Regular but seemingly random BSODs, please help?

[Planetspectra]

Hi. For months I've been getting BSODs (of the DRIVER_IRQL_NOT_LESS_OR_EQUAL and UNEXPECTED_KERNEL_MODE_TRAP variety) but recently they are happening a few times everyday.

After installing a new Nvidia driver update on the 28th I thought I'd finally got to the bottom of it but it appears not. Now I'm determined to put a stop to these remaining BSODs!

After reading around your forum a bit I've started using BlueScreenView and MyEventViewer but I must admit its now beyond me. The events seem to occur seemingly randomly but (since updating Nvidia) have mostly been caused by either amdk8.sys or halmacpi.dll.

According to Windows 7 all my drivers are update. Can anyone please shed some light on this? I sure could use some help.

System Manufacturer/Model Number:
pcspecialist.co.uk (custom build Mar 2008)
 
OS:
Win 7
 
CPU:
AMD Athlon 64 X2 6400+ (3.2GHz) 2X 1MB L2 Cache (Socket AM2)
 
Motherboard:
ASUS M3A: AM2+, DUAL DDR II, S-ATA II, 3 PCI, 2 PCI-E
 
Memory:
4.00 GB CORSAIR XMS2 800MHz (3.25 GB usable)
 
Graphics Card:
NVIDIA GeForce 8500GT
 
Sound Card:
8 Channel Realtek ALC883 High Definition Audio
 
Monitor:
Samsung SyncMaster 2232BW
 
Resolution:
1680x1050
 
Hard Drives:
500Gb Serial ATA II Hard Drive with 16Mb Cache (internal)
500Gb Seagate (external) USB2.0
x2 1Tb WD My Books (external) USB2.0
 
PSU:
500W (peak) Quiet Dual Rail PSU + 120mm Case Fan
 
Case:
Black AluminiumTrigon Case + 2 Front/Side USB
 
Cooling:
Super Quiet 22 dBA AMD CPU Cooler
 
Keyboard:
Microsoft Wireless Multimedia Keyboard 1.1
 
Mouse:
Microsoft Wireless Mouse 2000
 
Internet Speed:
up to 4MBPS
 
Other Info:
Wacom Bamboo Pen & Touch, Zune, AVG Internet Security

 

[ttran]

Hi there,
It would be best if you can upload your minidump files to us
http://www.sevenforums.com/crash-lockup-debug-how/34900-1-novice-how-ask-help-bsod-problem.html
Some were caused by your amdk8.sys file. That file is only needed if you are running the cool and quiet. I would not run it to test and see if the problem resolves itself.

Also, I wanna ask you this: Where did you get your window 7 OS?

Regard,
Tuan

 

[Planetspectra]

Sorry for my noobness!

My OS is Windows 7 Home Premium 32-bit, clean install after XP, bought from Amazon (UK)

EDIT:

I've been into the BIOS to look at cool & quiet as you suggested. Smart Q-Fan Function was 'Disabled'. AI Overclocking was set to 'Auto', I changed this to 'Standard' as the BIOS hint said to go to the default setting that if the system becomes unstable. When I then looked at cool & quiet that was already set to 'Disabled'.

When I rebooted my system went BSOD once again within a minute of starting. My wireless mouse was also behaving erratically this time, I don't know if that has anything to do with it?

I've attached a new minidump for you, thanks

EDIT again:

Went out for a walk, came back and the machine had obviously recovered from another event. A different reason this time so I have attached a third minidump. Thanks

 

[CarlTR6]

This is a lot of dumps! It will take me a while. I looked at the six most recent dumps. I will look at more of them later.

Your have several stop error codes; a variety of stop error codes generally means a hardware problem.

You have 2 instances of stop error code 7F in six dumps.
STOP 0x0000007F: UNEXPECTED_KERNEL_MODE_TRAP

Usual causes: Memory corruption, Hardware (memory in particular), Installing a faulty or mismatched hardware (especially memory) or a failure after installing it, 3rd party firewall, Device drivers, SCSI/network/BIOS updates needed, Improperly seated cards, Incompatible storage devices, Overclocking, Virus scanner, Backup tool, Bad motherboard, Missing Service Pack

You have three instances of D1.
STOP 0x000000D1: DRIVER_IRQL_NOT_LESS_OR_EQUAL



Usual causes: Device driver


STOP 0x0000008E: KERNEL_MODE_EXCEPTION_NOT_HANDLED

Usual causes: Insufficient disk space, Device driver, Video card, BIOS, Breakpoint in startup without having a debugger attached, Hardware incompatibility, Faulty system service, 3rd party remote control, Memory

Four of the six dumps list amdk8.sys as the probable cause.

At this point, I recommend that you test your RAM. I will look further at the dumps and give you some more suggestions.

Download a copy of Memtest86+ - Advanced Memory Diagnostic Tool and burn the ISO to a CD using http://isorecorder.alexfeinman.com/W7. Boot from the CD, and leave it running for at least 5 passes.

Post back with the results.

 

[Planetspectra]

Thanks!

My BSOD events continue today in the same fashion as previously described.

 

[CarlTR6]

I found this very obsolete driver on your system and it is a known cause of BSOD's: ASACPI.sys Aug 12 2004. Please visit this link: ASUSTeK Computer Inc.-Support- download_item_mkt

Scroll down to the Utilities category, then scroll down to the "ATK0110 driver for WindowsXP/Vista/Windows 7 32&64-bit " (it's about the 8th item down).
Download and install it.
Go to C:\Windows\System32\drivers to check and make sure that the ASACPI.sys file is date stamped from 2009 or 2010 (NOT 2004).

Reboot and let's see what happens with your system. Upload any new BSOD's.

 

[CarlTR6]

I found the following obsolete drivers on your system. I hope you have already taken care of the ASACPI.sys driver. Windows 7 does not like obsolete drivers.

adfs.SYS Thu Aug 14 10:57:15 2008 (48A447CB)
amdxata.sys Tue May 19 13:57:35 2009 (4A12F30F)
ASACPI.sys Thu Aug 12 22:52:52 2004 (411C2D04)
iviaspi.sys Thu Sep 11 02:36:53 2003 (3F601805) (this is a pre-Vista driver)
pcouffin.sys Tue Dec 05 09:39:53 2006 (457584B9)
SCDEmu.SYS Fri Mar 14 02:04:29 2008 (47DA156D)
seehcri.sys Wed Jan 09 03:41:37 2008 (478488C1)
wacommousefilter.sys Fri Feb 16 13:12:29 2007 (45D5F40D)
wacomvhid.sys Wed May 20 15:54:02 2009 (4A145FDA)
WacomVKHid.sys Thu Feb 15 18:11:07 2007 (45D4E88B)
WacomVTHid.sys Wed May 20 18:14:28 2009 (4A1480C4)
wdcsam.sys Wed Apr 16 04:27:02 2008 (4805B856)

These obsolete drivers are definitely not contributing to the stability of your system. Looking at them and looking at you system specs, I need to ask if you did an upgrade install of Win 7 or a clean install (formatting the hard drive first)? I ask this because I find an obsolete mouse driver that does not seem to match up with the mouse you have listed in your specs.

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 try and help you locate the appropriate program.
- - The most common drivers are listed on this page: Driver Reference
- - Driver manufacturer links are on this page: Drivers and Downloads

Please ask for help if you have problems with this.

 

[Planetspectra]

OK, trying what you have suggested now and will get back to you asap.

In answer to your other question -My Win 7 was a clean install yes. Previously I was running XP so I followed the instructions in the box for an XP upgrade - ie run Windows Upgrade Advisor, get the new drivers Upgrade Advisor listed (I remember they were for my MS wireless mouse and keyboard - coincidentally?) in readiness, back-up my essential data and clean install Win7 etc.

 

[Planetspectra]

OK, first off I ran the ATK0110 driver like you said. Afterward re-boot the ASACPI.sys says 'date modified 13/05/2009'

After what you said about the mouse driver I found a newer edition software from Microsoft and have installed that.

I then looked at iviaspi.sys. This apparently belonged to InterVideo WinDVD Creator 3 (the link on the Driver Reference page took me to a Corel website so I assume the have bought them out?) Anyway I uninstalled the software and iviaspi.sys is apparently no longer present in C:\Windows\System32\drivers\.

Lastly I looked at pcouffin.sys. As far as I could tell this was being used by DVD Fab Platinum. I have uninstalled said software but when I looked after re-booting pcouffin.sys was still present in C:\Windows\System32\drivers\.

No BSOD yet but I'm not going to feel safer for a few days or so...

Thanks ever so much for your help so far.

What do you think?

 

[ttran]

Thanks carl for continue the thread
@Planetspectra; You're fine now, for the pcouffin.sys, if after uninstall the software, if it is still there, change the name to .bak or remove it, How do u think Carl?

have good day everyone

 

[CarlTR6]

If we can't find a current driver for your mouse and keyboard, you may have to buy new ones. But we will work on the other things first.

Pcouffin.sys file information

The process Patin-Couffin low level access layer for CD devices or low level access layer for CD/DVD/BD devices or VSO Software pcouffin belongs to the software Low level access layer for CD devices or Patin couffin engine or VSO Software pcouffin by VSO Software (www.vso-software.fr).

I recommend that you uninstall this software using Revo Uninstaller. If there is a Windows 7 compatible version of the software available, you can install that or find a replacement for it.

 

[Planetspectra]

Understood but I had already uninstalled using similar software, 'Your Uninstaller 2010'.

Am I ok now to delete pcouffin.sys or to .bak it anyway do you think?

 

[CarlTR6]

To be safe, I would just rename it to .bak. Unless you have another program that uses that driver, Your Installer 2010 did less than a thorough job of uninstalling. Revo is proven good installer with Win 7.

 

[Planetspectra]

Noted. Thanks for the recommendation.

RE mouse & keyboard: I was considering replacing them anyway tbh. Since switching to Win 7 BSOD notwithstanding, their general performance I've often found to be laggy. Also the battery consumption on the mouse seems to have quadrupled.

 

[CarlTR6]

You are welcome.

Your keyboard and mouse are a little old and not designed for Win 7. I like a wireless mouse for my netbook, but I prefer a wired mouse (USB) for my desktop.

 

[Planetspectra]

Still getting BSODs

Hello again. I've been getting BSOD's related to tdx.sys and mostly ntkrnlpa.exe. After trying to research these files I'm still not clear on what they are actually doing or what I can do to remedy the problem. Can you guys please shed some light?

btw: Until I get paid I'm still using my wireless mouse which I know is not 100% compatible with 7.

Also these BSOD event have occurred when listening to audio with with Zune software and browsing via Firefox. But then that's what I'm usually doing a lot of the time!

 

[CarlTR6]

ntkrpamp.exe is a Windows system file and very probably not the cause of the crashes. It is just getting blames. All three of your latest dumps indicate ntkrpamp.exe as a probable cause. Usually it is a driver or hardware that is causing the crash when ntkrpamp.exe is blamed.

tdx.sys is also a Microsoft driver and is most likely not the real cause of your crashes.

All three of your most recent BSOD's gave a stop error code of D1.

STOP 0x000000D1: DRIVER_IRQL_NOT_LESS_OR_EQUAL

Usual causes: Device driver

I found AVG running on your system. AVG has been know to cause BSOD'd on some Win 7 systems. For the purposes of troubleshooting, I recommend that you completely uninstall AVG using the uninstall tool > [FONT=&quot][FONT=&quot]Info[/FONT][/FONT] > Tool (32bit) - Tool (64 bit) If you are running AVG Identity Protection, please uninstall it also > Info > Tool Install Microsoft Security Essentials and make sure Windows firewall is turned on.What we are trying to do is eliminate possible driver and software conflicts until your system is running smoothly. Once your system is running smoothly, you can install AVG again; although I recommend that you stick with MSE or install Avast.

I still find these outdated drivers on your system:

adfs.SYS Thu Aug 14 10:57:15 2008
ASACPI.sys Wed May 13 07:11:32 2009*
NuidFltr.sys Fri May 08 04:35:42 2009
SCDEmu.SYS Fri Mar 14 02:04:29 2008
seehcri.sys Wed Jan 09 03:41:37 2008
wacommousefilter.sys Fri Feb 16 13:12:29 2007
wacomvhid.sys Wed May 20 15:54:02 2009
WacomVKHid.sys Thu Feb 15 18:11:07 2007
WacomVTHid.sys Wed May 20 18:14:28 2009
wdcsam.sys Wed Apr 16 04:27:02 2008

* I know that you updated this driver; but this one is still obsolete. We can let it go for now; but we may have to come back to it later.

There are enough old drivers on your system to cause havoc. When you get your new keyboard and mouse installed, you will need to uninstall the old keyboard and mouse.

In the meantime, concentrate on getting the old drivers on the list above updated. Go to the manufacturers' websites and find the drivers. If yo need help; please let us know.

 

[Planetspectra]

Hi thanks for looking at this again. I've been through that list and as you can see I've had some successes and some confusion:

adfs.SYS Thu Aug 14 10:57:15 2008 (an adobe file I will update when I upgrade my Adobe Creative Suite)

ASACPI.sys Wed May 13 07:11:32 2009*

NuidFltr.sys Fri May 08 04:35:42 2009 (I'm not clear what this is for or how I can update it)

SCDEmu.SYS Fri Mar 14 02:04:29 2008 (Linked to "Power ISO" software, now uninstalled)

seehcri.sys Wed Jan 09 03:41:37 2008 (Sony Ericsson phone PC suite, updated)

wacommousefilter.sys Fri Feb 16 13:12:29 2007
wacomvhid.sys Wed May 20 15:54:02 2009
WacomVKHid.sys Thu Feb 15 18:11:07 2007
WacomVTHid.sys Wed May 20 18:14:28 2009 (I assumed these 4 are to do with my Wacom Bamboo Pen & Touch and I did find a firmware update which I then installed, however these drivers don't seem to have altered? Is this is really a problem or not?)

wdcsam.sys Wed Apr 16 04:27:02 2008 (An firmware update for my WD My Book 1Tb seems to have updated this driver)

Also I've removed AVG completely and replaces it with Avast & Comodo. Windows Firewall would not allow Firefox through, no matter what I tried. In hindsight this may have seemed the case because I have UAC turned off but Comodo seems to be doing the job.

If/when I get another BSOD I'll be sure to upload the minidump

 

[CarlTR6]

Very good. Don't worry about the ASACPI.sys driver. It should be OK. We will have to wait and see about the Wacom drivers. The driver dated 2007 concerns me; but the firmware update may have solved the problem.

I run Avast and Comodo on my system.

I am glad to learn that your system is smoothing out. Please post back in a couple of days and let us know. I hope you have solved your problem. If you get another BSOD, post and upload it ASAP.

Thank you very much for the thorough update.

 

[Planetspectra]

Sad to say it's still at it.

Also on a side note I find I have to keep on re-installing the WD 1TB external drive firmware update every couple of days in order to access any files on that drive. It doesn't seem to affect the drive content but obviously it is a concern.