Help please - Multiple BSOD W7 64

[hannibal]

Hello everyone - hoping you can help please.

I have been having multiple crashes and BSOD in the past few months, with multiple BSOD codes. Sometimes it does not even bring up a BSOD screen, but just crashes with thin, multi-coloured, static horizontal lines across the screen and requires a hard reboot. If music is playing through the computer when it crashes, it makes a loud constant buzzing through the speakers.

I have attached a link to skydrive ( Minidump - Windows Live )which has the last 4 minidump readouts, one copy with the services and one with just the minidump. I only just realised last night that for some reason W7 had turned off the dump file creation, so there is a big gap between November and now, but the latest one is at the top from today and copied below:

021911-15584-01.dmp
SYSTEM_SERVICE_EXCEPTION
0x0000003b 00000000`c0000005 fffff880`050a1034 fffff880`074f8700 00000000`00000000
Caused by driver: Npfs.SYS
Caused by driver address: Npfs.SYS+11c2034

The one before is DRIVER_IRGQL_NOT_LESS_OR_EQUAL from DXGMMS1.SYS and the last two are REFERENCE BY POINTER from NTOSKRNL.EXE

I have run memtest for 5 hours with no errors, ATI tool for 2 hours with no errors, and use Advanced System Care Pro for registry cleaning etc. I use MS Security Essentials and Malware Bytes, and they have not found anything untoward in months.

At one point I had to replace the PSU as the one provided shorted, and this has been upgraded to allow more power.

There does not seem to be much consistency to when it crashes; happens when idle, using Chrome, Adobe CS4 or itunes. Disabling Asus Express Gate does nothing, but turning off hibernation solved the problem of the PC not waking up some of the time.

This was a new build 18 months ago, and has only ever run W7 Premium 64 from disc, not oem. I have done multiple reinstalls and restores, but every time, after a few days and sometimes hours, it starts crashing again. Up until now it had actually been OK, but in the last few days it has started again a lot (twice yesterday and once today already). I have partitioned C for program files including OS, and D for all other data files.

Happy to provide any more info anyone wants and grateful if anyone has any ideas what to do please-thank you.

 

[usasma]

The uploaded stuff doesn't point to anything in particular.
Please follow the instructions here to provide more information: http://www.sevenforums.com/crashes-debugging/96879-blue-screen-death-bsod-posting-instructions.html

 

[hannibal]

Thanks Usasma - Reattached with Zip files

 

[Jonathan_King]

It seems you accidentally attached the exe file itself, instead of the actual report. Could you try uploading the output folder?

 

[hannibal]

Not doing very well here am I! OK here they are again and with the DMP files that did not work on skydrive-thanks for your patience!

 

[usasma]

There's only 1 memory dump in the uploaded info. Please don't use any system cleaning utilities until we're done with this issue. Also, please don't use registry cleaners as they often cause more harm than good.

On 16 Nov 2010 you had 2 STOP 0x18 errors
On 20 Nov 2010 you had a STOP 0xD1 error
On 17 Jan 2011 you had a STOP 0x117, 2 STOP 0x18, and a STOP 0xD1
On 19 Feb 2011 you had a STOP 0x3B - this is the only one present in the uploads
Most of the missing reports point to video issues, but we can't say more without having reports to analyze.

I do notice that you have ATITool installed - that program is not (AFAIK) compatible with Win7. Please uninstall it and see if that helps.

I didn't see that you have Daemon Tools/Alcohol 120% installed - but you do have the troublesome sptd.sys driver. Please uninstall Daemon Tools/Alcohol 120% (if you haven't already), then use this free tool to remove the sptd.sys file: DuplexSecure - FAQ - Remove 64 bit sptd.sys

You also have the 2005 version of the ASACPI.sys driver - a known cause of BSOD's in Win7. Please download the latest version from here: ASUSTeK Computer Inc.-Support- download_item_mkt It's in the Utilities sub-section and is named "ATK0110 driver for WindowsXP/Vista/Win7 32&64-bit"

Also, there have been some BSOD issues with the Asus P5 series of boards and the automatic memory settings in the BIOS. Please find the settings/timings/voltages for your memory at the Corsair website and use those settings/timings/voltages to set you BIOS (in other words, DO NOT use the Auto setting for memory in the BIOS).

OLDER DRIVERS PRESENT IN THE DUMP FILES
- Please update these drivers from the device manufacturer's website - or uninstall them from your system.
- DO NOT use Windows Update or the Update Drivers function of Device Manager.
- Windows Update exceptions may be noted below for Windows drivers:

[FONT=lucida console]
[COLOR=Red]ATITool64.sys   Wed Aug 08 12:42:26 2007 (46B9F272)[/COLOR]
[URL="http://www.carrona.org/dvrref.html#ATITool64.sys"]http[I]:[/I]//www.carrona.org/dvrref.html#ATITool64.sys[/URL] 

[COLOR=Red]ASACPI.sys      Sun Mar 27 22:30:36 2005 (42476C4C)[/COLOR]
[URL="http://www.carrona.org/dvrref.html#ASACPI.sys"]http[I]:[/I]//www.carrona.org/dvrref.html#ASACPI.sys[/URL] 

adfs.SYS        Mon Nov 03 11:48:14 2008 (490F2B4E)
[URL="http://www.carrona.org/dvrref.html#adfs.SYS"]http[I]:[/I]//www.carrona.org/dvrref.html#adfs.SYS[/URL] 

amdxata.sys     Tue May 19 13:56:59 2009 (4A12F2EB)
[URL="http://www.carrona.org/dvrref.html#amdxata.sys"]http[I]:[/I]//www.carrona.org/dvrref.html#amdxata.sys[/URL] 

sptd.sys        Tue Aug 24 02:13:12 2010 (4C7362F8)
[URL="http://www.carrona.org/dvrref.html#sptd.sys"]http[I]:[/I]//www.carrona.org/dvrref.html#sptd.sys[/URL] 

MpNWMon.sys     Tue Sep 14 20:19:30 2010 (4C901112)
[URL="http://www.carrona.org/dvrref.html#MpNWMon.sys"]http[I]:[/I]//www.carrona.org/dvrref.html#MpNWMon.sys[/URL] 

MpFilter.sys    Tue Sep 14 20:19:28 2010 (4C901110)
[URL="http://www.carrona.org/dvrref.html#MpFilter.sys"]http[I]:[/I]//www.carrona.org/dvrref.html#MpFilter.sys[/URL] 

ElbyCDIO.sys    Thu Dec 17 17:25:16 2009 (4B2AAFCC)
[URL="http://www.carrona.org/dvrref.html#ElbyCDIO.sys"]http[I]:[/I]//www.carrona.org/dvrref.html#ElbyCDIO.sys[/URL] 

VClone.sys      Sun Aug 09 17:25:45 2009 (4A7F3ED9)
[URL="http://www.carrona.org/dvrref.html#VClone.sys"]http[I]:[/I]//www.carrona.org/dvrref.html#VClone.sys[/URL] 

iPodDrv.sys     Fri Apr 10 00:07:40 2009 (49DEC60C)
[URL="http://www.carrona.org/dvrref.html#iPodDrv.sys"]http[I]:[/I]//www.carrona.org/dvrref.html#iPodDrv.sys[/URL] 

Rt64win7.sys    Mon Sep 20 03:38:09 2010 (4C970F61)
[URL="http://www.carrona.org/dvrref.html#Rt64win7.sys"]http[I]:[/I]//www.carrona.org/dvrref.html#Rt64win7.sys[/URL] 

AtihdW76.sys    Wed Nov 17 07:02:04 2010 (4CE3C43C)
[URL="http://www.carrona.org/dvrref.html#AtihdW76.sys"]http[I]:[/I]//www.carrona.org/dvrref.html#AtihdW76.sys[/URL] 

GEARAspiWDM.sys Mon May 18 08:17:04 2009 (4A1151C0)
[URL="http://www.carrona.org/dvrref.html#GEARAspiWDM.sys"]http[I]:[/I]//www.carrona.org/dvrref.html#GEARAspiWDM.sys[/URL] 

NisDrvWFP.sys   Tue Sep 14 20:20:25 2010 (4C901149)
[URL="http://www.carrona.org/dvrref.html#NisDrvWFP.sys"]http[I]:[/I]//www.carrona.org/dvrref.html#NisDrvWFP.sys[/URL] 
[/FONT]

BSOD BUGCHECK SUMMARY

[FONT=lucida console]
Built by: 7600.16695.amd64fre.win7_gdr.101026-1503
Debug session time: Sat Feb 19 07:16:23.405 2011 (UTC - 5:00)
System Uptime: 0 days 2:14:44.340
Probably caused by : memory_corruption
DEFAULT_BUCKET_ID:  CODE_CORRUPTION
BUGCHECK_STR:  0x3B
PROCESS_NAME:  dwm.exe
FAILURE_BUCKET_ID:  X64_MEMORY_CORRUPTION_ONE_BIT
Bugcheck code 0000003B
Arguments 00000000`c0000005 fffff880`050a1034 fffff880`074f8700 00000000`00000000
SystemManufacturer = System manufacturer
SystemProductName = System Product Name
¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨``
  
  [/FONT]

 

[hannibal]

Wow, there is a lot going on there from what you are saying - thank you very much for looking into that and for using plain English to explain what to do! I will have a go at removing and updating what you have suggested.

Assuming all goes well after that, grateful if you could please advise how best to maintain a clean registry without a reg cleaner?

Thanks again.

 

[usasma]

IMO there's no need to "maintain" the registry.
See this link - although it refers to XP, the registry remains essentially the same in Vista and Win7: XP Fixes Myth #1: Registry Cleaners - Windows BBS

 

[hannibal]

Thanks for the article - So with 1TB of space to play with I shouldn't worry about a few junk files, as it might end up getting rid of stuff the PC actually needs! Never would have guessed.

You have said that "most of the missing reports point to video issues, but we can't say more without having reports to analyze". Grateful if you can let me know what do you need me to do to get this info please.

I have done everything but the BIOS/RAM relationship, but just wanted to check what you mean with this table please:
Are you saying I need to update all these drivers, with exception of ATITool, spdt.sys which I have since removed and ASCAPI which I have updated, and the place I can get the drivers is the Carrona site?

ATITool64.sys Wed Aug 08 12:42:26 2007 (46B9F272)
Driver Reference

ASACPI.sys Sun Mar 27 22:30:36 2005 (42476C4C)
Driver Reference

adfs.SYS Mon Nov 03 11:48:14 2008 (490F2B4E)
Driver Reference

amdxata.sys Tue May 19 13:56:59 2009 (4A12F2EB)
Driver Reference

sptd.sys Tue Aug 24 02:13:12 2010 (4C7362F8)
Driver Reference

MpNWMon.sys Tue Sep 14 20:19:30 2010 (4C901112)
Driver Reference

MpFilter.sys Tue Sep 14 20:19:28 2010 (4C901110)
Driver Reference

ElbyCDIO.sys Thu Dec 17 17:25:16 2009 (4B2AAFCC)
Driver Reference

VClone.sys Sun Aug 09 17:25:45 2009 (4A7F3ED9)
Driver Reference

iPodDrv.sys Fri Apr 10 00:07:40 2009 (49DEC60C)
Driver Reference

Rt64win7.sys Mon Sep 20 03:38:09 2010 (4C970F61)
Driver Reference

AtihdW76.sys Wed Nov 17 07:02:04 2010 (4CE3C43C)
Driver Reference

GEARAspiWDM.sys Mon May 18 08:17:04 2009 (4A1151C0)
Driver Reference

NisDrvWFP.sys Tue Sep 14 20:20:25 2010 (4C901149)
Driver Reference

One last question if possible please - How did you get the readout of the dates of the above drivers? Is there a programme I can use to get this info?

Thanks again

 

[hannibal]

Hi-having a bit of trouble understanding what I am supposed to do with the Corsair info. The only info that seems to bear any relation to what you are saying (settings/timings/voltages) is the voltage, but with regards to the settings and timings, I do not know what to look for.

XMS2
Tested Voltage1.8
SPD Voltage1.8
Speed Rating PC2-6400 (800MHz)
SPD Speed 800Mhz
Tested Speed 800Mhz
Tested Latency5-5-5-18
SPD Latency5-5-5-18

I have also copied a readout from CPU-Z if that helps.

Thank you Usasma - really appreciate the help.

 

[usasma]

You have said that "most of the missing reports point to video issues, but we can't say more without having reports to analyze". Grateful if you can let me know what do you need me to do to get this info please.

Can't do anything but wait for further BSOD's - but I hope removing the ATITool program will fix it.

Update all drivers in that list - with the exception of those that you've already removed. FYI - the listing of drivers comes out automatically from the BSOD analysis - so there may be some differences. That's why the instructions say "update OR remove" Post back with any that you're unsure of - and we'll work with that.

I don't know a lot about RAM timings/settings/voltages - so you'll have to take the setting that you've found at the Corsair website and input them into your BIOS. I found the proper section in the BIOS - it's called the Ai Tweaker

Have a look at the mobo manual, section 2.4 (you can download it from here: ASUSTeK Computer Inc.-Support- download_item_mkt (in the Manuals section).

Then put the Corsair timings/settings/voltages into the appropriate place. The point here is that the Auto setting(s) aren't known to be reliable - so you want to set the timings/settings/voltages manually to the specs that Corsair specifies.

 

[hannibal]

Well I have to say that the old machine has been behaving itself since this morning - pressure tested it with a couple of hours of gaming and all seemed to be working OK.

This is what i have done with the drivers:

ATITool64.sys Wed Aug 08 12:42:26 2007 (46B9F272)Uninstalled and removed driver from Device Manager

ASACPI.sys Sun Mar 27 22:30:36 2005 (42476C4C) Updated from ASUS site

adfs.SYS Mon Nov 03 11:48:14 2008 (490F2B4E) Not yet taken off as cannot find how to locate this adobe driver and a bit wary of doing anything as this shared PC and not my programme

amdxata.sys Tue May 19 13:56:59 2009 (4A12F2EB) Windows Update

sptd.sys Tue Aug 24 02:13:12 2010 (4C7362F8) Uninstalled using sptd tool

MpNWMon.sys Tue Sep 14 20:19:30 2010 (4C901112)Windows Update

MpFilter.sys Tue Sep 14 20:19:28 2010 (4C901110)Windows Update

ElbyCDIO.sys Thu Dec 17 17:25:16 2009 (4B2AAFCC)Old driver but seems to be running latest version

VClone.sys Sun Aug 09 17:25:45 2009 (4A7F3ED9) Old driver but seems to be running latest version

iPodDrv.sys Fri Apr 10 00:07:40 2009 (49DEC60C)Old driver but seems to be running latest version

Rt64win7.sys Mon Sep 20 03:38:09 2010 (4C970F61)Updated

AtihdW76.sys Wed Nov 17 07:02:04 2010 (4CE3C43C)Up to date it would seem

GEARAspiWDM.sys Mon May 18 08:17:04 2009 (4A1151C0)Updated

NisDrvWFP.sys Tue Sep 14 20:20:25 2010 (4C901149) Windows Update

I will have a go at the BIOS settings for the memory, but I might read up a bit more before tinkering around in the guts of the machine! Wish me luck!

OK-Have tried to go into BIOS and replaced an entry from AUTO to DDR2 800MHz, but when I try to set the voltage it says the minimum voltage is 1.850, and the recommended voltage for the Corsair chip is just 1.8, so I cannot lower it to this due to the fixed minimum voltage - Is this OK?

Thanks again and if it BSOD's again I'll post a new zip file.

 

[DeanP]

You can leave amdxata.sys - it doesn't require an update.

 

[hannibal]

Good-that's one less to worry about! Thanks

 

[DeanP]

For adfs.sys - uninstall all Adobe Software and then install the latest version from Adobe.

Adobe Software Examples...
Adobe Photoshop
Adobe Flash
Adobe AIR
Adobe Reader

 

[hannibal]

BSOD continued

OK quick post as multiple bsod happening now worse than ever after 5 blissful bsod free days. Just updated with W7 SP1 last night and now had 3 different BSOD (D1, 7E and 4E) that require unplugging everything and holding the power down to reset everything otherwise all I get is a black screen with no signal to the monitor.

I have not yet updated the adobe.sys and everytime it crashes it knocks out the changes I have made on the AI tweaker to specify the RAM details.

Have also updated BIOS to 0405 (unless the crashes have bumped that too!)

diskcheck and sfc /scannow check came up with nothing 5 days ago but have not tried again today.

Please help! Thanks,

 

[usasma]

Not much from this one. I'd suspect a hardware problem - but that's not real definite at this point.

Please remove these programs. The older drivers may be causing issues - but until they're gone we can't tell:
ElbyCDIO.sys Thu Dec 17 17:25:16 2009 (4B2AAFCC)Old driver but seems to be running latest version

VClone.sys Sun Aug 09 17:25:45 2009 (4A7F3ED9) Old driver but seems to be running latest version

iPodDrv.sys Fri Apr 10 00:07:40 2009 (49DEC60C)Old driver but seems to be running latest version

Beyond that I'd still suspect video issues. The easiest test is another video card - but if you don't have one, try these free stress tests:

FurMark download site: FurMark: VGA Stress Test, Graphics Card and GPU Stability Test, Burn-in Test, OpenGL Benchmark and GPU Temperature | oZone3D.Net
FurMark Setup:
- If you have more than one GPU, select Multi-GPU during setup
- In the Run mode box, select "Stability Test" and "Log GPU Temperature"
Click "Go" to start the test
- Run the test until the GPU temperature maxes out - or until you start having problems (whichever comes first).
- Click "Quit" to exit

Prime95 download site: Free Software - GIMPS
Prime95 Setup:
- extract the contents of the zip file to a location of your choice
- double click on the executable file
- select "Just stress testing"
- select the "Blend" test. If you've already run MemTest overnight please run the "Small FFTs" test instead. (run all 3 if you find a problem and note how long it takes to error out with each)
- "Number of torture test threads to run" should equal the number of CPU's times 2 (if you're using hyperthreading).
The easiest way to figure this out is to go to Task Manager...Performance tab - and see the number of boxes under CPU Usage History
Then run the test for 6 to 24 hours - or until you get errors (whichever comes first).
This won't necessarily crash the system - but check the output in the test window for errors.
The Test selection box and the stress.txt file describes what components that the program stresses.
More details on the use of this test: Torture test your CPU with Prime95

Two other video stress tests (may be more stressful than FurMark):
Video Memory stress Test - МИРNVIDIA / Утилиты / VMT
Artifact Locator - МИРNVIDIA / Утилиты / Artifact Locator
Sorry, but I don't read the language that this website is made in.

 

[hannibal]

Hi Usasma - Thanks for looking into this again - I have not been able to do this yet as having to go to work has got in the way of the tests!

I'll uninstall these programmes and see what happens when I get home, and also remove the adobe software to see if that makes any difference and post back with results of the GPU tests (since I do not have a spare GPU).

Edit-One other thing that i had not considered until now is that the mouse arrow occasionally moves on its own in a squiggly line on its own until you move it again and it's OK again.

Fingers crossed!

 

[hannibal]

Hiya-Am a bit confused because Prime95 only lets you choose up to 4 cores, so if I need to multiply that by 2 then it will not let me put in 8 (2x4cores?) Also it does not have the stress blending option on any of the menus as far as I can see?

And the Russian really scares me! No idea what to press!

I did run FurMark and the GPU temp was going up to 90C after 2 minutes, 95C after 3.5 minutes, and maxed out to 100C in 7.5 minutes and 100% fan speed after 4 minutes - is this normal?

No BSODs for the last 5 hours though...and I have uninstalled virtual clonedrive and doubletwist which use the elby, vclone and ipoddrv drivers as far as i understand.

Grateful for your thoughts please-thanks!

 

[usasma]

90ºC is way too high - so 100ºC is definitely too hot!
Please check the cooling of the video card for an operational fan and for any obstructions in the cooler.
Point a house fan at the video card to see if that helps keep the temps down.
If unable to fix the temps, the next alternative would be a new video card.

Double click on the Prime95 executable.
If it asks about making a choice between something and Stress testing - choose stress testing
Then click OK in the next dialog.
That will launch Prime95 using the Blend Test as default.

I'd suggest:
1 - monitoring to see if BSOD's recur. If not, then it was the software that you removed that was causing it.
2 - if the BSOD's recur, try further stress tests (particularly with the video). Try the Russian Test - but monitor the temps closely.