Hi All,

Last week I plugged in a Linksys wifi router to my USB port (I have a webcam and the mouse in other USB ports) to be autodetected as new hardware.

It didn't autodetect the driver and I finally decided not to install the router at that moment.
I'm not sure if the problem started right after that, but the PC started to reboot sporadically and when I tried to autodetect hardware again it will crash with blue screen.

The other day it rebooted and after that the OS wouldn't come up again anymore: when Windows XP logo shows up, it crashes with blue screen.

I can boot in safe mode though (with or w/o network access), but when I get in the wizard to autodetect hardware when in safe mode, it crashes also.

The message in the blue screen is "The driver is trying to access memory beyond the end of the allocation", in other occasions I saw "BAD_POOL_CALLER"...

I've opened the PC yesterday, cleaned it from top to bottom, removed the RAMs, tried with only one stick then with both again... No luck

I have:
AMD Sempron 2800
Asus Radeon 9200
Ram: 512 (333 Mhz) and 256 (266 Mhz)
HD 80 Gb
HD 5 Gb
Windows XP Professional SP3

I'm attaching the minidump files here, please if anyone can help me out I'll really appreciate it!!

Kevin

Three things of note:

One error is 0xA and these are caused by either hardware or drivers and the driver cited is the Comodo Firewall Pro driver cmdguard.sys

Another error is 0xC2. Typically, a faulty driver or buggy software causes this. And the driver cited is avgldx86.sys which belongs to AVG.

However, the most significant error is 0x0000004E: PFN_LIST_CORRUPT This error code is a very strong indicator of corrupted memory and sure enough that is exactly what it indicated as your probable cause.

You need to run Memtest on your RAM. Have you ever done this before?

Hi Route44, thanks for the quick reply.

No I have not run a memtest yet. I was kind of limited with the things I can do right now running on safe mode, but I will try that right away. I hope I can do so with no problems running on safe mode.

BTW, do the errors for Comodo and AVG mean that those were the drivers that failed (besides the memory error you pointed out)? Or does it mean those were the last drivers that were attempted to be loaded before the crash?

Thanks again.

When corrupted memory is listed that is the first thing you go to because bad RAM and throw out all kinds of errors with different causes when all the time it is corrupted memory causing havoc.

Second, when one run in Safe Mode that is a fairly strong indication that the issue is drivers. Perhaps your security software has been compromised with the router's software you attempted to install but that is only a guess on my part.

First thing I suggest is to run memtest. The good thing is this kicks in the moment you reboot your PC so you don't even get to the Windows load screen.

See the link below and follow the instructions. There is a newer version than is listed but either one should work. If you need to see what the Memtest screen looks like go to reply #21. The third screen is the Memtest screen.

Once the Memtest ISO file is imaged to a CD place it in your CD drive and reboot. The test will immediately take over. Let it run for a LONG time. The rule is a minimum of 7 Passes; the more Passes after 7 so much the better. 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.

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.

Link: http://www.techspot.com/vb/topic62524.html

* Get back to us with the results.

Hi, I ran MemTest for an hour or so for each stick separately.
The first stick (DDR 256 MB 266 Mhz) it thew a LOT of errors. It ran for 40 minutes or so and found 2755 errors (I couldn't get a report from the test, don't know how to do it)

The second stick (DDR 512 333 Mhz) came up with 2 errors in Test #5... 0 errors in the other tests. this is the summary for the second stick:

Lowest error address: 000070584d8 - 112.5 MB
Highest error address: 000080584b8 - 128.5 MB
Bits in error mask: 00001000
Bits in Error - Total: 1 Min:1 Max:1 Avg:1
Max contiguous errors: 1
Errors per Memory slot:
0: 1 ... for the rest (1-15): 0

and I ran tests using Gold Memory as well for this second "healthier" stick, and it reported this error:
080584B8......................6096553C 6096453C 4A

after a 40 minutes ran

Should both mem sticks be replaced? Or is there other way the problem can be fixed?

Thanks for your help!

You're welcome! Here is some information that you can use in the future:

1. Corrupted memory cannot be fixed; it can only be replaced.

2. Any errors with memory and that memory is BAD whether it is 2755 errors or just one.

3. A great place to see how much memory you can install and what kind your system uses can be found at Crucial.com Many, many builders use it because it is very safe and accurate. They have a free scanning tool. The only thing you will need to do is allow them to install an Active X.

4. Once you find the memory type go to NewEgg.com and find your type. The pricing will be cheaper but I have a feeling the type of memory installed on your system is older and thus, believe it our not expensive. You can even buy Crucial memory on NewEgg for less money that Crucial's own website.

* If you want just let me know the type and amount of memory you can install and I'll try to link you to some suggestions.

yeah they're quite expensive for being so old, aren't they? I don't think it's worth paying for them...
I think I am just going to declare my PC dead, throw the li'l bastard to the recycle bin and buy a new one

yeah they're quite expensive for being so old, aren't they? I don't think it's worth paying for them...
I think I am just going to declare my PC dead, throw the li'l bastard to the recycle bin and buy a new one

It would pay you to do research and build your own the way you want and there are plenty of people here at TechSpot that would lend good solid advice.

if you decide to go this route here are two questions that you need to answer:

1. What do you want to do with your PC, i.e. video editing, gaming, etc.?

2. What is your budget?

* Once you answer these two questions go to the General Hardware forum and post there.

I want it mostly for programming but also for video games, of course. I have to be ready for when Diablo 3 makes the stores!

I'm kind of outdated with the latest motherboards/memory/video cards... So yes, I'll post there and see what they suggest.

Thanks again.

Check this out: http://www.techspot.com/vb/topic133075.html

it is truly a labor of love from red1776. He knows his stuff. Rage is also another one here that lends great advice.

Don't skip over the AMD offerings. People call their latest Budget Builds but that is because they cost less than Intel but they are of the highest quality.

that's gooood info. I'll look into it.
Thanks!