Help! My competer crashes/BSoD are apparently caused by a driver

Discussion in 'Software' started by Sorenius, Dec 30, 2010.

  1. Sorenius

    Sorenius Private E-2

    So, I recently bought a HP G72-B66US (windows 7 64 bit, microsoft office, etc.) laptop during staples black friday sale. Recently (within the last week or so), I have experienced my computer crashing and going BSoD on two separate occasions. Even more recently (yesterday), my computer crashed twice and didn't even leave a BSoD.

    I'm not too experienced with computers, but after the first BSoD I ran some antivirus/malware programs (antivir and malwarebytes) and used wise registry cleaner. As mentioned above though, another BSoD occured about a day after that. It seemed to be happening when I was on Hulu, but then, I've been on Hulu a lot lately, so that might not be it. The crashes did happen when I was on the internet though.

    Anyways, I downloaded bluescreenview from here and ran it to see if I could learn anything about the problem. Apparently there is something called an unexpected kernel mode trap caused by the ntoskrnl.exe. I don't really have any idea what this means or how to fix it, which is why I created an account. So, if anyone has had this error in the past or has any idea how to fix thing, I would be very much obliged.

    ~Sorenius

    P.S. I'm not exactly sure where this goes, so if someone with admin powers thinks it should be moved to software instead of drivers or something that would be great.
     
  2. Caliban

    Caliban I don't need no steenkin' title!

    Greetings, Sorenius.

    Since the crash is occurring while online, you might try using a different browser for testing purposes - I suggest Firefox.

    The kernel mode trap can be caused by many things, but mostly by hardware or hardware-related driver corruption. If you have done nothing to the machine as far as overclocking or physical damage, then I'd strongly suggest taking the machine back to the distributor and demanding a replacement or refund.
     
  3. Sorenius

    Sorenius Private E-2

    Hmm, I'm actually already using firefox. Should I download crome or maybe use the much maligned internet explorer? Also, by distributor, do you mean staples or hp? I'm pretty sure I can't return it to staples since I didn't buy the warranty, but t might be possible to get hp to replace the computer because I think they have a one-year warranty for non-user caused errors (although I'm not sure how I could prove this. Would a few light bumps cause a hardware failure?)

    Thanks for the help,

    Sorenius
     
  4. DavidGP

    DavidGP MajorGeeks Forum Administrator - Grand Pooh-Bah Staff Member

    Hi

    Yes try IE or Opera (Chrome is still a beta and it could give you other issues and cause it harder to find the cause of your problems)

    Try updating Adobe Flash and Sun Java Runtimes as per below.

    Also what Security software do you have installed, please name all? (or are Antivir and Malwarebytes the only 2)

    Try using the PC without going to Hulu and see if it BSODs and if it does then please copy the full code down or attach the Bluescreenview log as per info here >> HOW TO: Attach Items To Your Post[/quote][/URL]

    Also boot into Safe Mode (F8 at boot) and choose Safe Mode with networking and see if the machine crashes still.


    As for slight bumps well depends on how slight, but if it looks like any scratches or signs of damage then likely they as in HP or Staples will blame that as the cause.
     
  5. Sorenius

    Sorenius Private E-2

    Ok, so I downloaded the java and adobe uninstaller and the adobe one worked fine. The java one worked fine (I did the remove old versions of java task. Is this the right one?) until it wanted to create a log file. When it tried to do this it said that there was not a log file, asked me to create one, and opened an untitled notepad page. I exited out of the window when this happened since I didn't really know what it wanted me to do. In any case, I'm unsure if it successfully removed the old versions since a log file was not created.

    After this I restarted my computer and ran the ccleaner. I was wondering however, which boxes must absolutely be checked for this to work. When I downloaded it yesterday I had unchecked some boxes such as cookies, temporary files, etc. So I don't know if this will lessen the effectiveness of your method. Anyways, I then ran the registry cleaner and it came up with nothing, so I ran my wise registry cleaner and it found a few things.

    As for security software, I also have superantispyware and zone alarm in addition to the ones already mentioned (I also have the adblocker plus firefox extension, but I'm not sure if that counts).

    Anyways, unless I've done something wrong with the above process, I guess I will browse the internet with a different browser for a couple of days (which of the two would you recommend? isn't IE supposed to have security issues?) while avoiding hulu like the plague.

    Thanks for your help David,

    Sorenius
     
  6. DavidGP

    DavidGP MajorGeeks Forum Administrator - Grand Pooh-Bah Staff Member

    Hi

    shoudl have mentioned at times run JavaRa as admin, to do this right click it and choose Run as Admin, but look in the Uninstall list in Control Panel and if you only have one Java version installed then you are ok.

    Hi for CCleaner only run it in its default setup, dont add any extra boxes unless you know what they are going to do, I never change the settings.

    As a troubleshooting thing and only if its the same with the updates to Flash and Java, and surfing with a different browser be it IE or Opera, and they dont work, then in msconfig, disable Avira, and ZoneAlarm from starting (i'm guessing that your superantispyware and malwarebytes are the free versions if not then disable them too).

    Also a test in Firefox is to remove Adblocker, never know.

    As for IE, then if you have IE8 then its no worse or better than the others in reality, yes its attacked more but the main issue in browsing is the user and what they download with a browser, you could have Firefox and Adblocker and still like many 100000s get malware. Try Opera if you dont fancy IE.
     
  7. Sorenius

    Sorenius Private E-2

    Well, it happened again. Just last night my computer BSoD'd on me as I was watching a youtube video (which means that it's not just hulu although it still could be an issue with video watching) and bluescreenview gave me the exact same error report as the first two reports. Now, before this I had done everything david recommended except use a different browser (it's just so hard to give up my firefox and its add-ons :cry), so I guess that could be the issue as well, although I don't understand why it would be.

    Anyways, I couldn't remember exactly what david said about what I was supposed to do if it crashed, so I just restarted the computer normally which I probably shouldn't have done as the computer crashed again as I was trying to load bluescreenview. Funnily enough, however, the first crash didn't show up in bluescreenview, only the second one (the one that occurred as I was opening bluescreenview to see if the first crash report was there) did. After this, I loaded the computer into safe mode and confirmed via bluescreenview that this crash was caused by the same problem that I had started this thread for annnnnnnddddd.................that's why I'm here again.

    Also, an aquaintance experienced with computers suggested to me that a kernelmodetrap is probably caused by driver trying to access something it is not allowed to, which probably means a bug in the program. He recommended searching for updates to the driver, but I'm not sure if the ntoskrnl is replaceable or update-able since apparently it is central to the operating system. Anyways, he further suggested that the bluescreens could be caused by an error in my graphics card drivers and that I should see if there are any updates for those. Could anyone tell me if this is good advice or not? (Also, i'm not sure if it matters or not but my computer uses an i3-370m processor which has the graphics card somehow integrated with the processor. Like I said, I'm not sure if this would affect any of the above info, just throwing it out there.)

    Thanks for any and all help,

    Soren

    P.S.

    Attached is the bluescreenview log file.
     

    Attached Files:

    Last edited: Jan 9, 2011
  8. Caliban

    Caliban I don't need no steenkin' title!

    Did you try that? The "unexpected kernel mode trap" is usually caused by some driver clash - if you can run the machine for a length of time in Safe Mode without crashing, we might be able to discern what drivers may be causing the problem.

    You might also consider reseating your RAM module(s), even swapping modules if you have multiple sticks.
     
  9. satrow

    satrow Major Geek Extraordinaire

    If you could save the dump files to your Desktop then zip and upload them; they may enable a diagnosis to be made, especially if they contain a full listing of drivers running so we can get outdated drivers replaced.

    This particular BSOD is a double-fault but hanging a handle on it doesn't make it much easier to fix.
     
  10. Sorenius

    Sorenius Private E-2

    By dump files, I'm assuming you mean the actual dump files that bluescreenview gets its info from and not the bluescreenview file, right? If that's the case, how would I go about finding these files (would I just search for dump files in the file search function) and what free zip/unzip program would you recommend? I know that major geeks has some of them, but I haven't yet downloaded one because I haven't needed it and didn't know which one I should download.

    Thanks for your help,

    Sorenius
     
  11. Sorenius

    Sorenius Private E-2

    Well, I didn't immediately go into safe mode (it took a second crash 30 seconds after booting up windows normally again to convince me to do that), but when I did I only entered the basic safe mode and not the safe mode with networking. If it happens again I will try that.

    As for reseting my RAM modules........well, I guess I could. But to be honest I really don't know the first thing about how to do that and would want to eliminate other possible causes first. I'll keep it in mind though.

    Thanks,

    Sorenius
     
  12. satrow

    satrow Major Geek Extraordinaire

    The text file you attached tells you where the dump files are stored, C:\Windows\Minidump\*.dmp :) Copy/Paste them to your Desktop then right-click them and select Send To > Compressed folder. That'll add them to a zip file.
     
  13. Sorenius

    Sorenius Private E-2

    Done and done.

    Also, something else which just occurred to me as a possible cause is that not only did this happen when I was watching youtube or hulu (although as I said earlier this could also just be coincidence since I watch these a lot), but it also seemed to happen when I had earbuds plugged into the laptop. Dunno if this could be a cause, but I thought I'd put it out there.

    Anyways, here's the zipped files.

    Enjoy :p
     

    Attached Files:

  14. satrow

    satrow Major Geek Extraordinaire

    There's consistency across the 3 dumps, that often rules out memory errors, which tend to be more random.

    Another quote from the caronna.org website:
    The part I've highlighted ties in with the last filter driver installed/updated, avgntflt.sys dating to 11/11/2010; this is part of the AVG install, the latest version of which, AVG 2011, has been quite problematic for many people.

    It also ties in with vsdatant.sys, part of ZoneAlarm, which is also frequent cause of these problems.

    I'd advise checking for updates to your network card drivers from the makers first, NOT from Windows Update, then disabling or completely uninstalling either AVG or ZA if there's no available update or the same BSOD occurs again.

    Comodo or PrivateFirewall with Avira or Avast! would be preferable to the ZA/AVG combo currently in use.
     
  15. Sorenius

    Sorenius Private E-2

    Actually, I don't even have AVG and don't remember ever installing it, so it's strange that there would be a driver for it on my computer. I do, however, have zonealarm, so that could be it.

    Anyways, I will do as you said and check for updates to the network card driver. If that doesn't work then I'll disable zonealarm and go from there.

    Thanks for all your help satrow!

    ~Soren
     
    Last edited: Jan 11, 2011
  16. satrow

    satrow Major Geek Extraordinaire

    Apologies, my mistake, jumping to conclusions based on imperfect memory :( avgntflt.sys is actually part of Avira's AntiVir. I think that makes ZA to be the most likely component to be at fault but I wouldn't completely rule out Avira or flaky a network driver version.
     
  17. Sorenius

    Sorenius Private E-2

    Okay, so using pcwizard I've figured out my motherboard manufacturer (hp) and have made it to this page. However, because there is no scan for updates feature I am unsure which network drivers to download. Could you recommend one or more of them or is there a program available which could scan my current drivers to see which ones need updates?

    Thanks,

    Soren
     
  18. satrow

    satrow Major Geek Extraordinaire

    There are programs available that can do that, I don't use them so cannot make a recommendation.

    I rely on checking Device Manager manually for the installed hardware and then checking the makers site (not HP, Dell, etc. - look for drivers from Intel, Realtek, Broadcom, etc., they're gonna be months ahead with any fixes).

    I see from the loaded drivers that you have Realtek sound and Broadcom wireless but I can't be sure of your wired network adapter. Your main chipset appears to be Intel, maybe you should update that first as it may contain other drivers like wired network too.
     
  19. Sorenius

    Sorenius Private E-2

    Hi, I just wanted to provide an update that the problem is now solved.

    After I unistalled avira I encountered three more BSoD, but I then uninstalled zone alarm and things have been working like a charm. I never did update the drivers, but unless I experience more problems I probably will not.

    Thanks Satrow and all who provided input,

    Sorenius
     

MajorGeeks.Com Menu

Downloads All In One Tweaks \ Android \ Anti-Malware \ Anti-Virus \ Appearance \ Backup \ Browsers \ CD\DVD\Blu-Ray \ Covert Ops \ Drive Utilities \ Drivers \ Graphics \ Internet Tools \ Multimedia \ Networking \ Office Tools \ PC Games \ System Tools \ Mac/Apple/Ipad Downloads

Other News: Top Downloads \ News (Tech) \ Off Base (Other Websites News) \ Way Off Base (Offbeat Stories and Pics)

Social: Facebook \ YouTube \ Twitter \ Tumblr \ Pintrest \ RSS Feeds