# Vista64 or XP - BSOD producing no .dmp



## bryanosaurus (Dec 20, 2008)

Hello,

I assembled a computer with these components:
Intel Core i7 920
Asus P6T deluxe
Patriot 4GB DDR3 PC3 10666
Corsair 750W psu
Seagate Barracuda 1.5tb sata drive
2 cd/dvd drives (one sata one IDE)

I am somewhat rusty with computers and I've been getting some strange problems. I installed Windows XP Pro SP1 and all kinds of bad things happened. Then I installed Windows Vista x64 Ultimate and everything seemed to be alright. Then all of a sudden the same problem occurring under XP is occurring in Vista x64 with MUCH less frequency. Under Vista it BSODs once a week maybe. And with XP it may be several times a day.

It is seemingly random. One time while it idles overnight and another while using system-intensive programs.

NOTE:
I ran various memory tests for hours on end. no errors!
I ran HDD diagnostics. no errors!
I have updated drivers from Asus website and so on.

Here are transcribed BSOD messages:

Playing fancy new system-intensive game:
kernel_data_inpage_error
stop: 0x0000007a (0xFFFFF6FD30009798, 0xFFFFFFFFC0000185, 0x00000000365A2860, 0xFFFFFA6012F3064)
ntfs.sys address FFFFFA60012F3064 base at FFFFFA6001201000, DateStamp 479190d1
Collecting data for crash dump...
Initializing disk for crash dump...

Overnight:
A process or thread crucial to system operation has unexpectedly exited or been terminated.
stop: 0x000000F4 (0x0000000000000003, 0xFFFFFA80084FF040, 0xFFFFFA80084FF278, 0xFFFFF8000213DE10)
Collecting data for crash dump...
Initializing disk for crash dump...

There is no .dmp file on the computer either under XP or Vista.

In Event Viewer>windows logs>system
There are occasional errors for event id 11 atapi which says "driver detected a controller error on \device\ide\ideport0" however they never coincide with a BSOD or any sort of on screen error. Everything runs normally except for the BSOD. No corrupted files or anything, chkdsk finds no problems.

I had been trying to troubleshoot using existing threads but I just can't seem to figure this out, thanks in advance for any time you spend on this. It's driving me nuts!


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## jcgriff2 (Sep 30, 2007)

bryanosaurus said:


> kernel_data_inpage_error
> stop: 0x0000007a (0xFFFFF6FD30009798, 0xFFFFFFFFC0000185, 0x00000000365A2860, 0xFFFFFA6012F3064)
> ntfs.sys address FFFFFA60012F3064 base at FFFFFA6001201000, DateStamp 479190d1
> 
> ...



Hi - 

I can tell you from the timestamp on the 1st BSOD listed (479190d1 = Sat Jan 19 00:55:29 2008) that this *0x7a* bugcheck is from a Vista SP1 system.

*0x7a* as you noted = KERNEL_DATA_INPAGE_ERROR = the kernel data from the page file could not be read into memory. The 2nd parm is *0xc0000185* - a status I/O device error. Check the hard drive - run the manufacturer's diagnostics. Check all cables attached to the drive. The MS driver *ntfs.sys* is a dead giveaway that something is not right with the hard drive. It is the driver for the NTFS file system.

*0xf4* = CRITICAL_OBJECT_TERMINATION - 1st parm = *0x3* - a process crucial to system operation has unexpectedly terminated. Not sure if this is from Vista or XP - could be either.

I would highly suggest that you return the system to a single OS and ascertain what, if any, hardware problems exist. There are too many variables to deal with here. Like in programming, build on proven (tested) foundations, then move forward.

As far as no dumps - there are many reasons. The page file is #1 to me. You must have a page file on the OS drive that is equal to kernel memory + ~ 50MB. In Vista this could be 300-500++ MB. Let the system manage the page file - you'll be much better off.

Good luck to you.

Regards. . .

jcgriff2

.


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## bryanosaurus (Dec 20, 2008)

jcgriff2 said:


> Hi -
> 
> I can tell you from the timestamp on the 1st BSOD listed (479190d1 = Sat Jan 19 00:55:29 2008) that this *0x7a* bugcheck is from a Vista SP1 system.
> 
> ...


Thank you for the extremely timely response.

To clarify, both BSOD readouts were from Vista and nearly identical to messages I got out of XP as well, I hadn't written down the readouts from XP. I could remove the partition with XP if necessary, though I didn't think it would cause problems.

I have checked the cables and that all seems to be in order and as stated in the post I have run several hard drive diagnostics all claiming the drive is fine.

This is basically where I get stuck, I do not know how to proceed to determine what is at fault when everything is up to date and passes diagnostic tests.

Thanks again for your time and effort.


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## jcgriff2 (Sep 30, 2007)

Hi - 

Is the XP Pro SP1 x86 or x64? I honestly don't recall if x64 was offered then. If x86, how does it handle the 4 GB RAM? Is PAE 36-bit addressing enabled?

I'll be glad to look over system reports from Vista & see if something stands out. Please follow THESE instructions. Attach the zip(s) to your next post.

One thing that bothers me after re-reading your initial post, is that you mentioned trouble post-XP Pro SP1 install. What kind of problems? Did you have similar BSODs to these? It sounds like the XP install was not stable at the time you installed Vista - correct?

I know much more about Vista than XP. My preference would be to see you wipe the entire drive with killdisk, then install ONLY Vista x64 to see if hardware platform is stable. I would use the entire hard drive (not necessarily as c: - partitioning OK, of course). I don't have any dual boot systems, nor have I bothered with them (my preference - nothing wrong w/ dual, tri, ++ boot systems).

Let me take a look at the reports 1st. If you have alternate ideas - please tell me as hardware is not an area that I get into all that much. I don't know what the IDE error messages mean or if relevant here.

Regards. . .

jcgriff2

.


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## bryanosaurus (Dec 20, 2008)

jcgriff2 said:


> stuff


I have attached what you requested and if you feel it is still necessary to begin fresh, then I will. In the meantime I'll move all useful stuff over to external HDDs just in case.

I have yet to find a way to recreate the problem. It seems fairly random.

Thanks much


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## jcgriff2 (Sep 30, 2007)

Hi - 

I went through the files - thanks for running them.

I noticed that 1 of the NICs that is active is Hamachi. I have seen it bring down several systems on its own. I can't say that it is the cause here. Nonetheless, the driver should be updated:

```
Module Name:       hamachi
Display Name:      Hamachi Network Interface
Driver Type:       Kernel 
Link Date:         8/15/2007 6:05:08 PM
```
I found almost 100 app crashes that started within hours of this Vista install on January 7, 2008. The very first:

```
DTPro.exe, version 4.10.218.0, time stamp 0x2a425e19
```
The timestamp on Daemon Tools DTPro.exe *0x2a425e19* translates to *Fri Jun 19 18:22:17 1992* - a bit too old for a Vista SP1 x64 system. Is that really the timestamp or did WERCON get it wrong? I assume it to be 32-bit as 16-bit apps won't run on x64. Daemon is a known card-carrying member of the must-cause-BSOD today club - at least within Vista & Windows 7. 

The balance of the app crashes -

```
[B]51 [/B]aaCenter.exe, version 0.1.0.74, time stamp 0x00000000

[B]21[/B] Oblivion.exe, version 0.1.0.228, time stamp 0x44045dcb

[B]6[/B] Encore 4.5.3.exe, version 4.5.3.0, time stamp 0x3e22fd51

[B]2[/B] Ribbons.scr, version 6.0.6000.16386, time stamp 0x4549bb4a
```
aaCenter belongs to Asus. I have seen many problems caused by outdated Asus mobo apps. The Encore 4.5.3 timestamp *0x3e22fd51* = *Mon Jan 13 12:54:25 2003*. Not for Vista x64 SP1. It must go.

The timestamp on Oblivion shows it to be newer than DTPro and Encore - *0x44045dcb* = *Tue Feb 28 09:27:23 2006*. Still not for a Vista x64 SP1 system. Ribbons.scr is pre-SP1 and failed during an encounter with the SP1 MS network driver ntdll.dll. Many of the app crashes had a 0xc0000005 NT STATUS exception - a memory address violation. I usually find that 0xc0000005 + ntdll.dll = 3rd party firewall and/or anti-virus problems.

The "no kernel dump" situation thus far eludes me. You have 4 GB RAM, your page file has an allocated base of 4386 MB, current usage = 84 MB, peak usage = 114 MB, install date = Jan 7 and is located on OS drive c: w/ name of pagefile.sys. These figures are all in order. It is possible that the system is crashing so fast that there is no time to produce a dump as Vista uses the resources at hand to protect itself. The 0xf4 bugcheck is indicative of this. The 0x7a BSODs point at NTFS, so maybe it is having difficulty in writing the crash dump file. Yet you have run all of the HDD diagnostic tests and they passed.

These are from the loaded driver listing and are all x86 loaded from Program Files (x86) or the 32-bit \sysWOW64 folder (the x86 \system32 - which is x64). I am unsure of the purpose of some like the MicroStar WLAN Utility apps. ATI's MOM is notorious for BSODs; Asus I mentioned earlier; same with Hamachi. Then there is VMWare - I have seen this involved in crashes before. The last item I won't mention as it may cause thread closure - please remove it from the system during your stay with us. 

```
mom             2.0.0.0 48.00 KB (49,152 bytes)                 9/2/2008 12:48 PM       Not Available   c:\program files (x86)\ati technologies\ati.ace\core-static\mom.exe
MOM.Foundation  2.0.3218.28686  16.00 KB (16,384 bytes)         1/7/2009 12:17 PM       Not Available   c:\windows\assembly\gac_msil\mom.foundation\2.0.3218.28686__90ba9c70f846762e\mom.foundation.dll
MOM.Implementat 2.0.3257.27085  104.00 KB (106,496 bytes)       1/7/2009 12:17 PM       Not Available   c:\windows\assembly\gac_msil\mom.implementation\2.0.3257.27085__90ba9c70f846762e\mom.implementation.dll

aacenter        0.1.0.74        607.00 KB (621,568 bytes)       1/7/2009 2:21 PM                        c:\program files (x86)\asus\aasp\1.00.74\aacenter.exe
SixEngine       1.0.0.12        5.70 MB (5,971,968 bytes)       1/7/2009 2:21 PM                        c:\program files (x86)\asus\epu-6 engine\sixengine.exe

DTProAgent      4.10.218.0      132.95 KB (136,136 bytes)       9/6/2007 8:08 AM        DT Soft Ltd.    c:\program files (x86)\daemon tools pro\dtproagent.exe

hamachi         1.0.3.0         611.28 KB (625,952 bytes)       1/14/2009 11:10 AM      LogMeIn Inc.    c:\program files (x86)\hamachi\hamachi.exe

miranda32       0.7.14.0        545.09 KB (558,173 bytes)       1/23/2009 8:07 AM                       c:\program files (x86)\miranda im\miranda32.exe

WLAN_Service    2.0.1.24        239.00 KB (244,736 bytes)       4/19/2006 10:56 AM                      c:\program files (x86)\microstar\wlanutility\wlan_service.exe
WlanUtility     3.3.1.53        169.50 KB (173,568 bytes)       4/19/2006 10:56 AM                      c:\program files (x86)\microstar\wlanutility\wlanutility.exe

hqtray          6.0.2.59824     54.55 KB (55,856 bytes)         10/8/2007 10:26 AM      VMware, Inc.    c:\program files (x86)\vmware\vmware workstation\hqtray.exe
vmware-authd    6.0.2.59824     106.55 KB (109,104 bytes)       10/8/2007 10:26 AM      VMware, Inc.    c:\program files (x86)\vmware\vmware workstation\vmware-authd.exe
vmware-tray     6.0.2.59824     70.55 KB (72,240 bytes)         10/8/2007 10:27 AM      VMware, Inc.    c:\program files (x86)\vmware\vmware workstation\vmware-tray.exe
vmnat           6.0.2.59824     146.55 KB (150,064 bytes)       1/14/2009 11:15 AM      VMware, Inc.    c:\windows\syswow64\vmnat.exe
vmnetdhcp       6.0.2.59824     118.55 KB (121,392 bytes)       1/14/2009 11:15 AM      VMware, Inc.    c:\windows\syswow64\vmnetdhcp.exe
vmount  2       2.2.5.42958     262.80 KB (269,104 bytes)       3/23/2007 11:02 AM      VMware, Inc.    c:\program files (x86)\common files\vmware\vmware virtual image editing\vmount2.exe

utorrent        1.8.1.12639     263.80 KB (270,128 bytes)       1/7/2009 1:55 PM        BitTorrent, Inc.c:\program files (x86)\utorrent\utorrent.exe
```
This is a ton of baggage to have on a 3-week old system (almost 4) that began with problems from day 1. I am leaning toward kill disk followed by a Vista x86 re-install more so than before I first saw your files a few hours ago. Basically, we have numerous BSOD-causing agents floating around here - Asus, ATI, Daemon Tools, Hamatchi, unknowns, etc... Then throw a dual boot Vista and XP + Vista is x64 + VMWare. You are more than welcome to take these items 1-by-1 and deal with them. Some I know will have to return - like ATI and Asus. 

I saw the existence of a USB wifi device (Wireless 11g USB 2.0 Stick). If this is wifi and usable, why Hamachi? If not wifi, what is it?

Check out WERCON - you should find most of the crashes and additional information. type *wercon* into the start search box. Look at Problem History. 2x-click on an item (like eventvwr.msc) and additional details are available. I am unable to read most of the WERCON portion of msinfo32 as number signs are written over many of the details (this is normal).

I also took note that Windbg was running - what were you processing... or was it there just in case a dump appeared? Do a system-wide search including hidden and system files for "dmp" - sometimes 3rd party apps take control of the crash process and write user dumps out. They normally have file extensions of hdmp - but not always. If you find any, look for a corresponding text file in the same directory. Start w/ \Program Files (x86).

Please - comments... lot's of them. I still have other files to go through, but must get the kids up and ready for school shortly.

Have a good day!

Regards. . . 

jcgriff2

.


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## bryanosaurus (Dec 20, 2008)

jcgriff2 said:


> Hi -
> lots more words
> .


I found some .dmp and .hdmp. and .kdmp. Just one of each. Attached if that's useful. Let me know what you think would be the best course, I'd rather not waste more of your time if it'd be easier to just install XP and move to that forum.

The dmp was found in C:\Windows\LiveKernelReports\WATCHDOG
The .kdmp and .hdmp and so on was found in C:\ProgramData\Microsoft\Windows\WER\ReportQueue\Report0b05b126

There are quite a few other folders titled Report______ and contain files like DMIF5C3.tmp.log.xml and report.wer

You speak sense. I'll killdisk>reinstall as soon as I get a chance, which will sadly be no earlier than Saturday night. Here's the concern: there is no way to recreate the problem, I may go a week without a crash (which is why there is so much stuff installed, I thought the system was fine) or I'll get two in the same day. The frequency was higher while using Windows XP. I'm thinking of reinstalling XP instead, at least for discovering the source of the problem (the error messages were precisely the same).

I have removed VMWare. It was only recently installed after problems began. There is a wifi stick. An ancient one by MSI. Out of sheer laziness, the router's just so far away. I'll smack myself if that's the cause. My copy of DTPro is nowhere near that old. I use Hamachi (also installed after the first bsod) to vpn with this computer from my laptop (RDC and so on). Oblivion crashed nearly every time I tried to quit it. I just assumed it was a lack of Vista compatibility, never caused any serious problems.

Thanks again for your time and expertise


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## jcgriff2 (Sep 30, 2007)

Hi - 

Please don't consider this wasted time on my end. No such thing in my book - especially with someone like yourself that is forthcoming with information and actively participates in all of this. It is a pleasure, I assure you (not to mention what I learn here as well). It maybe frustrating here at times b/c I don't know the hardware end all that well, but am working on that one.

I'll take any xml or other files you find with the user dumps. I was able to instantly open the WER file - its contents (check out the last 5 lines):

```
Version=1
EventType=LiveKernelEvent
EventTime=128768850573850000
ReportType=4
Consent=1
Response.type=4
DynamicSig[1].Name=OS Version
DynamicSig[1].Value=6.0.6001.2.1.0.256.1
DynamicSig[2].Name=Locale ID
DynamicSig[2].Value=1033
Sec[0].Key=BCCode
Sec[0].Value=117
Sec[1].Key=BCP1
Sec[1].Value=FFFFFA80059F71B0
Sec[2].Key=BCP2
Sec[2].Value=FFFFFA6004A1BC24
Sec[3].Key=BCP3
Sec[3].Value=0000000000000000
Sec[4].Key=BCP4
Sec[4].Value=0000000000000000
Sec[5].Key=OS Version
Sec[5].Value=6_0_6001
Sec[6].Key=Service Pack
Sec[6].Value=1_0
Sec[7].Key=Product
Sec[7].Value=256_1
File[0].CabName=WD-20090119-1830.dmp
File[0].Path=WD-20090119-1830.dmp
File[0].Flags=65538
File[0].Type=2
File[1].CabName=sysdata.xml
File[1].Path=WER-456511716-0.sysdata.xml
File[1].Flags=65538
File[1].Type=5
File[2].CabName=Version.txt
File[2].Path=WERE628.tmp.version.txt
File[2].Flags=65538
File[2].Type=5
FriendlyEventName=Video hardware error
ConsentKey=LiveKernelEvent
AppName=Windows
AppPath=C:\Windows\System32\WerFault.exe
ReportDescription=A problem with your video hardware caused Windows to stop working correctly.
```
The "ConsentKey=" says "Live Kernel Event". This is tantamount to a near-BSOD but it recovered. Sometimes not - as it appears here. The last line says that a video hardware error caused it. In this case I would expect to find bugchecks 0x116 and 0x117 floating around somewhere - a video TDR error. The video driver timed out during an attempt to reset it. I usually see these when 0x3b around and the transitioning from user mode to kernel mode has occurred. Video does sound like it is the culprit - or something causing it to appear that way.

Interesting the location in which you found the dumps/files - C:\Windows\LiveKernelReports\WATCHDOG - Mine has always been empty. At least when I looked in it. The Live Kernel Report info along with WER are transmitted to Microsoft for crash dump collection purposes then usually the files are deleted. Grab them if you can.

I figured that DTPro was not from 1992 - but the hex timestamp was translated properly and it shows up more than 1 time. I just couldn't resist showing it to you. I also meant to say re-install Vista x64 - not x86. I know you are running x64.

Let's shake the system a little and see if we can get a BSOD out of it. Run run Driver Verifier - 
*START | type cmd.exe | right-click on cmd.exe uptop under programs | Run as Administrator | type verifier & hit enter - the Verifier screen will appear | do the following:*

```
[font=lucida console]
1. Select 2nd option - Create custom settings (for code developers)
2. Select 2nd option - Select individual settings from a full list.
3. Check the boxes
[indent]• Special Pool 
• Pool Tracking 
• Force IRQL checking[/indent]
4. Select last option - Select driver names from a list 
5. Click on the Provider heading - sorts list by Provider
6. Check ALL boxes where Microsoft is not the Provider
7. Click on Finish 
8. Re-boot
[/font]
```

If the Driver Verifier (DV) finds a violation, it will result in a BSOD. To see the status of Verifier - type *verifier* - select the last option on the first screen - "Display information about the currently verified drivers..". To turn Driver Verifier off - *verifier /reset* then re-boot. If you get a verifier-enabled BSOD, get it ASAP - go to \windows\minidump - get it, zip it up and attach.

Also look the the Live Kernel Report directory. For info, you can open the XML files by 2x-clicking on them. It contains a complete list of hardware and device drivers.

Regards. . .

jcgriff2

.


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## bryanosaurus (Dec 20, 2008)

jcgriff2 said:


> Hi -
> 
> I'll take any xml or other files you find with the user dumps.
> 
> ...


I've attached all the contents of the ReportQueue folder (.xml and so on), which are primarily dated 1-7 (I think that's when I first installed Vista, my first BSOD was like a week later though I had already received many using XP in the weeks prior).

Live Kernel Report and Watchdog folders contain nothing else.

Ran Verifier and no BSOD resulted. Any useful information to be gleaned from opening verifier? Under Global Counters it says "faults injected 0" "irql raises 0" "pool allocations failed 0" "pool allocations not tracked 0" "pool allocations without tag 0" and all other values are constantly changing numbers. Not sure what else may be useful...


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## jcgriff2 (Sep 30, 2007)

Hi - 

Thanks for gathering all those files.

Buried in one of the WER files was this:

```
DriverDescription=Standard VGA Graphics Adapter
     dvi:         DeviceDisplayName=Standard VGA Graphics Adapter
     dvi:       Install Device: Restarting device. 11:00:39.006
     dvi:       Install Device: Restarting device completed. 11:00:39.068
!!!  dvi:       [color=red]Device not started: Device has problem: 
0x0a: CM_PROB_FAILED_START.[/color]
     dvi:           Class installer: Exit

<snip>

!    ndv:      Queueing up error report since [color=red]device has a PnP problem...[/color]
```
What I am seeing so far is that Vista is continuously searching for a PnP driver and ends up installing one for standard VGA. Then it reports that there is a problem with the device itself. Is there any problem with your video monitor? Please go into Device Manager and see what drivers are loaded for video.

Also another reference to video hardware problem:

```
FriendlyEventName=Video hardware error
AppName=Windows
AppPath=C:\Windows\System32\WerFault.exe
ReportDescription=[COLOR=Red]A problem with your video hardware caused 
Windows to stop working correctly.[/COLOR]
```
Regards. . .

jcgriff2

.


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## mmorgan71 (Feb 8, 2009)

have a question for u,..i have a vista ultimate 64 bit...ned a pci card..what are some of the ones I:wave: can use?


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## bryanosaurus (Dec 20, 2008)

jcgriff2 said:


> Hi -
> 
> Thanks for gathering all those files.
> 
> ...


For my graphics card, the driver installed is by "ATI Technologies Inc." 8.561.0.0. I take it that means it was provided by ATI and not Microsoft, which is what I think you were getting at. I would point out that the two video hardware problems occured on separate dates. I believe the first one occurred at the time I installed Vista and the second one occurred nearly two weeks later. The XML file containing the first bit was 1-7 and the latter occurrence was the near-BSOD right? which happened around 1-20something.

EDIT: re-reading your post, you said video monitor. So if you meant the monitor's driver then that is the BenQ driver which came on its cd dated 2006. There is no update on their website as far as I can tell.


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## jcgriff2 (Sep 30, 2007)

I am not familiar with the BenQ driver. What is the exact date on the driver? How old is the monitor? DO you have another monitor to try on that system?

Did you re-install Vista?


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## bryanosaurus (Dec 20, 2008)

jcgriff2 said:


> I am not familiar with the BenQ driver. What is the exact date on the driver? How old is the monitor? DO you have another monitor to try on that system?
> 
> Did you re-install Vista?


The BenQ driver is from 10/16/2006 1.0.0.0. It is a spankin new monitor, and is the only one I have. BenQ G2400WD.

It did in fact crash again, however, no BSOD. Instead it froze with an odd screen left up. I have attached a picture. In caseit's hard to tell, this is based on what should be there, at the bottom of the photograph is a darker bar which was the taskbar, and the mouse pointer is shown uncorrupted on top of all the weird stuff although I couldn't control the mouse. If any of that matters.

No dmp or hdmp or kdmp. In event viewer, there is nothing for the past week under system. Under application the last thing that happened was "The VSS service is shutting down due to idle timeout" at 12:03am but it didn't die then. There is a security event at 12:53am that says windows firewall blocked something or other and couldn't notify me (because I turned notifications off) so it couldn't have crashed due to VSS. No other event viewer logs after 12am today. aacenter.exe crashed during the day before and I couldn't get it to work again as well.

I have yet to get around to reinstalling Vista. I'm aiming for thursday or the weekend. Just too many things to do lately to stop for a few hours. Sorry to take so long on my end, with your responses coming so quickly.


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## jcgriff2 (Sep 30, 2007)

Hi - 

There is no rush here for you to re-install Vista. 

The events described from event viewer do indicate hardware failure. It is typical for no prior events to be recorded followed by boot-up events. Then you see the message "the previous system shutdown was unexpected..".

I don't like the looks of that driver at all. I don't understand how a brand new monitor that is in fact certified for Vista SP1 x64 has an October 2006 driver as the latest release.

From Microsoft Vista Compatibility Center - 

http://www.microsoft.com/windows/co...id=&pf=0&pi=2&s=BenQ G2400WD&os=32-bit&vd=all

BenQ mfg site for g2400w - (looks nice by the way)

http://shop.benq.us/benq-us/product.aspx?sku=3844862&section_id=566&culture=en-US

I looked around for the driver but didn't see this product listed. 

http://www.benq.us/support/downloads/index.cfm?productline=3

Do you have a link for the driver download site? I can think of 2 things to try - un-install the video driver and run w/ native Vista video driver vga.sys (looks like safemode).

(2) Run the driver verifier again - 
*START | type cmd.exe | right-click on cmd.exe uptop under programs | Run as Administrator | type verifier & hit enter - the Verifier screen will appear | do the following:*

```
[b]
1. Select 2nd option - Create custom settings (for code developers)
2. Select 2nd option - Select individual settings from a full list.
3. Check the boxes
[indent]• Special Pool 
• Pool Tracking 
• Force IRQL checking[/indent]
4. Select last option - Select driver names from a list 
5. Click on the Provider heading - sorts list by Provider
6. Check ALL boxes where Microsoft is not the Provider
7. Click on Finish 
8. Re-boot
[/b]
```
If the Driver Verifier (DV) finds a violation, it will result in a BSOD. To see the status of Verifier - type *verifier* - select the last option on the first screen - "Display information about the currently verified drivers..". To turn Driver Verifier off - *verifier /reset* then re-boot. If you get a verifier-enabled BSOD, go to \windows\minidump and get the dump. 

There really is nothing for you to do with or for the driver verifier. Just let verifier run in the background until BSOD. If CPU and RAM spike or are constantly near max then you'll have to turn it off. Keep it running as long as possible.

I just went back and looked at files - Vista was installed on January 7, 2009. I do feel re-install imminent, but that video driver just bothers me given the various error messages related to video hardware problem. Do you think any chance monitor itself is bad? Try the vga.sys - it certainly doesn't look as nice but may give us some answers. Thanks.

Regards. . .

JC

.


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## bryanosaurus (Dec 20, 2008)

jcgriff2 said:


> Hi -
> 
> There is no rush here for you to re-install Vista.
> 
> ...


Ok, I've had a crazy week without much sleep and alot of work. Apologies for the delay.

First: looking at event viewer now, it seems like it's just not reporting anything new anymore under system. Maybe it's full? It has 15,917 entries under system. And that number hasn't changed since 1-30.

I couldn't find new drivers either, what I have done is uninstalled the BenQ driver through control panel. Then, after restarting it has a generic microsoft pnp driver from '06. When i let it search for a more recent driver it installs a BenQ driver from '06 which I believe is the same as the one I had before.

Driver Verifier has been running nonstop since you told me to do it the first time. I think. I never turned it off... I've had no BSOD since I've had driver verifier running, instead that odd scrambled static screen occurred twice. It has never taken 100% CPU or RAM as far as I can tell either.

As to whether the monitor is bad. It performs flawlessly, and so I have no reason to believe it is 'bad'. That doesn't mean that it isn't bad though I suppose.


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## bryanosaurus (Dec 20, 2008)

Something else odd has happened. It hasn't crashed since I removed the monitor driver, however, similar symptoms to what is desribed at this site

http://www.annoyances.org/exec/forum/winvista/1211886835

All of a sudden, ordinary alt+tab stopped working, and when I click an icon in the taskbar it just blinks until I click it a couple of times. Also (I use Opera web browser) when I right-click in the web browser, nothing happens. Various odd things like that. They mention page file there, and the page file seems like it was at fault before. I'm not sure about this though. I haven't restarted since it happened, but I have restarted explorer.exe and so on thinking maybe that would fix it and it didn't.


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## bryanosaurus (Dec 20, 2008)

bryanosaurus said:


> Something else odd has happened. It hasn't crashed since I removed the monitor driver, however, similar symptoms to what is desribed at this site
> 
> http://www.annoyances.org/exec/forum/winvista/1211886835
> 
> All of a sudden, ordinary alt+tab stopped working, and when I click an icon in the taskbar it just blinks until I click it a couple of times. Also (I use Opera web browser) when I right-click in the web browser, nothing happens. Various odd things like that. They mention page file there, and the page file seems like it was at fault before. I'm not sure about this though. I haven't restarted since it happened, but I have restarted explorer.exe and so on thinking maybe that would fix it and it didn't.


This problem resolved itself over the course of a few days.

Sidenote:
I've noticed lately that Windows Sidebar can take up like 200 mb of ram (it starts around 30mb), after running for a day or two. Is this normal? If I close all the gadgets it continues to take up the same amount of ram...

It seems, however, as though removing the silly monitor driver solved the bsod problems.


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## jcgriff2 (Sep 30, 2007)

Hi - 

Thanks for updates.

As for Sidebar - what gadgets are you running? Even the ones installed from MS sites can be bad, especially those that monitor network activity. They take up alot of resources. Also many gadgets are one-time creations and never updated again. They may be in conflict with Windows Updates or your device drivers. 

Use MS SystInternals Autoruns. Download to your desktop, right-click on icon and select "Run as Administrator". Click on "Sidebar" tab - un-check each one-by-one then look at CPU/RAM activity with Tak Manager or SysInternals Process Explorer. You should be able to find the culprit.

200 MB RAM is alot for a gadget to be using - my opinion.

SysInternals AutoRuns - http://live.sysinternals.com/autoruns.exe

SysInternals Process Explorer - http://live.sysinternals.com/procexp.exe

Live SysInternals (above 2 exe files) - http://live.sysinternals.com/

SysInternals home page - https://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/sysinternals/0e18b180-9b7a-4c49-8120-c47c5a693683.aspx

AutoRuns is reversible - simply re-check the box.

Regards. . .

jcgriff2

.


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