Blue Screens in XP?

[nags]

Ever since I built my new computer I've been getting someone frequent blue screens. There seems to be no one reason that causes them. They are completley random and happen several times a week. They usually refer to Win32k.sys. Sometimes they say something like IRQL_EQUAL_OR_LESSER or something similar to that. My first instinct was maybe a irq conflict. I checked and it showed none. So I pulled the only PCI card that I had installed in the computer and it still kept happening. The system is a p4 2.4ghz with 1gb of ram. When this started I had one stick of 512mb kingston memory and I've since added another 512mb of Elixir memory. I've ran memtest on the memory and reported no errors. I'm really not sure what else to try. It's getting quite frustrating.

Any help would be appreciated.

Thanks,
Michael

 

[spyordie007]

Try pulling the kingson RAM and see if it still happens.

If it does try pulling all unnecisary hardware (extra PCI cards, etc.) and reinstalling the OS just to make sure it isnt a "broken" install; make sure to only use WHQL certified drivers (perhaps on another HD or partition so you dont loose your current install).

If it still does than it's probably going to be a problem with your motherboard, it's also possible that there is a problem with your CPU however it is likely the motherboard. I would than call the manufacturer and see if they will replace it.

 

[Sianath]

If you want, PM me and I'll reply with an email addy you can send the minidump file to. I'll take a look at it if you want.

 

[jyates]

I've found that a lot of the blue screens I've had on my computers through
the years were memory errors.

Just replaced a brand new stick of 512mb ddr ram in my work machine that
was bad right out of the package. Slipped another stick in and it's not
burped since then

 

[nags]

It's hard to really pinpoint because the blue screens are so random. I could not get one for a week or two and then geta few

 

[nags]

Ok, well... Now I've tested both sticks of my memory.. one of them returned an error so I pulled it. Another thing that was suggested was to disable my antivirus software... Everything worked good for about 24 hours. But now I was running a bandwidth test online and recieved yet ANOTHER blue screen.. ARGH! I dont know what else to try

 

[stash]

If you haven't already, take sianath up on his offer. He probably will be able to save you a lot of grief.

 

[nags]

Originally posted by: STaSh
If you haven't already, take sianath up on his offer. He probably will be able to save you a lot of grief.

He looked at them but wasn't able to pinpoint the problem.. He said it looked either like memory or my antivirus software. I switched out my memory and disabled my antivirus software

 

[Sianath]

I need to dig more into the new one you sent me. The first minidump was definately the AV software, the second was a different stop code and had a screwy stack. Normally multiple stop errors (that are all different) are indicitave of hardware problems (unless they are all similiar style stops, i.e. driver faults, that point to the same memory locations).

I'll dig more when I get a chance, just have a ton of stuff I'm working on right now at work so I didn't get to it today. Sorry!

 

[Runamile]

Try memtest86 here. Works awsome. Just leave it going over night, and any possible problem with your memory will be detected. At least it will rule out the memory.

 

[EeyoreX]

In addition to trying to remove/replacing the RAM try different slot(s) on the motherboard to see if that is the problem.

\Dan

 

[nags]

I'll try that tonight. thanks

 

[nags]

Now I just got one referring to ntfs.sys :|

 

[EeyoreX]

If these errors are so random (different times, pointing to different files etc) it is almost certain to be RAM related. memtest is good, but not always going to catch everything. I suspect that one stick (or both) or the motherboard slots are bad/causing the trouble. If you have extra RAM laying around (everyone does right? ) try that. Maybe borrow some or buy some on the cheap. Get it someplace that accepts returns in case the problems continue even with the new RAM.

\Dan

 

[nags]

Kingston is currently sending me a replacement stick.. Gonna try that as soon as it gets here

How possible is it that its the mobo?

 

[NogginBoink]

An IRQL_NOT_LESS_OR_EQUAL is almost always a software (driver) problem. And it has nothing to do with IRQ's.

You've got a driver on your system that is attemtping to touch pageable memory when the processor's IRQL is above dispatch level. This is probably the most common driver bug and it's clearly illegal in the DDK.

Try running verifier.exe and enabling verifier against all your drivers and hope that verifier catches the offending driver.

If you're getting this in ntfs.sys, then it's likely a filesystem filter driver (i.e. antivirus software) is the cause of the problem.

Go to Windows Update and update all your 3rd party apps.

 

[nags]

What settings should I be using in verifier.exe? As for Antivirus software I've had it disabled for the last few days and still recieved blue screens. Should I completley uninstall it? Everything I have is updated 100%

 

[Sectoid]

Hi guys, I think it's not a driver problem, really. I'm suffering from the very same problem and I'm researching about this for almost 2 months. In my case, I got random blue screens, every one a different error. I found that my Elixir memory was the problem. My system is a nforce2(abit nf7-s) with 1gb ram(2x 512mb DDR400 from elixir/nanya), and being lucky as I am, Elixir memory is a complete crap and is incompatible with nforce systems when running at 400mhz. So I had to put it in 333 and everything was fine... for a day or two. Now I still get BSOD's, but it's always the same, STOP 0x0000007A, KERNEL_DATA_INPAGE_ERROR, win32k.sys. At least it's not so frequent as before, just one or two every day

Now, in eventviewer I found some warning now and then about my second partition(D:\). Norton Disk Doctor found no problems in the HD tough, so I tried nVidia's HD controller drivers instead of Microsoft's, but no luck. The more I read about this topic, the more I'm certain it's still a memory problem. But I don't have other DDR modules to test and I live in Brazil, so I can't take them to the store and exchange for another brand(there's not one bit of respect for the customer in the computer market here).

So, my advice for you would be to research if these memories you got have any compatibility issues, then lower their frequency. And PLEASE, if the new memory you'll get from Kingston works(try it alone), write it here, so I'll know for sure it's the memory. I'm being haunted by the harddisk death ghost and I'm pretty scared

And if anyone has any other tip, I would be grateful

 

[nags]

A couple of people have suggested that it might be the power supply. I'm starting to think thats a possibility. I now installed another HD last night and now the computer is acting all weired.. Lots of blue screens, random reboots, etc.. Most often when there is something going on that is intensive to the computer.. moving lots of files, running a large program, etc etc

 

[nags]

Argh.. just got another blue screen saying PAGE_FAULT_IN_NON_PAGED_AREA

 

[nags]

and another in classpnp.sys :|

 

[Sectoid]

I still think it's memory, for various reasons:

1 - I already thought about the PS, but mine is a Zallman 400W, quite capable of handling my system. Besides, I have a friend that have the EXACT same computer, just the memories are different(his are samsung), and he have no problems at all. He even overclocks his Radeon 9500@9700 AND his Athlon 2500@3200. I'm just overclocking my radeon atm. I have one more HD too, tough, but I had no problems with it and my old memory.

2 - You're getting random errors, wich lead to memory problem. If it was your PS, you would get the same error always, I think.

3 - By lowering my memory speed I managed to always get stop 7a now, win32k.sys related, and warnings only in the HD partition where the pagefile is located. So, in my case, I'm 99% it's memory related. In your case, I would bet that too, because os the randomness of the errors.

Anyway, wich is your PS? And your system?

 

[billbillw]

I was getting frequent BSODs with a Dell system. I added a more powerful Power supply and that didn't help. Most of my problems were related to using the S3 suspend. I quite using suspend, no problems. Windows always told me it was a driver issue. I never did solve it. I took out all the guts from the dell and put it into a new case with a different motherboard and I haven't had any problems since.

I was also getting BSODs with one of my Custom built Athlon XP systems. After weeks of trouble shooting, it was a bad memory module. So who knows. Driver conflicts or hardware errors, it is hard to ever know for sure until you troubleshoot and test for an extended time.


Memtest is a great way to eliminate the possiblity of driver/windows issues, but you need to let it run for a long time. I was having problems and using memtest for 1 hour/3-4 passes with no errors. When I finally ran if for 8+ hours, I found a slew of errors. Of course, if you see errors right away, you know there is a problem. If you are getting errors in Memtest, it is definetly a hardware problem. It is not always RAM though, it could also be the motherboard, video memory, or CPU cache. With enough troubleshooting and patience, you will figure it out.

 

[nags]

I ran memtest overnight and it shows nothing under 'Errors' but in the bottom it tells me lots of sh*t.. So I'm guessing maybe this memory isnt good either? Either way I have a brand new stick of Kingston on the way and a new Power Supply on the way

 

[billbillw]

I'm not sure what you mean by Memtest telling you $ht. ? U need to note everything that it tells you. Read the release notes that come with.

Errors should have a zero in the column. Pass should be the number of times it has completed the round of tests. There shouldn't be much else listed.

If errors is >0, it lists the address of the error, the test #, pass# and type of failure. All usable info.

Also, if you are using an Athlon XP, make sure you are using Memtest 3.1; It finally recognizes the proper cache in XP processors.