Blue screen error caused by a device or driver

[GunnyGee]

I am at a loss on how to go about troubleshooting and ultimatley repairing my PC issue.

First, this problem only seemed to occur when I loaded a blank DVD into the drive with crossed fingers hoping the system would not crash. It crashed about 50% or 50% success rate. Or, it could crash in the middle of burning a DVD. Now. it seems to happen with more frequency and not necessarily when using the DVD drive.

I think I am using the latest drivers for the hardware. Based on letting window search for one. I did visit the manufactures websites and could not find anything newer or drivers that helped fix the problem. I am using Bitdefender Total Security 2008 as my anti-virus and firewall. Currently, I don't seem to have any other problems with the PC.

When I use the "Event Viewer- System" I see the following: Error code 1000008e, parameter1 c0000005, parameter2 8070194f, parameter3 953a15a0, parameter4 00000000 Event ID: 1003

I am also getting the following errors:

The Conexant 2388x Tuner service failed to start due to the following error: The service cannot be started, either because it is disabled or because it has no enabled devices associated with it.


The Conexant 2388x Crossbar Dual Input service failed to start due to the following error: The service cannot be started, either because it is disabled or because it has no enabled devices associated with it.

The Conexant 2388x MPEG Encoder service failed to start due to the following error: The service cannot be started, either because it is disabled or because it has no enabled devices associated with it.

The Conexant 23880 Video Capture service failed to start due to the following error: The service cannot be started, either because it is disabled or because it has no enabled devices associated with it.

One more thing, I did replace the TV Tuner card sometime ago. I currently have a Hauppauge Win TV-PVR-150MCE installed and it seems to work fine. I think the Conexant identified above is related to the original tv tuner card.

Please, any help would be appreciated to help me find and fix the problem. Please be descriptive, since I am not real savy on troubleshooting PC problems.....

Thanks in advance.....

 

[Route44]

Okay, let's first start with 0x8E error. These are almost always caused by hardware issues and strongly point to corrupted memory. Sometimes they can be caused by drivers.

We need you to run Memtest on your RAM and please don't run it for any less than 7 Passes.

1. Go to www.memtest.org and download the latest ISO version. It is free and perfectly safe.

2. Burn to a CD.

3. Place CD in your drive and reboot with CD in drive. (You might have to place your drive as first bootable in your BIOS) The test will take over.

4. Let it run for a LONG time. The rule is a minimum of 7 Passes. There are 8 individual tests per Pass. Many people will start this test before going to bed and check it the next day.

5. If you have errors you have corrupted memory and it needs to be replaced.

6. Also, with errors you need to run this test per stick of RAM. Take out one and run the test. Then take that one out and put the other in and run the test. If you start getting errors before 7 Passes you know that stick is corrupted and you don’t need to run the test any further on that stick.


Second, it could very well be your suspicions about your old TV card is correct. It sounds like you might have some old drivers left over. Did you completely uninstall the old device drivers?


Third, BitDefender is causing a number of issues for people. But we'll cross that bridge if and when we need to.

Also your error 0xC4:: DRIVER_VERIFIER_DETECTED_VIOLATION
This is the general bug check code for fatal errors that the Driver Verifier finds. The accompanying parameters are the parameters that are passed to KeBugCheckEx and displayed on a blue screen. It may also be related to your old card or your new one. We can't tell at the moment.



* Get back to us with your memtest results.

 

[GunnyGee]

Thanks for the quick reply to help me with my problem(s). First, I am having trouble running the Memtes86+. I downloaded, unzipped, and burned the following to a CD:memtest86+-2.11.iso.zip. I changed my system to boot from the CD\DVD first. When doing so, my PC does not recognize any bootable files from the CD and prompts me to boot windows normally. I see the file on the CD. (memtest86+ 2.11.ISO 1796kb ISO Image.File.
I had to go to another computer (work) to burn and test the CD , since I am unable to do it on the problem PC, due to the blue screen crashes. Please let me know if I am missing something here.....thanks.

 

[Route44]

When you go to burn to a CD, whatever burning program you have, try burning it as a data file. On the rare instance I've known a person having to format the disk first.

This test takes over as soon as the system boots up long before you even get to the Windows load screen.

 

[GunnyGee]

Hello.....I am having a real trouble creating a bootable CD. I have created several CD's using two different computers, two different version of burning software (Sonic 7 & Pinnacle Instant Write or Instant Copy) and no disc is recognized during boot up. In addition, no disc is recogonized while using two different computers. During boot up, the PC dwells a while on the 1st (DVD\CD) bootable choice and ultimately boots windows from the hard drive. Yes, I used creating the data disc option with no success as well. Please clarify, when I go to the Memtest.org website that you gave me I am downloading the:
Memtest86+ V2.11 (22/12/2008) "Pre Compiled Bootable ISO (.zip)

Is that the correct file? I see their is a (.gz) version and others. Due to the more frequent crashes with my PC, I now have to go to another PC to download and burn a CD to run this test. Can I format a one time burn disc CD-R) ? Please advise on what specific download file I should be downloading and attemting to use as a bootable disc....Thanks again...

 

[Route44]

Yes, the ISO file in Zip format is correct. Once you unpack it from its Zip compression you should have an icon of memtest.iso Image Files. You can unzip it to your desktop to make it readily avaliable.

Double click and your burning software should come up ready to burn this file to a disk. And the Data write is the correct mode.

One other thing, is your CD/DVD drive placed as first bootable in your BIOS? Your system will have your drives in a particular order. Often the harddrive is placed first and thus it is the first bootable followed by CD drives, etc. This is simple to do but since you probably have never done this before find a friend who has tech knowledge to help you in this. it could be your CD/DVD drive is bad.

Also, in your next post attach your five latest minidump files.

How to find your Minidump Files:

My Computer > C Drive > Windows Folder > Minidump Folder > Minidump Files.

It is these files that we need (not the folder). Attach to your next post. Notice the Manage Attachments button at the bottom when you go to post the next time. You can Zip up to five files per Zip. Please do us a favor and don’t Zip each one individually.

 

[GunnyGee]

Ok, I sorted out the issue with burning the Memtest CD. (user error) Anyway, I ran the Memtest 86+ v2.11 for 10 hours, 32 passes and had zero (0) errors.

Also, I attached the most recent "minidump" files in 5 zip files. I have more, but limited to quantity of files.

Further, I do not know (remember) if I properly removed all the drivers for the original TV tuner card.

Please advise.

 

[Route44]

I only read the minidumps in Zip files 10 and 11 but they contained a lot of information. You have drivers from three sources that are cited as the probable cause for your issues.

1. Three times the driver vobiw.sys was cited and this is a InstantWrite File System Driver belonging to your Pinnacle software.

2. Twice the driver ASAPIW2K.sys was cited and this is a driver that again belongs to your Pinnacle software. From what I can gather this is a CD/DVD filter driver and to disable it can cause real problems.

3. Three times the driver sunkfilt.sys was cited and this driver is part of your Digital Media Reader (media/card reader).

4. Lastly, twice driver bdfsfltr.sys was cited and this belongs to your BitDefender software. Many people have issues with this and the last two releases of this product have been very buggy. Here is one possible "fix" that I received off the internet:

First check if you can find bdselfpr.sys located in your BitDefender installation directory. If present go to Start > Run then type devmgmt.msc and press enter go to view (display) click on show hidden devices.

You will now see a new section that is visible now expand non plug and play compatible drivers double click on BDSelfPr It should be enabled,click on the driver tab current status should be started (running),start up type should be set on request if not change it and press on ok.

Go to start,run,type services.msc press enter see if all services that have BitDefender in the name are running. If not left click on them and press on start.

 

[GunnyGee]

Ok, located file "bdselfpr.sys" as directed using windows seach in the Bitdefender directory. Then, when I double clicked "BDSelfPr" as directed the system crashed with a blue screen error wih the following information:

"A device driver attempting to corupt the system has been caught. The faulty driver currently on kernal stack must be replaced with a working version".

Technical Information:
Stop: 0x0000000C4, (0X00000081, 0X8626E978, 0X00000088A, 0C00000000)

Please advise.

 

[Route44]

Basically that error means it couldn't be identified as verifiable and thus in violation. Update your BitDefender or go to their forums and see what they have to say about this driver and work arounds.

You may have to uninstall and reinstall, or you might be infected. When was the last time you did a scan?

 

[GunnyGee]

Well, to cut to the chase I completely remove Bitdefender Toatal Security 2008 from my machine, since there customer service and website did not offer any real help. In the meantime, I am using the AT&T Internet Security (Powered by McAfee) that comes with my AT&T Internet service. Don't know if this is sufficient, but I guess it is better than nothing. Anyway, I was able to burn a DVD and open some DVD's and CD's without an immediated blue screen syetem crash as before.

Although, when I closed my Pinnacle Studio Plus 10.8 software I had a blue screen crash. I did not think too much of it, since it was not related to the previous error and may have been a one time thing.

Since I was able to load CD's and DVDS' without crashing as well as write to them, So, I thought I was out of the woods and ready to point my finger at my Bitdefender software.

But, when I woke my PC from standby just before 7:00pm tonight it had crashed again. So, I am attaching the both minidump files for your review and comment.
Thanks......

 

[Route44]

Both are 0xC4 and both cite the driver sunkfilt.sys which is part of your Digital Media Reader (media/card reader). Update your device drivers.

Better Security Options for Your System:

Paid Antivirus - Kaspersky, NOD32; both are excellent.

Free Antivirus - Avast 4.8, Avira; they have $ versions but their free are really good


Paid and Free Firewall - Online Armor

Free Firewall - COMODO


Antispyware/malware

Free and $ - SuperAntispyware -- excellent

$ - Malwarebytes -- excellent.

I personally run the following $ versions: NOD32, Online Armor, and SAS

 

[GunnyGee]

Hello again. I tried to update my digtal media reader driver using "device manager" and everytime I clicked on the device to open and try to update, it crashed. So, I opened up by PC and disonnected the hardware to see if the problem went away and it still crashed. I am not sure if all the minidump files are from my media reader disconnected, but the last one for sure. I don't remember the exact the situation when it crashed, getting a little discouraged. So, I went ahead and did a backup of my data to an external hard drive just in case this machine dies on me. Is there some way I can check my hardware? Disconnecting harware that I don't use a good method of troubleshooting?
Thanks for the tip on the virus and firewall software. You stated hat you use SAS. What is that?

Anyway, thanks for the advice to date and do you have any other ideas for me?

 

[Route44]

Four of your errors are 0xC4 and all of them cite the driver sunkfilt.sys which, again, is part of your Digital Media Reader (media/card reader). keep in mind that even if you physically detach the card from your system the drivers are still present. Uninstall the software/drivers for this hardware.


One error is 0xD1 and these are almost always caused by faulty drivers. Once again the driver vobiw.sys was cited and this is a InstantWrite File System Driver belonging to your Pinnacle software. it also was blocking the driver mfehidk.sys; see below.


Your last error is 0x7E: SYSTEM_THREAD_EXCEPTION_NOT_HANDLED

A system thread generated an exception which the error handler did not catch. There are numerous individual causes for this problem, including hardware incompatibility, a faulty device driver or system service, or some software issues.

The driver cited is mfehidk.sys and this is a McAfee driver. You have uninstalled this software but drivers are still present. I know AVG and Norton supply a removal tooll. See if McAfee does as well.

Get rid of all things McAfee and get yourself protected with any of the suggestions I made. I am wondering if you might not be infected. By the way, SAS = SuperAntiSpyware.

*** Check this link out and read the first response by kimsland. he actually supplies a link for the McAfee removal tool. https://www.techspot.com/vb/topic123261.html

 

[GunnyGee]

You say: "Uninstall the software/drivers for this hardware".

What is the easiest way to delete these drivers (digital media reader) without using "Device Manager".

When I click on the device using device manager the sytstem will crash. That's what was happening when I attempted to do a driver update.

At the present time, I still have the AT&T Internet Security (Powered by McAfee) software installed. Do you think the McAfee removal tool will work or cause any problems if I use it. I guess I could unistall that software and do a search and see if it was removed.

I plan to follow your advice on anti-virus, spyware, firewall software. Although, what if your PC is behind a router or similar device. Is there still a need for a firewall?

As far as the Pinnacle software driver issue, do you think there is a repair for that or should I just uninstall and reinstall the software. My plan is to try and tackle these solutions on the weekend....again thank you for your time and support working with me on these problems.....

 

[Route44]

1. Go to MajorGeeks.com and download and install RegCleaner. This is free and completely safe. Look for the Uninstall tab and then search for only those items that have to do with your media card. Leave everything else alone. Also, download the latest version of the free CCleaner. It is an excellent little utility and some of us here find its uninstall tool to be better than Windows Removal option.

2. Uninstall the AT&T and then run the McAfee tool.

3. Most people benefit from a software firewall though there are those that don't. I think Online Armor's free version should do fine for right now. Keep in mind it will have pop-ups because it will be trying to learn your habits. Some people find it annoying; I find it is doing what is designed to do.

4. I know nothing about Pinnacle. It might pay you to do a web search to see what others are saying/ are having issues with so you can make an informed decision. I would certainly uninstall at this point and reinstall later if need be. Check out their website to see if they have updates/patches.

 

[GunnyGee]

Hello,

Let me start by giving you an update to what I have done since my last posting.

1. Completely removed Bitdefender Total Security 2008 and McAfee, using recommended removal tool.

2. Installed (free version) Avast 4.8, Online Armor 3.0, and Super Antispyware. Performed a complete scan of system and no major viruses found (tracking cookies only)

3. Using the Pinnacle knowledge base, I found the following problem associated with pinnacle driver: vobiw.sys

http://www.pinnaclesys.com/PublicSite/us/Products/Consumer+Products/?viewRN=rnanswer

4. I followed there work around without any success (system still crashes) So, I completely removed the Pinnacle Instant Write Module using Add\Remove Programs.

5. I downloaded RegCleaner 4.3 Unfortunately, I do not understand how to locate the driver ( sunkfilt.sys ) for my digital media card reader in order to remove or delete it. Or any other driver associated with this hardware and my old tv tuner card. Please advise on how to identify and locate drivers associated with hardware.

6. To date, If I use my DVD drive I am almost certain to get a blue screen crash. The causes seem to be different and I attached a minidump file for your review.

The lastest crash occured with all the above items completed. Any advice would be helpful........:wave:

 

[Route44]

Four of your five errors point to aswMon2.sys which is an Avast driver. However, the remaining error points to mfehidk.sys which belongs to McAfee and one that has caused you problems before.

This driver is most likely interferring with Avast. Run the McAfee removal tool again and anything AT&T associated with McAfee.

 

[GunnyGee]

Hello, I ran the McAfee removal tool two more times and still get blue screen crashes with even more consistancy than before when I had McAfee or Bitdefender.

Anyway, I am at a loss on what to do next. I never had any luck running RegCleaner or removing any old drivers, if they are the cause of my problems. I attached another Minidump file if there is anything that can be learned from that.

Everything seems to work just fine except when I try to use my writable CD DVD or my CD-DVD Rom. If I explore the files in the drive, put a disc in the drive, or try to do anything with software related to the drive, I am almost guaranteed a crash. Any advice would be helpful.....

 

[Route44]

Of the 7 minidumps three are 0x8E and the Avast driver was cited: aswMon2.sys. At this point I still of the belief this isn't your issue.

But the other four cited the driver Asapiw2k.sys which belongs to Pinnacle and it is a driver filter that can not be stopped by SCM (Services). Two error codes are 0x000000C4: DRIVER_VERIFIER_DETECTED_VIOLATION This is the general bug check code for fatal errors that the Driver Verifier finds.

The other error codes are 0x000000C9: DRIVER_VERIFIER_IOMANAGER_VIOLATION

As the title says, this signals a warning from one of the driver verifier I/O (input/output) managers. remember how you stated in an earlier post your could not burn CDs? This would make sense in light of that issue.

One person posted that to remove, you must remove the keys in registry and not delete the file. It seems to be a CD-RROM filter. Pinnacle software has been popping up time and again as a problem.

* I found a possible solution. Take it for what it is worth...

Operations to remove ASAPIW2k. Launch regedit (start, run, regedit); Go to HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet. From this key, search 'LowerFilters' only in values. For each LowerFilters found, remove ASAPIW2k if present in data (should be present only for CD-ROM device). Reboot the PC and ASAPIW2k is now disabled. This is not a malware but just a File System Filter used by some video applications.

 

[GunnyGee]

I am a bit nervous about deleting anything in the registry. So, i want to be sure I understand what you are saying.

First, you said: Operations to remove ASAPIW2k. Launch regedit (start, run, regedit); Go to HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet. From this key, search 'LowerFilters' only in values. For each LowerFilters found, remove ASAPIW2k if present in data (should be present only for CD-ROM device). Reboot the PC and ASAPIW2k is now disabled. This is not a malware but just a File System Filter used by some video applications.

I am not sure what you meant by "search LowerFilter" Are those the sub-folders?
You say search: does that mean open up sub-folders seen in the "CurrentControlSet" folder or key?

Anyway, I attached a screen shot of the only registery key: ASAPIW2k

Please confirm what I should do or delete here........thanks

 

[Route44]

That information I gave you was a suggestion by another person who removed ASAPIW2k.

Sorry, but the attachment you gave was not clear. Yes, i understand about not wanting to mess with the registry! Since this does belong to Pinnacle I think it would be safe to uninstall, then reboot and let us know if this brings stability. but only uninstall this driver.

Or, you could contact Pinnacle support and tell them a) your constant BSODs, b) your minidumps were analyzed, and c) this driver is constantly being cited as the cause of your crashes. Then ask them for a work around/advice.

* Keep us up to date.

 

[GunnyGee]

Hello and thank you for taking the time to help me sort through this problem. I researched the Pinnacle website for similar problems and contacted their chat and email technical support and did not get much help. So, I completely removed all of my Pinnacle software and ran their "RegDelete" utility to remove all registry items related to their software.

Since then, I still am experiencing blue screen crashes on what seems to be less frequency. At least that is my perception. I attached another minidump file for your review. Again, the minidump files were saved after removing the pinnacle software.....Thanks.

 

[Route44]

Both errors are 0xC4 and the driver sunkfilt.sys - one that has shown up before - is cited in both dumps. Again this driver belongs to the software Digital Media Reader or Multimedia Card Reader by Alcor Micro Corp.

Glad to hear you hare getting less crashes. How is Avast and Superantispyware doing for you?

 

[GunnyGee]

Well to be completly honest with you, I reconnected my hardware (media card reader) just after I uninstalled all my Pinnacle software (thinking the drivers associated with the software was the cause of my problem. At this point, it looks like my problems are with the driver sunkfilt.sys as you stated related to my digital media reader. The reader I have is one of those 7-1 media card readers located inside my PC.

The issue I have now is when my media reader hardware is plugged in or installed, I can't do anything with device manager to uninstall or delete the driver without a blue screen crash. I went to Alcor Micro Corp website for help and found nothing to support the hardware. How do you know the name of the manufacturer?

Anyway, do you have any advice on how to remove the drivers\ hardware other than using device manager?

Again, I can leave it disconnected, but I think the problem still occurs (at least when I had my Pinnacle software still installed. My hope is to get this problem solved and eventually reinstall my Pinnacle software.

I attached the Minidump files that occured today with the digital media reader connected and Pinnacle uninstalled when I was attempting to remove the device driver\ hardware.