Windows XP BSOD troubleshooting

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PascalT

Golden Member
Nov 20, 2004
1,515
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Been getting random BSODs for a few weeks now and it's really annoying. Either it just freezes or reboots with the BSOD code: IRQL_NOT_LESS_OR_EQUAL which usually means it's failing hardware or incompatible software.

My question is is there a way to troubleshoot this issue? i.e. finding out if it's hardware or software messing things up? I don't recall installing any software or drivers that were anything major. My computer has run very smoothly for 2 years now so I am kinda surprised it starts doing this.

Is a hard drive starting to fail a possibility? Is there a way to view the error message in more detail?

thanks for any help
 
Ultralight

Ultralight

Senior member
Jul 11, 2004
990
1
76
Yes, there is a simple and very good way to troubleshoot BSODs. Windows will create a minidump or dumps that will give information on what is causing your BSODs.

They can be found at C Drive > Windows Folder > Minidump Folder > and inside the Minidump Folder are the Minidump files. I set up a special desktop folder and transfer them there because they are easier to access.

They can be read by the Microsoft Debugging Tool. Major Geeks explains how to set up the Debugging Tool. If this place allowed attachments I could have a quick look, but they don't, so I suggest joining the TechSpot Forums and posting them over there. Someone will read them for you.

Hope this helps.
 
P

PascalT

Golden Member
Nov 20, 2004
1,515
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According to the debugger tool it was caused by "AMDK8+3552"? What does that mean? It's my processor causing these?

This is what it says:


BugCheck 1000000A, {0, ff, 0, 806e2ea0}

Unable to load image AmdK8.sys, Win32 error 0n2
*** WARNING: Unable to verify timestamp for AmdK8.sys
*** ERROR: Module load completed but symbols could not be loaded for AmdK8.sys
Probably caused by : hardware ( AmdK8+3552 )

Followup: MachineOwner


IRQL_NOT_LESS_OR_EQUAL (a)
An attempt was made to access a pageable (or completely invalid) address at an
interrupt request level (IRQL) that is too high. This is usually
caused by drivers using improper addresses.
If a kernel debugger is available get the stack backtrace.
Arguments:
Arg1: 00000000, memory referenced
Arg2: 000000ff, IRQL
Arg3: 00000000, value 0 = read operation, 1 = write operation
Arg4: 806e2ea0, address which referenced memory

Debugging Details:
------------------


READ_ADDRESS: 00000000

CURRENT_IRQL: ff

FAULTING_IP:
hal!HalpClockInterrupt+4c
806e2ea0 8b1d00000000 mov ebx,dword ptr ds:[0]

CUSTOMER_CRASH_COUNT: 2

DEFAULT_BUCKET_ID: DRIVER_FAULT

BUGCHECK_STR: 0xA

PROCESS_NAME: Idle

MISALIGNED_IP:
hal!HalpClockInterrupt+4c
806e2ea0 8b1d00000000 mov ebx,dword ptr ds:[0]

UNALIGNED_STACK_POINTER: 805503c1

LAST_CONTROL_TRANSFER: from b95ee552 to 806e2ea0

STACK_TEXT:
805503c0 b95ee552 badb0d00 00000014 8055040c hal!HalpClockInterrupt+0x4c
WARNING: Stack unwind information not available. Following frames may be wrong.
80550430 ffdffc70 80527b3b ffdff000 8055b0a0 AmdK8+0x3552
80550450 805450cc 00000000 0000000e 00000000 0xffdffc70
80550454 00000000 0000000e 00000000 00000000 nt!KiIdleLoop+0x10


STACK_COMMAND: kb

FOLLOWUP_IP:
AmdK8+3552
b95ee552 ?? ???

SYMBOL_STACK_INDEX: 1

FOLLOWUP_NAME: MachineOwner

IMAGE_NAME: hardware

DEBUG_FLR_IMAGE_TIMESTAMP: 0

SYMBOL_NAME: AmdK8+3552

MODULE_NAME: hardware

FAILURE_BUCKET_ID: IP_MISALIGNED

BUCKET_ID: IP_MISALIGNED

Followup: MachineOwner
---------
 
S

Smilin

Diamond Member
Mar 4, 2002
7,357
0
0
Stop A is frequently a driver problem.
In this case the driver appears to be your CPU driver and the box bugchecked while the idle process was running. You can see if there are driver updates for amdk8.sys from AMD and also see if there are BIOS updates available for your system (which would include microkernel updates). It's really looking like a bad CPU though. :( Sorry

Ping dclive here on AT. His debugging kung-fu is far beyond mine.




Loading Dump File [XXomittedXX]
Mini Kernel Dump File: Only registers and stack trace are available

Symbol search path is: XXomittedXX
Executable search path is:
Windows XP Kernel Version 2600 (Service Pack 2) MP (2 procs) Free x86 compatible
Product: WinNt, suite: TerminalServer SingleUserTS
Built by: 2600.xpsp_sp2_qfe.070227-2300
Kernel base = 0x804d7000 PsLoadedModuleList = 0x8055c700
Debug session time: Tue May 1 20:41:39.906 2007 (GMT-4)
System Uptime: 0 days 6:40:54.610
Loading Kernel Symbols
...................................................................................................................................................
Loading User Symbols
Loading unloaded module list
....................
*******************************************************************************
* *
* Bugcheck Analysis *
* *
*******************************************************************************

Use !analyze -v to get detailed debugging information.

BugCheck 1000000A, {0, ff, 0, 806e2ea0}

Unable to load image AmdK8.sys, Win32 error 2
*** WARNING: Unable to verify timestamp for AmdK8.sys
*** ERROR: Module load completed but symbols could not be loaded for AmdK8.sys
Probably caused by : hardware ( AmdK8+3552 )

Followup: MachineOwner
---------

0: kd> !analyze -v
*******************************************************************************
* *
* Bugcheck Analysis *
* *
*******************************************************************************

IRQL_NOT_LESS_OR_EQUAL (a)
An attempt was made to access a pageable (or completely invalid) address at an
interrupt request level (IRQL) that is too high. This is usually
caused by drivers using improper addresses.
If a kernel debugger is available get the stack backtrace.
Arguments:
Arg1: 00000000, memory referenced
Arg2: 000000ff, IRQL
Arg3: 00000000, value 0 = read operation, 1 = write operation
Arg4: 806e2ea0, address which referenced memory

Debugging Details:
------------------


READ_ADDRESS: 00000000

CURRENT_IRQL: ff

FAULTING_IP:
hal!HalpClockInterrupt+4c
806e2ea0 8b1d00000000 mov ebx,dword ptr ds:[0]

CUSTOMER_CRASH_COUNT: 1

DEFAULT_BUCKET_ID: DRIVER_FAULT

BUGCHECK_STR: 0xA

PROCESS_NAME: Idle

MISALIGNED_IP:
hal!HalpClockInterrupt+4c
806e2ea0 8b1d00000000 mov ebx,dword ptr ds:[0]

UNALIGNED_STACK_POINTER: 805503c1

LAST_CONTROL_TRANSFER: from b95ee552 to 806e2ea0

STACK_TEXT:
805503c0 b95ee552 badb0d00 00000014 8055040c hal!HalpClockInterrupt+0x4c
WARNING: Stack unwind information not available. Following frames may be wrong.
80550430 ffdffc70 80527b3b ffdff000 8055b0a0 AmdK8+0x3552
80550450 805450cc 00000000 0000000e 00000000 0xffdffc70
80550454 00000000 0000000e 00000000 00000000 nt!KiIdleLoop+0x10 [XXomittedXX]


STACK_COMMAND: kb

FOLLOWUP_IP:
AmdK8+3552
b95ee552 ?? ???

SYMBOL_STACK_INDEX: 1

FOLLOWUP_NAME: MachineOwner

IMAGE_NAME: hardware

DEBUG_FLR_IMAGE_TIMESTAMP: 0

SYMBOL_NAME: AmdK8+3552

MODULE_NAME: hardware

FAILURE_BUCKET_ID: IP_MISALIGNED

BUCKET_ID: IP_MISALIGNED

Followup: MachineOwner
---------
 
P

PascalT

Golden Member
Nov 20, 2004
1,515
0
0
I sure hope not :( I underclocked my CPU to see if that might have helped the situation. So far no locks, but we'll see over the next day or two.

All the crashes I got this month are with this error except one where it's a memory_corruption error. I have the latest bios and I don't think there's a way to update AMDK8.sys, unless I am mistaken.. I don't see any drivers on the AMD site.
 
S

Smilin

Diamond Member
Mar 4, 2002
7,357
0
0
Originally posted by: PascalT
I sure hope not :( I underclocked my CPU to see if that might have helped the situation. So far no locks, but we'll see over the next day or two.

All the crashes I got this month are with this error except one where it's a memory_corruption error. I have the latest bios and I don't think there's a way to update AMDK8.sys, unless I am mistaken.. I don't see any drivers on the AMD site.
Click to expand...

Never a bad idea to run memtest when having stability problems. You could be bitflipping your cpu and memory because of a PSU issue. Who knows?
 
Ultralight

Ultralight

Senior member
Jul 11, 2004
990
1
76
What Smilin said. If you got a bad memory warning I'd do a Memtest pronto because bad memory will cause all kinds of errors that don't seem to be connected to faulty RAM.
 
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