BSOD Streaming Video and Installing Game (Specifically, Blizzard)

[banes27]

I began seeing a blue screen about 5 months ago when I first got my computer, and after posting here with one BSOD report, I was informed of the fact that Avast Virus scanning software could be the culprit. After uninstalling the software, I no longer received the problem.

5 months later, the issue has come back. I've recently installed Fraps and Adobe Premiere Pro CS 5.5 on my machine. I saw the BSOD appear once again 2 days ago and it seems to appear while streaming video and installing a game. I also see my machine hard-lock while streaming video from time to time, but I think the BSOD does not officially trigger, so hard-locking is the result.

I'm not exactly sure what is going on, so I hope that you all may be able to enlighten me. Thanks for any info. I'd love to play D3 next week, but if this is happening, I'll just be on the edge of my seat and not enjoy any of it.

Edit: Related to ntoskrnl.exe in all 3 cases. 0x000000f4

 

[zigzag3143]

These were all caused by a critical process being terminated. Lets start by having you run a system file check despite the fact that it is probably a 3rd party driver.

http://www.sevenforums.com/tutorials/1538-sfc-scannow-command-system-file-checker.html

How to use the System File Checker tool to troubleshoot missing or corrupted system files on Windows Vista or on Windows 7

 

[banes27]

Thanks for the reply.

Seems as though there weren't any integrity errors. I've copied the text file that I extracted from the link provided, but I'm guessing you aren't going to find any issues.

As far as 3rd party drivers goes, i suppose that could be anything. If it's as simple as just reformatting my machine to rid myself of this problem, maybe that would be the best solution. I'm willing to do this, if that's my best option.

 

[banes27]

Maybe it would help with a little more information:

The latest crash was while I was trying to install the Mists of Panderia beta from Blizzard. I left my computer to install the beta through WoW/Blizzard's special installer, and upon returning I had the blue screen from last night. I saw this once before 4-5 months ago when this problem was happening while installing WoW using the same type of installer.

This blue screen has also occured while streaming video from Netflix, like i mentioned above. Soft-locks can also occur, where I try to Ctrl+alt+del and I see the windows screen with a "Please wait while retrieving data" kind of message. Basically the "log out", "lock computer", "open task manager" options never appear and the little wheel icon keeps spinning indefinitely. I'm forced to just do a hard shut-down.

Hopefully this helps a bit more.

 

[zigzag3143]

These crashes were caused by memory corruption probably a driver.
Please run this test to find which driver is causing the problem.

* If you are overclocking anything reset to default before running these tests.
In other words STOP!!!

* If you have a Raid update its Driver.



Driver 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.

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).

In Windows 7 you can make a Startup Repair disk by going to Start....All Programs...Maintenance...Create a System Repair Disc - with Windows Vista you'll have to use your installation disk or the "Repair your computer" option at the top of the Safe Mode menu .

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.

If you are using win 8 add these
- Concurrency Stress Test
- DDI compliance checking

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.
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.

Thanks to JCGriff2 & Usasma.

Sysnative Forums

Driver Reference Table (DRT)

Using Driver Verifier to identify issues with Windows drivers for advanced users

Driver Verifier

Using Driver Verifier (Windows Drivers)