Getting error message, please help

[Master Chief]

Okay, I had a bunch of demos that I downloaded onto a DVD so I popped it into my computer. I went and opened up the folder, double clicked to install, and my computer took me to a blue screen.
I manually restarted, went back, double clicked on the folder again, and the same thing happened. I manually restarted again. This time, I went to the folder, clicked on the file to drag it onto my desktop, it happened again.
This is the message that I got, I listed it below, word for word. I didn?t install anything new so I don?t know what to do. What does this mean, what do I do?


A problem has been detected and windows has been shut down to prevent damage to your computer.

MACHINE_CHECK_EXCEPTION

It this is the first time you?ve seen this stop error screen, restart your computer. If this screen appears again, follow these steps:

Check to make sure any new hardware of software is properly installed. If this is a new installation, ask your hardware or software manufacturer for any windows updates you might need. If problems continue, disable or remove any newly installed hardware or software. Disable BIOS memory option such as caching or shadowing. If you need to use safe mode to remove or disable components, restart your computer, press F8 to select Advanced Startup option, and then select safe mode.

Technical information:

*** STOP: 0x0000009C (0x00000004, 0x80545FF0, 0xB2000000, 0x00070F0F)

 

[pendulum79]

Hi, I'm no expert but I kept getting blue screens and didn't know why but using the stuff below I managed to find what was causing them, then it was just a matter of googling the guilty party to find a fix.

When your PC crashes, it creates a dump file (*.DMP). Search your PC for where this .DMP file is and then do what is below:

Go get a copy of the MS debugger from
http://www.microsoft.com/whdc/devtools/debugging/installx86.mspx
(and install it ).

Run "windbg" from the new menu within "Start"->"All programs"->"Debugging Tool for Windows"

Drag and drop the memory dump (C:\WINDOWS\MEMORY.DMP usually) into windbg.

When windbg has stopped spitting out messages, type in
!symfix <somedirectoryOrOther>
EG
!symfix c:\mssymbols

That directory is used to cache what is downloaded in the next step.

Then type
.reload
(this pulls quite a bit of data from a MS server, so can take a while, not recommended if you are on dial up)

THEN
!analyze -v

This will spit a whole bunch of other stuff out.

If you have a look through what windbg outputs you should see something to effect of "xxx.xxx is most likely causing the problem". Then google the file and see if there is anything about your problem.

Hope that helps you, you might want to wait for someone more knowledgable though.

 

[Master Chief]

Originally posted by: pendulum79
Hi, I'm no expert but I kept getting blue screens and didn't know why but using the stuff below I managed to find what was causing them, then it was just a matter of googling the guilty party to find a fix.

When your PC crashes, it creates a dump file (*.DMP). Search your PC for where this .DMP file is and then do what is below:

Go get a copy of the MS debugger from
http://www.microsoft.com/whdc/devtools/debugging/installx86.mspx
(and install it ).

Run "windbg" from the new menu within "Start"->"All programs"->"Debugging Tool for Windows"

Drag and drop the memory dump (C:\WINDOWS\MEMORY.DMP usually) into windbg.

When windbg has stopped spitting out messages, type in
!symfix <somedirectoryOrOther>
EG
!symfix c:\mssymbols

That directory is used to cache what is downloaded in the next step.

Then type
.reload
(this pulls quite a bit of data from a MS server, so can take a while, not recommended if you are on dial up)

THEN
!analyze -v

This will spit a whole bunch of other stuff out.

If you have a look through what windbg outputs you should see something to effect of "xxx.xxx is most likely causing the problem". Then google the file and see if there is anything about your problem.

Hope that helps you, you might want to wait for someone more knowledgable though.

Wow, thanks for all the info. and research. I am going to run memtest over night to make sure my ram isnt messed up. If my ram checks out, I will do what you said. Thanks a lot

 

[pendulum79]

I meant to mention before that I was told the stuff about windbg by a friend on a (non-tech)forum