BSOD: PFN_LIST_CORRUPT problems

[raziel]

Help needed...BSOD: PFN_LIST_CORRUPT problems

While using Tunebite 2.2.0.3, I get a couple songs done (removing DRM for Ipod use), I get the BSOD with a PFN_LIST_CORRUPT error, then right reboot I get a second BSOD with Win32k.sys. This just started and it's something I can't figure out. I have to reset all the DRM on the PC, as well as reset Media Player 10 to new install. Attached I have put the mini-dumps that I've received on the PC.

I have already tested the ram in the system (2x512 PNY) and let it run for 9 hours and there were no errors at all. The system specs are as follows:
Asus A8N-E Mobo
PNY 6600GT
80Gig Maxtor 7200 HD
Onboard sound & nic

Any help is greatly appreciated. If more information is needed, please let me know either here or in e-mail ( deadpool.weapon-x@comcast.net )

Thank you in advance!!

 

[raziel]

Bump...

Any help is greartly appreciated... presently working on testing each memory stick, but to this point, they are both testing properly with no errors....

 

[raziel]

Bump before bed... still looking for someone to give me a hand before I just give up and buy a new hard drive.

Performed memtest86+ on individual sticks of ram. Both tested individually correct (No errors)

More specific information is as follows from the memory sticks themselves.

SpecTek
P64M6416HHB-6A
512MB PC2700 DDR
0403 TRKA N 37966

Both sticks match identical (noted on labels on memory sticks each). I initially remember the memory coming in a PNY container when I purchased from Best Buy (I know, I should have ordered something better, but it fit the price and the urgency to have the system running). They formerly had aftermarket copper heat-spreaders on the sticks, I have since removed the spreaders (before the new tests). I don't have more information about the memory than that (can't find the paperwork that came with it).

I appreciate the help and I have attached 5 or 6 minidumps in the 2 zip files in the first post.

Thank you greatly.

 

[raziel]

Mid-day bump.... hope that someone is able to help me with decoding these dumps and figuring out what is causing the issues...

 

[howard_hopkinso]

Hello and welcome to Techspot.

You really should wait at least 24 hours before bumping a thread.

4 minidumps crash with memory corruption and a bugcheck of 4E.

2 minidumps crash at win32k.sys and have bugchecks of 8E and 0A.

1 minidump crashes with hardware and a bugcheck of 50.

You may have a ram problem etc.

Go HERE and follow the instructions.

Regards Howard :wave: :wave:

 

[raziel]

That link you refered me to, I've already done that, and memtest86+ reports no errors. I've let the tests run between 6 and 10 times complete and I receive no errors.

My appologies for bumping quickly. Just this issue is driving me nuts, and I'm about to just say "forget it" and just wipe out the hard drive and reinstall windows. I replaced all the hardware in my rig (with exception of hard disk, CD, DVD, and Ram) to resolve this issue before, and it didn't show up for a while, until now. Are there any other memory tests available besides memtest86+ and the Microsoft memory testing utility (don't recall the name of it because it's at home and I'm at work)?? Any other things to check before I start randomly replacing things again?

Thank You.

 

[howard_hopkinso]

Some faulty ram can pass memtest.

Try running with just one stick of ram. Try putting your ram in a different dim slot. Try a different ram stick.

Check that your psu is putting out enough power for your system.

Check your mobo for bulging or leaking capacitors. See HERE for further info.

Check your system temperatures.

Regards Howard

 

[raziel]

I know for a fact that there are no bulging/leaking caps (brand new board, less than 3 months old)

PSU giving enough juice (Antec Purepower 2.0 @ 400Watt)

Temps are within normal operating specs (normally no higher than 32C on average use, have very large/efficient cooling system on chip)

I have to test per stick. I've already done the pair in the different dimm slots, and the tests came back the same. I've only NOT done individually. I'll have to try that. If they still come back good, then what??

 

[howard_hopkinso]

Have you tested your hard drive/page file as per the link I gave you?

You could try a Windows repair, as per this thread HERE. Just to rule out any OS corruption.

Regards Howard

 

[raziel]

Yes, I already did the page file like you suggested. That page you sent me, I did that before I posted anything to the board just to make sure that it wasn't something stupid that I should have found first.

I'm presently running Memtest86+ right now on a single stick. I'll know more when I get home (roughly 6pm EST) for that single stick, then I'll put in the second one and pull out the first so that I can test that one tonight.

I have not attempted a windows repair because I've not got that far yet, and I've never got that to successfully work. Usually ended up in a format and reinstall of XP:MCE.

 

[raziel]

Ok, update time...

I have tested each stick of memory individually using memtest86+ and both sticks ran for 20 passes. Both sticks returned NO errors. That's using different slots on the mobo and everything.

I am still receiving that error. Windows repair didn't change anything, and I am still trying to figure out what I have to do to fix this issue.

If there are more suggestions, different memory tests, etc to use to figure this out, please let me know.

Thanks for the help..

 

[howard_hopkinso]

I must admit I`m running out of ideas.

0x0000004E: PFN_LIST_CORRUPT

This indicates that the memory management Page File Number list is corrupted. Can be caused by corrupt physical RAM, or by drivers passing bad memory descriptor lists.

0x0000008E: KERNEL_MODE_EXCEPTION_NOT_HANDLED

A kernel mode program generated an exception which the error handler didn’t catch. These are nearly always hardware compatibility issues (which sometimes means a driver issue or a need for a BIOS upgrade).

0x0000000A: IRQL_NOT_LESS_OR_EQUAL

Typically due to a bad driver, or faulty or incompatible hardware or software. Technically, this error condition means that a kernel-mode process or driver tried to access a memory location to which it did not have permission, or at a kernel Interrupt ReQuest Level (IRQL) that was too high. (A kernel-mode process can access only other processes that have an IRQL lower than, or equal to, its own.)

Regards Howard

 

[raziel]

Well, here's the kicker (and I'll have to verify when I get home over lunch), the program that would cause the problem is working fine and I've only removed one of the sticks. I worked the program and converted an entire CD and didn't have any issues. I scheduled a couple CDs to convert while I'm at work before lunch. I'll see if there's a BSOD with the errors again.

Now, if it's working with one stick, what would be causing the issues with the pair of sticks? They are matched sticks (identical sticks to the letter), they are both DDR, same speed, same manufacturer, same size, everything. Could there just be an issue with this ram running in dual-channel mode on this motherboard? I've not found anything noting that this won't work with my motherboard (ASUS A8N-E) or found recommeded ram for this board.

If I can't run this ram in pairs, then what ram would you suggest? I was told Corsair XML in a pair would be a cost-effective solution for overclocking and stability.

Presently, i have NOT overclocked this ram. I've been wanting to start to push the proc and see what I could get stable, but have not tried it yet.

Any input/suggestion/idea is greatly appreciated since the error logs and the physical hardware testing isn't giving any assistance.

 

[howard_hopkinso]

I come across this problem far to often.

Two sticks of ram won`t work together, yet work flawlessly one at a time. Hence, that`s why I suggested running your system with just one stick of ram.

It has to be either an incompatibility issue with the ram itself, or with the mobo.

I can`t think of any other explanation.

Regards Howard

 

[raziel]

Presently, I installed the second ram stick back into the system and started doing what I was doing before that caused the crash, and it has yet to crash. I have to check it when home from work for lunch (in about 30 minutes), but it's been running great. I'm not sure what the issue was.

Regardless, I'm changing to the Corsair TwinX matched ram that has been tested and supported by Asus.

I appreciate the help in trying to diagnose this issue. It's been baffling me for a while. It has happened before in a P4 system and I started replacing. Finally just gutted everything except the ram & drives (PSU replaced as well to be positive it wasn't power). Then it disappeared, and then reappeared again, now has disappeared again.

 

[Parker2100]

Another Option

Have you considered that your problem may not be system RAM but may be video RAM on your video card?

They are both DDR and do pretty much the same thing. I have been having this problem for a week (same error messages) and contacted microsoft who suggested it was either RAM or my video card. New RAM was bought, so that is ruled out. I tried to run my video card at reduced settings (suggested by Microsoft) but that did nothing so I took my Video card out and am running on the embedded system video to see if I get the messages again.

 

[cpc2004]

Hi,

I don't think your problem is video card. If it is hardware problem of video card, Windows will be crashed with bugcheck code 50, 8E or EA and not C2. If you install new ram, you have to make sure that the setting is correct. If it is not ram problem, probably it is L2 cache memory of CPU or bad paging space.


Coorection.
The bugcheck code of PFN_LIST_CORRUPT is 4E and not C2.

Have you considered that your problem may not be system RAM but may be video RAM on your video card?

They are both DDR and do pretty much the same thing. I have been having this problem for a week (same error messages) and contacted microsoft who suggested it was either RAM or my video card. New RAM was bought, so that is ruled out. I tried to run my video card at reduced settings (suggested by Microsoft) but that did nothing so I took my Video card out and am running on the embedded system video to see if I get the messages again.

 

[Parker2100]

RE: Another Option

You could be right. Maybe when my system warms up, it will crash with the same error. So far so good.

My BIOS adjust for the RAM. I did make sure they were the same type and I swapped them out. I even used the new single stick alone with the same problem.

Before we run out and assume it is the worst and buy a new motherboard or processor, or both, lets just see if all mighty Microsoft techs know what they are talking about?

You do realized that modern Video cards are equipt with DDR RAM right? Mine has 256 MB of it. If your RAM sticks can go bad it makes sense that your video RAM might go bad, right? If the memory chips go bad lotsf funky stuff can be written to your file system causing all sorts of havoc.

Oh, for those of us in group who don't know what the error codes you posted mean, could you tell us? Just so we know for sure that you know what your talking about. I double check everything, even the great (sarcasm) Microsoft.

To be fair, I don't know that it didn't crash with a 50, 8E, or EA. I didn't look at the numeric codes, just the PFN_LIST_CORRUPT and the Win32k.sys Error. I was also getting an IRQ L error.

 

[Parker2100]

Update: 12 hours later

Still no crashing after I decided to see how it would do on system video. I did notice something else that I need to take care of reguardless of whether it is related to the problem.

My power supply is only set up to provide 250 watts max. With all the new devices I have added, I may be having power shortages or might in the future. I doubt that could have cause the blue screens, because the week before I took out a really old hard drive and put it all on my bigger main HDD and that should have reduced the power need considerably (anything with a motor)

 

[Parker2100]

I'll be a monkeys unckle

It appears that those Microsoft people, know what they are talking about on this one. That bothers me in a way, I would love to say they are *****s but this time is dosn't appear to be true.

Because of all the devices I have, maybe power fluctuations caused the BSOD's but all signs point to a bad video card. In any case, I bought a new PS (430 Watts) and a new Video card (8X 512MB NON -ATI).

If the problems come back, I'll post it here. After this, my only other choice is to upgrade the MB and processor (has to be done eventually anyway, eh?)

 

[cpc2004]

It is interesting to know bugcheck code 4E is also caused by faulty video card. Can you attach your minidumps here?

 

[Parker2100]

Update. mia copa?

cpc2004,

You were probably right about the CPU or Motherboard. After installing the new video card and PSU, it started doing the IRQL error again, only much worse. I have decided to just chuck the MB and processor.

I got a brand new 3.0 ghz duel core and Micro-ATX combo for less than I paid for the Video card, that is a good upgrade from the 3.4 Ghz Prescott that I am replacing. All and all, it'll be a decent upgradable new machine for less than $500 bucks.

I am very confused by the BSOD errors. When using system video, everything worked perfectly. But it crashed on both of the new video cards. Hmmm.... A burned AGP port?

It might be useful to do an autopsy when I get time.

(comming to you from my dell laptop)

 

[Parker2100]

Feb 10: Final Update

The new MB and Duel Core CPU are installed and everything is working perfectly. It was not a memory stick problem, a driver problem, or a video card problem. It was a problem with the AGP on the motherboard. The error messages were telling Microsoft that the problem was my video card.

Now I am running a 3Ghz Duel Core, 1G DDR RAM, with 512Mb, 400Ghz AGP Video Card. I need to by a system fan because the chassis is running 10 Degrees Celsius hotter than the specs.