BSOD: irql_not_less_or_equal AND page_fault_in_nonpaged_area

[DebugDan]

Working on my brother's machine which keeps getting BSOD.
It was infrequent at first, and he ignored it for a few months. Now it's usually within a minute of booting up the machine, making it completely unusable.
Windows 7 Home Premium x64

Attached is the information from the SF Diag Tool.

Help would be very much appreciated.
Thanks

(more info below)


The error message is either "irql_not_less_or_equal" or "page_fault_in_nonpaged_area", which one appears seems random.

System restore does nothing, Startup repair doesn't help, and I've scanned for malware using MalwareBytes even though the symptoms started immediately upon setting up the machine (not much time there to get infected).

I tried removing hardware (along with drivers) individually to narrow down the problem, to no avail. I tried the mouse, keyboard, video card, and network adapter.

I would have already reinstalled the OS, but he upgraded from XP to Windows 7 Home Premium and I was told he was not eligible for a full install, only an upgrade.

 

[FredeGail]

Hello Dan and welcome to Sevenforums.

Updating System Specs will give us a better sight of
how your system is put together. It's simply done.

§ Download Speccy
§ |User CP (top of the page)| |Edit System Spec|
§ COPY & PASTE section to section
§ Include Laptop, Desktop information
§ End with |Save Changes|​

´´´´´´´´

BSOD Analyse

1) Combining your crash dumps and the general view of BSODs culprits, I'd suggest you to have a look at your memory, the sticks. Through decades people have been using the bootable tool called Memtest86+ and it's basically very unique in these manners.
:info: Be sure to check your warranty rules and regulations before opening your case.

* Memtest86+ is USB-ready, and can be booted directly from it. Download the flashdrive wizard.
* To ensure that either your sticks OR your motherboard slots are broken, it's necessary to do the below procedure-
* Pull out all sticks except ONE, scan it.
* If no errors, pull the scanned stick into another slot.
* Proceed like this until you've scanned all sticks individually, and all the slots.​

​

Problem Devices

Problem devices can be found in your Device Manager. Search Device Manager in Start, and look for :warn:. Note that if the warning sign isn't there, select View on the top of the window, and end with Show hidden devices.

Security Processor Loader Driver	ROOT\LEGACY_SPLDR\0000	This device is not present, is not working properly, or does not have all its drivers installed.

Make sure their drivers are installed.

* What's the temperatures in general?
* Are the CPU pins all the way in?
* When was the last time the thermal paste was changed?


Best Regards,
Frederik.

 

[DebugDan]

I really appreciate the help!
Let me know if you need any more info.


System Specs --- I have used Speccy to update the System Specs for my profile.

Memtest86+ --- I have checked each Memory Stick and Slot individually for 2 hours each (9 -10 passes) - ZERO Errors

Problem Devices --- The "Security Processor Loader Driver" error only shows up in safe mode, which is the only way I was able to get the SF Diag Tool to finish. I'm not sure if that's worth pursuing (did some reading in this thread). No other drivers show errors.

* What's the temperatures in general?
* Are the CPU pins all the way in?
* When was the last time the thermal paste was changed?

Temperatures --- Speccy shows the CPU at 34 C, Motherboard at 30 C, Graphics card at 36 C, and Hard Drive at 31 C. These readings were taken immediately before a BSOD.

CPU Pins and Thermal Paste --- The computer was put together back in March of this year. The thermal paste has not been changed since. I'm pretty sure the CPU Pins are all the way in (would it work at all otherwise?) Though I didn't install the CPU for this build, I only supervised it.

 

[FredeGail]

Alright thanks, let's go and enable verifier.

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) - and create a System Repair Disc (Win7) if you don't have a full installation DVD.
You can do this by going to Start...All Programs...Maintenance...Create a System Repair Disc (don't forget to test the disc to make sure it works).

For Vista, you can download the repair discs from different websites. If unable to locate them, shoot me a PM and I'll point you to them.
For Win8, BSOD's are different - and we'll have to adjust how we do this with them.

Also, to ensure that you can recover, here's another couple of additional steps:
- Get to the Safe Mode menu (rapidly tap F8 just before the Windows splash screen comes up). Scroll down to and select "Disable automatic restart on System Failure"
- Get the RED information from this picture (in particular we will need the name of the file that the error occurred in):
Picture of a BSOD

Then, here's the procedure to run Driver Verifier:
- 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 "IRP Logging", "Force Pending I/O Requests" and "Low Resource Simulation" and click "Next" ("Special Pool" may be able to be used depending on amount of RAM and errors being seen. In situations with small amounts of RAM, DO NOT select it),
- 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 locate the memory dump file. If present, turn off Driver Verifier by going back in and selecting "Delete existing settings" on the first page. Then, zip up the memory dump file(s) and upload them with your next post. If no dump files were generated, post back for further suggestions.

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 to stop Driver Verifier from loading (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

Best Regards,
Frederik.

 

[DebugDan]

The verifier is running and I got the BSOD to happen again...

Reboot into Windows (after the crash) and locate the memory dump file. If present, turn off Driver Verifier by going back in and selecting "Delete existing settings" on the first page. Then, zip up the memory dump file(s) and upload them with your next post. If no dump files were generated, post back for further suggestions.

Not sure where to locate the memory dump file(s).
Should I run the SF Diag Tool again?
Is a file created somewhere that I'm not seeing? (I looked at root of C drive, and nothing was there).

 

[FredeGail]

C:\Minidump. That should be the path. If you're wondering check your setup:

To ensure minidumps are enabled:

* Press Start, in the Search Box type: "sysdm.cpl" (without the quotes), press Enter.
* Select the Advanced tab, click on Startup and Recovery Settings.
* Ensure that Automatically restart is unchecked.
* Under the Write Debugging Information headline select Small memory dump (256 kB) in the dropdown box.
* Ensure that the Small Dump Directory is listed as %systemroot%\Minidump.
* OK till you're out of the dialogue.
* Reboot if changes have been made.

Best Regards,
Frederik.

 

[DebugDan]

The Minidump was disabled by default.
Also, the systemroot was the C:/Windows directory... just FYI.

Attached is a .zip file of the Minidump folder.
Let me know if I can provide any more info.

 

[FredeGail]

Also, the systemroot was the C:/Windows directory... just FYI.

Yeap, I knew.

Let's take a look.

STACK_TEXT:  
fffff880`02ffd228 fffff800`03082769 : 00000000`0000000a fffff880`0321f070 00000000`00000002 00000000`00000001 : nt!KeBugCheckEx
fffff880`02ffd230 fffff800`030813e0 : fffff880`02ffd0a0 fffffa80`054171a0 fffff880`00c161a0 fffff980`01372c02 : nt!KiBugCheckDispatch+0x69
fffff880`02ffd370 fffff800`035103b6 : 00000000`00000003 00000000`00000010 00000000`00000001 00000000`00000002 : nt!KiPageFault+0x260
fffff880`02ffd500 fffff800`03511276 : 00000000`00000000 fffff980`01372cf0 00000000`ffffffff fffff880`02ffd610 : nt!ViIrpDatabaseReleaseLock+0x6
fffff880`02ffd530 fffff800`0351768e : fffff980`01372cf0 fffff800`03516002 fffffa80`03a21480 00000000`ffffffff : nt!VfIrpDatabaseEntryFindAndLock+0xa6
fffff880`02ffd570 fffff800`0351f0ef : fffff980`01372cf0 00000000`ffffffff fffffa80`056b4001 00000000`00000000 : nt!IovpCompleteRequest1+0x2e
fffff880`02ffd5e0 fffff880`01954bce : fffffa80`05f81000 fffff980`01698e02 00000000`00000003 fffffa80`056b4010 : nt!IovCompleteRequest+0xef
fffff880`02ffd6b0 fffff800`035275d6 : fffffa80`06c088e0 fffffa80`06c088e0 fffff880`02ffd8d0 fffff980`01698e50 : CLASSPNP!TransferPktComplete+0x1ce
fffff880`02ffd730 fffff800`03086bc1 : fffff980`01698fb3 00000000`00000001 00000000`00000000 fffff800`0313cdf3 : nt!IovpLocalCompletionRoutine+0x166
fffff880`02ffd790 fffff800`0351f19f : fffff980`01698e50 fffffa80`0542e701 fffffa80`0542e701 00000000`00000000 : nt!IopfCompleteRequest+0x341
fffff880`02ffd880 fffff880`00c0941a : 00000000`00001000 00000000`00000000 00000000`00000000 fffffa80`0542e7d0 : nt!IovCompleteRequest+0x19f
fffff880`02ffd950 fffff880`00c09242 : fffffa80`06002b80 fffff880`00c0bb53 fffffa80`06001260 fffffa80`0542e7d0 : ataport!IdeCompleteScsiIrp+0x62
fffff880`02ffd980 fffff880`00c03e32 : 00000000`00000000 00000000`00000000 [color="#00B050"]fffffa80`05418500 fffffa80`0542e7d0 : ataport!IdeCommonCrbCompletion+0x5a
fffff880`02ffd9b0 fffff880`00c0c805 : fffffa80`054171a0 fffffa80`06002b80 00000000`00000000 fffffa80`06002b80 : ataport!IdeTranslateCompletedRequest+0x236
fffff880`02ffdae0 fffff880`00c0c104 : fffffa80`054171a0 00000000`00000000 fffffa80`054171a0 00000000`00000000 : ataport!IdeProcessCompletedRequests+0x4d5
fffff880`02ffdc10 fffff800`0308d8ec : fffff880`02fd5180 fffff800`03184ede fffffa80`05417050 fffffa80`05417118 : ataport!IdePortCompletionDpc+0x1a8
fffff880`02ffdcd0 fffff800`0307aeca : fffff880`02fd5180 fffff880`02fdffc0[/COLOR] 00000000`00000000 fffff880`00c0bf5c : nt!KiRetireDpcList+0x1bc
fffff880`02ffdd80 00000000`00000000 : fffff880`02ffe000 fffff880`02ff8000 fffff880`02ffdd40 00000000`00000000 : nt!KiIdleLoop+0x5a

Do you have controllers, adapters and ports fully updated? You can find these on your motherboard manufacturer, likely.

Best Regards,
Frederik.

 

[DebugDan]

I went into Device Manager and enabled "Show Hidden Devices".

Then, I did a right-click > "Update Driver Software" > "Search Automatically..."
I did this for each item in the list, and all were already up-to-date, except for the "WAN Miniport..." items (under Network Adapters).
Windows reported that it could not find the file(s) associated with the WAN Miniport drivers, so it was unclear whether they were updated or not.
I dug a bit, trying to find the drivers for these items, but I'm feeling now like it is a wild goose chase.

Other than that, all items have been updated.

How would you recommend I proceed?
Please keep in mind that when I boot up the machine I have about 1 minute (on average) before it crashes, or up to 5 minutes if in Safe mode.



EDIT:
Update... I downloaded all the drivers from the Motherboard manufacturer's website and installed them, just in case windows was lying to me when it said the drivers were up to date.

My brother is frustrated and wants to just take it to some computer repair place, so I'm holding him off the best I can.
What are the next few steps you would recommend?
Does it seem like a hardware problem or a software problem to you?
I ask because it will be out of my hands soon so I would like to have a plan of action for him to follow.

Thanks,
Daniel

 

[DebugDan]

I still need help with this issue, if anyone can provide it.
I never got a response to my last post.

 

[koolkat77]

Can you upload the latest reports?

Make scans with the following:

-Kaspersky TDSSKiller

• Anti-rootkit utility TDSSKiller

-ESET online scanner

• Free Online Virus Scanner | ESET

Microsoft Security Essentials.

Recommended from a strict BSOD perspective, compatibility & stability compared to other antiviruses/internet security software. It is free and lightweight:-

• Microsoft Security Essentials, Free antivirus for windows.
• Malwarebytes Anti-Malware Free
• Good and Free system security combination
  
  

   Warning

:ar: Do not start the free trial of Malware Bytes; remember to deselect that option when prompted.

Run a full scan with both (separately) once downloaded, installed and updated.

 

[DebugDan]

I appreciate the quick response, but I don't think it can be a software problem.
I did some debugging with a friend of mine who is good with computer hardware.

We stripped the system down to just the power supply, motherboard, and CPU.
We switched out the RAM for some from a different working computer.
We switched the hard drive with a different one, with a different working copy of windows 7.
The result: the BSOD happened almost immediately after windows booted.

Since we ruled out the hard drive and RAM, we figure it must be the CPU causing the problem.
According to the specs on the error from the microsoft website, the "page fault in nonpaged area" error is being caused by a memory read that fails (it actually mentioned the L2 cache on a CPU as a potential problem)... I forget the link.

I was going to take the CPU out and have it tested somewhere.
Do you agree that the CPU is probably the problem?
It couldn't be the motherboard itself somehow, could it?

Again, Thank You.

 

[essenbe]

When you ran memtest86, did it run for 8 full passes. Each pass has 10 tests. It seems really quick to run that many passes that quick. It usually takes me 8 hours to run 8 passes. It takes 8 passes to fully check the ram. Each pass checks different things.

Also, can you look on the side of the PSU and tell me the make and model as well as the amps for the +12V? Also how old is the PSU? According to AMD, the PSU is right at the required voltage, meaning if the PSU has degraded or is not putting out the rated voltage, you can have all kinds of problems.

EDIT: also, please go to bios and go to the hardware monitor section and tell us the readings for the +12V, +5V and the +3.3V.

If you don't have it already please post screenshots of CPUz showing the Mainboard tab, the memory tab and the SPD tab (2 shots showing each ram module)
http://www.sevenforums.com/tutorials/9733-screenshots-files-upload-post-seven-forums.html

 

[essenbe]

You may find this helpful http://www.sevenforums.com/tutorials/105647-ram-test-memtest86.html

You may also find it helpful to read the user feedback on your motherboard.

 

[DebugDan]

Here is all the information about my PSU.
Bought it new at the same time we bought the rest of the components for the system (early 2012).

I couldn't find the +12V, +5V, or +3.3V readings you mentioned in the BIOS...
(BIOS is up-to-date according to ECS website)
Is there another way to make sure the PSU is working properly?

According to AMD, the PSU is right at the required voltage, meaning if the PSU has degraded or is not putting out the rated voltage, you can have all kinds of problems.

Are you referring to the voltage specs for the CPU? Where did you find this information?

It has gotten to the point now that I can no longer use windows... it crashes before, during, or immediately after the boot every time.... so no CPUz, sorry.
The RAM can't be the problem, can it? When I was testing, I removed both sticks and put in a new stick from my working machine and still got the error.
The memtest looked like it completed the passes successfully... but if I need to I can run it again.

Wow... those are some terrible motherboard reviews.
Wish I would have known about them when we bought the thing (early 2012).
Given that, I'm now leaning more toward the motherboard being the culprit.
(That, and I was reading and apparently CPUs rarely die that quickly)

I feel like we're getting closer but how do we decide which is the problem between the PSU, Motherboard, and CPU?

Thanks,
Daniel

 

[essenbe]

If you have another PSU or have a friend with one, try another PSU before spending money on one in case that is not the problem. In your bios you should have a hardware monitor section that should tell you the values of the PSU as well as other things too. I was wrong about the minimum power requirements, I read the wrong system specs I guess.. Your PSU is plenty if it in fact puts out 700W. Many of the cheaper ones, claim to, but do not.

Bad ram can cause all kinds of serious problems. We can test the ram, CPU, GPU. You can only test the PSU with a multi meter, even then it only tells the values at idle. The problem with PSU's is there is little way to test them under stress. As best I can determine, your PSU has 2 rails with 23A on each rail. Make sure they are divided up correctly. From what I can find with a quick look is the max power draw for your card is 116W, so wattage should be OK.

When you said you put in a working ram stick from your machine and still got the error. Are you talking about an error on memtest? I really don't suspect the CPU unless it is overclocked. If you are overclocking anything, stop. Set your bios to optimized defaults. Also, set your ram by manufactures specs. Set it by hand, set the frequency, timings and voltage by hand. The info for that should be on the ram sticks.

If your machine will not run, it is difficult to test anything. We need to get it running first. Do you BSOD while in bios? You can test the hard drive with Seatools, Seagate's diagnostic program, Stress test with Prime 95 for the CPU, stress test the GPU with Furmark. Have you received any error messages other than the bsod messages?

 

[DebugDan]

Given some time, and only if necessary, I can gain access to a 400W and/or 550W PSU to test with.
Both of which would involve dismantling an existing system to remove the PSU.
I would like to save this as a last resort, but let me know if we must go down this path.

No overclocking here... I haven't changed any BIOS settings.
I reset the CMOS just because I hadn't tried that... didn't seem to help.
The BIOS that came installed from the factory is the most up-to-date version, so all settings are set to their defaults.
I looked in the BIOS and found some voltage information (looked everywhere, these were the only ones listed).
Current CPU Voltage = 1.3500 V
CPU vCore = 1.3500 V
VDIMM = 1.608 V
NB Voltage = 1.248 V
HT Voltage = 1.20 V


I am quite confident that the RAM sticks are just fine. (I suppose the RAM slots in the board could be bad though)
I swapped equivalent sticks from my working machine (the sticks from the bad machine are now in the good machine and vice-versa). No problems to report on my good machine (working fine for about 1.5-2 hours).
The bad machine worked for a minute or two longer than the norm, but then blue-screened all the same.
I never got an error in memtest with any memory stick.

Also, I don't think the graphics card is relevant because if I take it out and use the onboard graphics the BSOD happens just the same.


The BSOD never happens in BIOS (I can let it stay idle in BIOS for hours without a problem, if I wanted to).
I have not received any error messages other than the BSOD.

After about 10 attempts, I manged to get the data from all tabs in CPU-Z
Attached are the screenshots as well as the generated report.

What's the next step?
Thanks,
Daniel

 

[essenbe]

To the best of my knowledge, when in bios all of yor hardware is being used, but you get no bsod. Try to run the Seatools for DOS I linked to. Run it from disk and run the extended test. Also, if you haven't already run sfc /scannow. http://www.sevenforums.com/tutorials/1538-sfc-scannow-command-system-file-checker.html

 

[DebugDan]

The BSOD error occurs regardless of which hard drive I use.
I borrowed a different hard drive with a working copy of windows 7.
The errors happen just as frequently... I'd say that rules out the hard drive and OS...

Do you have a different suggestion for how to proceed?

Perhaps the BIOS uses all the hardware, but maybe not to the extent required to cause an error?
Is there a good usb-bootable utility to test the system? (power supply, board, cpu)

Thanks,
Daniel

 

[essenbe]

Wait just a minute. If you tried a hard drive from another machine, it will almost always BSOD. Different hardware, different drivers, chipsets. Why not try the bootable Seatools? You only seem to BSOD while in windows or using the drive, however you choose to look at it. You said you could stay in bios. In bios, the hard drive is not involved, only the hardware.

there is not test that I am aware of that will test the motherboard, and not reliably the PSU. The Seatools is a bootable hard drive test, much like Memtest. Try downloading Linux Mint or any of the live distros. Puppy Linux is probably the smallest download. Burn the ISO to a DVD or USB and boot from that. It does not run from the hard drive, it runs from ram. See if you BSOD there. But run the extended test from Seagate. You can't figure this stuff out taking shortcuts.