BSOD Recurring

[maddog8]

I'm in the process of reading the help posts here and on the web, but it's all Greek to me, so any help would be much appreciated.

Keep getting the BSOD, have to wipe hard drive, re-install XP Service Pack 2, and my computer runs ok for anywhere from a few hours to a week or so. It's been crashing about every weekend.

My computer:
Dell XPS Gen 2
120GB HD
3 Gig Ram (2 512 original ram, and I added 2 kingston 1gb ram about a year ago)
Run basic programs like IE7/8, Firefox 3, adobe reader, office, etc.
But crash happens when not much installed, so i doubt it's software.

From what I've heard, it might be memory, so I removed the original memory, and kept the 2 gigs of Kingston ram in there, and it still happened. I have to go home and reinstall OS tonight and then take out kingston memory and put back in the original Dell memory and see if it crashes again. If it doesn't crash in a few weeks I'll assume it was the Kingston memory, but if it does, I'm at a loss and will assume it might be hard drive or video card??

I've reinstalled the OS like 5 times in the last month. All the programs I run, I've been using for years with no problem. Computer is 4 years old, used pretty heavily.

Dust bustered the inside of all dust, but will try again with compressed air.

I've run diagnostics on the HD and memory several times (from the Dell diagnostics disc) and they always come up clean (if that's worth anything).

The latest error codes are : Stop 0x0000007E (0xC0000005; 0x80567B0D; 0xf789E0A0; 0xF789DD9C)

Like I said, I'll try to learn what I can here at work, but my time is limited for research and computer doesn't work very well at home obviously, so any/all help is greatly appreciated.

Thanks!

 

[Route44]

0x0000007E: SYSTEM_THREAD_EXCEPTION_NOT_HANDLED

A system thread generated an exception which the error handler did not catch. There are numerous individual causes for this problem, including hardware incompatibility, a faulty device driver or system service, or some software issues. Check Event Viewer (EventVwr.msc) for additional information.

* As you can tell there are many possible reasons why you are getting this error.

* When it blue screens and gives you this error code does it follow up with a driver?

 

[maddog8]

Umm... "follow up with a driver'? Not sure what you mean, sorry.

The BSOD messages normally don't say much, in fact the numbers I posted are the most I've ever gotten. I don't think it prompts me to do anything to the drivers.

I can't repair the OS, nor safe boot. Only wipe hard drive and fresh install.

Additionally, I have Kaspersky AV.

 

[maddog8]

Oh, and what does the fact that my computer will be up and running fine for up to a week and then crash again tell anyone here anything? I mean, if a part was really bad, would it even work for that long? That seems like it should be a clue of sorts, but what do i know.

 

[Route44]

Okay, attach your five latest minidump files in your next post.

How to find your Minidump Files:

My Computer > C Drive > Windows Folder > Minidump Folder > Minidump Files.

It is these files that we need (not the folder). Attach to your next post. Notice the Manage Attachments button at the bottom when you go to post the next time. You can Zip up to five files per Zip. Please do us a favor and don’t Zip each one individually.

 

[maddog8]

Ok, gonna go home and reinstall operating system so i can use it, then i'll try to find these minidump files and zip them and post them for you.

Much appreciated.

Oh, and it only happens when I start/boot up the computer fresh. Never happens in the middle of using the computer or on restart. Only when I boot up fresh. If that means anything to anyone.

 

[maddog8]

I don't see any minidump files/folder. But I'm guessing it's because i just wiped the hard drive and reinstalled xp? Everytime my computer crashes, i have to wipe the hard drive and re-install xp.

Repair, safe mode, last known good config, boot from disc, etc, all do NOT work.

 

[Route44]

Okay, if it begins crashing again don't wipe the harddrive. Let a few minidumps build. Also, try running your system with only one stick of RAM and then switch out. Do you gain stability?

 

[maddog8]

I'm pretty sure I have to wipe the hard drive in order to get it installed. Or do I install 2 operating systems on same drive? I can't repair, can't safe boot, can't boot from cd.

I ran the memory test on my 2 gigs. 9 passes, 0 errors. But I had both ram sticks in at same time, does that matter? Is the test guaranteed to be correct?

Are there similar tests i can run on hard drive and video card?

 

[Route44]

Memtest is highly reliable but there are occurances where bad RAM has been known to pass it. If you wanted you could take one stick out, run it, and then switch. Running this tests with both sticks is the standard proceedure but then running one stick at a time is quite fine as well.

As for your harddrive and video card you could put them in another rig and test them that way. Many people do. In fact, you could take your harddrive, slave it in anoither system and access it that way. You could then scan for viruses and also run a full harddrive diagnostics by utilizing the free utility supplied by your haddrive manufacturer that you can get off their website.

 

[maddog8]

Hmmm... so let's assume for the moment that the memory is fine. And the hard drive passed a few diagnostics from Dell's diagnostic cd, so let's assume that's fine for now. And the operating system is from the original disc and appears to be fine.

I don't have any other computers to swap and test.

What would you recommend I do at this point? I'm thinking that since the computer works fine for up to a week, and it only happens (so far) when i boot up the computer from cold (not restart), that there's a faulty piece of hardware that sometimes works and sometimes doesn't. Is that a logical assumption?

 

[Route44]

Hmmmm, that's a lot of assumptions! It could be your PSU -- if you had a multimeter your could test it. It could a number of hardware issues.

Do you know of anyone who would allow you to slave your harddrive to their PC?

 

[maddog8]

I have no idea what slaving a hard drive means!

I'm off to google multimeter...

 

[Route44]

A good digital one that you can get for $20 is made by Craftsman.

Slaving a harddrive simply means installing it in another system and allowing that system's main HD which is the C Drive to access your drive and you can a) run daignostics, b) scan for infectioons, and c) transfer im portant information.

 

[han solo]

To me, this resounds of a memory issue.

Have you reverted to the original 512MB of memory?
And if so...any differences?

 

[maddog8]

I haven't put the old memory back in yet. I'm waiting until this weekend in case it crashes again, so i can have time to deal with it. For now, i'm just leaving the computer on and only restarting it, not shutting it down.

 

[maddog8]

Multimeter

A good digital one that you can get for $20 is made by Craftsman.

Slaving a harddrive simply means installing it in another system and allowing that system's main HD which is the C Drive to access your drive and you can a) run daignostics, b) scan for infectioons, and c) transfer im portant information.

So may I ask how to use the multimeter? Do i open it up and attach it to the power supply or something? Is it dangerous to use, etc?

Thanks!

 

[bschaller]

BSOD for years....HELP

I have been getting this Power Driver State Failure for years. I have tried an uncountable number of times to isolate the problem without any success.

Please look at the attached mini dumps and shed some light.

I am not a computer wiz so please be gentle with the action plan.

THANKS