BSOD assortment of errors occurs daily

[jmgreen]

BSOD assortment of errors caused by ntoskrnl.exe

Hi,

For the past couple days I've been getting frequent BSOD errors. Sometimes they occur at night while the computer plays my music that I sleep to but occasionally they have been starting to happen while I'm using it. I haven't changed anything in that time however 2 weeks ago I did uninstall AVG and install MSE. My BSOD errors include:

bad_pool_header
System_thread_exception
bad_pool_caller
NTFS_FILE_SYSTEM
SYSTEM_SERVICE_EXCEPTION

they all seem to originate at ntoskrnl.exe and also include ntfs.sys as well.

Steps I have already taken:
I have run sfc and it came back with no errors.
I have run chkdsk and came back with no errors (from the command prompt)

 

[Arc]

Hi jmgreen.

Various different BSODs. Linkless to each other. Overall impression is not healthy. Specially for an old notebook.

But one information out of that heap of things may be very vital, and the troubleshooting should start from this very point.

BugCheck 19, {20, fffff8a000e0c5a0, fffff8a000e0c9b0, 541010c}

*** WARNING: Unable to verify timestamp for AsDsm.sys
*** ERROR: Module load completed but symbols could not be loaded for AsDsm.sys
[COLOR=Red]Probably caused by : AsDsm.sys[/COLOR] ( AsDsm+7f8a )

Followup: MachineOwner
--------------------------------------------------------------------
fffff880`01327000 fffff880`01334000   AsDsm    T (no symbols)           
    Loaded symbol image file: AsDsm.sys
    Image path: \SystemRoot\System32\Drivers\AsDsm.sys
[COLOR=Red]    Image name: AsDsm.sys
    Timestamp:        Fri Feb 13 11:44:26 2009[/COLOR] (49950FC2)
    CheckSum:         0001216E
    ImageSize:        0000D000
    Translations:     0000.04b0 0000.04e4 0409.04b0 0409.04e4

ASUS bloatware. Data Security Manager Driver. That is very old, too. Probably you never tried a clean install over the time from late 2009?

I'd recommend you to http://www.sevenforums.com/tutorials/219576-clean-up-factory-bloatware.html, with a special reference to Point #13

13. Consider a Clean Reinstall - Factory OEM Windows 7 which is often better than getting a new computer considering how pre-installed bloatware can corrupt Windows 7 even if it's completely cleaned up.

Let us know the results.

 

[jmgreen]

I have begun following the steps in order. I removed the asus program that you mentioned was causing the issue as well as others I felt weren't doing anything important. I was installing windows updates when I received another BSOD. I wasn't even touching the computer this time as I was working on my desktop. Here is the new zip file. I'd finished every step up to step 6.

 

[Golden]

Whilst we wait for Arc, I've had a quick look at your latest file.

*******************************************************************************
*                                                                             *
*                        Bugcheck Analysis                                    *
*                                                                             *
*******************************************************************************

Use !analyze -v to get detailed debugging information.

[COLOR="Red"]BugCheck 24[/COLOR], {1904fb, fffff8800cafca18, fffff8800cafc270, fffff880014f4a53}

Probably caused by : Ntfs.sys ( Ntfs!NtfsFcbTableCompare+3 )

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

This typical occurs when there is some corruption of the storage media (hard disk).

1. Click Start

2. In the search box, type cmd
3. In the list that appears, right-click on cmd.exe and choose Run as administrator
4. In the command window that opens, type chkdsk /R and hit enter.

You will be prompted whether you wish to schedule a chkdsk scan at next startup, type 'Y' and hit enter. Now restart your computer and chkdsk will automatically run. This may take a few hours - do not abort this check, let it finish.

 

[jmgreen]

I downloaded the program WhoCrashed and according to that there was a double crash. The NTFS error occurred because of the original error that Arc posted about. I looked in the system folders and the driver was still present even though the program was deleted. So I rolled the computer back and repeated all the steps and all the bloatware was removed including their drivers. So far the system has been stable. I ran a chkdsk and a SFC and no errors were reported. I'll report back in the morning whether or not it crashed during the night (since it crashes at least once during the night).

 

[Golden]

WhoCrashed is inferior to the tool we use here (WinDBG) - WhoCrashed generally only reports the process that was active at the time of the crash, and usually does not pinpoint the actual cause of the BSOD.

Just upload the .dmp file when it crashes and we will try and find the cause for you, and suggest a remedy.

 

[Arc]

I have begun following the steps in order. I removed the asus program that you mentioned was causing the issue as well as others I felt weren't doing anything important. I was installing windows updates when I received another BSOD. I wasn't even touching the computer this time as I was working on my desktop. Here is the new zip file. I'd finished every step up to step 6.

The zip contains a single crash dump, and as per that one, Data Security Manager is still present there.

fffff880`01251000 fffff880`0125e000   AsDsm      (deferred)             
    Image path: \SystemRoot\System32\Drivers\AsDsm.sys
[COLOR=Red]    Image name: AsDsm.sys
    Timestamp:        Fri Feb 13 11:44:26 2009[/COLOR] (49950FC2)
    CheckSum:         0001216E
    ImageSize:        0000D000
    Translations:     0000.04b0 0000.04e4 0409.04b0 0409.04e4

As far as it is present, you will experience various storage related BSODs, including stop 0x24.

 

[jmgreen]

I've scrubbed the computer clean of that file and all other related asus bloatware following the guide you posted. Thank you. My computer ran it's usual nightly virus scan and played my music all night long with no BSOD. None so far today either when I've been working. Hopefully that solved the issue and no more BSODs occur. Thank you both so much for the help!

Just as a question to satisfy my curiosity: Why did this program suddenly start acting up, or more generally why would any program randomly start acting up like this? I've made no hardware or software changes for weeks. I do my windows updates and keep the pc infection free. I'm just really curious so perhaps I can avoid the stress of this experience again.

 

[Arc]

I've scrubbed the computer clean of that file and all other related asus bloatware following the guide you posted. Thank you. My computer ran it's usual nightly virus scan and played my music all night long with no BSOD. None so far today either when I've been working. Hopefully that solved the issue and no more BSODs occur. Thank you both so much for the help!

Good news. Let us know for any further issue.

Just as a question to satisfy my curiosity: Why did this program suddenly start acting up, or more generally why would any program randomly start acting up like this? I've made no hardware or software changes for weeks. I do my windows updates and keep the pc infection free. I'm just really curious so perhaps I can avoid the stress of this experience again.

Well, the question should be .... why the program did not act up for so long. The only possible answer to this question is, you were very lucky during this long time.

Removal of bloatware junks should be the first action after unpacking a computer. They are always harmful.