BSOD during gameplay

JadZia · Post by **JadZia** » Mon May 28, 2007 9:05 pm

Hiya guys, new to the forum, hello from Australia

I just wondered if anyone else out there has this prob. During gameplay only, I am getting the BSOD (Blue Screen Of Death) I'll quickly give you a bit of history. Firstly all my things that needed updated have been. Changed Power Supply,CPU was overheating, thats been sorted. New Graphics card, new Hard drive, Ram is fine (tested 3 times with memtest86). Two weeks ago, the errors were that constant, the HD Cracked a Sad. We did a recovery on it, it found errors and fixed them. PC has been stable for about 12 days, now up until last night. Was on my Horse just riding through DW, and bang BSOD, just out of the blue. Win32 sys was the error code along with all the other numbers and stuff it gives ya. Restarted PC, and it's been fine again since. This was last night, so I went out did a bit of grinding, that was fine, stalled overnight and this morning still fine. Researching has suggested that our next option, would be to update the bios on the MB. This was a MB that was my brothers, so not a brand new one.

I don't wanna go out and spend any money on the %^#%^ thing, unless I really have too. New MB and CPU, is the only parts in it, not new basically. As I said now it seems fine again, we just can't seem to pinpoint, why or when it's going to do it.

Anyways sorry for babbling, but I've seen so many errors and probs, and no one has mentioned the BSOD LOL. I hope I"m not the only one having the problem. PC is fine, during normal operations

Thanks for your time everyone

Jadzia

xWesley · Post by **xWesley** » Mon May 28, 2007 9:18 pm

How Much Ram U Running On?

JadZia · Post by **JadZia** » Mon May 28, 2007 9:22 pm

Hiya

I'm running 512, kingston Ram. I am going to get more for it, but it should be playin fine with 512. My sons has 256 and is a little bit slower, and his plays fine. Very frustrating.

Thanks for replying

truez · Post by **truez** » Wed May 30, 2007 10:12 am

I dont tink it culd be a prob wit ur Memory (Not so sure at tis point of time).... BSOD generally comes up with OS ocnflicting wit any hardware on te computer (So culd b ur mem too)...

Well it wuld great if u culd provide me with the exavt BSOD (i mean i need the STOP XXXXXXXXXXXXXX) ... i need the XXXXXXXXXXX crappy number to break down the OS part...
Take screeen shot if u can... really helpful..

PS - Incase if i dont reply after u upload ur screen shot .. please PM me .. i can chk and let u know...

Hope this helps

Oooopsie sorry for te broken english .. i am at work

cin · Post by **cin** » Wed May 30, 2007 1:21 pm

truez wrote:I dont tink it culd be a prob wit ur Memory (Not so sure at tis point of time).... BSOD generally comes up with OS ocnflicting wit any hardware on te computer (So culd b ur mem too)...

Well it wuld great if u culd provide me with the exavt BSOD (i mean i need the STOP XXXXXXXXXXXXXX) ... i need the XXXXXXXXXXX crappy number to break down the OS part...
Take screeen shot if u can... really helpful..

PS - Incase if i dont reply after u upload ur screen shot .. please PM me .. i can chk and let u know...

Hope this helps

Oooopsie sorry for te broken english .. i am at work

i always have trouble makin a screenshot of my bsod's
my laptop tends to reboot straight after em

JadZia · Post by **JadZia** » Wed May 30, 2007 9:11 pm

Hi again and thanks for replying. Yep I can take a screen shot of the BSOD, which I will when it happens again. It's really odd that it only happens in Gameplay. The last one had win32sys. somthing or rather, then a whole heaps of those numbers you mentioned..

As I said during normal operations the PC is fine... I do have a window behind me, that the dear machine can be hurtled out of, but I do feel that is a drastic step :shock:

Thanks again for replying

cheers

ddcc · Post by **ddcc** » Wed May 30, 2007 9:44 pm

The most important part is the IRQL_NOT_LESS_OR_EQUAL (or whatever the error is), the four hexadecimal numbers in parenthesis afterwards (like 0x000000000A,0x003939484, etc), and the name of the module, which you said is win32.sys right?

JadZia · Post by **JadZia** » Thu May 31, 2007 4:11 am

yep thats right it was the winsys one..thanks for that, I have written down what i need, and next time will note it all down..Isn't it funny that those numbers don't mean much to you when you don't know what they mean LOL..I know of course they mean something to the trained eye, but not my eyes at the moment heheh

Thanks again

ddcc · Post by **ddcc** » Thu May 31, 2007 4:30 am

OK. After the PC reboots from a BSOD, check if a files called MEMORY.DMP exists in C:\WINDOWS, and lots of files with dates and times ending with .dmp exist in C:\WINDOWS\Minidump.

JadZia · Post by **JadZia** » Thu May 31, 2007 5:42 am

Ok I went and checked and surprisingly it only had 2 in there, with the dates and ending in .dmp would there be one for each BSOD? As I said in my first posting, I did the recovery disk thingie, and that seemed to stop them, so would the other Minidumps from that time period still be in there? Or would they have disappeared after the recovery operation? I've only had one since the recovery was done, which is good, but unfortunately i can't remember all the numbers that went along with it. What I will do with the next one is definately take a screen shot, and put it here in the posting. Mine doesn't reboot by itself as Cin's does, I have to do the reboot manually, so I should be able to take the screenshot ok.

Thanks so much for your help, and heres hoping I don't get anymore of them, or not for a while anyways

truez · Post by **truez** » Thu May 31, 2007 5:49 am

cin wrote:
truez wrote:I dont tink it culd be a prob wit ur Memory (Not so sure at tis point of time).... BSOD generally comes up with OS ocnflicting wit any hardware on te computer (So culd b ur mem too)...

Well it wuld great if u culd provide me with the exavt BSOD (i mean i need the STOP XXXXXXXXXXXXXX) ... i need the XXXXXXXXXXX crappy number to break down the OS part...
Take screeen shot if u can... really helpful..

PS - Incase if i dont reply after u upload ur screen shot .. please PM me .. i can chk and let u know...

Hope this helps

Oooopsie sorry for te broken english .. i am at work

i always have trouble makin a screenshot of my bsod's
my laptop tends to reboot straight after em

Well Cin, incase ur not able to get the SS.. u can note down the STOP NUMBER u get.. tat helps too

i can track wit tat ....

BTW to all -
Please post ur SS along with ur Computer Configuration -
How old is ur COMP -
OS (XP, 2k, NT, 98, 95) running whn BSOD occured -
How much RAM or MEM u have -
Type of Computer (DELL / HP /....) -

truez · Post by **truez** » Thu May 31, 2007 5:52 am

ddcc wrote:The most important part is the IRQL_NOT_LESS_OR_EQUAL (or whatever the error is), the four hexadecimal numbers in parenthesis afterwards (like 0x000000000A,0x003939484, etc), and the name of the module, which you said is win32.sys right?

Perfect

this is wat is needed ... developers can decode tis down

ddcc · Post by **ddcc** » Thu May 31, 2007 6:03 pm

Yep, those two dump files are from the last two crashes. Just make sure that when it crashes again you record all that information.

JadZia · Post by **JadZia** » Fri Jun 01, 2007 6:34 am

hiya again.

ddcc, I did pm you, as I just had another BSOD, again during gameplay, and oddly again in the Dead Ravine, the same place. Below is exactly what numbers and errors you required.

Stop: 0x0000008E (0xC0000005, 0xBF827B80, 0xAA303c94,0x00000000
win32k.sys- Add BF827B80
base at BF800000

datestamp 367deb98

Hope you can help and thanks again

truez · Post by **truez** » Fri Jun 01, 2007 8:30 am

Hi Jadezia,
That error (0x8e) and that file (win32k.sys) often indicates a problem with
a service (3rd party remote control services frequently). Start/run
msconfig, go to the services tab. Click the button to hide all Microsoft
Services, look at what is left. Is one of them an HP printer service? If so,
try unchecking it, then click apply/ok and reboot. See if it helps.

As to the *.dmp file, that is the contents of ram at the time of system
failure. It can be examined by a debugging program to help determine what was at fault. Often times this is overkill and a small memory dump is all that is needed. You will find this setting in the Control Panel on the advanced tab of the System applet. If you click on startup and recovery settings, the option to set the type of crash dump is here. I usually just use a kernel memory dump unless I have need to check anything larger.
In short this could be a faulty MEMORY (RAM). Check ur memory on computer or replace them and c if u have te problem.

Chk tis link,http://msdn2.microsoft.com/en-gb/library/ms794023.aspx
BTW u dont need to do all that is mentioned, seems to be a faulty or incompatible memory.

Even after replacing the memory if it doesnt fix, then u wuld hav to repair or reinstall XP... (Dont forget to backup data).
Hope this helps and fixes ur problem, happy gaming

JadZia · Post by **JadZia** » Fri Jun 01, 2007 12:20 pm

Hiya truez and thanks so much for replying.

I will go away and do what you've suggested and see how I go. BTW I did test the RAM 3 times with memtest86 although I know nothing is 100 percent. It did turn out fine with each test, but I know that doesn't mean absolutely that it's ok. My printer died so don't have one hooked up anymore LOL.. Is there anything else other than the printer service that I need to look for?

Just one other thing, when you say the RAM might be incompatible, incompatible with what?

Thanks for your help

Zia

truez · Post by **truez** » Fri Jun 01, 2007 12:32 pm

JadZia wrote:Hiya truez and thanks so much for replying.

I will go away and do what you've suggested and see how I go. BTW I did test the RAM 3 times with memtest86 although I know nothing is 100 percent. It did turn out fine with each test, but I know that doesn't mean absolutely that it's ok. My printer died so don't have one hooked up anymore LOL.. Is there anything else other than the printer service that I need to look for?

Just one other thing, when you say the RAM might be incompatible, incompatible with what?

Thanks for your help

Zia

Imcopatible with ur mother board, but i dont tink tat is the case now. Moreover wat kind a test did u do for the memory, did u swap or check with another computer??
If u did a software test for memory diags ... its of no use.. as memory is a HARDWARE and needs to be chkd in Hardware Style only.

ddcc · Post by **ddcc** » Fri Jun 01, 2007 5:50 pm

memtest86+ is hardware. You boot off floppy and it continues looping through 7 tests until you stop it.

Just tell us what services are present that aren't Microsoft. Also, see if you can upload the *.dmp file somewhere so I can take a look.

JadZia · Post by **JadZia** » Sun Jun 03, 2007 12:44 am

JadZia · Post by **JadZia** » Sun Jun 03, 2007 12:46 am

ok this is what was left after I ticked hide microsoft services. The one that says ATI smart is a puzzle..don't know what that one is..

Anyways thanks again

Cheers

ETA, ooops sorry double post of the image. First time I've uploaded an image so wasn't sure if it worked lol

ddcc · Post by **ddcc** » Sun Jun 03, 2007 3:05 am

You can disable ATI Smart. You can also disable ATI Hotkey Poller if you don't use ATI Hotkeys, overclock, use Fast User Switching and this machine is not a laptop. You can disable services by unticking the check, or you can go to Start>Run>type services.msc>select the service>right-click>properties>Startup type:Disabled>OK>Close. Can you upload the *.dmp file and provide a link?

According to http://www.tweakguides.com/ATICAT_4.html (pretty respectable website)-
# ATI Hotkey Poller (ati2evxx.exe) - Also called the ATI External Event Utility, this service is primarily needed if you use the ATI Hotkey settings available in the ATI Catalyst Control Center. However, before disabling this service note the following: If you use a third party overclocking utility, you must disable this service otherwise the utility may not work; if you have an XT, X1X00 or newer graphics card, disabling this service can also disable the OverDrive section in the Control Center, and can also prevent correct clock speeds being applied in 3D mode; if you run a laptop with an ATI graphics card, you may need to keep this service enabled to allow your LCD screen to switch off properly when the laptop is closed; if you use Fast User Switching then disabling this service may also cause problems with that. If none of the conditions above apply to you, I recommend that you disable this service.

# ATI Smart (ati2sgag.exe) - This service is a bit more vague, as it is not needed for the ATI SmartGart settings to work on AGP cards. It seems to continually detect system conditions at boot time and adjust SmartGart settings if needed to maintain stability, but in effect it's just a useless resource hog. I highly recommend disabling this service - I have experienced no negative impacts by doing so. You should still be able to adjust SmartGart settings without any problems, however if you find your SmartGart changes won't "stick", set this service to Automatic, change your SmartGart settings, reboot and then disable this service.

You will also have the following startup item which you can disable depending on your circumstances:

# CLIStart/StartCCC (CLIStart.exe) - This item preloads the required processes to make the Catalyst Control Center functional. It is not required for your graphics drivers or settings to function properly. Fortunately, with the latest version of the Catalyst Control Center, even if you remove this startup item (which is recommended) or manually close the CCC.exe, MOM.exe and CLIStart.exe processes in Task Manager, whenever the CCC is launched it will automatically restart the required processes as needed. So you don't need to have it loaded up at Windows startup - you can safely disable this item. Note that the MOM.exe process is a normal ATI CCC process, and is not spyware. It takes the place of previous CLI.exe processes and is harmless.

ddcc · Post by **ddcc** » Sun Jun 03, 2007 4:00 am

Apparently there is a rootkit that may cause this error, so it's pretty important that you upload the .dmp file if you can. Also, download rustbfix.exe from http://www.uploads.ejvindh.net/rustbfix.exe. Close background programs and running windows, then, as administrator, launch it. It should hopefully tell you that no infection has been found. If it does not say this, it will ask you reboot the computer. It might take a while, and may reboot multiple times automatically. After it reboots, two notepad windows will open up. Post the contents of these windows if notepad comes up.

fena · Post by **fena** » Sun Jun 03, 2007 5:13 am

I have no idea about what the hell any of you guys are talking about.

However, I'd like to say, Welcome to SRF!

This place is seriously awesome.

JadZia · Post by **JadZia** » Mon Jun 04, 2007 8:24 pm

hiya again

Well I"m having problems doing a link for the dmp file. I can't read it cause I don't have the tool to read them, and even if I did I wouldn't understand it lol. I upload and display pics using photobucket which has the image and html options, however a dmp file doesn't have the right file extension.

If anyone can suggest how I can otherwise create the link for the dmp file I'll post it..

Thanks

ddcc · Post by **ddcc** » Mon Jun 04, 2007 9:02 pm

In order to upload the dmp file, you'll need to have your own webspace or something similar. Alternatively, you can use a service like yousendit.com to send a file up to 100MB to an email address (pm me for it).

Have you run the rustbfix.exe and followed the procedures mentioned previously? In addition, have you looked at the previous previous post on ATI Smart, Hotkey Poller, and disabled whatever necessary?

JadZia · Post by **JadZia** » Mon Jun 04, 2007 9:53 pm

Hiya,

Yep I've disabled the ati smart and the ati poller as you suggested. I haven't done the rustbfix just yet, but am going to do that asap.

I will pm you for email address

Thanks again for your patience and your help, I do appreciate it

Cheers

Zia

ETA the rustfix address you posted, says page cannot be found. Don't know if it's at my end or not...

ddcc · Post by **ddcc** » Mon Jun 04, 2007 11:11 pm

Remove the extra period after exe. I've pmed you a reply.

JadZia · Post by **JadZia** » Tue Jun 05, 2007 6:57 am

ok I've emailed you the dmp.

and Good news is, I ran rustfix, and it says no rootkit thingie detected, or whatever it says. Either way that was all clear

Handy little tool that. Amazing what you learn when you do some research. I had heard of Rootkit's but never knew what they were

I do now. When you get time, if you could check the dmp and let know what you see I would much appreciate it.

Thanks

Zia

ddcc · Post by **ddcc** » Tue Jun 05, 2007 4:16 pm

I've got the yousendit link, but I don't have the tools to look at it here. I'll look at it as soon as I get home... (4 hours in the future as of this post)

JadZia · Post by **JadZia** » Tue Jun 05, 2007 9:05 pm

Thankyou very much