BSOD help

[sumbody]

Hello there SevenForums,

Like most of the people on this part of the board, I'm here to seek help regarding my BSOD problem.

I followed the instructions in the stickied post and attached the required files needed.

Some information on my system:

Dell Studio XPS16 Laptop
Windows 7 Home Premium 64bit - Did a reformat on the laptop using Windows Disc provided by Dell
Age of system: 9 months
Age of OS installed: 9 months

The message on the Bluescreen went by too fast for me to remember all of it but I did notice a line 'Driver IRQL ...'. I also attached the log message from Windows in a txt file.

I suspect a driver issue because I've never had this problem until recently (1 month ago). The only new hardware I've added onto this system is a USB hub and some USB peripherals (Wireless mouse receiver, USB lamp, External HDD etc)

The computer works fine but this problem is annoying me as it could happen when I leave my computer overnight.

Thanks in advance to anyone helping me with this problem.

 

[sumbody]

I tried to access my Minidump folder but it was empty, so I can't attach any minidumps.

 

[usasma]

Your WiFi device is disabled, is this deliberate?
Please do this to check for other memory dumps:

Upload Dump Files:
Please go to C:\Windows\Minidump and zip up the contents of the folder. Then upload/attach the .zip file with your next post.
Left click on the first minidump file.
Hold down the "Shift" key and left click on the last minidump file.
Right click on the blue highlighted area and select "Send to"
Select "Compressed (zipped) folder" and note where the folder is saved.
Upload that .zip file with your next post.

If you have issues with "Access Denied" errors, try copying the files to your desktop and zipping them up from there. If it still won't let you zip them up, post back for further advice.

If you don't have anything in that folder, please check in C:\Windows for a file named MEMORY.DMP. If you find it, zip it up and upload it to a free file hosting service . I recommend Windows Live SkyDrive - http://skydrive.live.com or another free, file-hosting service. Then post the link to it in your topic so that we can download it.

Then, follow the directions here to set your system for Minidumps (much smaller than the MEMORY.DMP file): Set MiniDump

The memory dump that you enclosed info about was a STOP 0xD1 - and MSINFO32 says it's blamed on k57nd60a.sys - a component of your Broadcom NetLink Gigabit Ethernet NDIS6.x Unified Driver.

Please:
- download a fresh copy of the driver from the Broadcom website: Broadcom.com - Downloads & Support
- uninstall the current copy of the driver/software from your system
- install the freshly downloaded copy
- monitor for further BSOD's

If you get more BSOD's, please run Driver Verifier according to these instructions:

Using Driver Verifier is an iffy proposition. Most times it'll crash and it'll tell you what the driver is. But sometimes it'll crash and won't tell you the driver. Other times it'll crash before you can log in to Windows. If you can't get to Safe Mode, then you'll have to resort to offline editing of the registry to disable Driver Verifier.

So, I'd suggest that you first backup your stuff and then make sure you've got access to another computer so you can contact us if problems arise. Then make a System Restore point (so you can restore the system using the Vista/Win7 Startup Repair feature).

Then, here's the procedure:
- Go to Start and type in "verifier" (without the quotes) and press Enter
- Select "Create custom settings (for code developers)" and click "Next"
- Select "Select individual settings from a full list" and click "Next"
- Select everything EXCEPT FOR "Low Resource Simulation" and click "Next"
NOTE: You can use Low Resource Simulation if you'd like. From my limited experimentation it makes the BSOD's come faster.
- Select "Select driver names from a list" and click "Next"
Then select all drivers NOT provided by Microsoft and click "Next"
- Select "Finish" on the next page.

Reboot the system and wait for it to crash to the Blue Screen. Continue to use your system normally, and if you know what causes the crash, do that repeatedly. The objective here is to get the system to crash because Driver Verifier is stressing the drivers out. If it doesn't crash for you, then let it run for at least 36 hours of continuous operation (an estimate on my part).

Reboot into Windows (after the crash) and turn off Driver Verifier by going back in and selecting "Delete existing settings" on the first page, then locate and zip up the memory dump file and upload it with your next post.

If you can't get into Windows because it crashes too soon, try it in Safe Mode.
If you can't get into Safe Mode, try using System Restore from your installation DVD to set the system back to the previous restore point that you created.

If that doesn't work, post back and we'll have to see about fixing the registry entry off-line:

Delete these registry keys (works in XP, Vista, Win7):
        HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Control\Session Manager\Memory Management\VerifyDrivers
        HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Control\Session Manager\Memory Management\VerifyDriverLevel

More info on this at this link: Using Driver Verifier to identify issues with Windows drivers for advanced users

 

[sumbody]

Thank you for the reply. Yes my Wifi is disabled intentionally since I'm on LAN.

Its quite surprising to find out that my ethernet controller is being the culprit. I have updated my Broadcom Ethernet Controller to the latest Windows 7 64 bit version. Hopefully I won't get any future BSODs

I'll keep monitoring and report any findings or subsequent BSODs.

 

[usasma]

The Broadcom driver is just the most likely culprit.
Another possible problem is a broken ethernet card - and we test that by first replacing the drivers, then (if the BSOD's continue) we try replacing the card (about $15 at most major retailers).
Still other problems can be from an internet security suite, or the motherboard and/or it's drivers - and a bunch of other things.

I've lost many network cards to lightning strikes through my cable (yes, through the cable, not through the power cords!) - so I find it convenient to keep a spare card on hand "just in case"