Solved BSOD Error: Faulty driver on the kernal stack

[Jmainsley]

Hi guys,

First post here, as I've looked on the internet for a couple of weeks now and not found a definitive solution to my problem. About a month ago I was having problems with my drivers whereby I was crashing in games and sometimes even browsing the internet with a couple of tabs. The game would freeze up and then the graphics card would restore itself, but crash the game. This was usually followed by the blue screen error I am getting now soon afterwards. I have done a fresh reinstall of Windows 7 and it has been working fine up until two weeks ago whereby I get sporadic blue screens that occur whether I am on a game, have Chrome open or if I'm literally just sitting on my desktop doing nothing. So far I have tried disabling and deleting the currents settings for the Driver Verifier, but has done nothing. I am open to any suggestions or ways around this.

As a side note, sometimes when I blue screen my computer will reboot but the monitor will not load up properly. I am forced to manually switch off the computer, unplug the cable and hold the power button down for a while before plugging it back in and booting it up again, however this only happens half of the time. I have no idea what causes this.

Thanks!

-As a side note, if there are any files that I need to attach, I should be able to provide them. I have attempted to attach one of my crash dumps to this post but cannot get permission to access it (even after changing the permissions under its properties). Please note that I am by no means an expert with computers, so if any technical jargon could be put into simplified terms that would be very much appreciated. Thanks again!

 

[Arc]

Post it following the Blue Screen of Death (BSOD) Posting Instructions.

 

[Jmainsley]

Sorry for that, was unaware of the formatting. I've added my .zip into the post.

 

[Arc]

The zip you uploaded does not contain any crash dump. There are no event log files, too. First check in C:\Windows\Minidump. Is there anything in the folder? If so, copy them to desktop, zip them and upload in the next post.

Follow it: http://www.sevenforums.com/tutorials/174459-dump-files-configure-windows-create-bsod.html
Go to Option Two, Point 2. Download the .reg file and merge it in registry by double clicking it.

Now wait for another BSOD. When it occurred, search the .dmp files manually in the default path: C:\Windows\Minidump or %SystemRoot%\Minidump. See if the crash dump is recorded or not (hopefully it will be recorded).Post it following the Blue Screen of Death (BSOD) Posting Instructions.

Dont run any disc cleanup program before you upload another zip, as those programs clean up the minidump folder.

 

[Jmainsley]

Sorry to pain you, but as mentioned before I cannot add them to the .zip or attach them as I don't have sufficient permission despite having set my account to the owner of the dump file and having full permissions. If I unzip the file I submitted, add them in and try to zip it again it comes up with an error stating that "File not found or no read permission"

 

[Arc]

Can you copy them dump files to desktop?

When those files are on desktop, zip them.

 

[Jmainsley]

I can copy the files to the desktop with admin permission (myself). When I try to zip them I get the "File not found or no read permission" error

 

[Arc]

Run the SF diag tools once again, and run it as administrator. It should gram all the files.

Also try the files on the desktop . Right click on them > properties .... see at the attributes. If the "read only" is checked, uncheck it, apply, ok. Then try to zip those again.

 

[Jmainsley]

Ok, running the SF Diag tool in Admin mode worked fine. The DMP files should be included now. Sorry for the hassle.

 

[Arc]

It's a driver bug. That version of display driver you have installed is bad.

The BSOD indicates , as the computer things, it is driver verifier enabled.

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

Use !analyze -v to get detailed debugging information.

[URL="http://www.carrona.org/bsodindx.html#0x000000C4"]BugCheck C4[/URL], {91, 2, fffffa8008f00b50, 0}

*** WARNING: Unable to verify timestamp for nvlddmkm.sys
*** ERROR: Module load completed but symbols could not be loaded for nvlddmkm.sys
Probably caused by : nvlddmkm.sys ( nvlddmkm+1b775d )

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

Whereas Driver verifier is not enabled actually. See it:

DEFAULT_BUCKET_ID:  WIN7_DRIVER_FAULT

If driver verifier is enabled, the value would have been : Verifier_ Enabled_Vista_Minidump.

Let us see what is said there in the parameters ....

Arguments:
Arg1: 0000000000000091, [COLOR=Red]A driver switched stacks using a method that is not supported by
    the operating system.[/COLOR] The only supported way to extend a kernel
    mode stack is by using KeExpandKernelStackAndCallout.
Arg2: 0000000000000002
Arg3: fffffa8008f00b50
Arg4: 0000000000000000

And which is the misbehaving driver? It is the display driver.

Probably caused by : nvlddmkm.sys ( nvlddmkm+1b775d )

In such a situation let us try to remove the display driver totally from the system, and try another one. At first, let us go with the latest WHQL driver.

• Uninstall All nvidia items in Control Panel > Programs and features
  • 3D Vision Control Driver
  • 3D Vision Driver
  • Graphics Driver
  • HD Audio Driver
  • PhysX
  • nvidia Update
  (Are you using nvidia chipset drivers? If so, dont uninstall anything other than those are listed).
• Now follow Drivers - Clean Left over Files after Uninstalling
• Boot normally now. Go to Drivers - Download NVIDIA Drivers, Download 314.22 WHQL. While installing, Select Custom (Advanced) install. In the next page, follow this settings:
  
  

When done, observe the situation. Observe how it is running. Let us know the results.

 

[Jmainsley]

I've followed these steps, I'll just sit on my PC, play some games and stress test it to see if it works. I'll report back on any further developments.

 

[Jmainsley]

Ok, so I've followed these steps and the BSODs have stopped, however a new error has occurred. I checked my event viewer, and this was the error.
"The description for Event ID 14 from source nvlddmkm cannot be found. Either the component that raises the event is not installed on your local computer or the installation is corrupted. You can install or repair the component on the local computer."

This occurs when I am playing games or browsing the internet. The game will blackscreen, close down and a balloon will pop up on the bottom left corner of my desktop stating that "Nvidia Driver has crashed and restarted" or something along those lines. After a couple of these, my computer usually crashes but the blue screen error I had before does not occur. Does this need to be issued to another thread now that there is no blue screen or can this be answered here?

 

[Arc]

Bad to know. Damn the display drivers. A few other users and other debuggers also faced the same thing with it (though for me the version is still running good, may be I am a lucky one).

Uninstall the driver in the same way as described earlier, and apply 306.23 WHQL Driver, dated 13.9.2012. This one is the most stable one released lately by nvidia; the only thing goes against this driver is that it is also somehow old already.

Still I wish it will work good for you.

Best of luck.

 

[Jmainsley]

Did this and my computer seems to be working fine. Played a few League of Legends matches (one of the games that usually causes crashes after 10 mins) and I've had no problems. Thanks for the help, and I'm marking this as solved.

 

[Arc]

Good news
Even good that the old version that I believe to be stable worked good again.

If there is any further issue, let us know

 

[Jmainsley]

Sorry to say this, but I'm having to mark this thread as unsolved once again. The original BSOD problem has returned once again. It is the exact same error, involving the nvlddmkm.sys file that was acting up before. I have tried using a microsoft fixit tool to fix any TDR errors, and have uninstalled (and used driver sweeper) and installed many different compatible versions of my nvidia drivers to see if the error persists. I'm out of options at this point. I severely hope that this is not a hardware error :/

 

[Arc]

I think this time you should pay attention to the GPU. As the first step, use the onboard graphics and see if it is crashing with it or not.

 

[Jmainsley]

I can and have used the onboard graphics when running the computer in safe mode to try and determine the issue before. Does this suggest an issue with the GPU?

 

[Arc]

Is it the situation?

If it takes place with more than one display driver versions, it is definitely a GPU issue. There is a fixit to tweak the registries, but I doubt that that works. It did not work for myself; and for many other persons I know. Still, let us try to narrow it down.

Stress test the Graphics Card using Furmark.
Video Card - Stress Test with Furmark
But that issue as per the picture is too random to be caught by furmark.

Check if the Power Supply Unit (PSU) supplying adequate power to the computer or not.
eXtreme Power Supply Calculator
At least 30% extra is safe.

Is the computer hot? Report us the heat of the computer after a couple of hours of your normal usage. Upload a screenshot of the summery tab of Speccy.

Are you overclocking? As you are getting BSODs, you should stop overclocking and run all the hardware components like CPU, GPU and RAM to their default settings. Also set the BIOS to default, too.
How To Clear CMOS (Reset BIOS)

And, how old the computer is? Have you cleaned the inside recently?

 

[Jmainsley]

Yes, this is the exact issue I got with the newest drivers. Using older versions caused me to get BSODs.

I cleaned the computer recently, about a week ago. The computer is roughly 2 1/2 years old.

I'll install 'Speccy' and report back later on details of the temperature

As for the PSU calculator, i've not got a clue in hell how to use it I filled in what I could and found:
Minimum PSU Wattage: 305 W
Recommended
PSU Wattage: 355W
This is only filling in what I know e.g. Graphics card, CPU, RAM and Motherboard

Edit: Ran the Speccy program, found that my CPU, Motherboard and Graphics Card appear to be overheating. Not sure if this is still because of excess dust that I haven't cleaned out well or a problem with the fan (?)