Hi guys, I have a very annoying problem here. As per the title, every time I plug my laptop, there will always be a BSOD error. It's random from IRQL not less or equal error to no error code at all. But when I'm running on battery power, the BSODs go away.

Since there are tons of BSODs I received, I mean a lot, I'll be posting this thread then be uploading the BSODs in a minute or so.


Here are my laptop specs:
ASUS K42jc-VX167
HDD: 320 GB SATA
HDD Paritions: 2
RAM: 2GB DDR3
VRAM: 1GB Nvidia 310m CUDA

Intel Core i5 M460@2.53 GHz turbo upto 2.8GHz
OS: Windows 7 Ultimate 64-bit



P.S. Oh, if this would help, when my dad bought the laptop, we opted to use a 30-day trial Windows 7 Ultimate 64-bit, then later used an activator on it. It was fine, but my dad forgot to turn off the updates, so, OS was detected as "not genuine" and had the dreaded black desktop background with the "This is not a genuine copy of windows tattoo" at the bottom right. I then used the REMOVEWAT to get rid of the nuisance and plan to format the machine later on since I'm very bust with stuff. But for now, I want to get rid of the random BSODs. Thanks!

The attached information was unreadable.

Thanks for the reply, I'm having difficulties with the uploading of files. I've uploaded it in 4shared, ill pm you the link. Since I'm not allowed to post links yet.



Thanks!

* I only read the five most recent dumps; if you ever find yourself needing to post dump files the most recent is all that we need.

Two things of note: the Symantec/Norton driver srtsp64.sys was cited as the cause of your system crashes.

However, a more pressing error code is of importance here. Twice the error 0x124: WHEA_UNCORRECTABLE_ERROR came up and is described as "A fatal hardware error has occurred."

This error code and definition has replaced the older XP code 0x9C: MACHINE_CHECK_EXCEPTION and though it is older the definition still is applicable: This is a hardware issue: an unrecoverable hardware error has occurred. The parameters have different meanings depending on what type of CPU you have but, while diagnostic, rarely lead to a clear solution. Most commonly it results from overheating, from failed hardware (RAM, CPU, hardware bus, power supply, etc.), or from pushing hardware beyond its capabilities (e.g., overclocking a CPU).

Honestly, this is a very difficult error to work with because as it says a clear diagnosis rarely comes forth and I have never seen a minidump with either error codes give a definitive answer. I know IT techs that don't like working with it. What makes it so difficult is that it can be any hardware in your system -- and I mean any. Your dumps with 0x124 simply cited hardware as the issue and nothing more definitive which is unfortunately the norm in these cases.

Here are some of the causes that were determined to be the source of 0x124/0x9C errors from posters here and abroad: NIC, DVD/CD drives, dust build up around the CPU that caused overheating of said CPU, bulging capacitors hidden by heatsink, video card, psu, motherboard, and external harddrive connected by USB.

To begin diagnosing I want you to do the following:

1. Go to www.memtest.org and download the latest ISO version which is 4.20. It is free and perfectly safe.

2. Burn ISO 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.


There is a Tutorial: How to use Memtest in our Guides and Tutorials forum; follow the instructions. There is a newer version than what is listed; use the newer. If you need to see what the Memtest screen looks like go to reply #21. The third screen is the Memtest screen.

Step1 - Let it run for a LONG time. The rule is a minimum of 7 Passes; the more Passes after 7 so much the better. The only exception is if you start getting errors before 7 Passes then you can skip to Step 2.

There are 8 individual tests per Pass. Many people will start this test before going to bed and check it the next day.

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

Step 2 – Because of 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.


* Get back to us with the results.

thanks a lot! I'm sure this will be a lot of help, by the way, if this would help, my laptop was just bought at about February of this year, so, basically, it's still new. Like you've said, I'll run the test when I about to sleep tonight. One problem though, If do the memtest at night with the power plugged in, there might be a chance that my laptop would BSOD since it's plugged in, would the memtest continue after testing for errors or should I manually start it again? Also, instead of burning it to an actual CD-ROM, can I just use PowerISO and mount the memtest file instead?

Again, thank you very much!

The great thing about Memtest is that it almost immediately engages after you boot-up so there is no loading of drivers, operating system, etc. If it does happen to BSOD during the night check to see if you had any errors. Even if you didn't then go to Step 2.

Since this is basically new and thus still under warranty I'd take it back and let them know your minidumps were read.

Get back to us with the memtest results. Keep in mind: Passes are the unit of measure and not the amount of hours it runs.

Thanks! Will do it later tonight. Also, can I use the file and mount in on a virtual CD-drive using PowerISO instead of burning it to a CD? I'll post the results as soon as I finish the memtests.

Thanks again Route44!

Hi,it was an all nighter,but the results were pretty good. There were already 14 passes but no errors. Memtest is still running, Pass % is 34%,should I just let it continue?

You can end memtest. Have you ever run a harddrive diagnostics before?

This is basically my first diagnostic, other probably would count like disk defragment and stuff back in the XP days. But what I really don't understand is why do I have BSODs when the laptop is plugged in and DO NOT have BSODs when I'm using battery power? Does this have to do with NVIDIA's built-in Optimus Technology?