Solved PAGE_FAULT_IN_NONPAGED_AREA while starting The Sims 2 Apartment Life

[HoneycombAG]

Major issue while trying to run The Sims 2 Apartment Life. All I was asking it to do is create "blank" neighborhoods so I can start new games with. I was restarting it because it only made the "tutorial" neighborhood and I wanted it to make all the other neighborhoods in my game. Luckily for me I did save backup copies before I deleted the rest of the folder.

But when I attempted to restart the game, it crashed the whole operating system.

Not that it matters, the game itself has SecuROM DRM on board, not that it most likely contributed to the crash...

Yeah, I did get my neighborhoods rebuilt, it's just that it takes freakin' forever to get to the neighborhood selector (as if it was run for the first time).

Fortunately it doesn't appear that I wasn't able to reproduce the steps leading to the crash, so I would assume it would be a temporary problem, but there might have been an issue with a fragmented pagefile. After all, this game hadn't run in my system since last March, so it may be a beast now to start and run in fullscreen and windowed modes.

CHKDSK has been scheduled for the next run (/F switch).

 

[writhziden]

Software Concerns:

I would recommend removing the defrag and registry defrag programs; they may damage your file system and/or the Windows files/registry. You also have a Memory cleaning program that is unnecessary and may cause conflicts.

• Many of us on the forums actually do not recommend automated optimization tools for Windows 7. Windows 7 does a much better job of handling its own optimization than its predecessors did. We especially do not recommend registry cleaning as an "optimization" step because automated registry cleaning causes more harm to the registry than it actually repairs.
  
  In the future, if you need help optimizing Windows 7, please post a thread in Performance & Maintenance - Windows 7 Forums or follow the tutorial enclosed in that forum to http://www.sevenforums.com/tutorial...ws-7-a.html?filter[2]=Performance Maintenance.
  
  
• I personally do not recommend 3rd party defrag tools. I have seen them damage restore points and even cause blue screen crashes. Windows has some nice command line flags for the defrag command that will accomplish the same tasks as 3rd party programs. The -b and -w flags will defrag boot files and the boot registry items as well as compact the data to the center of the disk for faster access.
  defrag c: -b
  defrag -c -v -w
  ​
  The first command optimizes boot performance for the Windows drive by defragmenting boot files and boot registry items.
  
  The second command includes all drives on the system through the -c command and optimizes the drives by compacting the data to the center of the disk. Verbose output through the -v option is optional to provide the user with more information about the defrag tasks. The commands have to be run in an http://www.sevenforums.com/tutorials/783-elevated-command-prompt.html.
  
  For more flags, see http://www.sevenforums.com/tutorials/11733-disk-defragmenter-open-use.html.

Analysis:

Your crash may indicate a memory problem.

• If you are overclocking any hardware, please stop.
  
  
• Run the boot version of Memtest86+ paying close attention to Parts 2 and 3 of the tutorial. Also, in case Memtest86+ misses anything and comes up with no errors, run the extended version of the Windows Memory Diagnostics Tool for at least five passes. These you may want to run overnight since they take a long time to complete (run them an hour before bed each of the next two nights and check before going to sleep that they are still running).
  
     Warning

  Before you proceed with the following, answer these two questions: Are you still under warranty? Does your warranty allow you to open up the machine to check hardware? If you are unsure of the answers to these questions, contact your system manufacturer. :warn:WARNING: The steps that follow can void your warranty!!!
  
  For Part 3: If You Have Errors: If you swap any memory components, follow these steps for ESD safety:
  1. Shut down and turn off your computer.
  2. Unplug all power supplies to the computer (AC Power then battery for laptops, AC power for desktops)
  3. Hold down the power button for 30 seconds to close the circuit and ensure all power drains from components.
  4. Make sure you are grounded by using proper grounding techniques, i.e. work on an anti-static workbench, anti-static desk, or an anti-static pad. Hold something metallic while touching it to the anti-static surface, or use an anti-static wristband to attach to the anti-static material while working. If you do not have an anti-static workbench, desk, or pad, you can use your computer tower/case by finding a metal hold in it, such as a drive bay.
  Once these steps have been followed, it is safe to remove and replace components within your computer.
  
  
• Download and install CPU-Z and Upload screenshots of the CPU, Mainboard, Memory, and SPD tabs. In the SPD tab, upload an image of each slot. Those steps will allow us to check the compatibility of your hardware.

3rd Party Drivers:

The following is for informational purposes only:

Afc.sys Tue Jul 11 23:48:20 2006 (44B48D24)
emScan64.sys Thu Jun 21 18:51:28 2007 (467B1D10)
emFilter64.sys Thu Jun 21 18:51:31 2007 (467B1D13)
emDevice64.sys Thu Jun 21 18:51:44 2007 (467B1D20)
tifsfilt.sys Wed Aug 29 06:37:29 2007 (46D56889)
timntr.sys Wed Aug 29 06:38:23 2007 (46D568BF)
emAudio64.sys Fri Aug 31 15:15:32 2007 (46D884F4)
wdcsam64.sys Wed Apr 16 02:39:08 2008 (4805BB2C)
exfat.SYS Mon Jul 13 17:23:29 2009 (4A5BC1F1)
amdiox64.sys Thu Feb 18 08:17:53 2010 (4B7D5A21)
amdxata.sys Fri Mar 19 10:18:18 2010 (4BA3A3CA)
nvstor.sys Fri Mar 19 14:45:11 2010 (4BA3E257)
nvstor64.sys Fri Apr 9 03:22:41 2010 (4BBEF1E1)
nvmf6264.sys Thu Aug 12 05:46:06 2010 (4C63DEFE)
pbfilter.sys Sat Nov 6 20:23:54 2010 (4CD60DBA)
speedfan.sys Fri Mar 18 10:08:46 2011 (4D83838E)
point64.sys Wed May 18 02:07:20 2011 (4DD37E38)
dc3d.sys Wed May 18 02:07:24 2011 (4DD37E3C)
RtHDMIVX.sys Wed Jul 6 04:09:50 2011 (4E14346E)
ALSysIO64.sys Sat Jul 9 18:27:45 2011 (4E18F201)
LHidFilt.Sys Fri Sep 2 00:23:09 2011 (4E60764D)
LMouFilt.Sys Fri Sep 2 00:23:15 2011 (4E607653)
LMouKE.Sys Fri Sep 2 00:24:28 2011 (4E60769C)
L8042mou.Sys Fri Sep 2 00:24:39 2011 (4E6076A7)
L8042Kbd.sys Fri Sep 2 00:24:42 2011 (4E6076AA)
RTKVHD64.sys Tue Mar 27 03:01:50 2012 (4F7181FE)
atikmpag.sys Tue May 8 03:02:23 2012 (4FA8E11F)
atikmdag.sys Tue May 8 03:03:50 2012 (4FA8E176)
aswFsBlk.SYS Tue Jul 3 10:13:12 2012 (4FF31A18)
aswMonFlt.sys Tue Jul 3 10:13:24 2012 (4FF31A24)
aswTdi.SYS Tue Jul 3 10:13:33 2012 (4FF31A2D)
aswrdr2.sys Tue Jul 3 10:13:43 2012 (4FF31A37)
aswSP.SYS Tue Jul 3 10:14:23 2012 (4FF31A5F)
aswSnx.SYS Tue Jul 3 10:14:27 2012 (4FF31A63)

Afc.sys
emScan64.sys
emFilter64.sys
emDevice64.sys
tifsfilt.sys
timntr.sys
emAudio64.sys
wdcsam64.sys
exfat.SYS
amdiox64.sys
amdxata.sys
nvstor.sys
nvstor64.sys
nvmf6264.sys
pbfilter.sys
speedfan.sys
point64.sys
dc3d.sys
RtHDMIVX.sys
ALSysIO64.sys
LHidFilt.Sys
LMouFilt.Sys
LMouKE.Sys
L8042mou.Sys
L8042Kbd.sys
RTKVHD64.sys
atikmpag.sys
atikmdag.sys
aswFsBlk.SYS
aswMonFlt.sys
aswTdi.SYS
aswrdr2.sys
aswSP.SYS
aswSnx.SYS​

 

[HoneycombAG]

CPU-Z running ...

I don't have Acronis True Image installed. What are Afc.sys and tifsfilt.sys still doing in my system?

Slot #1 of the Motherboard does not work. See the video on the post here.

There are no overclocking features on this motherboard.

Cool 'n Quiet is turned on for this CPU.


Apparently, nobody else around Seven Forums has heard of Auslogics BoostSpeed, which the defraggers and registry cleaner stem from. The memory cleaner that you mention came out of this site...

But do you ever get the time to think about what happens on a system with 2GB RAM and games that always take forever to load when the memory gets full?

 

[HoneycombAG]

But MemTest is too slow!

I didn't have a disc labelled “MemTest86+”, it just had “MemTest86”. Either way, that test didn't find any memory errors after 2 passes ran.

Windows Memory Diagnostic Tool is running (5 passes)…

The tool did run, but when I woke up this morning, I got greeted by Startup Repair.
If it ain't broke, don't fix it!!

So I got into Windows, and I can't find any report or message whatsoever stating whether the diagnostic tool found errors or not. I can't find the Event Log entries either.

Even after following instructions on where to look for them, I get hit with a box. I might have to run the whole procedure again.

 

[writhziden]

I don't have Acronis True Image installed. What are Afc.sys and tifsfilt.sys still doing in my system?

No idea... Acronis software is the biggest PITA to remove, in my opinion, which is why I avoid using the software even if it is bundled with an external drive for free.

Slot #1 of the Motherboard does not work. See the video on the post here.

There are no overclocking features on this motherboard.

Cool 'n Quiet is turned on for this CPU.

Given a bad memory slot, I wonder what other possible hardware failures have occurred on the motherboard...

I am glad you are not overclocking, especially with a possibly damaged board.

Apparently, nobody else around Seven Forums has heard of Auslogics BoostSpeed, which the defraggers and registry cleaner stem from.

The problem is that we have heard of Auslogics BoostSpeed. One of the gurus on these forums used their defrag software for a while, but found out that it was causing fragmentation corruption of his boot files when running a boot trace. The boot trace was suggested by another guru who writes software for Microsoft, and he suggested moving away from Auslogics software due to the boot corruption it was causing.

Of course, you are welcome to continue using the software, but I wouldn't based on the experience of our experts... Most of us use Puran Defrag Disk Defragmenter x64 / 64 Bit / 32 Bit Windows 7 / Vista / Xp / 2003 / 2008 | Puran Defrag, and some use CCleaner for registry cleaning. Personally, I only use Puran Defrag out of those two tools, and I do my registry cleaning manually (after creating a system image in case I muck it up) because I do not trust automated tools. I've had too many registry cleaners and defrag tools hose my registry in the past.

The memory cleaner that you mention came out of this site...

But do you ever get the time to think about what happens on a system with 2GB RAM and games that always take forever to load when the memory gets full?

I am sure that is a hassle, but memory cleaning software is not what I would suggest as a solution. There are better optimization steps for gaming that are not prone to causing memory corruption to occur: http://www.sevenforums.com/tutorial...ws-7-a.html?filter[2]=Performance Maintenance

I didn't have a disc labelled “MemTest86+”, it just had “MemTest86”. Either way, that test didn't find any memory errors after 2 passes ran.

Windows Memory Diagnostic Tool is running (5 passes)…

The tool did run, but when I woke up this morning, I got greeted by Startup Repair.
If it ain't broke, don't fix it!!

So I got into Windows, and I can't find any report or message whatsoever stating whether the diagnostic tool found errors or not. I can't find the Event Log entries either.

Even after following instructions on where to look for them, I get hit with a box. I might have to run the whole procedure again.

Memtest86 and Memtest86+ are two different tools. Memtest86+ is more highly trusted and is usually the standard when testing RAM modules...

Startup Repair probably needed to run due to corruption that occurred during a process that took place overnight. Perhaps the memory diagnostics did not finish due to a system crash...

 

[Layback Bear]

I use Windows 7 built in defrag and it works just fine.

 

[HoneycombAG]

So I ran the MemTest86+ tool for 8 passes. I'm just waiting on the Windows memory tool to finish…

Windows Memory Diagnostic Tool is running…

The tool is taking forever to finish! (100% completed.)

IT PASSED!

Log Name:      System
Source:        Microsoft-Windows-MemoryDiagnostics-Results
Date:          7/17/2012 10:01:50 PM
Event ID:      1201
Task Category: None
Level:         Information
Keywords:      
User:          SYSTEM
Computer:      HC-SAPPHIRE
Description:
The Windows Memory Diagnostic tested the computer's memory and detected no errors

Between me starting from MemTest86+ to Windows Memory Diagnostic Tool, I went into the BIOS briefly to scale back my memory frequency and timings. It's as if "300 MHz" is quite insufficient for memory modules. This board was designed to handle up to 400MHz modules, or PC2-6400 DDR2 SDRAM.

:warn: Warning: When downloading the installer for PuranDefragFreeSetup, Google Chrome blocked it and said it was malicious software.
View VirusTotal results
:info: Avast! and Malwarebytes' shell-extension scans were run and they did not find any infections of some sort.

 

[HoneycombAG]

I got rid of some leftovers from Acronis True Image / Seagate DiscWizard. Nothing serious has happened so far.
While I was scanning my computer after a scary little security warning came up, the machine froze to the extent the drive activity light actually quit blinking. I couldn't find anything in Reliability History about "Windows was not properly shut down".