In general, what can be the reason why I only get random BSOD at startup?

[Anlavabeed]

Hello all,

A pc that has recently been installed with Windows XP Home SP3, suddenly has random BSOD during startup (before loading desktop). After a reboot the pc is fine.

Random errors:
0x000000D1
0x0000001A
0x000000F4

In general, before I'm trying to find the problem by checking the memory, and before I post minidumps here etc., what can be the reason why there are random BSOD only during startup?.

Many thanks in advance.

 

[Route44]

It can be due to many reasons so please post your minidumps (without zipping each and everyone individually).

 

[Anlavabeed]

I have included the requested minidumps. However I'm not sure if all minidumps are related to the Blue Screens at Startup, please use the newest version first. Hopefully you are able to help me. Many thanks.

 

[Route44]

All but one of the six of the latest minidumps cited OS drivers as the cause. The general problem with OS drivers is that they are usually too general to be of much help. They state more that there is a problem rather being the problem themselves unless eith they have become corrupted or the OS is need of a repair.

However one minidump gave us something definitive. The error code is 0x00000050: PAGE_FAULT_IN_NONPAGED_AREA
Requested data was not in memory. An invalid system memory address was referenced. Defective memory (including main memory, L2 RAM cache, video RAM) or incompatible software (including remote control and antivirus software) might cause this Stop message, as may other hardware problems (e.g., incorrect SCSI termination or a flawed PCI card).

It specifically cited corrupted memory as the problem. Coupled with the fact that two of your other errors are 0x8E and these are almost always caused by hardware and are particularly a strong indicator of corrupted memory plus two other errors are 0xD1 and these are caused by drivers but also can be caused by faulty RAM.

It sounds like you know how to run Memtest. I would do so with a minimum of 7 Passes. By the way, I experienced the same problem with corrupted memory and start-up issues.

 

[Anlavabeed]

Thanks for your help so far! In the meantime I have
-checked Event viewer, but I could only see that minidumps have been saved.
-Removed the swapfile, defragmented the HD, and than setup up the swapfile again.
-Ran Checkdisk, no errors were found.
-I have checked for loose connections, wires.

I had to reboot the pc a few times and all of the sudden the pc didn't boot anymore. Then I was told it happened before a few times. The pc booted past the Bios, but then nothing happened. I tried booting in safe mode, and I could see a few files were being loaded and then again a black screen. I waited and after a few seconds: BSOD:

Error: 0x000000A5
The ACPI Bios in this system is not fully compliant to the specification. Please read the Readme.txt for possible workarounds, or contact your system vendor for an updated bios.

The bios in this system is not fully ACPI compliant. Please contact your system vendor for an updated bios. If you are unable to obtain an updated bios or the latest bios supplied by your vendor is not ACPI compliant, you can turn off ACPI mode during text mode setup. To do this, simply press the F7 key when you are prompted to install storage drivers. The system will not notify you that the F7 key was pressed--it will silently disable ACPI and allow you to continue your installation.

I must add that a few weeks ago, a new router has been conncected and installed and it works without any problems ever since, so I doubt this could be the cause of allt he problems?

Memtest is running the coming 24 hours, hopefully this will clear things up a bit.

I could attach a few more older minidumps if needed. Let me know.

 

[Anlavabeed]

A short update:
After running memtest for 24 hours, no errors were found.

Do you have any other suggestions?

 

[Route44]

Check memory voltage in the BIOS and compare it to memory manufacture's voltage designed specs. Is there a descrepency?

I know you ran Check Disk but did you run your harddrive's diagnostic utility provided by the manufacturer?

 

[Anlavabeed]

Ok, will check that later. If you don't hear from me soon it doesn't mean that the problem has been solved. The pc is unfortunately not at my place.

 

[Route44]

Understand, Keep us updated.

 

[Anlavabeed]

After I took out and reseated the memory modules, no errors have occured anymore since. So it looks like one stick was slightly loose.

Thanks for your help!

 

[Route44]

After I took out and reseated the memory modules, no errors have occured anymore since. So it looks like one stick was slightly loose.

Thanks for your help!

That will do it. Memory not seated correctly will cause the type of issues you were having. Thanks for getting back to us.