multiple BSOD

Jangles · 03-25-2008, 12:48 AM

Hey, I recently adopted my friends laptop because she said she was having major issues with it since last October, a month after she got it.

Anyway, after about a month of scrolling through google and other threads, i haven't been able to solve this mystery.

Ive gotten many BSOD errors:

BAD_POOL_CALLER
DRIVER_IRQL_NOT_LESS_OR_EQUAL
and a regular 0x000000C2 on boot up.

I thought it would be a driver problem with/or ram problem but memtest passed 15 times.

I've kind of just driven myself into insanity with this one, but one suggestion I've heard a bunch was flashing BIOS. Im kinda holding off on this because it might destroy the thing so i hope theres an easier solution.

The laptop model is DELL INSPIRON 1501, running VISTA with pheonixbios 2.4.

any comments are appreciated

**jcgriff2** · 03-27-2008, 01:41 AM

Hi Jangles. . .

Welcome to TSF!

BSODs leave memory dumps in their wake. If you get them, zip them and send them to me, I'll process them with a debugger to see if a probable cause can be determined.

The memory dump files should be located in c:\%SystemRoot%\Minidump, with %SystemRoot% being the name of the folder containing the Windows files - usually c:\windows\minidump\ - the dump files will be named similar to "Mini032708-01.dmp". Get them all - regardless of the number.

Two other items that I would like are: (1) A Belarc Advisor report saved in "mht" format (Top right of IE7 screen; Page; Saved as; save as mht). You can download Belarc HERE. However, before attaching to your post please be sure to delete the information related to your product key codes located about ½way down the report; (2) A DXDiag report - START | type dxdiag into the Start Search box | right-click on dxdiag.exe | select Run as Administrator | respond to User Access Control prompt. Then save this report as a text file. Please include these two reports in the same zip file as the dumps.

Please be patient as I have many other memory dumps to process. Should you have any questions regarding the aforementioned, please POST again or send me a PM.

Regards. . .

jcgriff2

wareagle · 03-27-2008, 02:33 PM

Once upon a time, I used debugging tools to analyze BSODs. I've forgotten a lot, but I faintly remember a lot of problems with 'scsi' and 'atpi' drivers. We were installing NT 4.0 on fully-depreciated hardware, and many times the CD reader or video card would cause a crash. That was before all the drivers were written for NT operating systems. 2000 was a blessing.

I've been actively reading the threads where you've described your findings. Good job! I think it's extremely important to get at the root of every problem, and debugging tools can certainly help.

**jcgriff2** · 03-27-2008, 05:21 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by wareagle

Once upon a time, I used debugging tools to analyze BSODs. I've forgotten a lot, but I faintly remember a lot of problems with 'scsi' and 'atpi' drivers. We were installing NT 4.0 on fully-depreciated hardware, and many times the CD reader or video card would cause a crash. That was before all the drivers were written for NT operating systems. 2000 was a blessing.

I've been actively reading the threads where you've described your findings. Good job! I think it's extremely important to get at the root of every problem, and debugging tools can certainly help.

Hi wareagle. . .

Thanks for your nice comments.

I agree that it is most important to find the root cause of problems whenever possible - actual system crashes or not.

As for nostalgia, how about those thousand-page+ hexadecimal dumps from the likes of VS COBOL II via JCL SYSUDUMP, SYSDBOUT and SYSABEND statements? One could spend a lifetime going through one of those!

Regards. . .

JC

Jangles · 03-30-2008, 11:54 AM

hey

Thanks for the responses and helping me through this mess.

Quick question, i can run these tests in safe mode, right?
I cant get anything done when I start up normally; It just freezes up after a couple of seconds.

**jcgriff2** · 03-30-2008, 01:04 PM

Hi again Jangles...

Glad to see you again!

Yes, you can gather the memory dump files and run the reports that I need in SAFEMODE. If you run into any additional problems, just let me know... OK?

Please refer to my PM for further instructions.

Regards. . .

JC

**bigfellla** · 03-30-2008, 07:40 PM

REstart in safe mode and do a system restore.

03-25-2008, 12:48 AM	#1 (permalink)
Jangles Registered User Join Date: Mar 2008 Posts: 2 OS: XP/VISTA	multiple BSOD Hey, I recently adopted my friends laptop because she said she was having major issues with it since last October, a month after she got it. Anyway, after about a month of scrolling through google and other threads, i haven't been able to solve this mystery. Ive gotten many BSOD errors: BAD_POOL_CALLER DRIVER_IRQL_NOT_LESS_OR_EQUAL and a regular 0x000000C2 on boot up. I thought it would be a driver problem with/or ram problem but memtest passed 15 times. I've kind of just driven myself into insanity with this one, but one suggestion I've heard a bunch was flashing BIOS. Im kinda holding off on this because it might destroy the thing so i hope theres an easier solution. The laptop model is DELL INSPIRON 1501, running VISTA with pheonixbios 2.4. any comments are appreciated

03-27-2008, 01:41 AM	#2 (permalink)
jcgriff2 Moderator, Microsoft Support Join Date: Sep 2007 Location: New Jersey, USA Posts: 5,385 OS: Vista SP1 x64, x86 / XP SP3 Pro, Media, Home / IBM TSO/ISPF My System	Re: multiple BSOD Hi Jangles. . . Welcome to TSF! BSODs leave memory dumps in their wake. If you get them, zip them and send them to me, I'll process them with a debugger to see if a probable cause can be determined. The memory dump files should be located in c:\%SystemRoot%\Minidump, with %SystemRoot% being the name of the folder containing the Windows files - usually c:\windows\minidump\ - the dump files will be named similar to "Mini032708-01.dmp". Get them all - regardless of the number. Two other items that I would like are: (1) A Belarc Advisor report saved in "mht" format (Top right of IE7 screen; Page; Saved as; save as mht). You can download Belarc HERE. However, before attaching to your post please be sure to delete the information related to your product key codes located about ½way down the report; (2) A DXDiag report - START \| type dxdiag into the Start Search box \| right-click on dxdiag.exe \| select Run as Administrator \| respond to User Access Control prompt. Then save this report as a text file. Please include these two reports in the same zip file as the dumps. Please be patient as I have many other memory dumps to process. Should you have any questions regarding the aforementioned, please POST again or send me a PM. Regards. . . jcgriff2 __________________ SysInternals Suite • BSOD Bugchecks • Media Fire • Belarc Advisor • MS TechNet • MS NTDE/CPR MSDN Err Cds • Everest Home v2.20 • CCleaner • Memtest86+ • MS Help & Support Live SysInternals AutoRuns • Auslogics Defrag • McAfee RT • Norton RT • Kaspersky RT • MS One Care RT• AVG8 If you were expecting a reply from me and I have not yet done so, please send me a PM with a link to your thread.

03-27-2008, 02:33 PM	#3 (permalink)
wareagle Registered User Join Date: Mar 2008 Posts: 20 OS: Vista Home Premium	Re: multiple BSOD Once upon a time, I used debugging tools to analyze BSODs. I've forgotten a lot, but I faintly remember a lot of problems with 'scsi' and 'atpi' drivers. We were installing NT 4.0 on fully-depreciated hardware, and many times the CD reader or video card would cause a crash. That was before all the drivers were written for NT operating systems. 2000 was a blessing. I've been actively reading the threads where you've described your findings. Good job! I think it's extremely important to get at the root of every problem, and debugging tools can certainly help.

03-30-2008, 11:54 AM	#5 (permalink)
Jangles Registered User Join Date: Mar 2008 Posts: 2 OS: XP/VISTA	Re: multiple BSOD hey Thanks for the responses and helping me through this mess. Quick question, i can run these tests in safe mode, right? I cant get anything done when I start up normally; It just freezes up after a couple of seconds.

03-30-2008, 01:04 PM	#6 (permalink)
jcgriff2 Moderator, Microsoft Support Join Date: Sep 2007 Location: New Jersey, USA Posts: 5,385 OS: Vista SP1 x64, x86 / XP SP3 Pro, Media, Home / IBM TSO/ISPF My System	Re: multiple BSOD Hi again Jangles... Glad to see you again! Yes, you can gather the memory dump files and run the reports that I need in SAFEMODE. If you run into any additional problems, just let me know... OK? Please refer to my PM for further instructions. Regards. . . JC __________________ SysInternals Suite • BSOD Bugchecks • Media Fire • Belarc Advisor • MS TechNet • MS NTDE/CPR MSDN Err Cds • Everest Home v2.20 • CCleaner • Memtest86+ • MS Help & Support Live SysInternals AutoRuns • Auslogics Defrag • McAfee RT • Norton RT • Kaspersky RT • MS One Care RT• AVG8 If you were expecting a reply from me and I have not yet done so, please send me a PM with a link to your thread.

03-30-2008, 07:40 PM	#7 (permalink)
bigfellla Mentor Hardware Team Join Date: Aug 2006 Location: Australia Posts: 2,971 OS: Windows Vista Ultimate, Windows XP Professional SP2, Mac OSX Leopard My System	Re: multiple BSOD REstart in safe mode and do a system restore. __________________ PC Wizard-VGA 2008 Charts-Power Supply Info-Multi/Single Rail PSU?-Speedfan-Laptop nVidia Drivers