[SOLVED] Bluescreen when loading game

[Reaperofthefate]

Hello. Every second time I load a game or so, it bluescreens on me. It's only started doing this recently, Does anyone know why? Here's the error:

IRQL_NOT_LESS_OR_EQUAL

Stop: 0x 0000000A (0x 0000001C, 0x 00000000, 0x 804FA11E)

[Reaperofthefate]

The last thing I installed I think was Steam, But it crashed before that..

[Reaperofthefate]

I tried running Registry booster. Didn't work

[lazareth1]

Could be a driver issue. Check that you mobo, graphics, sound, mouse and keyboard drivers are up to date.

[vladimirb]

Hey Reaperofthefate and welcome to TSF...
Could you please provide us with system specifications???
How old is your PC????

[Reaperofthefate]

I got it working, Driver issue. I rebooted in safe mode etc.

Uh, My computer's relatively new. Less than a year.

Computer:
AMD Athlon(tm) 64 X2 Dual
Core Processor 5200+
2.61 GHz, 2.00 GH of RAM
Physical address extension

Is that what you wanted to know? If not tell me where to look for it if you could please.

[vladimirb]

It is ok now, good thing is that it is working now ^-^
If you ever need help again, visit us ^-^

[Reaperofthefate]

It's doing it again, I think my graphics card is faulty.

[Reaperofthefate]

That, Or the drivers aren't working properly.

[Reaperofthefate]

Hello all, Once, a little while ago, My computer would bluescreen whenever I opened a game, Due to a faulty driver I think. Now it's doing it again, but system restoring does nothing, And Outpost says it's a driver error. Any advice? Here's my computer specs or something.

Computer:
AMD Athlon(tm) 64 X2 Dual
Core Processor 5200+
2.61 GHz, 2.00 GH of RAM
Physical address extension

[vladimirb]

Hello there...
Lets try to narrow problem down...
First:
Try with different graphic card or take your graphic card and hook it to some other PC...

Second:
Clean your PC from dust...
Use vacuum cleaner or compresses air to blow dust from heat-sink on CPU...
Take out RAM modules and clean contacts with rubber and DIMM slots with brush or compresses air...
Clean graphic card slot with brush or compressed air...

Third:
Test RAM modules with MemTest86+
http://www.memtest.org/
If you have more then one stick, test them separatelly one-by-one...

What make/model is your HDD???
Visit manufacturers Web site and download testing tools and test your HDD for possible bad sectors...

Fourth:
What make/model is your PSU???
How old is PSU???
Blow dust from it, try to clean it as much as you can...
I would try different PSU too...

Fifth...
Uninstall graphic card drivers and install latest ones...

Hope this will help you mate...

[justpassingby]

Hi Reaperofthefate !

Multiple posting is not allowed. This is the same issue as before with the same computer so you need to continue your previous thread (we need to know what's already been tried). You can mark the thread as solved or unsolved if you use the thread tools button at the top of it. I merged your new post in this thread and marked it as unsolved for you.

BSOD's while gaming usually result from an overheating, video card or power issue. BSOD's while doing other tasks could be caused by an error on the hard drive or a faulty memory stick. If the hardware is ok you need to update Windows and the drivers but the hardware needs to be tested first.

Give us your complete system specs, the ones in post #6 are unsufficient : check the posting system specs link in my sig and open the computer case to give us the brand, model and wattage of your power supply (look on the sticker that's on the side of the power supply block).

Enter the BIOS at startup (press del or look for some "press xx to enter setup" message), search for the hardware monitor or pc health & status screen and report the temps, fans speeds and voltages (+3.3, +5 and +12V) you'll find there.

If the inside of the computer is dusty then as vladimirb said you need to clean it. Turn the computer off and unplug the power cord then use a can of compressed air (10$ in your local electronics or computer shop). Focus on the fans and heatsinks. Turn the computer back on and check that all the fans are spinning : power supply, CPU and video card.

Browse to c:\windows\minidump and zip the .dmp files you'll find there. Attach the zip file to your next post using the manage attachments button (click on post reply or go advanced to see that button).

If you want to speed up things you can already test the hard drive for errors and test your memory :

Go to start => run and type chkdsk c: /R. You'll be prompted to restart the computer and the scan will take some time. Once you're back in Windows the results will be in the event viewer : start => run => eventvwr.msc. Select the application section, double-click on the latest winlogon event (under the source column), clik on the third button on the right (this copies the info in the memory) then right-click => paste it here.

Download, unzip and burn memtest86+'s Pre-Compiled Bootable ISO (.zip) using your burning program's burn from image file feature. If in doubt use ImgBurn (select write image file to disk then browse for the memtest .iso file). Leave the CD in the drive, restart the computer, enter the BIOS at startup to change the boot order priority to CD-rom first, save and exit. Leave memtest run overnight and report if it finds any errors. If you have more than one memory stick test them one at a time (unplug the power cord and remove the other sticks from their slots), 2-3 hours per stick.

edit : and stay away from programs like Registry booster, they can do more harm than good.

[Reaperofthefate]

Should something have shown up for the chkdsk c: /R thing when I rebooted? When I rebooted my computer slowed for like, A minute, Then went back to normal, And there's no new log. How long should it take? also, I don't think I have any external memory sticks.

Also, I got a service pack 3 update that I declined because it messed with my themes, Do I need it?

The inside of my computer is pretty free of dust too.

I'll reboot soon and make a new post with the heat etc.

[justpassingby]

Ok, I'll check your .dmp files tonight or tomorrow. Don't forget to post your temps and your complete system specs and to run memtest during the night. If you have 2GB of ram you probably have 2 sticks of 1GB. Refer to your motherboard manual if you're unsure where to look at.

About the chkdsk c: /R, have you answered no (n) when asked to unmount the volume (answering yes here would have the same result since the system drive is locked and can't be unmounted) then yes (y) when asked to schedule the scan at next startup ? You should have seen this screen at startup : http://www.raymond.cc/images/windows-xp-chkdsk2.jpg. Is your system drive's volume letter c: ?

[Reaperofthefate]

I have my specs.

*Sigh* Here we go, This may get messy:
Voltage l Current l Frequency l

PC Input: 115V 7A 50-60 Hz
230V 4A



PC Output: Voltage: 3.3V | +5V | +12V
28A | 40 A| 18 A

Current: -5V | -12V | +5V56 (I think)
1.0A| 1.0A | 3.0 A

Frequency: PS-ON | POK | COM
REMOTE| P.G | Return

Max:
Voltage: 245W 216W
Max 32

Current: SW112W | 15W
Max 32

Frequency: Total.Max power
400 W

I'm running an ATX-400-w/p4 or something.


Also, my temperatures etc are:

Current system temp: 33 degrees C
CPU: 37 " "

Cpu fan speed: 1985-1992 (Varies) RPM
System fan: 0 RPM

[Reaperofthefate]

"This type of the file system is NTFS.
Cannot lock current drive.

Chkdsk cannot run because the volume is in use by another process. Would you like to schedule this volume to be checked the next time the system restarts?<Y/N>"

Is what I get when I run chkdsk c: /R

[justpassingby]

Press Y when asked to schedule chkdsk at next restart.

No brand name on the 400W power supply ? The CPU temp is ok, were there no +3.3, +5 or +12V readings in the BIOS ?

what's the brand and model of the video card (the card the monitor is hooked on) and the brand and model of your motherboard ? It'll help if you can write your specs in your profile so they appear under "my system" next to all your posts.

[Reaperofthefate]

I pressed Y and it didn't do it.

Bah, I can't be bothered unscrewing my computer again, I'll just take it into the shop tomorrow so they can overcharge me while breaking it or something.

Thanks for the help anyway.

[justpassingby]

I only checked the last 3 BSOD's and they all have the exact same bug : IRQL_NOT_LESS_OR_EQUAL caused by oblivion.exe and atkosdmini.dll.

From what I found on google atkosdmini.dll is a driver related to Asus. No need to send your computer back to the shop yet, start by checking whether all your drivers are up to date.

What's the brand and model of your motherboard and the brand and model of your video card ? Once we know that we can direct you to the websites with the latest versions of the drivers. If you have no idea what your video card and motherboard are use everest or the system specs finder here.

IRQL_NOT_LESS_OR_EQUAL (a)
An attempt was made to access a pageable (or completely invalid) address at an
interrupt request level (IRQL) that is too high. This is usually
caused by drivers using improper addresses.
If a kernel debugger is available get the stack backtrace.
Arguments:
Arg1: 00000016, memory referenced
Arg2: 0000001c, IRQL
Arg3: 00000000, bitfield :
bit 0 : value 0 = read operation, 1 = write operation
bit 3 : value 0 = not an execute operation, 1 = execute operation (only on chips which support this level of status)
Arg4: 80502392, address which referenced memory

Debugging Details:
------------------


READ_ADDRESS: 00000016

CURRENT_IRQL: 1c

FAULTING_IP:
nt!KiWaitTest+30
80502392 6683781601 cmp word ptr [eax+16h],1

CUSTOMER_CRASH_COUNT: 8

DEFAULT_BUCKET_ID: COMMON_SYSTEM_FAULT

BUGCHECK_STR: 0xA

PROCESS_NAME: Oblivion.exe

LAST_CONTROL_TRANSFER: from 804fa146 to 80502392

STACK_TEXT:
b4dc8c0c 804fa146 b4dc8cfc e1e87608 e486d3f8 nt!KiWaitTest+0x30
b4dc8c20 bfa14370 8aa19eb0 00000000 00000000 nt!KeSetEvent+0x5a
WARNING: Stack unwind information not available. Following frames may be wrong.
b4dc8c44 bf9d55d5 00000001 e1c82928 e22e69f8 atkosdmini+0x1370
b4dc8c60 bf961d96 b4dc8cfc 00000000 e4217ec0 atkdisp+0x5d5
b4dc8ca4 bf9c3cb2 b4dc8cfc b4dc8d64 0012edf8 win32k!WatchdogDdContextCreate+0x59
b4dc8d4c 8054086c 86200001 01400003 01400004 dxg!DxD3dContextCreate+0x1a2
b4dc8d4c 7c90eb94 86200001 01400003 01400004 nt!KiFastCallEntry+0xfc
0012ee04 00000000 00000000 00000000 00000000 0x7c90eb94


STACK_COMMAND: kb

FOLLOWUP_IP:
atkosdmini+1370
bfa14370 ?? ???

SYMBOL_STACK_INDEX: 2

SYMBOL_NAME: atkosdmini+1370

FOLLOWUP_NAME: MachineOwner

MODULE_NAME: atkosdmini

IMAGE_NAME: atkosdmini.dll

DEBUG_FLR_IMAGE_TIMESTAMP: 45bd5dcc

FAILURE_BUCKET_ID: 0xA_atkosdmini+1370

BUCKET_ID: 0xA_atkosdmini+1370

This guy solved the problem by uninstalling the failing driver and the asus bundled software : http://www.techspot.com/vb/all/windo...rebooting.html

[Reaperofthefate]

Oh, Thank you, I'll have a look at it.