Random BSOD 3 days after factory restore

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boonshing

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Hi, Im new here and this problem has really been bugging me for quite a while.

Im running a

HP Compaq Presario SR1972CF

Microsoft Windows XP SP2
Intel Pentium D Cpu 3.4GHz
2GB Ram
NVIDIA Geforce 7600 GS

This computer has been restored to factory state for at least 10 times. After each factory restore, the computer would show its first BSOD on the 3rd day before showing signs of stability. The computer would then show various BSODs on the 5th day until the system becomes unusable.

The BSODs are all random and always points to different processes/file name. Initially i thought it was because on the 3rd day Windows automatic updates would install SP3 and hence cause the crashes.

This time however, ever since restoring it to factory defaults 3 days ago, I have not installed any new updates and it is on SP2. I did however, install Norton Antivirus 2006 updates to latest virus definitions and also ran a full system scan.

This morning, the computer had 2 BSODs, pointing to SAVRT.SYS and WIN32K.SYS. I have since removed Norton Antivirus 2006.

I have sent this computer to HP customer service and they reported no hardware failure. Therefore I believe it is a software conflict but I cant seem to pin-point where. I have updated BIOS settings; NVIDIA driver settings and Promise Raid Driver Uninstall utility via the HP customer care page.

Please help me. I am so close to throwing this computer out on the streets. I have attached my minidumps below and I cant seem to understand much of the lingo inside the minidumps so it would be great if someone can help point out what is wrong. Thank you so much in advance.
 
All three errors are 0x8E and these are almost always caused by hardware and this error is a strong indicator of corrupted memory. Sometimes, however, they can be caused by faulty drivers.

One simply cited a Windows driver as the probable cause and they are usually too general to be of much help.

The other two cited Pool_Corruption as your problem which means the driver pool has been corrupted.

One specifically cited the drivers Savrt.sys (Symantec Antivirus Autoprotect) and NavEx15.sys (Symantec Antivirus Engine) as unable to load. Here is the problem: You have already uninstalled Symantec/Norton.

First, we have seen quite a few people have issues with Symantec. There are better solutions.

Second, Symantec is notorious for leaving remnants of itself behind even if you uninstall it. The issue is so prevelent that Symantec had to create a special Removal Tool for every one of its versions in order to make sure it was fully cleaned from a system. This is to be used after the intial uninstall.

So, go to their website. Find the Removal Tool for the version you had uninstalled and use it.

Keep in mind, if you have installed a different antivirus the old Symantec drivers will conflict with your current antivirus and thus cause system crashes.

Here is the Rule: One antivirus, one firewall, and one antispyware running as real time protection.
 
thank you so much for the prompt reply.

ever since removing norton i have not downloaded another antivirus yet, just to be sure it was norton causing all the problems.

would a corrupted driver pool mean i need to restore my computer to factory settings yet again? or should we wait and see first.

meanwhile i'll go download the removal tools.

really hope this works for now.
 
okay a quick update. i just ran norton removal tools and will wait out for 2-3 days and see if it works.

this computer had a period of stability when not connected to the internet. once i just restored it to its factory settings and just left it there alone. it didnt crash at all. only when i plugged the lan cable in and installed updates and it started crashing. so im not guessing so much on memory failure.
 
What were you trying to update?

Do you have any minidumps that you can attach in your next post?
 
i meant updates as in those windows xp security updates windows always forces me to update.

yesterday it crashed 3 times in a row and i couldnt get it to work normally. i reset the comp back to factory default yet again and removed norton antivirus 2006 using norton removal tools.

today it crashed again with the cause pointing towards ndis.sys and msnmgr.exe. still a 0x8e error though. i have attached the minidump below.

is it safe to assume it is my memory that is faulty now?
 
An 0x8E error citing the OS driver NDIS.sys.

I found the following: The NDIS library (Network Driver Interface Specification) is contained in ndis.sys. It is a collection of routines that applications can invoke to
perform network-related operations. Ndis.sys is an integral part of the
kernel and it must match other kernel components to work properly.

It could be either a) You need to update your NIC card drivers or b) there is a strong possibility your NIC card is bad. In both cases it could explain why you have no BSODs until you try to connect to the Internet.

* Also, when things are straightened out update to SP 3 for security measures.

* Very good and very free antiviruses: Avast 4.8 home and Avira Antivir.

* What are you using for a firewall?
 
i followed ur advice and updated my nic card driver. so far it seems fine. hopefully it stays stable.

im currently using windows firewall.
 
Please keep us up-to-date and let us know if you continue to have stability. This information will be helpful for many people.

Second, Windows XP firewall is very poor. Consider two of the top free firewalls: Comodo and the free version on Online Armor with HIPS. These are very good.

And, again, for security measures seriously consider updating to Service Pack 3.
 
thanks for the firewall and antivirus recommendations. will look at them once this computer gets stable.

it crashed again today. 3 times in a row. i've attached the minidumps. this time it all points to win32k.sys and is referencing 0X8E.

i am totally lost here. here's what i do usually with this computer, hopefully we can spot a trend and identify a common hardware/software error. i restore my computer using 2 recovery dvds that were created earlier / using a recovery partition pre-installed. after restoring i would usually download updates to improve the security of the computer. (this time i did not, so i cannot blame the updates for crashing my computer) the computer would have no problems at all on the first day despite being connected to the internet. without fail at an average of 2-3 days later, it would crash around 3 or 4 times from a cold startup before showing at least a day of stability. within the next 2 days however, the computer would restart by itself so often it registers up to 10 minidumps and often points towards so many different causes.

there was once where i tested it without being connected to the internet and it showed at least 4 days of stability before we decided to plug it to the internet. it might be a coincidence though. because it crashed on the 5th day.

the problem is this. i have tested my memory and it passes the hardware diagnostics test. i have also updated my nic drivers and its still crashing. it seems something somewhere is corrupting my windows drivers every 2 days and i cant seem to understand why.

thank you for ur help so far. i hope we can solve this soon. i really am not sure if many out there have this problem. i have another compaq presario sf1972cf (i bought 2) and it has been running smoothly for 2 years without any BSODs, yet this one crashes so often.
 
okay even more crashes today.

it now seems to be pointing to a lot of different directions. one points to memory corruption. one points to ntfs.sys. i am totally clueless yet again.

i ran a detailed memory test and it found no errors yet again. could corrupt memory corrupt system drivers over time? because so far on the 2nd day it crashed once, 3rd day it crashed thrice and today is the 4th day and it crashed four times with even more different system drivers.

its interesting to note that after like 4 crashes in a row, the system has a brief period of stability (up to 8 hours) before going thru another crash.
 
thanks for the firewall and antivirus recommendations. will look at them once this computer gets stable.
But it may be a Virus or Malware installed

2 Minidumps pointer to: MSN Messenger
2 Minidumps pointed to Chrome web browser

Try this:
Uninstall Chrome
Run CCleaner: http://www.ccleaner.com/download/downloading
Confirm that you ran the Norton Removal Tool: ftp://ftp.symantec.com/public/english_us_canada/removal_tools/Norton_Removal_Tool.exe
Install free Avira Antivirus: http://www.free-av.com/
Update it and run a full scan
 
okay i did all that u mentioned,

currently running a full system scan with avast.

i found 8 viruses so far that norton 2006 and norton 2009 failed to detect. i am hoping this has been the cause all the while.but i still gotta see if it stays stable.

thank you so much for the help thus far. really appreciate it!
 
okay after the virus cleanup, the computer went crazy today and registered 20 crash dumps. mostly pointing towards win32k.sys or explorer.exe cld it be that the virus already corrupted my driver pool?
 
hi. it crashed again today this time pointing towards my graphics card driver.

so far the minidumps have pointed towards the nic card driver, the memory, the hard disk and now my graphics card.

i now doubt its caused by any viruses because i've ran all the softwares u guys recommended and found 0 viruses.

could it be my motherboard or my memory?
 
i ran memtest 4.00 twice and it showed no errors.

a friend suggested it could be due to the bios battery on my motherboard. could that be so?

i also currently have 2 memory slots. should i take them out one by one and see if they have erorrs?

i just experienced 7 crashes in a row. pointing to win32k.sys, ntkramp.exe,srv.sys and avipbb.sys
 
Did you run Memtest for 4Hours as requested? (with both ram cards plugged in)

The Bios battery is unrelated, its more regarding corruptions to hardware conflicts
But running Bios Setup Defaults is a good idea though
 
hi all, i think the problem has finally been solved.

i reformatted my comp. removed norton 2006 immediately and ran avira virus scan. removing 1 virus. i believe it has been this virus that has been corrupting my drivers pool. its called agent557056.g and it multiplies quite fast. maybe thats why on the first day nothing happens. and by the third day im getting a few crashes and the fifth day my comp is rendered useless.

if its not that virus then it has to be my bios settings. i finally went to the setup page and restored my bios settings to default even though i dont remember ever changing it.

its been 6 days without any crashes now. thank u all for ur help!
 
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