AidenC

Hi all,
Im new to the forums but it seems a real friendly place to go for advice. I have been having problems with my relativly(8 months) new PC. The problem started the day after i recieved the machine, while on the desktop the PC then crashed to the 'blue screen of death' with the error code Driver_IRQL_NOT_LESS_OR_EQUAL, at this point I restarted the PC and it was fine. I first thought it could be a driver problem so i updated my graphics card driver with the newer version. The problem then went away for about 3 weeks and would happen again, again a restart would fix the problem, this was annoying but bearable and carried on crashing randomly over the next 3-4 months. The pc would restart ok so I just plodded on with it the way it was. The problem started to get worse in February, after it crashed with the same error code the PC would not restart, it would only boot up as far as the windows vista loading bar screen and stay there (i even left it there overnight to see if it would ever load), I then tried to load in safe mode, though this would also fail when it got up to the point Windows/system32/drivers/crcdisk . My next idea to rectify it was to do a repair, so i used the vista disk and selected repair, it seemed to take forever to attempt the repair (much longer than it should) and this also would not work, I then thought i would try to reformat the HDD and reload Vista onto it incase the problem was any irreparable system files, It wouldnt seem to work at first but then eventually i reloaded Vista onto it, 20min after it was working fine it happened again so I then thought it could be a problem with the Hard drive, so I got another HDD to try to rule it out as the problem and loaded Vista onto it. The PC then loaded up and seemed to be working as normal, that was until i loaded the windows updates onto it and then the PC crashed again and failed to restart, at this point I thought I was getting somewhere thinking that the cause of my problem was possibly a windows update so I then proceeded to reinstall Vista again and I turned automatic updates off. At first this worked, I had my PC running problem free for the next month and the out of nowhere the Blue screen appeared again with the same message, again at first the PC restarted fine and over the next few weeks I got the occassional crash but nothing as bad, that was untill a few days ago when the same problem came back, and currently it wont start.

Sorry for the lentgh of the post but i thought id try to expand on it as much as possible as im starting to pull out my hair :D

Any help would be much appreciated

Thanks

Aiden

PS this is the last blue screen error message :D


Driver_IRQL_NOT_LESS_OR_EQUAL

*** STOP 0X000000D1 (0X0000002C, 0X00000002, 0X00000000, 0X807873C4)

***nvstor.sys - address 807873C4 base at 80783000

date stamp 458d543d

warlordfmike

Hi There and Welcome to TSF TechSupportForum.com ( Vista Support )

have u installed any new hardware or software

ill need u to post the following

minidump files
start\computer\C:\windows\system32

all of the log files
start\computer\C:\windows\system32\winevt\logs

the dxdiag file
start ) type in start search ) dxdiag save all info

and check the device manager for flags
start ( type in start search ) device manager view hidden device

what are u doing at the time the ( bsod ) blue screen of death happens

are u useing Hibernate mode as that might have caused it


regards

warlordfmike

p.s... pray for my mom

AidenC

Hi, Thanks for the reply, my computer has loaded up fine again now, but it only a matter of time before it does it again.

I did install a new creative soundcard about 2 weeks ago so possibly that could have caused it this time, though this same problem happened about 6 weeks ago too way before i even got the sound card....

I can be doing anything when the BSOD happens from gaming to surfing, sometimes its even idle on the desktop.
Here is the dxdiag, I cant seem to upload the minidump, it says its an invalid file type???? also the log has about 50 files in it do i have to upload them one at a time or is there a way to do it all at once???

Thanks again

Aiden

Attached Files

DxDiag.txt (39.5 KB, 7 views)

AidenC

Just to update i did a memtest and it came back with no errors?

jcgriff2

Hi AidenC. . .

Wow... Long time BSOD sufferer. Well, the BSOD STOP error message says a lot. ... .

I don't have an answer for you right now as there are variables involved. I will be glad to look over the memory dumps and other information - but I wouldn't be able to for a few days. So, in the interim, let's see what other responses come in - as there are Hardware Specialists here that more versed in hardware issues than I. I can tell you that there are known problems with this driver and also with hardware configuration. If you want more info from your system, check the Event Viewer - good stuff in there. Also look at the msinfo32 viewer for detailed system information.

Go to an Elevted command prompt (DOS) -

START | type eventvwr into the Start Search box | right-click on eventvwr.exe that appears uptop | select Run as Administrator | view the various logs starting with the Administrative logs.

For the msinfo32 viewer type msinfo32 in the Start Search box, then right-click on msinfo32.exe.

If you need help with interpretation of the events or ?? - just POST again.

Good Luck to you. ..

jcgriff2

AidenC

Hi, thanks for the reply,hopefully i should have attached the minidump and logs correctly, i tried revieving the event logs though didnt quite know what i was looking for, the last time i got the BSOD was on the 7th may, and then there is a gapo for 5 days when i couldnt boot it up (dont quite know why it changed after 5 days). When you say there are compatibility issues, what are they? are they between the graphics card and mother board/ram etc. I have recently updated to the newest nvidia driver released on the 13th so fingers crossed, it feels like im treading on ice awaiting for the next crash :(

If anyone can make sense of the logs or anything id appreciate it.

Thanks again

Aiden

PS even though im having serious problems with my PC im really enjoying and learning a lot from hunting the fault down on these forums so thanks again :D

Attached Files

CompProbs.zip (1.84 MB, 5 views)

warlordfmike

hello again and i think it might be hardware which hardware im not sure but i could be wrong im a waiting a reply from JC to see what this could be but im sure it could be hardware related

as to the compatibility issues, not sure what u talking about but
it could be anything

and im glad to hear that u enjoying and learning from this that
is what im whating it to be and have all ways what it to be like this

regards

warlordfmike

p.s... pray for my mom
.p.s... she is getting better she eating now and is able to keep it
down to thank u for the prayers keepem comeing

timjacobus

I feel your pain man, I too am plauged with the infamous (IRQL_NOT_LESS_OR_EQUAL) bluescreen. I too have performed memory diagnostics, bought a new power supply,swapped all kinds of hardware to no avail. My problem started when I added a second video card in SLI. Since then I have not been able to overcome this problem. Actually if I remember correctly it took about 5 minutes for the first SLI induced bluescreen I removed what I thought was a faulty video card didnt make any difference the chain reaction had begun. I personally do belive there is some kind of conflict NVIDIA drivers and Win Vista. My system hasnt gotten to the point that it wont start yet, but reading your post has ensured me of the enevidable joy that awaits me. Perhaps someone can figure this problem out hopefully before I downgrade to XP.*

jcgriff2

Hi AidenC. . .

I have gone through the areas of the 52 event log files pertaining to system crashes for which I have memory dump files. These two tools cross referenced have produced some troubling results:

The following appear repeatedly:

Code:

Faulting application DllHost.exe, version 6.0.6000.16386, time stamp 0x4549b14e, faulting module unknown, version 0.0.0.0, time stamp  n/a, exception code 0xc0000005, fault offset 0x018ab5ed, process id 0x1258, application start time 0x01c8b6a7307578a0.

IRQARB: ACPI BIOS does not contain an IRQ for the device in PCI slot 7, function 0. Please contact your system vendor for technical assistance.

IRQARB: ACPI BIOS does not contain an IRQ for the device in PCI slot 3, function 0. Please contact your system vendor for technical assistance.

I may have a lead on the elusive UNKNOWN_MODULE listed above. There are a few Microsoft drivers that appear in the memory dumps - not labeled as a factor in the BSODs by the system, anyway -that just don't look right to me. I searched for them in the Event Viewer logs to no avail. This tells me one thing - if not in the logs, then they must loaded before the logs start themselves - at boot-up. Let's check this out.

Please download and run Microsoft SysInternals' LoadOrder v1.0 By Bryce Cogswell. Please save it and attach to your next post (bottom right of report "Copy to Clipboard" - then paste into a Notepad).

I'll take a look at the load order report over the weekend. And at this time, I must defer to the hardware experts rearding to the ACPI BIOS error messages.

Regards. . .


jcgriff2

AidenC

Hi,

Here's the results from Loadorder..
Thanks again for your time, determined to get to the end of it, the BSOD i can manage for the time being though its when it does the BSOD happens then wont reboot that annoys me, wont even do it in Safe mode which is strange, but fingers crossed its been stable for 2-3 days :D

Aiden

Attached Files

loadordertest.txt (7.4 KB, 6 views)

jcgriff2

Hi Aiden. . .

Thanks for the LoadOrder report. There were inconsistencies in the dump file outputs that I wanted to follow up on. All that I have seen so far points to a hardware problem - especially the last dump file from April. The STOP error code was 0x00000124 {0x00000000, 0x87d7e270, 0xb2000040, 0x00000800} pshed.sys.

What I found so interesting here is that the faulting module pshed.sys is part of Microsoft's WHEA program (Windows Hardware Error Architecture) which basically allows hardware manufacturers the ability to provide a greater amount of error information using a pshed.sys plug-in. In your case, the output record written by the piece of hardware that failed was not in the same record format as the input record expected (read in) by your pshed.sys driver. This simple compatibility issue ultimately forced the BSOD - or at least blamed it on pshed.sys. It becomes obvious that in order for a pshed record to be generated -- there must have been a hardware failure to begin with.

I am unable to tell if this is in fact a new pshed record generated by the hardware or if your pshed.sys driver was somehow corrupted because of the date and lack of a checksum on the file. Take a look at what i saw - look at the date on pshed.sys and also check the <Unloaded>, hence Unknown Module out:



.
The 1969 date is most likely a default of some kind as that file would be 39 years old. The unknown module is without a doubt being loaded into memory from somewhere. At this time, it remains unknown to me, too. This pshed situation is noted in the Event Logs as an error condition 5, but contains no additional detailed information. So many error messages have been generated causing the the logs to delete entries before April 2, 2008.

I believe that the WHEA record was generated by Intel because Intel was found by name in the memory dumps and that in order for any company - even Microsoft - to get a project like WHEA off the ground, the support of Intel would be needed because of the near-monopoly possessed by them in the marketplace. However, it is also possible that the Intel hardware was bothered by some other piece of hardware and was simply the first to get an error record out. I say this because of previous dump results and other issues popping up like the following found in the event logs (note the areas in red - did you install drivers for this?):

Code:

  5-4-08 12:48 - first date in the driver log.  
There are more than 100 entries like those one:
The UMDF Host Process ({A7AB2F0E-730C-433B-88EA-0F0A237E1478})
 has loaded module C:\Windows\system32\OLEAUT32.dll
 while loading drivers for device WPDBUSENUMROOT\UMB\2&37C186B&0&STORAGE#VOLUME#1&19F7E59C&0&_??_  USBSTOR#DISK&VEN_
SAMSUNG&PROD_DIGITAL_CAMERA&REV_1.00#0000000104C52004&0#.

This is all I have for now.

Regards. . .


jcgriff2 (JC)

AidenC

Hi,

Thanks for info JC, is what your saying that a piece of hardware made by intel is possibly/probably causing the problem by generating a corrupted pshed.sys file? Also i do not think i installed a driver for my digital camera, i just plugged it into the usb port and let it find itself, could this also be a problem?
Also thought of something else, sometimes when the BSOD occurrs, it freezes on it saying dumping memory or cache (cant remember exactly :( ), anyway it never seems to quite finish doing it so i have to restart? could this be the reson why the files are corrupt?

Thanks

Aiden

jcgriff2

Good Morning Aiden. . . (it's morning here, anyway! - 0452)

It could be an Intel product failing, or it could be another product making the Intel product send the new WHEA error message out - like the two NVIDIA nForce 430/410 Serial ATA Controllers cited in another BSOD. I don't think it is Nvidia sending out the WHEA message because the other dumps did not indicate anything like I saw in the last dump about a record floating around with >7600 entries of some type in it. I didn't see this record, nor do I know if it is still in your system. WHEA is supposed to be able to retain the new pshed record to make it possible to fully report its details. There are only two ways that I can think of - the WHEA record must somehow survive in tact through re-boot or the detail is written to the dump file. But if the latter, why didn't the Intel program just do that - there would be no purpose for the pshed driver to be involved - so I think it must take the record in to later produce its content within Windows. My opinion on this is that Microsoft wants to be able to better record crash data to defend itself against most BSODs - so it must be in a uniform file format, hence pshed.

Also, I am not convinced that pshed is corrupt at all - just that the information that I have learned to date on pshed indicates that there is to be a plug-in for it to allow the various manufacturers to use it. What I don't know is whether this constitutes a new pshed driver provided by Microsoft or by Intel - in your case. Somehow, MS and Intel must place their updated drivers in your system at the exact same time - not easy to do.

Maybe the USB camera is not a problem, although I don't get how your system would know the type of camera it was without drivers. I mean a USB is a USB - and uses PnP, right? (I am asking a question - rhetorical or not!). I just place the XD or SD camera card in a slot on mine. The camera itself is never physically connected. Do you use software to retrieve the pictures or just go in through Windows Explorer?

The fact that your screen stays n after a BSOD is just fine. There are options in the Control Panel/Sytem to do so.

I mentioned about the corruption of files because of the dates. There are others as well. Furthermore, most of your MS drivers are dated November2006 - indicating the lack of Windows Updates. There were 57 or so updates for Vista prior to SP1. I see that you do not have SP1 yet, which is fine. This particular system does not either. However, within one day of installing updated drivers from Fujitsu, SP1 now sits perched above ready to install - today, in fact. I didn't know until recently that no driver updates were ever applied to this 9 month-old Fujitsu A6030 laptop because the Fujitsu driver update program kept failing but never notified me because of its silent running. Ironically, one of my updates was for the Intel 965 chip set - as well as the Intel 4965AGN wireless adapter. I have had no problems since the driver updates. Let's see what Vista SP1 does now.

I was reviewing more of your Event Viewer logs earlier.... Did you check the status of your Windows Updates? Most have been failing on a daily basis. Six weeks ago, you had 57 updates that downloaded but never installed. As of two days ago there were 30 Windows Updates waiting to go in. It is very possible that one of these updates contains new drivers for those in question. This should be the first order of business.

Let me know if you have any other questions. I must take the kiddies to breakfast then onto ?? - and will be leaving in a while. Have a good day.

Regards. . .


jcgriff2 (JC)

AidenC

Hi JC,
I have not installed the update because the first time i formatted and reinstalled windows, i had to do it 3-4 times and the pc would die after i installed all the updates, so i re installed windows and turned the updates off, and that seemed fine up untill last week? Where would you reccommend i go from here? should i install SP1?

Thanks
Aiden

jcgriff2

Hi Aiden. . .

I went back to the Event Viewer logs again to check on the ACP BIOS errors and found that there are actually 4 different ones mentioned. I would think that these errors would play a part in the instability of your system - but I honestly do not know to what extent as I don't know hardware very well. Therefore, I will request assistance from those that are specialists in hardware to comment. From the same logs, it appears to me that the most recent re-install of Vista occurred on April 2, 2008 - as this is when the 50+ Windows updates started flooding in with most failing.

Furthermore, I do not recommend the installation of SP1 until all pre-SP1 Windows Updates have successfully installed as the failure of such to do so up until this time tells me that SP1 will most likely fail as well. Remember that SP1 rolls up all prior updates and more.

The fact that WEAH surfaced here indicates hardware failure of some kind and should be addressed first. I still wonder if the WEAH record is somewhere on your system. What exactly to do with it once found is anyones guess... but I would sure find it interesting as hell to find out.

So... in the interim of my request for Hardware Support guidance... let's see if we can find it. Please do the following:

Download these two executable files (nothing to install) to your Desktop - Deckard's System Scanner (DSS), HERE and Trend Micro's HiJackThis from HERE.. Then right-click on DSS.exe - Run as Administrator - and it may ask you for location of HiJackThis - tell it - it's on your Desktop. When finished in a minute or two, a Notepad will appear with a file name of main.txt - save it as a text file. Then minimized will be another report - extra.txt - save it as a text file as well. If the extra.txt file is not minimized, look for it in c:\Deckard\...

You can either attach them to your next post or email them to me. If the former, please DO NOT paste them into a post. Thanks.

Regards. . .

jcgriff2 (JC)

jcgriff2

Hi Aiden. . .

A great colleague on our TSF Hardware Support Forum provided me with THIS Microsoft link that describes the BIOS error massages exactly. It may be nothing to worry about, but check the section about half-way down the page regarding the Device Manager and Properties.

Please let me know - about this and my last post as well. Thank you.

Regards. . .

jcgriff2 (JC)

AidenC

Hi JC,

Here are the 2 text files you were after, also regarding your last post, checked in device manager and cant see any device at all with a yellow exclamation mark (hope that was what you meant). I also was brave enough to download and install a few updates yesterday, all the ones that said recomended and called windows vista update, they seem to have updated fine, i left off all the optional ones. :D

Thanks

Aiden

Attached Files

	testmain.txt (16.8 KB, 1 views)
	extra.txt (15.0 KB, 2 views)

jcgriff2

Hi Aiden. . .

Thanks for the logs.

A few questions/items to-do, please:

• Are you actively using Microsoft Office 2003 or Office XP? I have found drivers with "Office 10" and a time stamp of August 2001.

• Un-install AVG v7. Install AVG v8 from HERE.

• The Windows Defender executable module in your system is dated November 2, 1996 - the most recent that I know of is March 11, 2008. This should have been updated via Windows Updates.

I see other Microsoft modules that are outdated as well. The installation of all Windows Updates must take priority at this time as it is futile to look into other areas for system problems when this in itself is a problem area.

Regards. . .

jcgriff2 (JC)

AidenC

Atfter about 2 weeks free of BSOD, it happened again, about 4 times in the space of 12 hours, the last time though my pc restarted after the BSOD (it usually freezes on it) it said the problem was with the nvidia SATA, and that it is a known problem that can be fixed with SP1? though from what i have read on the forums and elsewhere SP1 can be a bit risky? should i go for it to see? Dont know if this matters but i installed Age of Conan yesterday?

Here's my latest dumpfiles etc(though i had to delete a few of them to fit into the zip file)

Thanks

Aiden

Attached Files

computerprob3.zip (1.53 MB, 2 views)

warlordfmike

hey there again and i would say install sp1 but im not so sure
iv installed sp1 and has worked fine on two computers one is mine and the other one
is a computer that is my friends pc

but would as placehold as he would know more on the risk's of installing sp1 at this
point

regards

warlordfmike

p.s... pray for my mom