Windows XP crashed ~20 times in past hour (BSOD) - any help is appreciated!

[zhonghan]

Hi there,

I'm having a ton of problems with my desktop this morning. In the past hour I have encountered at least ~20 BSODs, and they seem to have different error messages!

I'm using my laptop to write this now - my desktop can barely run for 5 mins without encountering some error (I had to copy minidumps on a flashdrive before it crashes). I have a bad feeling it is a hardware problem ...

I did recently change my external display (it's a LCD TV monitor) last week, but it did run for 2 days without any problems (I don't think it has to do with my new monitor.... ?)

I did run a registry cleaner (Winutilities), but still the crashes keep coming - even becoming more frequent in the past 30 mins.

I've attached a number of minidumps here, and I would really really appreciate it if any of you could take some time in helping me with this issue. It would be super helpful!


P.S -- my desktop BSOD-ed 5 times while I was typing this post ...

 

[Route44]

First, in the future please refrain from registry cleaners/fixers because we here at TechSpot find that they do a whole lot more harm and very little good. Your issue with differing error codes can be a sign of faulty memory. Which of the two Zip files contains the most recent dumps?

 

[zhonghan]

The 2nd file is most recent.

Noted on your advice on the registry cleaners...thanks

 

[Route44]

Your issue is with memory corruption. Therefore you’ll need to run Memtest on your RAM.

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 right after boot up.


There is a Tutorial: How to use Memtest in our Guides and Tutorials forum; follow the instructions there if you need more information. 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.

 

[zhonghan]

Thanks for your comprehensive explanation and actions - I will take a look into it.

(I may just buy a new RAM just to save the hassle...)

Many thanks!

 

[Route44]

Well your memory probably comes with a lifetime gurantee. If it is bad and you didn't overclock the manufacture should replace it for free. keep in mind that if this RAM was bought as a pair then they need to be returned as a pair even if one stick is good.

 

[zhonghan]

resolved ... ?

Thought to provide an update.

For some weird reason, my computer self-healed (somewhat)!

All I did was to shut it down and returned ~4 hours later. It was able to startup, all the way through Windows, and did not crash. Upon logon, I did get an error message that says :

“Windows – Registry Recovery - One of the files containing the system’s registry data had to be recovered by use of a log or alternative copy. The recovery was successful”

This message always returns after every single startup, but its really just a small annoyance. I then just click OK, and the system runs fine and stable from then on.

I also ran a Memtest, 9 cycles, 0 errors.

No idea what's happening here at all. Would be great if someone knew the fix to this registry message I always get, but on the bigger scale of things, just glad things are working fine otherwise.

Thanks a lot Route44 for your help and patience!