Win 7 crashes - pattern

[Ukiii]

Hi All,
I have a problem with crashes in my Win 7 PRof x64 edition; all crashes that I get relate to the following:

Kernel-Power event ID 41 category ID (63)
- <Event xmlns="http://schemas.microsoft.com/win/2004/08/events/event">
- <System>
<Provider Name="Microsoft-Windows-Kernel-Power" Guid="{331C3B3A-2005-44C2-AC5E-77220C37D6B4}" />
<EventID>41</EventID>
<Version>2</Version>
<Level>1</Level>
<Task>63</Task>
<Opcode>0</Opcode>
<Keywords>0x8000000000000002</Keywords>
<TimeCreated SystemTime="2010-07-24T20:58:36.501215700Z" />
<EventRecordID>14445</EventRecordID>
<Correlation />
<Execution ProcessID="4" ThreadID="8" />
<Channel>System</Channel>
<Computer>Laura-Komp</Computer>
<Security UserID="S-1-5-18" />
</System>
- <EventData>
<Data Name="BugcheckCode">0</Data>
<Data Name="BugcheckParameter1">0x0</Data>
<Data Name="BugcheckParameter2">0x0</Data>
<Data Name="BugcheckParameter3">0x0</Data>
<Data Name="BugcheckParameter4">0x0</Data>
<Data Name="SleepInProgress">false</Data>
<Data Name="PowerButtonTimestamp">0</Data>
</EventData>
</Event>

It seems to me that there is a certain pattern to the crashes as they are always preceeded by the same events according to the system log; these are:

BHDrvx64 file filter system loaded succesfuly
eeCtrl file filter system loaded succesfully

these are translated from Polish as I do have a Polish ver of the OS. Both the events occur at exactly the same time as the crash itself. There is no dump file after the crash. The system doesn't get BSOD and it happens only while playing games. During the game there is a freeze and the system shuts down.
Any ideas? Please help!
Thanks.

 

[ttran]

System freeze or shut down automatically can be due to overheating or memory corruption.
Baby, It's Hot in There

Most likely this is an overheating situation. Itunes, RealPlayer,etc. require a lot of processing power to decompress and decode music files, which can cause the system to get hot.
If your CPU is running at over 60 degrees you might be at risk of burning it out. Some systems shut down automatically when the temperature reaches an unsafe level.

Every few weeks I open my system unit and clean the fins on the heat sink that sits under the CPU. When they collect dust it restricts the airflow and prevents proper cooling. I just did that on my system and the CPU temperature dropped by ten degrees!

Download the free Speedfan utility and it will tell you the temperature at which your CPU and hard drives are running.
Help, my memory is failing me!

If you determine that overheating is not the problem, the most likely suspect is bad memory.


Download a copy of Memtest86 and burn the ISO to a CD using Iso Recorder or another ISO burning program. Boot from the CD, and leave it running for at least 5 or 6 passes.

Run these more free stress test:
Try this free stress test: 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 you may want to run the "Small FFTs" test instead.
- "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).
The Test selection box and the stress.txt file describes what components that the program stresses.

Video stress test:
Try this free video stress test: FurMark: VGA Stress Test, Graphics Card and GPU Stability 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

Good Luck,

Tuan

 

[Ukiii]

Dear Ttran,
It seems to me that your reply is not very relevant to what I've written. The thing that is important here is the pattern that repeats itself every time the crash occurs. FYI please see the temps below:

CPU - 43 idle, 57 stress (I'm about to change the stock cooling)
GPU - 35 idle, 63 stress
MEMTEST - pass

Please refer also to my system specs should you have questions in regard to the aforementioned.

I've done a pretty serious research on this topic, however the number of hypothetical soultions is simply too big to be considered as the only resolution to the issue.

These are things I've done so far in regard to my situation; please note also that the problem started with, most probably, my GPU, namely, I started getting so called GSOD - Grey Screen of Death - green and grey vetical lines while playing games. I think I've managed to get rid of the GSOD problem, although the event and category ID are still exactly the same as when I had problems with GSOD.

- GPU Bios update according to the manufacturer's guidelines
- disabling ATI High Definition Device (very interesting topic by the way - please refer to your device manager to see how many devices you have under Sound, Video and Games Controllers)
- thorough driver update
- switching off certain services
- changes in Power Management (no hibernations, switching off monitors, or hard drives)
- Memtest - passed

Moreover, yesterday I decided to disable SONAR function in my Norton 360 as it seems that the process BHDrvx64, which is recorded in the sys event log at the same time as the crash, refers to this particular function in Norton. I'm just about to be checking within next 2 days of game playing if the stability is increased.
Please excuse my English as I'm not a native speaker.
Still waiting for any, more relevant suggestions, or possible solutions in regard to my problem. Many thanks.

 

[ickymay]

I would suggest for debugging purposes completely remove Norton and replace with a stable AV like MSE

let us know how it goes

 

[ttran]

Use this tool to remove Norton Symantec. Sorry I was just trying to help and I just wanted to list every possibility.
Download and run the Norton Removal Tool to uninstall your Norton product | Norton Support

 

[Ukiii]

Ttran,
No need to be sorry. As far as Norton is concerned, I'd really like to stay with it, just simply because I've had no problems in regard to the security/viruses since I sarted using it. I'm after deactivating SONAR and after playing 3 hours straight in NFS Shift -- no crashes so far. I want to give it a try for few more days and then I'll post all the info here.
Just one more slightly off-topic question; what's Microsoft Security Essentials like? Is it reliable?

 

[ickymay]

Ttran,
No need to be sorry. As far as Norton is concerned, I'd really like to stay with it, just simply because I've had no problems in regard to the security/viruses since I sarted using it. I'm after deactivating SONAR and after playing 3 hours straight in NFS Shift -- no crashes so far. I want to give it a try for few more days and then I'll post all the info here.
Just one more slightly off-topic question; what's Microsoft Security Essentials like? Is it reliable?

MSE designed by Microsoft for their own OS has proven reliable and stable and I have yet to see it cause any problem on a windows system for any of the bluescreen errors i have debugged

Norton however has been the cause of many problems on many systems , mostly because it can be silently overzealous and not totally stable with all configurations