BSOD: Win XP issue (big cry for help)

conus00 · 01-20-09, 01:50 PM

I would really appreciate any help here. Out of sudden my Win XP (SP3) developed really annoying problem. It is mostly related to disk operations (browsing files) but recently very randomly (and frequently) computer freezes shows me this BSOD and restarts itself.

It is getting to the point that is unbearable and seriously impedes my use of computer. As a matter of fact I am typing this message in Safe Mode where the system is surprisingly solid. I know there's a lot of computer gurus here on the subsim. Please help me fix this problem.
I would really like to avoid formatting C partition and reinstalling XPs if possible.
Thanks!

Linton · 01-20-09, 02:38 PM

Quote from a wiki answer:
"If you look around on this error like I'm doing right now (I'm having this error and I'm looking for a solution), IRQL_NOT_LESS_OR_EQUAL comes up quite often in the search results.
However, there are two different points of error being called out by various people. Driver IRQ conflict, and RAM.
There is apparently also a DRIVER IRQL_NOT_LESS_OR_EQUAL, as well as a IRQL_NOT_LESS_OR_EQUAL . Perhaps the similarity may have resulted in some confusion?
I've gotten a broad range of errors in my newly constructed PC. I've had BSOD occur in OS installation several times on barebones configuration(Just PSU, CPU, RAM, 1 HDD, Keyboard/mouse, video card, and DVD Drive). Crashing occured in both installation of Vista and XP on this new clean HDD, so I'm inclined to believe that I specifically have the RAM issue. The broad range of errors points to the RAM mishandling data, allowing things to work just fine up until the fault.
http://www.technibble.com/how-to-diagnose-bad-ram

The above link was the clearest instructions of the forum snippets I've crawled through. I will be trying this tonight and hopefully I will have resolved my problem. "

Also :
What is an IRQ?
There doesn’t seem to be any direct cause of this Blue Screen of Death error message. The most likely cause seem to be faulty or bad RAM. So, make sure you’re grounded, open up your computer case and make sure the RAM is properly seated. You should not be able to see the gold contacts. If you bought cheap RAM, you may want to return it and buy from a well-known company, such as Kingston.
Other possible causes include the video card (NVidia seems to be a culprit), or the sound card. Try swapping these components for others and see if the problem reoccurs.
You can also try running RAM tests using Memtest or Simmtester.com
Another cause could be overheating, and Windows may just be guessing the problem. Make sure the case has proper air flow.
You may be able to figure out the problem in the Event Viewer, Control Panel>Administrative Tools>Event Viewer.
The best way to avoid IRQ conflicts to is install expansion cards one at a time AFTER installing Windows.

Nvidia drivers also appear alot in the answers!I hope this helps.

She-Wolf · 01-20-09, 02:51 PM

you can get this stop message because you have recently installed something with a misbehaving device driver trying to use memory addresses it didn't ought to - there are other reasons, but this is the most likely I think. The system is stable in Safe Mode because in that state the third-party device drivers are not loaded.

Think back... what hardware have you installed lately, or what driver updates have you installed?

I am not sure if the problem would show up in Event Viewer, not everything gets logged in there - but worth a look.
You can also take a look at the Dr Watson log - that worked for me when I had the same blue screen on a ladies laptop and spent days trying to find the cause. Turned out it was to do with the old drivers on the driver CD of a camera she had recently bought, and it was the Dr Watson log that gave me the clue, though I can't remember the details now.

To look at that, go to Start - All Programs -Accessories-System Tools - System Information-Tools-Dr Watson.
As I recall, you can either follow the path to where the log is kept and open it to view the log in Notepad, or highlight the Application Error shown in the window and then click on 'View'.

However, it is not easy to sort the wood from the trees in there, and I cannot recall now how I isolated the problem from the rest of the information when it helped me. Maybe someone else could give you some help on that bit...

Linton, we must have posted together, which makes my response look like I am questioning some of what you have said - but not so. Doesn't hurt to check the RAM, and, as you say nVidia could be the problem..

.
The IRQ thing, as it used to be in Windows 9x, where you had to be careful about conflicts because of the priority issues and limited IRQ assignments when attaching hardware - I don't think that is an issue in XP, and the IRQL message is not, as I understand it, to do with that area of the computer, but with something, like a device driver trying to access or poke data into a verboten memory space. Beyond that I am guessing, but happen someone on here will be able to flex their IT brain cells...

Linton · 01-20-09, 03:49 PM

No offence taken she-wolf.I am not a computer expert just a google search one !

conus00 · 01-20-09, 04:03 PM

Thanks for quick replies.
1) First of all I do not think that the physical RAM is the culprit: how would you explain that system ran almost a year without any problems? Unless one of the memory sticks gone bad... I will try to remove them one by one and see if there's any improvement.
2) I have not installed any new hardware recently and the only thing I can think of software wise I installed the latest XP update. Maybe that is the problem?
3) I do have an Nvidia graphic card and yes I have had share of driver problems in the past but it seemed to be resolved lately. I will look into newer driver as well.

I tend agree with She-Wolf on the fact that it is most likely software/system issue rather than hardware. As she pointed out the system runs stable in Safe Mode (i.e. without any 3rd party drivers) but on the other hand I can't see how driver would be responsible for this situation:
I restart Windows, after everything is loaded I try to open a disk D: in Explorer... So far so good...I double click on directory, it opens...I try to go one directory deeper...BOOM BSOD!!!
Which driver could possibly cause that? Graphic card? I don't think so... I can start Firefox and browse for some time without any troubles. Weird. And than out of sudden I just move cursor and... BOOM BSOD. Really frustrating!!!

She-Wolf · 01-20-09, 05:55 PM

have a look in Event Viewer to see what likely error has been logged in system or applications.

if you are not sure where that is just go to Start-Run and type eventvwr.msc in the box. It might give a clue as to where to look...

She-Wolf · 01-20-09, 06:08 PM

Conus, when you say you try to open a disk D:, in Explorer, are you meaning a CD?

I ask because I have found mention on the web about the same BSOD popping up whenever the poster tried to browse a compact disk, because of conflicts to do with Roxio's drag-to-disk.

The guy solved the problem by unticking drgtodsc in msconfig, so it wouldn't startup at boot, and the machine has been ok since ( the post was dated this year btw).

longam · 01-20-09, 06:42 PM

Yes, what is Drive D?

conus00 · 01-20-09, 08:17 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by longam

Yes, what is Drive D?

D: drive is not a CD/DVD. It is the second partition of my disk (C:/D: ) but the same problem persists if I try to access my Z: drive (which is a RAID1 array). Also, I have found the way how to simulate the BSOD: there is one directory which ALWAYS causes this crash while accessing thru Explorer, so I have pulled up Event Viewer after the restart and here is the description:
System Error (102) 1003
in detailed description it says:
Error code 10000050, parameter1 e3f40000, parameter2 00000000, parameter3 ba92d8d6, parameter4 00000001.

0000: 53 79 73 74 65 6d 20 45 System E
0008: 72 72 6f 72 20 20 45 72 rror Er
0010: 72 6f 72 20 63 6f 64 65 ror code
0018: 20 31 30 30 30 30 30 35 1000005
0020: 30 20 20 50 61 72 61 6d 0 Param
0028: 65 74 65 72 73 20 65 33 eters e3
0030: 66 34 30 30 30 30 2c 20 f40000,
0038: 30 30 30 30 30 30 30 30 00000000
0040: 2c 20 62 61 39 32 64 38 , ba92d8
0048: 64 36 2c 20 30 30 30 30 d6, 0000
0050: 30 30 30 31 0001

Any ideas folks?

conus00 · 01-20-09, 11:45 PM

Anybody?

She-Wolf · 01-21-09, 05:18 AM

can't find a lot of help on this one. Have you tried uninstalling the last XP update(s)?

longam · 01-21-09, 07:45 AM

You could try this memory checker but the event ID you gave has little info I can find.

http://oca.microsoft.com/en/windiag.asp

conus00 · 01-21-09, 01:33 PM

Well, here's an update: I have 2 Corsair XMS2 2048MB memory sticks. I have tried to remove one of them and run the system with only 2MB. It seems that one of them actually had gone bad... Long story short: with running only one of them I can not make the computer crash. As soon as I put the second (bad) one the computer crashes. If I run it only with the bad one it crashes again.

So it looks like one stick is bad, correct?

I just checked on-line and Corsair has lifetime warranty on their memories. I'll see if Microcenter (who custom build my rig) will honor it or I will have to go directly to Corsair.

DAMN!!! As soon as I made the post...BOOOM....the problem is back. This is driving me friggin NUTS!
I definitely don't think it is a memory now. I SO DON'T want to reinstall Windows but as Han Solo says: "I have a really bad feeling about this..."

She-Wolf · 01-21-09, 03:25 PM

it wouldn't hurt to run memtest for a few hours, just to check that possibility. Have you tried uninstalling the latest Windows updates?

Reinstalling XP isn't so bad as long as you have your docs, music and pics on the other drive, and save your OE.dbx's and address book or Outlook files to a stick and can find the applications installer disks. I do it all the time for other folk. However, if the problem IS a device driver and you put it on again, chances are you will be no further forward.

What about using the driver verifier tool - that might give you a clue...

Graf Paper · 01-21-09, 03:55 PM

Not knowing your hardware specs makes this a bit more difficult to solve but I may have your answer.

Your trouble is most likely Windows Service Pack 3.

Look around various hardware and software forums and you'll discover that SP3 has introduced numerous problems. Some examples:

AMD-based systems have numerous issues with locking, freezing, BSOD, and crashing.
ATI Catalyst Drivers go into an endless loop with ati2mag.dll, causing the video card to lock up the computer.
nVidia video cards have similar issues to ATI cards.
Zone Alarm conflicts with new security tweaks in Windows Firewall, limiting or completely cutting off internet/network access.
Adobe Flash Player has stuttering playback and locks up the computer at random intervals (may be related to video card driver issues).

Zonelabs recently released a fix, IIRC. ATI has yet to release their 9.1 drivers to fix the looping problem. Adobe recently released Flash 10.1. Since AMD CPUs seem to be affected so much, it may be likely that many hardware issues find their root cause with SP3 conflicting with the processor or chipset used.

I had the same troubles with my own system after installing SP3. It took a week of troubleshooting before I did my homework and discovered these issues with SP3. I downgraded (upgraded :p ) back to SP2 and have had no more troubles.

This isn't the first time MS has released a patch or Service Pack that breaks things.

Hope this helps.

01-20-09, 01:50 PM	#1
conus00 Grey Wolf Join Date: May 2008 Location: DB85 Posts: 804 Downloads: 166 Uploads: 0	BSOD: Win XP issue (big cry for help) I would really appreciate any help here. Out of sudden my Win XP (SP3) developed really annoying problem. It is mostly related to disk operations (browsing files) but recently very randomly (and frequently) computer freezes shows me this BSOD and restarts itself. It is getting to the point that is unbearable and seriously impedes my use of computer. As a matter of fact I am typing this message in Safe Mode where the system is surprisingly solid. I know there's a lot of computer gurus here on the subsim. Please help me fix this problem. I would really like to avoid formatting C partition and reinstalling XPs if possible. Thanks! __________________

01-20-09, 02:38 PM	#2
Linton Sea Lord Join Date: Dec 2003 Posts: 1,898 Downloads: 0 Uploads: 0	Quote from a wiki answer: "If you look around on this error like I'm doing right now (I'm having this error and I'm looking for a solution), IRQL_NOT_LESS_OR_EQUAL comes up quite often in the search results. However, there are two different points of error being called out by various people. Driver IRQ conflict, and RAM. There is apparently also a DRIVER IRQL_NOT_LESS_OR_EQUAL, as well as a IRQL_NOT_LESS_OR_EQUAL . Perhaps the similarity may have resulted in some confusion? I've gotten a broad range of errors in my newly constructed PC. I've had BSOD occur in OS installation several times on barebones configuration(Just PSU, CPU, RAM, 1 HDD, Keyboard/mouse, video card, and DVD Drive). Crashing occured in both installation of Vista and XP on this new clean HDD, so I'm inclined to believe that I specifically have the RAM issue. The broad range of errors points to the RAM mishandling data, allowing things to work just fine up until the fault. http://www.technibble.com/how-to-diagnose-bad-ram The above link was the clearest instructions of the forum snippets I've crawled through. I will be trying this tonight and hopefully I will have resolved my problem. " Also : What is an IRQ? There doesn’t seem to be any direct cause of this Blue Screen of Death error message. The most likely cause seem to be faulty or bad RAM. So, make sure you’re grounded, open up your computer case and make sure the RAM is properly seated. You should not be able to see the gold contacts. If you bought cheap RAM, you may want to return it and buy from a well-known company, such as Kingston. Other possible causes include the video card (NVidia seems to be a culprit), or the sound card. Try swapping these components for others and see if the problem reoccurs. You can also try running RAM tests using Memtest or Simmtester.com Another cause could be overheating, and Windows may just be guessing the problem. Make sure the case has proper air flow. You may be able to figure out the problem in the Event Viewer, Control Panel>Administrative Tools>Event Viewer. The best way to avoid IRQ conflicts to is install expansion cards one at a time AFTER installing Windows. Nvidia drivers also appear alot in the answers!I hope this helps. __________________ http://lintonsview.blogspot.com/

01-20-09, 02:51 PM	#3
She-Wolf Watchdog Join Date: Jan 2007 Location: Hampshire UK Posts: 971 Downloads: 152 Uploads: 0	you can get this stop message because you have recently installed something with a misbehaving device driver trying to use memory addresses it didn't ought to - there are other reasons, but this is the most likely I think. The system is stable in Safe Mode because in that state the third-party device drivers are not loaded. Think back... what hardware have you installed lately, or what driver updates have you installed? I am not sure if the problem would show up in Event Viewer, not everything gets logged in there - but worth a look. You can also take a look at the Dr Watson log - that worked for me when I had the same blue screen on a ladies laptop and spent days trying to find the cause. Turned out it was to do with the old drivers on the driver CD of a camera she had recently bought, and it was the Dr Watson log that gave me the clue, though I can't remember the details now. To look at that, go to Start - All Programs -Accessories-System Tools - System Information-Tools-Dr Watson. As I recall, you can either follow the path to where the log is kept and open it to view the log in Notepad, or highlight the Application Error shown in the window and then click on 'View'. However, it is not easy to sort the wood from the trees in there, and I cannot recall now how I isolated the problem from the rest of the information when it helped me. Maybe someone else could give you some help on that bit... Linton, we must have posted together, which makes my response look like I am questioning some of what you have said - but not so. Doesn't hurt to check the RAM, and, as you say nVidia could be the problem.. . The IRQ thing, as it used to be in Windows 9x, where you had to be careful about conflicts because of the priority issues and limited IRQ assignments when attaching hardware - I don't think that is an issue in XP, and the IRQL message is not, as I understand it, to do with that area of the computer, but with something, like a device driver trying to access or poke data into a verboten memory space. Beyond that I am guessing, but happen someone on here will be able to flex their IT brain cells... __________________ Last edited by She-Wolf; 01-20-09 at 03:18 PM.

01-20-09, 03:49 PM	#4
Linton Sea Lord Join Date: Dec 2003 Posts: 1,898 Downloads: 0 Uploads: 0	No offence taken she-wolf.I am not a computer expert just a google search one ! __________________ http://lintonsview.blogspot.com/

01-20-09, 04:03 PM	#5
conus00 Grey Wolf Join Date: May 2008 Location: DB85 Posts: 804 Downloads: 166 Uploads: 0	Thanks for quick replies. 1) First of all I do not think that the physical RAM is the culprit: how would you explain that system ran almost a year without any problems? Unless one of the memory sticks gone bad... I will try to remove them one by one and see if there's any improvement. 2) I have not installed any new hardware recently and the only thing I can think of software wise I installed the latest XP update. Maybe that is the problem? 3) I do have an Nvidia graphic card and yes I have had share of driver problems in the past but it seemed to be resolved lately. I will look into newer driver as well. I tend agree with She-Wolf on the fact that it is most likely software/system issue rather than hardware. As she pointed out the system runs stable in Safe Mode (i.e. without any 3rd party drivers) but on the other hand I can't see how driver would be responsible for this situation: I restart Windows, after everything is loaded I try to open a disk D: in Explorer... So far so good...I double click on directory, it opens...I try to go one directory deeper...BOOM BSOD!!! Which driver could possibly cause that? Graphic card? I don't think so... I can start Firefox and browse for some time without any troubles. Weird. And than out of sudden I just move cursor and... BOOM BSOD. Really frustrating!!! __________________

01-20-09, 05:55 PM	#6
She-Wolf Watchdog Join Date: Jan 2007 Location: Hampshire UK Posts: 971 Downloads: 152 Uploads: 0	have a look in Event Viewer to see what likely error has been logged in system or applications. if you are not sure where that is just go to Start-Run and type eventvwr.msc in the box. It might give a clue as to where to look... __________________

01-20-09, 06:08 PM	#7
She-Wolf Watchdog Join Date: Jan 2007 Location: Hampshire UK Posts: 971 Downloads: 152 Uploads: 0	Conus, when you say you try to open a disk D:, in Explorer, are you meaning a CD? I ask because I have found mention on the web about the same BSOD popping up whenever the poster tried to browse a compact disk, because of conflicts to do with Roxio's drag-to-disk. The guy solved the problem by unticking drgtodsc in msconfig, so it wouldn't startup at boot, and the machine has been ok since ( the post was dated this year btw). __________________

01-20-09, 06:42 PM	#8
longam Admiral Join Date: Jun 2005 Posts: 2,014 Downloads: 26 Uploads: 0	Yes, what is Drive D?

01-20-09, 11:45 PM	#10
conus00 Grey Wolf Join Date: May 2008 Location: DB85 Posts: 804 Downloads: 166 Uploads: 0	Anybody? __________________

01-21-09, 05:18 AM	#11
She-Wolf Watchdog Join Date: Jan 2007 Location: Hampshire UK Posts: 971 Downloads: 152 Uploads: 0	can't find a lot of help on this one. Have you tried uninstalling the last XP update(s)? __________________

01-21-09, 07:45 AM	#12
longam Admiral Join Date: Jun 2005 Posts: 2,014 Downloads: 26 Uploads: 0	You could try this memory checker but the event ID you gave has little info I can find. http://oca.microsoft.com/en/windiag.asp

01-21-09, 01:33 PM	#13
conus00 Grey Wolf Join Date: May 2008 Location: DB85 Posts: 804 Downloads: 166 Uploads: 0	Well, here's an update: I have 2 Corsair XMS2 2048MB memory sticks. I have tried to remove one of them and run the system with only 2MB. It seems that one of them actually had gone bad... Long story short: with running only one of them I can not make the computer crash. As soon as I put the second (bad) one the computer crashes. If I run it only with the bad one it crashes again. So it looks like one stick is bad, correct? I just checked on-line and Corsair has lifetime warranty on their memories. I'll see if Microcenter (who custom build my rig) will honor it or I will have to go directly to Corsair. DAMN!!! As soon as I made the post...BOOOM....the problem is back. This is driving me friggin NUTS! I definitely don't think it is a memory now. I SO DON'T want to reinstall Windows but as Han Solo says: "I have a really bad feeling about this..." __________________ Last edited by conus00; 01-21-09 at 02:09 PM.

01-21-09, 03:25 PM	#14
She-Wolf Watchdog Join Date: Jan 2007 Location: Hampshire UK Posts: 971 Downloads: 152 Uploads: 0	it wouldn't hurt to run memtest for a few hours, just to check that possibility. Have you tried uninstalling the latest Windows updates? Reinstalling XP isn't so bad as long as you have your docs, music and pics on the other drive, and save your OE.dbx's and address book or Outlook files to a stick and can find the applications installer disks. I do it all the time for other folk. However, if the problem IS a device driver and you put it on again, chances are you will be no further forward. What about using the driver verifier tool - that might give you a clue... __________________

01-21-09, 03:55 PM	#15
Graf Paper Ace of the Deep Join Date: Jan 2008 Location: Pacific Northwest United States Posts: 1,146 Downloads: 41 Uploads: 2	Not knowing your hardware specs makes this a bit more difficult to solve but I may have your answer. Your trouble is most likely Windows Service Pack 3. Look around various hardware and software forums and you'll discover that SP3 has introduced numerous problems. Some examples: AMD-based systems have numerous issues with locking, freezing, BSOD, and crashing. ATI Catalyst Drivers go into an endless loop with ati2mag.dll, causing the video card to lock up the computer. nVidia video cards have similar issues to ATI cards. Zone Alarm conflicts with new security tweaks in Windows Firewall, limiting or completely cutting off internet/network access. Adobe Flash Player has stuttering playback and locks up the computer at random intervals (may be related to video card driver issues). Zonelabs recently released a fix, IIRC. ATI has yet to release their 9.1 drivers to fix the looping problem. Adobe recently released Flash 10.1. Since AMD CPUs seem to be affected so much, it may be likely that many hardware issues find their root cause with SP3 conflicting with the processor or chipset used. I had the same troubles with my own system after installing SP3. It took a week of troubleshooting before I did my homework and discovered these issues with SP3. I downgraded (upgraded :p ) back to SP2 and have had no more troubles. This isn't the first time MS has released a patch or Service Pack that breaks things. Hope this helps. __________________ Still sailing the high seas, hunting convoys with those who join me.