that it is almost impossible to make any screenshot of Furmark screen, let alone capture that short moment when the artifact appears. I would really appreciate if you, JaidynM, or some other guys here, could instruct me on how to do this. Just to add that I have set the maximum amount of shared memory (1 GB) available to the graphics card but it still does not work.