BSOD - Error: 0000001E; Probably nwifi driver?

[jcw7]

Hey all -

My PC has been BSOD'ing for quite a while now, and the frequency has increased. It appears to be linked to using the internet, and using Chrome makes it happen much faster.

According to Soluto, the error is always 0000001E and it's probably caused by my nwifi driver.

Many thanks to everyone's help at SevensForums! You folks are incredibly generous!!

 

[Boozad]

Your Atheros Wireless Network adapter is very old and needs updating. Update it here.

1: kd> lmvm athrxusb
start             end                 module name
fffff880`08ac7000 fffff880`08bd4000   athrxusb T (no symbols)           
    Loaded symbol image file: athrxusb.sys
    Image path: \SystemRoot\system32\DRIVERS\athrxusb.sys
    Image name: athrxusb.sys
    Timestamp:        [B][COLOR=Red]Tue Jul 29 13:47:13 2008[/COLOR][/B] (488F1151)
    CheckSum:         00107E18
    ImageSize:        0010D000
    Translations:     0000.04b0 0000.04e4 0409.04b0 0409.04e4

 

[jcw7]

HUGE thanks, Boozad! I'm not particularly driver savvy, but I think I found the appropriate page: Drivers for Atheros AR5007UX and Windows Vista

Here's how I found I found it -

I went to my system Device Manager, expanded the Network adapters, and identified that my wireless adapter is SMCWUSB-G 802.11g. I searched for "SMCWUSB-G 802.11g driver") in google, and opened the page that was part of atheros.cz. It looks like the most up to date driver for that device is in Aug 2008 (ver 2.2.0.27). Did I locate this correctly or is there a better file for me to download?

Many thanks again!!
Jon

 

[Boozad]

I'll take a look and see what I can find. The other option would be to uninstall the device through Device Manager, reboot and let Windows find and install whichever driver it sees fit. This option is quite safe, but I'd recommend setting a Restore Point before performing it.

EDIT: This one below is dated 04/02/2010 and is specifically for W7. Any earlier versions are listed as being for XP.


Download

 

[jcw7]

Thanks again Boozad. So I'm ok to just use the link you recommended in your EDIT? I assume it would be wise to create a Restore Point either way?

 

[Boozad]

Yep, good call on the Restore Point. This is where I found that driver, first hit on a Google search.

 

[jcw7]

Hey Boozad, so I finally got a chance to do this. I downloaded the driver at the top of the page you mentioned, however when I tried update my driver it said the most up to date driver was already installed. I did notice that in the ReadMe that came with the driver, the release date was November 2009 (the website makes it look like it should be February 2010). Definitely downloaded the correct file, though.

Any other ideas? Maybe I should just get a new wireless USB device?

 

[Boozad]

You'd need to uninstall the device first, reboot and then install the driver.

 

[jcw7]

Here's what I did:
1. Pull out the USB thing
2. Uninstall the device
3. Reboot the pc
4. Plug the USB back in while it's booting
5. Attempt to install the driver

I got the same "most updated driver is already installed message". I have noticed that as soon as I plug the USB device in, windows automatically installs a driver. Should I be doing this a different way?

Thanks again!

 

[Boozad]

Yes sorry, Im missed out a step. When you uninstall the device, set Windows to not install updates.

Open Windows Updates, in the left column click change settings, then in the drop down box select 'Check for updates but let me choose whether to download and install them'. The purpose of this is to keep Windows Updates from automatically installing a driver.

View attachment 324200

Then reboot and install the downloaded driver. You can then set Windows Updates back to however it was set beforehand.

 

[jcw7]

Thanks again.

Haha, ok so I changed the Windows Update setting. Rebooted. Opened the Device Manager but didn't know how to manually install the driver, so I unplugged and replugged in the USB device. Windows automatically found it and installed the old driver; got the same error message when I tried to install again.

Should I try to manually install the driver? If so, can you provide any tips on how to do that?

 

[Boozad]

Can you give me the make and model of the device you're unplugging?

 

[jcw7]

Sure thing. EZ Connect(TM) g 802.11g Wireless USB 2.0 Adapter. Model: SMCWUSB-G.

There's also a Product Serial Number, MAC, Part Number, Sub Assembly Part Number, IC, and FCC ID. Let me know if of those would be helpful.

 

[Boozad]

And could you also fill in your system specs please. http://www.sevenforums.com/tutorials/180324-system-info-see-your-system-specs.html And post a screenshot of Device Manager with your Network adapters tab expanded.

The Atheros driver that's crashing, I believe that's your motherboard's driver, not you USB 3.0 dongle's driver so it's possible there's a conflict. Is that dongle the only means you have of connecting to the internet?

 

[jcw7]

Just saved my system specs and attaching the screenshot.

Technically I could relocate my PC to be plugged into the router via LAN cable, however it will be a bit of a project as I'll need to move/unwrap quite a bit cords/etc. Can definitely do it though.

 

[Boozad]

Give that a go and see if the problem persists.

 

[jcw7]

Blast from the past

Welp, the BSODs were occurring faster and faster once I connected to the internet - so I finally connected my PC to the network via LAN cable and, sure enough, the BSODs are no longer happening. Activities that typically ensured a BSOD (using chrome, surfing youtube) have failed to do so after 45 minutes. So it seems the culprit is related to Wifi. Any ideas where I can go from here?

In case it's helpful, here is what Soluto believed caused the crashes in the last few months...

nt!KiCpuId Driver

nwifi Driver (usually this one)

nt!KeSynchronizeExecution Driver
(The APC_INDEX_MISMATCH bug check has a value of 0x00000001. This indicates that there has been a mismatch in the APC state index.

USBPORT Driver

Thanks as always!

 

[jcw7]

Quick update:

So I had my wifi modem in one of the USB ports on the front of my PC unit - and figured I'd give it a try in one of the ones on the back just in case. This seems to have really helped. However the BSODs still occur, just far more rarely. I'm pretty happy with it, but I'm curious if anyone has ideas how what else to investigate to eliminate the BSODs entirely?

Cheerio and thanks!