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tonysolomon
10-18-2006, 02:22 PM
I apologize ahead of time for a long post and multiple problems. I just want whoever reads this post to understand all of the problems. I’m not sure if all of this is because of bad memory sticks. I hope that most of the errors fit under this forum.

This computer has major issues. I’ve had to reboot a few times during the typing of this message. I've been getting stop errors for very long time; possibly, since I put this PC together a year ago. I have Windows XP Pro with SP2 installed. I have P4 2.4GHZ CPU, 1GB of dual channel RAM, Radeon 9600xt video card, Mercury TV tuner card (I have it disabled in device manager, uninstalled the software & took it out of startup), Soundblaster Audigy LS sound card, a DVD burner and several hard drives (Windows is on the primary partition of a SATA drive).

I always get stop errors that seem to point to drivers, but the drivers are so diverse that I decided to finally run memtest86+ overnight. I got errors that, when Googled, pointed to Norton's NPF or NAV (savrt.sys, just to name one), Soundblaster (p17.sys), the video card (ati2cqag.dll), etc. I've recently replaced my ati2cqag.dll and kdcom.dll files, since they showed up at the bottom of two BSOD pages. I also updated the drivers, from the necessary websites, for the video & sound card. I updated the BIOS when I put the PC together. I disabled BIOS and video caching and shadowing. I've tried system restore and Acronis True Image, but I've always had stop errors (BSOD), so that didn't help. I also reinstalled NPF and NAV. I still get the same error that I got before I reinstalled it. It is unable to update Norton Internet Security Internet Updates. I get the following explanation:

LU1806: LiveUpdate was not able to install any of the 1 updates that you selected. For more information please click the "+" sign next to the update(s) that did not install. All available updates were selected. LiveUpdate was unable to uncompress an update because the update was corrupted during its download. Please run LiveUpdate again to re-retrieve your updates.

I ran memtest86+ all night, last night.
Here are the settings:
ECC off, Test STD, PAT disabled, Mem 1024M, Rsvd Mem 20M
Here are the results:
Pass 35, Error 1, Test 3 Pass 10, Failing Address 00032b3fdc0

I've contacted Newegg and got an RMA #, but I'd like to hear some opinions before I send the memory back. I will switch the memory into two different memory slots and run memtest86+, again, tonight. What should I think if I get more completed tests and no errors? What if I get an error? Does one fail equal bad RAM?

Upon rebooting back into windows I got a Stop: 0x0000008E error, with 0x8056B2B8 and 0xF7B45554 as the only memory addresses that weren’t all zeroes.

As I was starting to type my message into the forum I got the following stop error:
Stop: 0x00000050: PAGE_FAULT_IN_NONPAGED_AREA, with 0x80D6CB3D being the only non-all-zero address.

I often get the IRQL and PAGE FAULT Errors.

I installed the windows support tools and a program called windbg, so that I could read the minidump files. I can’t figure out how to use dumpchk, so I’m using windbg to check for a stop error in the minidump files. I ran a command line of pstat.exe < C:\pstat.txt. I’ve added the bottom part of the pstat file below.

I also ran a complete memory dump, on the last BSOD page, but I don’t know where to find it.
I wish I knew where to find it, because I got 8 system errors in a row, when the PC booted up. I ran eventvwr and found that they were all the same. Here's what it tells me:
Source: system error, Category (102), Event ID: 1003 (Error code 1000008e, parameter1 c0000005, parameter2 8056b2b8, parameter3 b1b84bdc, parameter4 00000000), Version: 5.2, Symbolic Name: ER_KRNLCRASH_LOG, Explanation:
A blue screen (Stop error) was reported. The message contains details about the error. A matching event with Event ID 1001 might also appear in the event log. This matching event displays information about the specific error that occurred.

Microsoft’s website explained, by using the starting address in the LoadAddr column, I could match the exception address to the driver name. For example, if I received 804D7004 as the exception address, the list shows that Ntoskrnl.exe has the nearest load address below the exception address. Therefore, Ntoskrnl.exe is most likely to be the driver that called the exception. With that information, I could search the Microsoft Knowledge Base for known issues that match your situation.

I'll post the pstat.txt file into a different post and hope somebody can read binary and possibly pinpoint a troublesome driver, in regards to 0x80D6CB3D, 0x8056B2B8 and 0xF7B45554, from above. The pstat file has been posted to the following post:

http://www.pcguide.com/vb/showthread.php?p=314648#post314648


I don’t know if I should make the next few errors a different post, because, again, I want whoever reads this post to understand all of the problems. I apologize if this is against the rules.

I also have difficulty having continuous connection to the internet. I have my Gigafast router set up to enter my SBC ID and password, so that I can just hit the IE shortcut, instead of the SBC Internet connection shortcut followed by the IE shortcut. When I lose the Internet connection, I can still run live update. I just can’t use IE, until I reboot the PC. I sometimes have to power cycle the modem and router as well. I’ve also tried bypassing the router and NPF with mixed results. I recently updated the firmware in my router, but that didn't help. I had to reboot my PC, again, to get back onto the Internet. I'm going to replace the modem, since the SBC tech said he got a better signal when bypassing it; even though the following day another SBC Tech said he found a short on one of my phones. I may have to buy new DSL filters, as well, since one of them works in one room, but not another. I’m not exactly sure what time I updated the DSL modem’s firmware, but when I checked the event viewer I saw the following system warning from last evening:

Source: TCP/IP, Event ID: 4226 (TCP/IP has reached the security limit imposed on the number of concurrent TCP connect attempts.) I don’t think the firmware update helped, because I see that one in the event viewer several times each day, or so

Until yesterday evening I also got the following error several times every day, or so:

Source: DHCP, Event ID: 1003 (Your computer was not able to renew its address from the network (from the DHCP Server) for the Network Card with network address 00508DF1176C. The following error occurred:
The semaphore timeout period has expired. . Your computer will continue to try and obtain an address on its own from the network address (DHCP) server.)

However, now the warning is: Source: DHCP, Event ID: 1003 (Your computer has automatically configured the IP address for the Network Card with network address (I left it out). The IP address being used is (I left it out)).

I also have the occassional problem of having to reset my task bar to windows classic; my screensaver to none, instead of the default; and my sound theme to no sound. I don't know why they keeps switching back from my settings. It usually goes back to normal if I just reboot, again.

If anybody can let me know their opinion on my memory or any of my errors I would really appreciate it. I will try to respond in a short amount of time.

kiosk
10-18-2006, 07:36 PM
Lots of seemingly random errors - I suspect a failing power supply.

Puter Padowan
10-19-2006, 12:01 PM
Hey

Looks like a mess. If you can get into the BIOS, see if you could check the temp of the cpu. Check your network card to make sure the access light is on while the cable is plugged in.

Getting replacement RAM won't hurt but after reading the entire post, it sounds a bit more like your psu may not be working properly. It may be getting power but distributing the wrong amount of voltage. That could cause a mess of errors very similar to what you seem to be experiencing. Problem is, if it's been going on for some time there's no telling what it may have damaged (Not that I'm saying that IS the problem)

Could you get your hands on a multimeter by any chance? Issues like that I would test the psu first OR try a known working PSU if you have one available. Leave it in your system for a few days and see what happens (If that is an option)

Let us all know what the outcome is or what you have been trying. I'm very curious and it's always great to learn. So if you find a solution please post it as well.

tonysolomon
10-19-2006, 04:16 PM
It's a new power supply. I bought it a year ago. I do have a multimeter. How do I check the power supply?

I also have two other power supply units.

I also want to say that my video card drivers are not updated. They are the originals from the CD. The ATI website doesn't offer an upgrade for my card, for some reason.

From my other post I followed the instructions and have a debuglog. I looked for 0xF7B45554, and I see that ParVdm.SYS matches that address. I'm going to try renaming that and downloading another copy.

I also Googled the following, which I found in the the debuglog, and only one page shows up.

nt!ObpValidateAccessMask+8

The one page is a pdf file that talks about 9000 series Radeon video cards. I'm not sure if there's anything to that, but I do have a Radeon 9600 xt card.

Sylvander
10-20-2006, 04:17 AM
"How do I check the power supply?"
TESTING ATX POWER VOLTAGES

See this http://www.ochardware.com/articles/psuvolt/psuvolt2.html

Black = ground
Red = +5 volts
White = -5 volts
Yellow = +12 volts
Blue = -12 volts
Orange = +3.3 volts (?)
Green = power on

Turn the power on. The fans should at least come on so that you know you have power.

Turn on the voltmeter and set it to measure DC voltage. Start with an IDE power connector that is not used. Place the black lead of the voltmeter in the hole of the connector that has a black wire (ground). Connect the red lead of the voltmeter first to the yellow hole and then to the red hole. The voltmeter should read +12v and +5v respectively.

The other voltages may usually be measured at the motherboard power connector by simply sliding the red multimeter test probe down the hole where each colour wire goes (with the black probe connected to any black wire as before). Really you only need to check the orange wire for 3.3 volts at this connector. If +12, +5, and +3.3 volts are all ok, then your power supply is probably fine.

Unfortunately, a low voltage measured in this way may mean a bad PSU or that some other component (motherboard, etc.) has a short and is pulling the voltage down. Therefore, the main value of measuring voltages is to eliminate the PSU as a source of the problem (if it has normal voltages).

tonysolomon
10-20-2006, 01:00 PM
I got 11.98 and 5.14 volts. I found a connector that had red, black, and orange wires going to it, so I used bent paper clips in the black and orange connector holes. I got 3.37 volts.

tonysolomon
10-20-2006, 08:15 PM
Normally, I don't send the error reports to Microsoft, when I'm offered the opportunity because I get so many of them. However, when the PC rebooted from a crash, I chose to send the error report about 8 times in a row. Here are the two pages that popped up in IE:

http://oca.microsoft.com/en/response.aspx?SGD=5749aea4-299e-431b-82ae-0b48c4442f2e&SID=11

http://oca.microsoft.com/en/response.aspx?SGD=83bcb81d-04d1-4de3-a345-dcd126719959&SID=10

I'm actually doing homework, so I'll have to save them to my desktop. If anyone wants to help I would really apreciate it. I tried to update the video driver, but I couldn't find it on the ATI website. I'll try again after I finish my homework. I have a Radeon 9600XT.

I'm not sure what the other web page was talking about, at first glance.

tonysolomon
10-20-2006, 10:12 PM
I just had to follow the instructions on this page, because of an lsass.exe error:

http://support.microsoft.com/kb/321024

This computer is a mess. :(

Sylvander
10-21-2006, 04:21 AM
"This computer is a mess"
Is it the hardware or software that's a mess?
To find out, boot from a Knoppix Linux Live CD (http://www.knoppix.org/).
You should be able to use its copy of Firefox once Knoppix is loaded, and post here using that.
If the system performs well showing no problems, then there are no hardware problems, only software problems whilst in the Windows environment.

tonysolomon
10-21-2006, 12:47 PM
Thanks. I'll give it a try. I'm downloading KNOPPIX_V5.0.1CD-2006-06-01-EN.iso. I'll let you know what happens.

tonysolomon
10-24-2006, 03:58 PM
I got the knoppix CD to load, but all I could do was type help, since I had no idea how to run linux. It looks like DOS. I got a list of commands when I typed help, but I don't know how to get on the Internet using knoppix. I don't know how to see if the hardware is the problem, by using this CD.

I did go to the Gigabyte site and get the latest driver for the video card, but I don't know if that fixed the problem. I'm not sure if the errors will still happen.

mjc
10-24-2006, 04:25 PM
When presented with the first prompt, just type in knoppix...that will boot to a GUI (KDE Desktop). Once you get to the desktop, it isn't all that hard to figure out from there, as it is rather similar (not quite exactly the same, but at least somewhat familiar...) to Windows.

If you are using a nonPPoE type of broadband, it should configure everything during booting. If using PPoE or dialup, then you will need to configure your account options as usual, both configuration items are on the menu...under internet.

Then just click on the Knonqueror icon and surf.

Sylvander
10-24-2006, 05:16 PM
When I load Knoppix I never need to type anything; just watch the coloured text scrolling down the screen as it describes what it's doing to set the hardware and Knoppix up for use.
Eventually it reaches the Knoppix desktop and automatically opens a window [can't remember which one].
I usually just close that and then explore the Knoppix version of the start menu.
That is packed with strangely named program items.
Explore those and you will eventually find the web browsers Konqueror and Firefox.
There's a program included for playing music files [MP3 etc], which is another good way to test that the PC is working ok.

Loading programs from the CD is much slower than loading from the HDD, but once loaded into RAM any program will work just as fast as programs in normal Windows.
e.g Music files will play normally and a web browser works normally.

Sylvander
10-24-2006, 06:23 PM
"I got the knoppix CD to load....It looks like DOS"
Are you sure your PC was loading from the KNoppix CD?
When mine begins loading I hear a "chug, chug, chug" as the CD is being read...
Then some fancy Knoppix images displayed with an instruction to hit RETURN to boot from the Knoppix CD [if I do nothing it boots the CD anyway after a short delay].
Only then do I see the text in various colours scrolling down the screen describing its actions.
When the text reaches about the bottom of the screen, the fancy desktop image is displayed [an Astronaut floating in space with the Sun blazing out of the inky blackness and the Earth in blue and white (for version 3.9)].
The window that runs automatically is Konqueror.

How to make a free “Smart Boot Manager” floppy
http://www.pcguide.com/vb/showthread.php?t=41498
This makes it easier to boot any chosen detected drive [e.g. an optical drive holding a bootable CD].

tonysolomon
10-26-2006, 08:47 PM
I apologize for not responding. I didn't get an e-mail notification, so I didn't think there were any responses. Before I read the responses, I want to say that I tried the two memory sticks in different slots, but still kept getting crashes. I tested the memory sticks, again, and got another fail. Just now, the only way to stabilize Windows was to try one stick at a time. I think I'm using the good one, but I still get an error message upon booting up. I checked the minidump and compared the stop message memory location to the debuglog. It says that it's win32k.sys that is giving me the most recent error. I don't know how to fix that. Can I replace it?

I will RMA my memory in a few days. That much I'm certain of.

tonysolomon
10-26-2006, 08:53 PM
Thank you both.

@Sylvander, yes, mine does that except for the end result of a window. I see the two penguins at the top followed by multiple colored words describing the actions that the OS is making.

I have to say, since my last post, I've noticed great stability in Windows. I think that the bad memory stick was causing most or all of the crashes.

@MJC, I think I am using PPoE, but since Windows seems stable, I might not need the Knoppix OS.

tonysolomon
10-27-2006, 07:53 PM
I'm almost certain that a bad RAM stick was to blame for all of the errors. I've been using the good one, since yesterday and everything is working as it's supposed to. I think I still need a new modem, and NIS liveupdate still gives the same error, but the PC works great. Thanks for the help.

tonysolomon
11-11-2006, 08:14 PM
It was a bad ram stick. I got a refund. Now, I'm trying to decide if I should just get CL3 DDR instead of dual channel overclocking CL2 DDR.