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Windows XP BSOD

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by alisdair.comb 1 view

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In december I finally saved up enough money to buy a new computer, one that I was going to build myself and something i've done before.

Everything seemed to be fine however it seems I am plaqued by Blue Screens of Death when playing Games such as Sims 2 and Quake 4, I've also had crashes in World of Warcraft.

The Errors range from
IRQL_NOT_LESS_OR_EQUAL
BAD_POOL_CALLER

Somes times it does not give a specific error but just a blue screen with an error code that doesn't really help.

I tested just about everything I can think of and i simply can't find the cause.

I work in support myself so I've tried alot of things already, any further suggestions would be helpful.

Windows XP Pro (SP2)
AMD 64 3500+
HIS 512mb x1800xt PCI-E
Crucial 1GB (2x512MB) DDR PC3200 Ballistix Dual Channel
Antec TrueBlue 2.0 480W PSU
Creative X-FI Sound Card
Hitachi Deskstar T7K250 NCQ 250GB SATA-II 8MB Cache
Antec P180 Case
ASUS A8N-MVP

1) Tested my Ram for many hours using Prime95 and Microsofts memory test, no errors.

2) Heat seems fine, case temp is around 32c my CPU is averages around 39-44C.

3) Uninstalled and re-installed drivers, even used a driver cleaner for my ATI drivers.

4) Updated to the BIOS to the latest version available along with all the drivers i've found on ASUS site.

5) Scanned for viruses, trojans etc.. nothing found

I am currently using Microsoft Debug tools to see what the crash dump file contains but I am new to the program and don't fully understand it.

Can you help

38 replies

by alisdair.comb

The only error i have in my Eventvwr is the following, which i've had no success in fixing despite trying many different steps found on the internet,

I am not sure if the 2 may be related.

Event ID: 4609
The COM+ Event System detected a bad return code during its internal processing. HRESULT was from line 44 of d:\nt\com\com1x\src\events\tier1\eventsystemobj.cpp. Please contact Microsoft Product Support Services to report this error.

by i_am_db

It seems that I have gotten the IRQ_NOT_LESS_OR_EQUAL BSOD when I had a video driver problem. Have you tried getting a video driver from ATI directly?

by alisdair.comb

Yes i've updated to the latest catalyst drivers 6.2, i've even cleaned out all the drivers using a driver cleaning program, I've not had an IRQL in a while, thoug my BSOD seems to jump around.

The last one i did get didn't specify any specific ERROR only give the standard 5 memory address.

First part being : 0x000000C8

by alisdair.comb

Sometimes yes, I will make a note of all the stop codes I have when I get home and check my PC but they do seems to change.

I only ever have the 4609 Error code in my Event Viewer which seems to happen around about the same time of the blue screens but what i've read it shouldn't really cause a blue screen.

by vawns

According to Technet, that stop code is caused by a NTBackup failure. According to the website you need to "Restart the computer, select Start Windows Normally, and then try to run NTBackup or your third-party backup program again." It doesn't explain what to do if it keeps happening. Does it blue screen at any other time or is it just when you are playing games?

Vawns

by mandanglo78

do you have any usb devices i would guess from the irq problem and pooler it would be a usb device. just a thought.....

by yinbig

Faulty Processor?????
Faulty Motherboard????

Difficult to check, but if all else is ok it points to this?

by dhecht1

I used to get something similar with a server that has less power than your machine (2500XP+ ,LESS RAM, HDD etc'), switching to a 600w PSU sorted this. It looked like a 450w PSU wasn't enough for the beast.

by alisdair.comb

Strange the PSU should be more that enough for my system, I made sure that I bought a good branded PSU .

Something to check though.

by jpitt2298

450 Watts is great for standard use but Gaming requires 100% of the system which uses lot of wattage.Your power Supply is rated at 450Watt MAX.(It'll run a 200 Watt system effectively) Remember that fans and USB devices also use a significant amount of wattage as well. I upgraded my PSU to 600 Watts and haven't seen a BSOD since.Dhect1 hit it I believe but you would know for sure after the PSU was replaced.

by realist123

Have you tried taking ram out and testing individually? Having had this fault, I discovered one of my ram chips was faulty. Pain ITA if you have just got it but ...

by chisel

I have found that most BSOD with Win XP are hardware related. I would take out any add in cards and run the system. Replace the Video card ( If it's not built in)
It sounds like a motherboard issue. I have replaced many boards that were right out of the box.
This is especialty true if you have tested all the other components.

by arcticwerewolf

In many cases that I have found as well, taking out all cards and trying a different stick of RAM that you are aware that works fully would narrow down the cause.

by inbox.com

After doing Internet research and trying everything I read, I just fixed a computer by replacing the memory. No problems since.

by u4ea

Unplugging all your USB devices is something to try, definitely. If the mobo has onboard video or sound built-in, are you sure it's disabled in BIOS?

by paulayotte

Usually a blue scree is caused by a hardware conflict but not always.I have read about a problem that is the exact discription of yours and it was being caused by Outpost firewall.Uninstalling the program fixed the problem.It might even be a bad install of some program.I have come across a problem where a version of Nero InCD was causing my computer to reboot and it wouldn't let me go into safemode.It was a long tedious process to find the problem and finally uninstalling the program fixed it, so I then installed an earlier version and it worked fine after that.
So that is what you will have to do my friend.
One step at a time.

by sbrager

I had a similar problem not to long ago and no one could put a finger on it. My solution was to start from the beginning and take things one at a time in order to validate what is working on your computer. It sounds from your description that you believe that the BSOD is software related. It could be that, it could be a combination of software and hardware.

The hardware you describe are from reputable manufacturers and I'll assume that your computer worked well without the games you've mentioned.

Here's a plan to validate your software and how it works with your hardware.

1) backup all your valuable data files on your the partition where the Operating System is located.

2) reformat that partition and re-install Windows.

3) re-install your programs one at a time. Test them to make certain that they're working without causing any BSOD.

4) if a program causes a BSOD, that will give you an idea of where the problem MAY lie.

5) remove the program and test your system to verify that you aren't getting the BSOD anymore. NOTE: you may continue to get the BSOD if the errant program modified an OS module. In this case, perform steps 1-3 WITHOUT INSTALLING THE PROGRAM WHICH SEEMED TO CAUSE THE BSOD.

6) skipping the program which caused the BSOD for the moment, install and test the next programs on your list.

7) if no more programs result in BSOD's, then, you know the software source of the BSOD and can contact that program's tech support and forum to determine what has happened and how to remedy the problem.

Stan

by chisel

Before going to the extreme of backing up and doing a re and re
Try this
Go into the control panel and go to Device manager. Right click disable the video, network, sound card. These are the usual suspects. Run the system and see what happens. If it's ok go back and enable each device and reboot . This will help you narrow down the problem.
If this fails then try what sbrager posted.

by sbrager

Good idea, chisel. I'd amend your suggestion to re-enable each device one-at-a-time and test for BSOD. This way, you can point to the specific device which has caused the problem.

Remember, sometimes it's a combination of devices which may cause the error. Typically, it is the video and the sound cards which have the worst drivers.

by realist123

In my experience, BSOD is hardware related. Some or all basic software may or may not access the hardware that is the source of the problem. Games (especially newer games) tend to use much more of your system hardware than other standard software. So when you have a game that uses most of your ram or video ram, it could be then that you are accessing the damaged or dysfunctional chip within that piece of hardware. Before reinstalling your system, I would advise trying all the hardware checks.

by techiemikee

Did you move the HD from old system and leave the OS intact or is this a Clean OS install?

Most common reports of BSOD reported to me turned out to be bad memory.

Not mentioned in prevouse posts but things I've seen reported have been:
HD degredation
Bootlegged OS installs

The screendump or BSOD info displayed rarely offered me enough info to even point me in the right direction, and more often than not it points me in the wrong direction. Anyone agree or disagree?

by anthonypotter1

had a similar problem when building a new machine within the last four weeks. On start up the RAM appeared to be OK. Checks on the RAM also appeared to indicate that it was in working order. The RAM blocks were removed and tested in the computer seperatley ~ One of the sets then showed up as being faulty. It was replaced and there has been no problem since
Tony

by mikedelapena

1. Check the software vendor for hardware and OS compatibility issues. if ok next;
2. Some games needs some DirectX be sure the proper DirectX is installed. if ok next;
3. Theck for game updates and patches; if ok next;
4. There maybe some crosslinked file and some bad cluster in your hard drive that some driver filess have been affected. Try to run scandisk on all your hard drive. Otherwise;
5. Your computer may be infected by some virus or some sort. if so; (I hate this part)
6. Completely reinstall your OS with clean installation CDs. - Be sure its the original one.

by enriquechristian

Click on Start/Right click My Computer/Manage/Click + sign next to Event Viewer/Click Application or System/On Error messages copy what is under SOURCE and do search on Google. Hope it helps.

by dannyz327

The Errors range from
IRQL_NOT_LESS_OR_EQUAL
BAD_POOL_CALLER

The problem you're having has to do with your hard drive. IRQL_NOT_LESS_OR_EQUAL error is related to a hard drive problem. You're hard drive might have damaged sectors. My recommendation is to use a different/new hard drive. If it works, then the problem was due to a damaged sector(s).

by great gray

I had random BSOD and it was usally when working with large picture files. I did a Bios update and it stop.
Just one more odd thing that might be the problem.

by alisdair.comb

Already using the most recent BIOS available, even though it seems to keep disappearing from Asus's site.

by alisdair.comb

*******************************************************************************
* *
* Bugcheck Analysis *
* *
*******************************************************************************

DRIVER_CORRUPTED_EXPOOL (c5)
An attempt was made to access a pageable (or completely invalid) address at an
interrupt request level (IRQL) that is too high. This is
caused by drivers that have corrupted the system pool. Run the driver
verifier against any new (or suspect) drivers, and if that doesn't turn up
the culprit, then use gflags to enable special pool.
Arguments:
Arg1: 19740c45, memory referenced
Arg2: 00000002, IRQL
Arg3: 00000001, value 0 = read operation, 1 = write operation
Arg4: 80543d79, address which referenced memory

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

***** Kernel symbols are WRONG. Please fix symbols to do analysis.

FAULTING_MODULE: 804d7000 nt

DEBUG_FLR_IMAGE_TIMESTAMP: 0

BUGCHECK_STR: 0xC5_2

CURRENT_IRQL: 2

FAULTING_IP:
nt+6cd79
80543d79 c089450c74198b ror byte ptr [ecx+0x19740c45],0x8b

CUSTOMER_CRASH_COUNT: 1

DEFAULT_BUCKET_ID: DRIVER_FAULT

MISALIGNED_IP:
nt+6cd79
80543d79 c089450c74198b ror byte ptr [ecx+0x19740c45],0x8b

LAST_CONTROL_TRANSFER: from 80544077 to 80543d79

STACK_TEXT:
WARNING: Stack unwind information not available. Following frames may be wrong.
f79bbe20 80544077 847edef8 00000000 f79bbe4c nt+0x6cd79
f79bbe30 f1e05a68 847edef8 86baff73 00000000 nt+0x6d077
f79bbe4c 804f0362 85a315d8 86bafe70 847edef8 hidusb+0xa68
f79bbe7c eb242ee5 86bafe70 847d0a68 86b53028 nt+0x19362
f79bbee4 eb243b57 847edef8 00000000 86b537d8 USBPORT+0x9ee5
f79bbf14 eb244754 026e6f44 86b530e0 86b530e0 USBPORT+0xab57
f79bbf4c eb245f6a 86b53028 805418a8 86b53230 USBPORT+0xb754
f79bbf78 eb253fb0 86b53028 805418a8 86b53028 USBPORT+0xcf6a
f79bbfb4 eb254128 86b53028 00000001 85e83628 USBPORT+0x1afb0
f79bbfd0 80540d5d 86b5364c 6b755044 00000000 USBPORT+0x1b128
ffdff980 86b53670 f79bc000 000b2f17 00000001 nt+0x69d5d
ffdff984 f79bc000 000b2f17 00000001 f79bbfe8 0x86b53670
ffdff988 000b2f17 00000001 f79bbfe8 00000001 0xf79bc000
ffdff98c 00000000 f79bbfe8 00000001 000b2f0c 0xb2f17

STACK_COMMAND: kb

FOLLOWUP_IP:
hidusb+a68
f1e05a68 ?? ???

FAULTING_SOURCE_CODE:

SYMBOL_STACK_INDEX: 2

FOLLOWUP_NAME: MachineOwner

SYMBOL_NAME: hidusb+a68

IMAGE_NAME: hardware

MODULE_NAME: hardware

FAILURE_BUCKET_ID: IP_MISALIGNED

BUCKET_ID: IP_MISALIGNED

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

Seems that the problem may be with a USB device, I only have a USB mouse (Logitech G5) and a Logitech SE Medie keyboard.

I only have the drivers installed for the mouse by Logitech.

by chisel

You are at the backup and Reinstall Windows stage. This will probably take less time then this whole thread has taken.

by nz_justice

Have you checked the games websites for patches and video fixes, the games them selves could be causing you the errors, usually downloading the latest patch for the game can fix your problems. Trying running the game at lower graphix details you you have no problems then you know for sure your graphics card can not handle the high end graphics. Supply more power to your PC, Graphics card suck up heaps of power and when a component (i.e cdrom, ram, graphics, cpu etc..) connected to your mother board loose power you get blue-screen. A 450w should be a good enough supply.

by kaspencer

I have seen loads of BSODs and just thought that these comments may help:

1. I found when building one new PC that one 512Mb RAM strip failed with a BSOD in the new PC but has worked perfectly in another.
2. Try setting the BIOS to all the most conservatively safe options available and increasing each setting one by one until you provoke the error.
3. I had a P4 CPU that suddenly started causing BSODs after a year or two, and replacement was the only solution.
Just trying to help ...

Ken.

by luciferhaha

You receive a "Stop 0x0000000A" error message in Windows XP - 6 visits - Feb 4
22 Sep 2008 ... IRQL_NOT_LESS_OR_EQUAL
This is the typical bad driver error,
You can remove program you add to your compouter recently.

by jnager

This is because you have problems in Windows Registry. It is a common cause of Windows crashes and error messages. Registry problems can occur for many reasons, including references left behind after uninstalling, incorrect removal of software, missing or corrupt hardware drivers or orphaned start-up programs. This will significantly increase the Registry size and slow down your computer, because Windows will need more time to load, search, and read data from the Registry. Scan your system for errors with Digeus Registry Cleaner http://www.digeus.com/products/regcleaner/registry-cleaner.html

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