Re: Desperately Need Help - System Reboot/Crashes
From: Microsoft Video Driver OCA Triage (vidoca_at_microsoft.com)
Date: 02/20/04
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Date: Fri, 20 Feb 2004 14:40:57 -0800
Don,
I would like to take a look at the minidumps that are created when your
system crashes. You can find these at c:\windows\minidump. If you could
attached the most recent 5-10 of these and mail them to
vidoca@mircrosoft.com that would be great. I will get back to you on what
seems to be causing your problem and hopefully have a suggested course of
action to fix your problem(s).
-- Thanks, Lance Naugle Microsoft Video Driver OCA Triage vidoca@microsoft.com * This posting is provided "AS IS" with no warranties, and confers no rights. "Don Cohen" <doncohen@'lens-cap'.alltel.net> wrote in message news:csidneh9kqf_mKvd4p2dnA@adelphia.com... > I desperately need help on the following problem which has stumped me (and > everybody else) for the last several weeks. I apologize for the length of > this post, but there's no other way to adequately document it. > > System: a 2 year old Gateway 700XL running XP Home. 1 gb RAM. ATI 8500 64 > mb VideoCard. 18.1" FPD 1810 LCD monitor using DVI connection. From the > very beginning I have run ZoneAlarm, NAV 2002 and then 2003 when my initial > subscription ran out, scan with NAV weekly, install all Critical Updates > when available. > > The system has run virtually flawlessly since I bought it with one fairly > infrequent glitch that others with this system have experienced whose cause > has never been identified. Whether this is connected to the current more > serious problem is unknown. Sporadically, under random circumstances, the > monitor would go black for about 2 or 3 seconds, would then come back on, > with nothing else occurring. This would happen once every few months, > occasionally more frequently. I researched this on the newsgroups - people > updated drivers, replaced VideoCards, etc., but nothing seemed to > consistently work for all involved. It seemed harmless, and so I just lived > with it. > > The problem now: the system would, out of nowhere, spontaneously reboot. > This first occurred Dec. 24, 2003, when my daughter (26 years old and not > doing anything more than surfing the web) was at the computer. She told me > about it, but I couldn't find anything. It didn't happen again for close to > a month, and over the past month it has become a recurring problem. It may > run a few minutes, a few hours, a few days, before the problem recurs. > > I have wondered if there was a relation to the 'black-out' glitch, as it > would seemingly start the same: the monitor goes black, and then after a > second or so instead of coming back on like it did in the past, it would > reboot. Again, I don't know if this is connected or a coincidence. > > Trouble-shooting so far: > > I disabled the 'reboot automatically' checkbox in order to find out what was > going on. So now instead of rebooting, I received the following BSOD: > > A problem has been detected and windows has been shut down to prevent damage > to your computer > > "PAGE_FAULT_IN_NONPAGED_AREA > > ****STOP: 0x00000050 (0xB7874E5E, 0x00000000, 0xB7874E5E, 0x00000000) > > Beginning dump of physical memory > > Physical memory dump complete" > > 1.. I researched this on the web, and found that the most likely cause of > something like this was a hardware error, with RAM, hot CPU and Power Supply > the most likely culprits. > > 2.. I opened the case and verified that the fan was working fine. The > computer would also do the reboot within minutes after being off all night, > seemingly making heat an unlikely cause. > > 3.. I downloaded memtest86.exe from the web, created a bootable CD with > it, and ran it overnight, selecting All Tests and after 6 ½ hours, and more > than 2 full passes, no errors were detected. > > 4.. I replaced the originial 250W Power Supply with an Antec 430W TruPower > unit. The computer ran fine for almost 48 hours, and then rebooted. > > 5.. I brought it to a local computer repair shop, and they couldn't > diagnose any specific hardware problem. Because we both suggested a > VideoCard issue, we put in a new ATI Radeon 9200SE 128 mb card. This time > it > ran for about an hour before it again did the same thing. This time a > slightly different 'b.s.o.d.' came up: > > 0x0000008E, 0xB7874E5F, 0xB6A2E728, 0x00000000 and another time: > > 0x0000008E, 0xB7874E60, 0xB6A2E728, 0x00000000 > > 6.. I next went into Windows Recovery Console, and ran CHKDSK /R. It > indicated that it found and fixed some problems. It now ran fine for almost > 72 hours and then the reboot again occurred. > > 7.. This time, I couldn't even boot back into the Recovery Console, even > when I booted from the XP Home CD. It would get to the point when I would > select the c:\winnt installation, and it would then reboot. > > 8.. In desperation, I brought the system to a Gateway Country Store. They > said they tested the motherboard, RAM, etc., and found no hardware problems. > They said they found and removed the Welchia worm. I was extremely doubtful > about this, given how I maintain my computer. But that's all they had to > offer. I took it home, it ran for about 30 hours, and the same crash > occurred, with the same original BSOD message (the original VideoCard had > been reinstalled, with the driver updated by Gateway when they had the > machine). > > 9.. I have also downloaded and run 'blastfix.exe' just in case something > had somehow got through, but it was negative. > > 10.. I have installed Windows Support Tools, in order to use dumpchk.exe > to look at the minidump files created when these events occurred, but I was > not able to identify anything useful in these files as far as suggesting the > source of this problem. > > 11.. These reboots have occurred from within a normal boot to Windows, > from within Safe Mode, and even on a few occasions when just trying to boot > into Windows Recovery Console when booting from the XP CD. > > Gateway says the next step is to reformat the hard drive. I am willing and > able to do this, but I'm just not convinced this is a software issue, > especially when considering point # 11 above. But I am also out of ideas on > what to do next. > > One final detail: the system came with a 120 GB Hard Drive. I used > Partition Magic 8.0 to shrink the OS/Applications to an 11 gb partition, and > have the rest for Data Files (c:\ and h:\ respectively). This was done > within the first few months of buying the computer. I use DriveImage 2002 > every few months to image the c:\ drive, and have ones from December 7, 2003 > and September 13, 2003 available. I have a second hard drive installed as > well (d:\) where these files are located. I can restore one of these, but > again I am not convinced this is a software issue. > > I suspect, but don't know, that this is a sporadic hardware issue - > motherboard, CPU, RAM, I just don't know. > > > So there it is. I have a computer that is essential useless as I never know > if it will run 5 minutes, 5 hours or 5 days before it crashes. Please let > me know if you have any idea of where the problem is, or what I can do next > to pinpoint and fix it. > > Thanks for wading through all of this. > > Hopefully, > > --- > Don Cohen > Photo Website at: > http://www.dlcphotography.net > >
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