BSOD Windows 7 x64 BAD_POOL_CALLER ntoskrnl.exe

[Saurabh A]

Hi remundial,

The event logs point at possible issues with optical drive and the battery. It is unlikely that either of these errors have any bearing on the blue-screens in your machine. Moreover, PC Checkup operates within the Windows environment. Would recommend you to run the on-board diagnostics for more reliable results.

Also follow the steps that I shared with you in my previous post; share the findings. Will take it forward from there.

Do reply if you have any further questions. I would be glad to assist.

 

[remundial]

Hi Saurabh,

I've run onboard Diagnostics, and the only error it found was the same reported by PC Checkup about Optical Disc Drive (OPU Test), I barely use that drive, just days ago when I needed to run Windows Defender Offline, it ran normally that time, but just today it is making some rare noises when reading that DVD...

I'm not sure if I change SATA mode to AHCI what implications it will have on my other OSs and partitions... Should I format the whole system or just reinstall Windows 7?

Thank you very much.

 

[Saurabh A]

Hi remundial,

Sorry for the delay in response; was off-work. Glad that the on-board diagnostics also passed. The optical drive appears to be deteriorating and may need a replacement eventually. Hard Drive looks clean and is not likely to be the root cause of this issue.

It is recommended that you format the whole system and re-install Windows 7 in AHCI mode. However, taking into consideration that you have multiple Operating systems/partitions installed, a complete format/re-install may become cumbersome.

You may first attempt to re-install only Windows 7 to see if that helps. If the issue persists, formatting the whole system remains the best alternate solution.
Note: Please backup all personal information on an external media, before proceeding with the drive format; will lead to total loss of data.

Do reply if you have any further questions. I would be glad to assist.

 

[remundial]

Hi Saurabh,

Lately the system has been very stable, when I get any BSOD again I'll try reinstall Windows 7 in AHCI mode. As far as I remember, that mode didn't allow me to install Win7, and that's why I turned it into ATA mode; formatting is a big issue for me since I have a lot of software installed on three different operating systems, but my priority is having Windows 7 without stability problems running on this machine.

Thank you very much Saurabh and Arc.

 

[Saurabh A]

Hi remundial,

Glad that Windows 7 looks stable on your system currently. This computer has AHCI set as the default SATA mode; not sure why it wouldn't allow Windows 7 re-installation in AHCI state.

It appears that a clean Windows re-install is not a viable option for you at this time. However, should you face this issue again, it stays as the best next option.
Let us know if you have any other questions. Glad to assist.

 

[remundial]

Hi Saurabh,

I've just installed Windows 7 in AHCI mode, so far so good; I had to do it because I got other BSODs. I think I previously said I couldn't install Windows 7 in AHCI mode but it was a mistake, I couldn't install Windows XP in AHCI mode and that's why I changed it. Anyway I want to keep Windows XP available, so I've searched for a solution for running XP on AHCI mode and it's a matter of drivers, I think I've solved that, XP now runs on AHCI mode... Start Up is slower than usual but seems to be stable.

I will test Windows 7 and see how stable it is now, I hope this is the final solution. I'll keep you informed.

Thank you very much, best regards.

 

[remundial]

I've just had another BSOD. I will reinstall drivers and see what happens.

 

[remundial]

Three more BSODs. I have just updated drivers as per Dell forum and Intel download center, and BSODs keep coming.

 

[remundial]

Well, I got two more BSODs and I decided to install Win7 32 bits again, I'm almost sure I will get more BSODs but I want to determine once and for all this laptop is not ready for Windows 7 x86/x64. I don't know if it's a matter of partitions or something like that, but the sooner I know what can I rely on, the better.

Update: Here they come again, please see attached minidump file.