BSODs from hal.dll

I have previously posted about some blue screen of death issues that I was encountering. Over time, my issues subsided. However, this problem has started cropping up recently, like a bad flu. I wanted to run the following image past some of you.

http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3472/3934621471_75096a4fc4_o.gif

I ran BlueScreenView from Nirsoft and it produced a report. From this report I created the preceding graphic. I wasn't previously aware of our buddy "hal" until running this report. I'm quite sure it's because I can't separate the wheat from the chaff in windows error-reporting-land.

How would I go about pursuing this issue further? As a point of reference, I have found that my PC is very sensitive to heat - at least seems that way. Right now my office is frigid thanks to an unexpected cold snap and I've been running well throughout the day save once this morning.

 

HAL = Hardware Abstraction Layer

It's essentially a "membrane" between Windows and your components. Obviously, there's a serious driver problem here and it may or may not be be heat related, or heat may be part of the issue. Without seeing the exact error code (you know, the number that looks like 0x000000EA for example), it's hard to offer some exact info. But, from looking at the post you linked to, I'd say there's a good chance your motherboard is failing. I say this because the errors seem to be all over the place. You have a display driver error, at least 3 different CPU-related errors, and ntkrnlpa.exe errors. I suppose you could have a faulty CPU or bad RAM, but this doesn't 'feel' like it to me. I think the chipset is faulty, but I suppose it could be overheating, but your problems could also be caused by a faulty hard drive. Bad/failing hard drives can cause all sorts of problems that don't (at first) seem to be related to a bad hard drive. So- personally, I'd run an in-depth extended diagnostic on the RAM (I like this one; it will create a bootable floppy or ISO image to burn to CD; press "T" to run the extended tests for at least 4 passes) and I'd run an in-depth extended hard drive diagnostic. You can download it from your hard drive maker's support page. Follow their steps to create the bootable CD or floppy, and run the advanced/extended test. Be patient. In-depth diagnostics will take A LONG TIME. Also, check you motherboard carefully for any blown or "popped" capacitors. Normal healthy capacitors look like this:

http://tbn3.google.com/images?q=tbn:l-O3uyAZWlRbFM:http://www.hardware-one.com/reviews/msi6309/images/capacitor.jpg http://www.fotosearch.com/bthumb/GLW/GLW137/gwc118050.jpg

Leaking/popped capacitors look like this:

http://tbn2.google.com/images?q=tbn:Y5WuxQTQI_nreM:http://www.op911.net/photos/story/capacitor.jpg http://tbn3.google.com/images?q=tbn:n6qnVlzrMn1XaM:http://i.ehow.com/images/GlobalPhoto/Articles/2162895/BadCapacitor01-main_Full.jpg

Sometimes bad capacitors won't actually have the crud leaking out the top as in the pics above, but if the top of the capacitor is not PERFECTLY flat, then it is failing. Even a very, very slight 'popped' top is bad news. While in the case looking at stuff, make sure all the fans and heat sinks are clean from built up dust and debris, and be sure the fans are spinning freely. Double check all your power connectors and data cables and be sure they're firmly connected. Check your memory sticks and make sure they're firmly seated, also check any/all add-on cards and make sure they're clean and seated firmly.

Let us know how it goes! Good luck!

 

Thank you very much DLB. I appreciate the detail you have provided.

In return, I have spent a fair amount of time generating a comprehensive report. This XLS file is the result. Please take a look at it and let me know if anything interesting pops into your head.

I have addressed most of the problems you have mentioned in your post. I am unable to be 100% confident that my capacitors are fine because my capacitors have a "cross" pattern on the top. However, I got in there with a powerful flashlight and everything looks fine. What kills me (if this is a mobo problem) is that this motherboard is the most recent purchase I made with regard to my system.

Anyway, thanks again for looking at my problem. I appreciate it.

 

Also I have seen it where a capacitor has blown from the bottom. It was extremely difficult to locate at first because I wasn't expecting that and the top appeared to be ok.

Good luck!

 

I have some NON-PERFECTLY flat capacitors on my nforce4 chipset.. near the cpu.. maybe that's why I can't run it in it's 200mhz FSB speed... I have to underclock it or I'll get bluescreen while playing, and errors while running cpu-stressers apps like Prime95..

 

In the interest of ensuring that these problem threads eventually conclude with some good results, I offer this advice - courtesy of the awesome Heiler (from the Major Geeks community):

The problem is due to a problem with the motherboard wherein the front side bus - running at full speed - creates a fatal error of some kind.

The solution is to underclock the front side bus ever-so-slightly. Per Heiler's instructions, I downloaded and installed Systool. The program doesn't immediately know what motherboard I'm using, so I take the following steps:

(1) Select CPU Overclocking from the list, then (2) within the Clock Generator drop-down, select "nForce4". Next (3), click the Read button. (4) Slide the FSB: slider down to at least 190.00 (I have tended to use 180.13). Also, (5) check the FSB limit and enter 190. Then (6) click on the Write button.

Presto, the FSB is underclocked and my blue screens go away. If only I could figure out how to do this automatically upon start-up, I'd be all set. At the very least, I could write a MacroExpress macro, but I will perform these steps by hand for the near-future.

I hope this is helpful.