Continuous BSOD

[Jeimuzu]

I've been getting them off and on for about a month, but they just started doing it every 15-20 minutes the past few days. I thought it was just overheating (maybe alot of animal hair/dust in the fan intake and exhaust) but it does not do it while I'm playing games (mostly Fallout 3).
I've tried all the things I can on here after searching every bccode I get after I reboot.
The attached .rar is a group of minidumps from the last two days (the 17 and the 18) so maybe there'll be some information in there someone can use to help me out because I'm out of ideas.
Let me know what other information you may need, and how to get it for you. Thanks in advance.

 

[Lemur]

Welcome to SF, Jeimuzu.

Please do the following:

BSOD Posting Instructions

http://www.sevenforums.com/crashes-debugging/96879-blue-screen-death-bsod-posting-instructions.html

 

[Jeimuzu]

Ok I've followed those directions and uploaded the .rar.
Hopefully that has all the info you need, but if I can do something else to help the diagnosis along let me know.

 

[Lemur]

Update your sound driver

Update your video driver
Driver c:\windows\system32\drivers\atikmdag.sys (8.1.1.921, 5.76 MB (6,037,504 bytes), 8/18/2009 3:48 AM)

Though newer, update your wi-fi and lan drivers if possible:

Driver c:\windows\system32\drivers\athrx.sys (8.0.0.172, 1.42 MB (1,484,800 bytes), 1/28/2010 3:16 AM)

Driver c:\windows\system32\drivers\rt64win7.sys (7.3.522.2009, 210.00 KB (215,040 bytes), 1/28/2010 3:15 AM)

sptd.sys

Please remove any CD virtualization programs such as Daemon Tools and Alcohol 120%. They use a driver, found in your dmp, sptd.sys, that is notorious for causing BSODs. Use this SPTD uninstaller when you're done: http://www.duplexsecure.com/en/downloads

 

[Jeimuzu]

Just so I understand, update all those drivers, then get rid of Daemon (I don't have alcohol) and then do the uninstaller ?
I've updated my graphics card several times (uninstalling and reinstalling) and it always acts funky during install but everything works fine after it's all done.
Something about the ATI catalyst center doesn't install right or something. I'll look into that more once I get there, but do you have any idea what it could be ?
Also, since posting that file, I ran into some issues with Firefox and Java. Reinstalled java and got the updates and it's worked pretty good since then.

EDIT: Do I need to Google for each individual driver, or can I go to the HP Support site and get the drivers through that ?

 

[Lemur]

First, please use this to complete your System specs (for instance, dv7-????):

HOW TO FILL OUT YOUR SYSTEM SPECS

In the line at the top of www.SevenForums.com you will see UserCP.
That is an abbreviation for User Control Panel.
Click on UserCP.
In the left-hand column, under Your Profile you will see Edit System Spec.
Click on Edit System Spec
You can copy and paste from the output of Speccy, Speccy - System Information - Free Download to fill out much of the info. Be sure to use the Other Info section of your System Specs for such info as your optical drive, your wireless adapter, your speakers, etc.



Second, You can use this utility to get rid of remnants of ATI.

Guru3D - removes leftover traces of drivers for NVIDIA (Display and Chipset), ATI (Display), Creative (Sound) Realtek (Sound), Ageia (PhysX) and Microsoft (Mouse).

http://www.guru3d.com/category/driversweeper/


Third, you don't have to install catalyst. Just the video driver.

Fourth, get rid of Daemon.

Then let's see how we are at that point.

 

[Jeimuzu]

Wait what happened to the first steps ? Is this just a continuing of that with more info and details or are we doing these instead ?
As far as the Catalyst, every time I've tried (both through HP Support and the ATI website) it's downloaded the Catalyst Center. I never found just the driver.

 

[Lemur]

Yes, please follow ALL steps indicated.

You are correct about the dumb catalyst.

Here is the latest driver:

ATI Catalyst

Again, please follow all steps.

 

[Jeimuzu]

I'm dling Guru right now, but I still had a question: what way do I get the new drivers ? Can I go through the HP Support page, do I have to download them individually from the maker's sites, or can I let Windows reinstall them when I reboot the computer ?
I notice Guru says to uninstall, then reboot in safe mode and wipe the remnants of the drivers.
How do I go about reinstalling them so I get the best results ?

 

[richc46]

Welcome
This is how to find drivers
How to Find Drivers
search Google for the name of the driver
- compare the Google results with what's installed on your system to figure out which device/program it belongs to
- visit the web site of the manufacturer of the hardware/program to get the latest drivers (DON'T use Windows Update or the Update driver function of Device Manager).
- if there are difficulties in locating them, post back with questions and someone - will help you search Google for the name of the driver
- compare the Google results with what's installed on your system to figure out which device/program it belongs to
- - if there are difficulties in locating them, post back with questions and someone will try and help you locate the appropriate program.
- The most common drivers are listed on this page: http://www.carrona.org/dvrref.html
- - Driver manufacturer links are on this page: http://www.carrona.org/drvrdown.html
To remove any left over driver remnants, especially from graphics cards, use driver sweeper
www.guru3d.com/category/driversweeper/
You can also locate information about your driver using this information
http://www.sevenforums.com/tutorials/96442-device-manager-finding-unknown-devices.html
http://www.ehow.com/how_5024230_install-vista-device-drivers.html
Works the same in Windows 7

 

[Jeimuzu]

Ok cool. That driver locator site is awesome and will help immensely.
Now one more question and I'm gonna dive in: can I fully install these drivers while in Safe mode or do I need to go into the regular boot ?
I'd assume safe mode is fine but I'd rather have one of you gurus confirm that for me.

 

[richc46]

For my machine and for advice to others, I start with regular mode. If you have problems try safe. I never had to, but some that have taken my advice had to.

 

[Jeimuzu]

Ok I'm on the last step, using the SPTD program. How do I use it to get rid of the stuff?
When I ran the .exe, it said to update or uninstall. Is that uninstall option what I need ? I thought maybe it meant it would uninstall the program, so I clicked Update to update the sptd uninstaller, but nothing ever came up except to restart the computer. Where do I go from here ?

 

[richc46]

Go with uninstall

 

[Jeimuzu]

Ok I just ran that and did uninstall then reboot.
What now ? Do we just wait to see if it crashes again and we go from there ?
I've only had one bsod since yesterday, which is really really good given the recent record.

EDIT: Also added rep for the good information and help from both of you.
On a side note, all your links redirected back to the SevenForums main page, Lemur, and not to whatever page the link said. Just a heads up on that.

 

[richc46]

This is what you do
Go to search
type
cmd
in cmd type
driverquery
If you do not see sptd, you ared done, go, use, enjoy and hope
Good luck

 

[Jeimuzu]

Nope don't see it in the list.
Thanks for all the help guys.
I'll get back in here if something else happens but so far no issues whatsoever.

 

[richc46]

I think that you will be OK.

 

[Lemur]

Ok I just ran that and did uninstall then reboot.
What now ? Do we just wait to see if it crashes again and we go from there ?
I've only had one bsod since yesterday, which is really really good given the recent record.

EDIT: Also added rep for the good information and help from both of you.
On a side note, all your links redirected back to the SevenForums main page, Lemur, and not to whatever page the link said. Just a heads up on that.

Thanks for letting me know. Ugh!

 

[Jeimuzu]

Ok two new crashes.
I've tweaked the minidump folder to only show these two so you don't have to go sifting through the past 15 you've already looked at.
When it crashed, the laptop was sitting on a table just chilling. I was letting it run to update a game I play, so it was open and doing it's thing when it just bluescreened.