Solved BSOD while using Firefox

[Dan Wilczak]

My son's computer has started crashing fairly frequently but not in a repeatable manner. Usually while using Firefox. I did see one crash last night myself while browsing here. It happened when I moved the mouse after reading for several minutes.



The attachment contains a number of dmps.


Thanks,
Dan Wilczak

 

[svnfrms2r]

My son's computer has started crashing fairly frequently but not in a repeatable manner. Usually while using Firefox. I did see one crash last night myself while browsing here. It happened when I moved the mouse after reading for several minutes.



The attachment contains a number of dmps.


Thanks,
Dan Wilczak

While the dumps mentioned win32k.sys/partmgr.sys exceptions, it is not fully clear what caused it.
Perhaps try this:
# ideally make a backup before any fixes
# be aware it could even be a drive problem, so perhaps run a check on the disks first
# my hunch is that the graphics driver, the firefox multi-process, and the mouse driver interact strangely
# run windows update incl driver update, but select first only any offered drivers to be updated
# device manager: delete all mouse/pad drivers, then let windows find a suitable one (scan for HW change)
# device manager: see if any device has problems, especially connectors to the mouse
# firefox: disable autoscrolling, disable smooth scrolling (until problem fixed)
# firefox: iron over the existing one a fresh install, just to make sure
# go to the product manufacturer's website (HP) and find all drivers for this pc (you posted HP-Pavilion
AZ220AV-ABA HPE-150t, hence probably: this one, but please double check), then start checking if you have them installed correctly, and if in doubt, start with the chipset drivers first, unless they seem very old, then try from the component manufacturer (e.g. intel, amd, realtek)
# also run an sfc check

Please post back any info from device manager fixes/driver updates, windows updates re drivers, and manufacturer/component driver updates, as well as firefox+mouse tests afterwards.

Best of luck!

 

[Dan Wilczak]

Thanks for your advice. Here's what happened since ...



# run windows update incl driver update, but select first only any offered drivers to be updated
Windows Update wouldn't run - said the service wasn't running. Turns out there was previous

update that left it unable to run. The fix was to turn off automatic updates, reboot, then turn them

back on. Nine updates were installed but none were for drivers.


# device manager: delete all mouse/pad drivers, then let windows find a suitable one (scan for HW change)
The mouse driver didn't change.


# device manager: see if any device has problems, especially connectors to the mouse.
No problems show there.



# firefox: disable autoscrolling, disable smooth scrolling (until problem fixed)
# firefox: iron over the existing one a fresh install, just to make sure
Done


# go to the product manufacturer's website (HP) and find all drivers for this pc (you posted HP-Pavilion
AZ220AV-ABA HPE-150t, hence probably: this one, but please double check), then start checking if you have them installed correctly, and if in doubt, start with the chipset drivers first, unless they seem very old, then try from the component manufacturer (e.g. intel, amd, realtek)


I let the HP Support Assistant check. It reported that we have the latest version of all drivers. Unfortunately it doesn't list them, so now I'll have to go back and check the hard way for obsolete ones.



# also run an sfc check
sfc /scannow found no problems.


In doing all the above I had no crashes, even though I was using FF. My son had more problems afterward.


First, a desktop window manager crash.



Second, a FF tab closed while showing a youtube video.


Third, there was a BSOD with the error "Paged fault in non-paged area", again while watching youtube.



I had him switch to IE, to see if that makes any difference.

 

[Dan Wilczak]

Update: there was another crash. Error 0x1A.

 

[Dan Wilczak]

Last night I finished going through all the non-Microsoft drivers. There were two to update. One - the AMD High Definition Audio driver - caused repeatable BAD_POOL_HEADER crashes on reboot, so I rolled that back. The other was an update to the RealTek network controller (PCIe GbE Family Controller). It hasn't crashed so far this morning.

 

[svnfrms2r]

Last night I finished going through all the non-Microsoft drivers. There were two to update. One - the AMD High Definition Audio driver - caused repeatable BAD_POOL_HEADER crashes on reboot, so I rolled that back. The other was an update to the RealTek network controller (PCIe GbE Family Controller). It hasn't crashed so far this morning.

Congrats, you may have found your solution, as there are reports that such driver can cause BSOD when Firefox is being used. Driver interactions can be complex and errors can differ between pc models. A bit of trial and error is sometimes the only solution, as you have done

 

[Dan Wilczak]

svnfrms2r - thanks for your advice on this. I think the problem has been solved.