various BSOD's, usually during windows boot

[hellknight]

A few weeks ago, my laptop (Asus G73JH) returned from the servicecenter, where it had it's mainboard, GPU and RAM replaced due to GPU overheating - a common issue for this series of gaming laptops. Ever since, I've been getting BSOD's at nearly every startup - usually windows crashes just before the login-screen is loaded.
BSOD errorcodes vary:

• bad_pool_header,
• PFN_list_corrupt
• page_fault in nonpaged

are are the most common. Whocrashed indicates the crashing module in all cases was NTOSKRNL.exe, but couldn't identify the driver most likely responsible. At first, I suspected RAM issues, so have run windows memory diagnostics - 2 passes of the extended test. No issues where found. Memory dump settings where at first set to full kernel dump, which somehow resulted in no minidumps being written, thus only 3 minidumps are available, which I've attached

 

[zigzag3143]

A few weeks ago, my laptop (Asus G73JH) returned from the servicecenter, where it had it's mainboard, GPU and RAM replaced due to GPU overheating - a common issue for this series of gaming laptops. Ever since, I've been getting BSOD's at nearly every startup - usually windows crashes just before the login-screen is loaded.
BSOD errorcodes vary:

• bad_pool_header,
• PFN_list_corrupt
• page_fault in nonpaged

are are the most common. Whocrashed indicates the crashing module in all cases was NTOSKRNL.exe, but couldn't identify the driver most likely responsible. At first, I suspected RAM issues, so have run windows memory diagnostics - 2 passes of the extended test. No issues where found. Memory dump settings where at first set to full kernel dump, which somehow resulted in no minidumps being written, thus only 3 minidumps are available, which I've attached

Whocrashed often blames (incorrectly) OS files.


These were related to memory corruption either by a driver or ram. Please run these two tests to determine which.


Also of note some very old drivers (maybe the ones causing the crash)

mcdbus.sys    2/24/2009 5:34:07 AM    fffff880`06390000    fffff300`063cc880        0xfffffa800003c880    0x49a3cd1f                        
btwl2cap.sys    4/3/2009 7:28:45 PM    fffff880`04921000    fffff87f`0492d000        0xffffffff0000c000    0x49d6a9bd                        
ATK64AMD.sys    5/12/2009 8:04:54 PM    fffff880`064a2000    fffff880`064aa000        0x00008000    0x4a0a1cb6                        
GEARAspiWDM.sys    5/18/2009 7:17:04 AM    fffff880`0647a000    fffff880`06487000        0x0000d000    0x4a1151c0                        
snp2uvc.sys    5/20/2009 3:11:05 AM    fffff880`04414000    fffff880`045cb600        0x001b7600    0x4a13bb19                        
RtHDMIVX.sys    5/20/2009 5:04:50 AM    fffff880`06ab5000    fffff880`06ae4b00        0x0002fb00    0x4a13d5c2                        
btwavdt.sys    6/25/2009 12:50:13 AM    fffff880`04820000    20706ac9`0489b000        0x207072490007b000    0x4a431015                        
btwrchid.sys    6/25/2009 12:51:37 AM    fffff880`0492d000    fffff880`04930880        0x00003880    0x4a431069                        
btwaudio.sys    7/1/2009 8:54:56 AM    fffff880`0489b000    fffff880`04921000        0x00086000    0x4a4b6ab0

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 Reference
- - Driver manufacturer links are on this page: Drivers and Downloads





If you are overclocking anything reset to default before running these tests.
In other words STOP!!!


1-Memtest.

*Download a copy of Memtest86 and burn the ISO to a CD using Iso Recorder or another ISO burning program. Memtest86+ - Advanced Memory Diagnostic Tool

*Boot from the CD, and leave it running for at least 5 or 6 passes.

Just remember, any time Memtest reports errors, it can be either bad RAM or a bad motherboard slot.

Test the sticks individually, and if you find a good one, test it in all slots.

Any errors are indicative of a memory problem.

If a known good stick fails in a motherboard slot it is probably the slot.

http://www.sevenforums.com/tutorials/105647-ram-test-memtest86.html



2-Driver verifier

Using Driver Verifier is an iffy proposition. Most times it'll crash and it'll tell you what the driver is. But sometimes it'll crash and won't tell you the driver. Other times it'll crash before you can log in to Windows. If you can't get to Safe Mode, then you'll have to resort to offline editing of the registry to disable Driver Verifier.

I'd suggest that you first backup your data and then make sure you've got access to another computer so you can contact us if problems arise. Then make a System Restore point (so you can restore the system using the Vista/Win7 Startup Repair feature).

In Windows 7 you can make a Startup Repair disk by going to Start....All Programs...Maintenance...Create a System Repair Disc - with Windows Vista you'll have to use your installation disk or the "Repair your computer" option at the top of the Safe Mode menu .

Then, here's the procedure:
- Go to Start and type in "verifier" (without the quotes) and press Enter
- Select "Create custom settings (for code developers)" and click "Next"
- Select "Select individual settings from a full list" and click "Next"
- Select everything EXCEPT FOR "Low Resource Simulation" and click "Next"
- Select "Select driver names from a list" and click "Next"
Then select all drivers NOT provided by Microsoft and click "Next"
- Select "Finish" on the next page.

Reboot the system and wait for it to crash to the Blue Screen. Continue to use your system normally, and if you know what causes the crash, do that repeatedly. The objective here is to get the system to crash because Driver Verifier is stressing the drivers out. If it doesn't crash for you, then let it run for at least 36 hours of continuous operation (an estimate on my part).

If you can't get into Windows because it crashes too soon, try it in Safe Mode.
If you can't get into Safe Mode, try using System Restore from your installation DVD to set the system back to the previous restore point that you created.

http://www.sevenforums.com/tutorials/101379-driver-verifier-enable-disable.html


Further Reading
Using Driver Verifier to identify issues with Windows drivers for advanced users

 

[hellknight]

I've checked the drivers - for most of them, the application they're part of is up-to-date.
The last few drivers in the list are for the broadcom bluetooth module, but the update program offered by broadcom doens't see the bluetooth module, and thus can't update
After turning on driver verifier, as soon as windows started to boot, a BSOD was generated, I've tried 3-4 times, but had to disable driver verifier to be able to start windows. Safe mode could be started normally.
As said, I've already run the build-in windows memory diagnostics, I'll try to run memtest tonight.

 

[zigzag3143]

I've checked the drivers - for most of them, the application they're part of is up-to-date.
The last few drivers in the list are for the broadcom bluetooth module, but the update program offered by broadcom doens't see the bluetooth module, and thus can't update
After turning on driver verifier, as soon as windows started to boot, a BSOD was generated, I've tried 3-4 times, but had to disable driver verifier to be able to start windows. Safe mode could be started normally.
As said, I've already run the build-in windows memory diagnostics, I'll try to run memtest tonight.

That is what verifier is supposed to do. Please upload the verified DMP files for analysis.

 

[hellknight]

no DMP file was created - the BSOD didn't mention a memorydump, as it normally does, and there's no new DMP file in the minidump dir

 

[zigzag3143]

no DMP file was created - the BSOD didn't mention a memorydump, as it normally does, and there's no new DMP file in the minidump dir

You do a seach for *.DMP?


Is the control panel configured to enabled DMP's?



We do need the DMP file as it contains the only record of the sequence of events leading up to the crash, what drivers were loaded, and what was responsible.

If you are overclocking STOP

You may be able to get the DMP files without crashing by booting into safe mode (F8) with networking.

To enable us to assist you with your computer's BSOD symptoms, upload the contents of your "\Windows\Minidump" folder.

The procedure:

* Copy the contents of \Windows\Minidump to another (temporary) location somewhere on your machine.
* Zip up the copy.
* Attach the ZIP archive to your post using the "paperclip" (file attachments) button.
*If the files are too large please upload them to a file sharing service like "Rapidshare" and put a link to them in your reply.

To ensure minidumps are enabled:

* Go to Start, in the Search Box type: sysdm.cpl, press Enter.
* Under the Advanced tab, click on the Startup and Recovery Settings... button.
* Ensure that Automatically restart is unchecked.
* Under the Write Debugging Information header select Small memory dump (256 kB) in the dropdown box (the 256kb varies).
* Ensure that the Small Dump Directory is listed as %systemroot%\Minidump.
* OK your way out.
* Reboot if changes have been made.

 

[hellknight]

I'm not overclocking, and minidumps are enabled, with minidump dir set to the default (so %systemroot%\minidump).
The only .dmp file present in the minidump dir is the last file from the zip attached to my topicstart. As stated, the BSOD didn't even mention a minidump, as it normally does. I'll re-enabled driver verifier, and see if I can take a picture of the BSOD, or at least write down the errorcode

 

[hellknight]

I re-enabled driver verfier, and had windows boot to a BSOD twice. Safe mode wouldn't fully boot (it hang during the loading of system files), so I returned to a restore point using the repair disk.
BSOD's didn't mention memory dump, and no dump has been written.
I took a picture of both BSOD's using my phone, attaching it here.
Memtest will have to wait until friday/the weekend

edit: added newest DMP file - errorcode was system_service_exception

 

[hellknight]

ok, I've run memtest for 9 complete passes, no errors