Blue screen of death?

Hi Myvmax,

This is usually due to a hardware mis-configuration or irq conflict.  Have you recently added any new hardware to the pc? eg. sound card, graphics, NIC, usb hubs etc? Have you recently added any new device drivers recently?  If so try rolling back the new driver(s).

If you have added a new PCI card try moving it to another pci slot (if possible) as motherboards can "share" irq's with certain slots on the board.

Another thing you might be able to check off the list is RAM, download the memory test program listed and give it a run (boot from floppy or CD) and see if it gives you an error, if so you may have faulty RAM.

Let me know how you go,
Al

Sorry Myvmax,

Here is the mem test program I spoke about:
www.memtest.org

Thanks

The crash may be caused by faulty ram or device driver error. The system event log and the minidump has the most useful diagnostic information. When Windows crashes with blue screen, it writes a system event 1001 or 1003 and a minidump to the folder \windows\minidump. Check system event 1001 and 1003 and it has the detail of the blue screen.

Event ID: 1001
Source: Save Dump
Description:
The computer has rebooted from a bugcheck.The bugcheck was : 0xc000000a (0xe1270188, 0x00000002, 0x00000000, 0x804032100).
Microsoft Windows..... A dump was saved in: .......

Event Source: System Error
Event Category: (102)
Event ID: 1003
Description:
Error code 1000007f, parameter1 0000000d, parameter2 00000000, parameter3 00000000, parameter4 00000000

Control Panel -> Adminstrative Tools -> Event Viewer -> System -> Event 1001/1003. Copy the content and paste it back here

Zip 5 to 6 minidumps to a zip file and attach it at any webspace. I will study the dump and find out the culprit. If you can't provide the minidumps, run memtest to stress test the ram. Make sure that your windows is not infected with spyware, adware adn chkdsk /r.
http://www.memtest86.com/.

Get public webspace
Use a free service like rapidshare to attach the minidumps and post the url of the mimidumps at this thread.
http://www.rapidshare.de/

Can you instruct me where to find the mini dump files?

Hi Myvmax,

Like cpc2004's post, look in your windows\minidump folder.

Miguel

You can find the dumps in \windows\minidump

If that folder is not present you may need to enable minidumps to be written:

Right click my computer, and select properties, then the advanced tab, and under startup and recovery click on settings.

In the window that appears make sure that the automatically restart is unchecked, and under write debugging information, make sure that it is set to write small memory dump. Also make sure the overwrite existing file is unchecked.

Hope it helps,
Al

Here is the link location for the mini dump zip files. http://rapidshare.de/files/16046858/Mini012306-01.zip.html

The culprit is faulty ram.

Mini012306-01.dmp BugCheck 1000000A, {0, 2, 0, 804dc261}
Probably caused by : hardware ( win32k!EnterCrit+14 )

Mini012406-01.dmp BugCheck 1000007F, {d, 0, 0, 0}
Probably caused by : win32k.sys ( win32k!SpeedHitTest+40 )

Mini012406-02.dmp BugCheck 1000008E, {c000001d, 804e84d3, b8993920, 0}
Probably caused by : kmixer.sys ( kmixer!PinDispatchClose+370 )

The culprit is faulty memory. You can run memtest to stress the ram. If memtest reports the ram is faulty, ram is bad. However Memtest is not a perfect tool to test the memory as some faulty ram can pass memtest.

http://www.memtest86.com/

Suggestion
1. Check the temperature of the CPU and make sure that it is not overheat (ie temperature < 60C)
   Make sure that the CPU fan works properly
2. Reseat the memory stick to another memory slot. Reseat video card as well.
3. Downclock the ram. Check to default setting if you video card is overclocked.
4. Clean the dust inside the computer case
5. Make sure that the ram is compatible to the motherboard
   For example : If the ram and the motherboard has dual mode compatibility problem, you must stop using dual mode and switch to single channel mode                
   http://www.techspot.com/vb/showthread.php?p=251045#post251045
6. Check the bios setting about memory timing and make sure that it is on
   For example : DIMM1 and DIMM2 do not have the same timing.
   DIMM1: Corsair CMX512-3200C2 512 MB PC3200 DDR SDRAM (2.5-3-3-8 @ 200 MHz) (2.0-3-3-7 @ 166 MHz)
   DIMM2: Corsair CMX512-3200C2 512 MB PC3200 DDR SDRAM (3.0-3-3-8 @ 200 MHz)
   DIMM3: Corsair CMX512-3200C2 512 MB PC3200 DDR SDRAM (3.0-3-3-8 @ 200 MHz)
7. Make sure that your PSU has adequate power to drive all the hardware including USB devices
8. Run chkdsk /r at command prompt
9. Run 3DMark 2005 to test your video card
10. Upgrade BIOS and make sure that the motherboard has no leaking capacitor

If it still crashes, diagnostic which memory stick is faulty
1. Take out one memory stick. If windows does not crash, the removed memory stick is faulty.
2. If you have only one memory stick, replace the ram

I agree with the previous posts, it does indeed seem to be faulty RAM.  Memtest will be the best way to check, just leave the program to run over at least a few passes.

Cheers,
Al

Ok, here's an update on thiings.
I cleaned all the dust out of my tower
reseated my video card
Cleared my CMOS
Moved my ram from Dual Channel to single
Downloaded and ran memtest, after 8 hours and 16 passes...no errors
I have the latest BIOS for my m/b
I use PC-Cillin internet Security 2006 which is up to date
I have no spyware
Everything seems to be running fine for now..Does boot up faster

   Can you recommend a free program to monitor my cpu temp within Windows. instead of having to go into the BIOS?
While in the BIOS the temp was 36 Cel.

ABIT AN-7
AMD Athlon XP 3200+
Nexus AXP-3200 CPU fan
2 Corsair CMX512 4000-Pro (matched pair)
ATI radeon 9800 Pro 256mb 8xAGP
Western Digital Raptor WD740GD 74GB
Western Digital WD 400GB 4000KD SATA150 7200R
Plextor PX-708A

   Thank You for your help

I'm going to monitor my temps.  

                     Thank You for all your help.

                                                    Mike

No problem.  Hope it goes well for you.

At my previous post, I mention that some faulty ram can pass memtest. If the ram is faulty, you have to replace the ram if you have only one ram stick. If you have more than one memory module, you have to diagnostic which memory module is faulty.

I have twin 512's and have yet to try them individually, but I will. Thank you