BSOD and Memory Dump in Windows 7 Ultimate

[Robguad]

I just got a Dell XPS 435MT the other day and it has been crashing with BSOD like 50 times a day. I am new at looking at the mini dump file. can anyone interpret this?

Microsoft (R) Windows Debugger Version 6.11.0001.404 AMD64
Copyright (c) Microsoft Corporation. All rights reserved.


Loading Dump File [c:\windows\minidump\083109-22744-01.dmp]
Mini Kernel Dump File: Only registers and stack trace are available

WARNING: Inaccessible path: 'c:\windows\i386'
Symbol search path is: srv*c:\symbols*Symbol information
Executable search path is: c:\windows\i386
Windows 7 Kernel Version 7600 MP (8 procs) Free x64
Product: WinNt, suite: TerminalServer SingleUserTS
Built by: 7600.16385.amd64fre.win7_rtm.090713-1255
Machine Name:
Kernel base = 0xfffff800`0340b000 PsLoadedModuleList = 0xfffff800`03648e50
Debug session time: Mon Aug 31 13:11:46.119 2009 (GMT-5)
System Uptime: 0 days 21:08:41.993
Loading Kernel Symbols
...............................................................
................................................................
............................
Loading User Symbols
Loading unloaded module list
..........
*******************************************************************************
* *
* Bugcheck Analysis *
* *
*******************************************************************************

Use !analyze -v to get detailed debugging information.

BugCheck 124, {0, fffffa800842a028, fe000000, 300136}

Probably caused by : hardware

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

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

WHEA_UNCORRECTABLE_ERROR (124)
A fatal hardware error has occurred. Parameter 1 identifies the type of error
source that reported the error. Parameter 2 holds the address of the
WHEA_ERROR_RECORD structure that describes the error conditon.
Arguments:
Arg1: 0000000000000000, Machine Check Exception
Arg2: fffffa800842a028, Address of the WHEA_ERROR_RECORD structure.
Arg3: 00000000fe000000, High order 32-bits of the MCi_STATUS value.
Arg4: 0000000000300136, Low order 32-bits of the MCi_STATUS value.

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


BUGCHECK_STR: 0x124_GenuineIntel

CUSTOMER_CRASH_COUNT: 1

DEFAULT_BUCKET_ID: VISTA_DRIVER_FAULT

PROCESS_NAME: WLXPGSS.SCR

CURRENT_IRQL: f

STACK_TEXT:
fffff880`02f6cb58 fffff800`039fa903 : 00000000`00000124 00000000`00000000 fffffa80`0842a028 00000000`fe000000 : nt!KeBugCheckEx
fffff880`02f6cb60 fffff800`03591513 : 00000000`00000001 fffffa80`0840cea0 00000000`00000000 fffffa80`0840cef0 : hal!HalBugCheckSystem+0x1e3
fffff880`02f6cba0 fffff800`039fa5c8 : 00000000`00000728 fffffa80`0840cea0 fffff880`02f6cf30 fffff880`02f6cf00 : nt!WheaReportHwError+0x263
fffff880`02f6cc00 fffff800`039f9f1a : fffffa80`0840cea0 fffff880`02f6cf30 fffffa80`0840cea0 00000000`00000000 : hal!HalpMcaReportError+0x4c
fffff880`02f6cd50 fffff800`039f9dd5 : 00000000`00000008 00000000`00000001 fffff880`02f6cfb0 00000000`00000000 : hal!HalpMceHandler+0x9e
fffff880`02f6cd90 fffff800`039ede88 : 00000000`01c30000 00000000`04f94800 00000000`00000000 00000000`00000000 : hal!HalpMceHandlerWithRendezvous+0x55
fffff880`02f6cdc0 fffff800`0347b7ac : 00000000`00000000 00000000`00000000 00000000`00000000 00000000`00000000 : hal!HalHandleMcheck+0x40
fffff880`02f6cdf0 fffff800`0347b613 : 00000000`00000000 00000000`00000000 00000000`00000000 00000000`00000000 : nt!KxMcheckAbort+0x6c
fffff880`02f6cf30 00000000`74603c6b : 00000000`00000000 00000000`00000000 00000000`00000000 00000000`00000000 : nt!KiMcheckAbort+0x153
00000000`0008da34 00000000`00000000 : 00000000`00000000 00000000`00000000 00000000`00000000 00000000`00000000 : 0x74603c6b


STACK_COMMAND: kb

FOLLOWUP_NAME: MachineOwner

MODULE_NAME: hardware

IMAGE_NAME: hardware

DEBUG_FLR_IMAGE_TIMESTAMP: 0

FAILURE_BUCKET_ID: X64_0x124_GenuineIntel_PROCESSOR_CACHE

BUCKET_ID: X64_0x124_GenuineIntel_PROCESSOR_CACHE

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

 

[usasma]

A STOP 0x124 error message is a bear to debug. Most often (IME) it's due to an incompatibility with the system - but it can also be due to hardware issues.

In this case, you've got the generic 0x124 (vs the 0x124 with the first parameter of 4, which is the PCIe error).

I would start with inventorying what you've installed on the system (hardware and software) between the time that you installed Win7 and the time that the BSOD's occurred.

Also, use this free tool to check your drivers (to see how old they are): BlueScreenView - View blue screen of death (STOP error) information. At times it's results differ from WinDbg - so I'd advise using it with caution. But the driver dates have proven accurate for me - so that'll tell you if anything is excessively old (2007 or earlier).

Finally, run the Windows 7 Upgrade Advisor to see if it can point out any incompatibilities on the system: http://www.microsoft.com/downloads/...90-7659-4BD9-9E51-2497C146AF15&displaylang=en

 

[Robguad]

Thanks usasma

this system is 5 days old, It came with Vista x64 and it Blue screened within the first hour I turned it on. I have Windows 7 Ultimate because I am a Microsoft alumni and have access to it so I decided to try that out to see if I could get rid of the BSOD. Same issue. I have updated the drivers for all the devices that I could. I havent added any hardware other than a HP printer. Also, before I even added the printer, it BSOD.

I will look at those other utilities.

 

[Robguad]

BlueScreenView provided me with this

Caused by driver hal.dll

 

[Robguad]

Ran the Windows 7 upgrade adviser with no issues to report.

 

[usasma]

hal.dll is the interface between the hardware and the OS (HAL stands for Hardware Abstraction Layer). You'll get these errors when the OS doesn't recognize the hardware - either because of a broken piece of hardware or a corrupted driver.

If it's only 5 days old, I'd take it back. A new system with the OS that it was designed for isn't supposed to error like this. You'll spend a lot of time working on this just to find the problem by trial and error.