blue screen event - seeking advice

About 3-4 weeks ago, I initiated a thread about my PC's blue screen events (BSE) (aka crash) which had been occurring since I replaced my PC's hard drive 6-7 weeks ago:

http://forum.notebookreview.com/windows-os-software/534966-hal-dll-driver-repair-question.html

Jnjroach suggested I update the video driver and, in case this did not alleviate the problem, to repair the OS from the source disk. After I updated the video driver, the frequency of BSEs seemed to decrease precipitously, but about 7-10 days ago, they recurred with a vengeance. I then attempted to repair the Vista operating system from my original source CD, but the PC indicated no error was present, so no repair was performed. The BSEs are now seriously hindering the use of my PC; today alone five BSEs occurred. I performed a Blue Screen View (BSV), which produced much data that I could not decipher. I performed a BSV for the last 10 BSEs that have occurred and, despite my inability to interpret them, I discerned that they were virtually identical for all 10 of the most recent BSEs.

In the meantime, my PC automatically downloads all Windows Vista updates as they become available and I have installed all of them except for the upgrade from internet explorer 7 (IE 7) to IE 8; I prefer how IE 7 manages the Favorites during the copy phase over IE 8. Antivirus protection is provided by Microsoft Security Essentials (MSE), which I keep updated and run constantly in real time, and I ran a full scan several days ago with no virus threats detected. I use Malwarebytes for malware protection and likewise keep it updated and scan my PC periodically with no threats again identified. My PC's other primary software are Microsoft Office Student and Home Edition, VideoLAN media player, Adobe Reader, Java, iTunes, and QuickTime, all of which are updated regularly and have been apparently been working well. The BSEs seemingly occur randomly and do not appear to be associated with any specific PC activity, time of day, or other events I can discern.

I would greatly appreciate any advice and suggestions to rectify the situation. In case this is helpful, I have attached a sequential text list of all the files named by Blue Screen View for the latest BSE that occurred some 2 hours ago; as I mentioned above, the file list is identical for at least the last 10 BSEs. I constructed this list with Windows Notepad and most plain text readers should be able to open it as well. Thanks much for reading this rather lengthy narrative and for any advice/suggestions.

 

One other thought, Try booting from you Vista DVD and go into the repair option, and run the Memory Diagnostics, BSODs can also happen due to faulty RAM, also have you run Checkdsk?

More things to look into...

 

can you back up your files? you can fix it *today* if you can back up your important documents and could reinstall your programs.

you should reformat your PC. basically, blank your hard drive and perform a clean installation of windows.

 

always worth having Who Crashed which imo gives a better dump log.

 

Thanks for the suggestions. I already tried the repair method using my Windows Vista install disk and no problems needing repair were identified. I tried to run CHKDSK, but in the DOS window, I received a message stating CHKDSK needs to be run on an "elevated" level, which I surmise is run as adminstrator. When I checked my account status in control panel, "administrator" is listed under my account name, which I surmise indicates I'm logged on as administrator already. I'm trying to figure out what else I need to do to run CHKDSK. In the meantime, I downloaded and installed the trial home version of WhoCrashed and ran it. It showed my last 15 blue screen crash events (BSE) and generated an identical report for all 15 BSE, which is:

On Thu 12/16/2010 3:06:58 AM GMT your computer crashed
crash dump file: C:\Windows\Minidump\Mini121510-05.dmp
This was probably caused by the following module: hal.dll (hal+0x69DD)
Bugcheck code: 0x124 (0x0, 0xFFFFFFFF862313F0, 0xFFFFFFFFF6200001, 0x2010A)
Error: WHEA_UNCORRECTABLE_ERROR
file path: C:\Windows\system32\hal.dll
product: Microsoft® Windows® Operating System
company: Microsoft Corporation
description: Hardware Abstraction Layer DLL
Bug check description: This bug check indicates that a fatal hardware error has occurred. This bug check uses the error data that is provided by the Windows Hardware Error Architecture (WHEA).
This is likely to be caused by a hardware problem problem. This problem might be caused by a thermal issue.
The crash took place in a standard Microsoft module. Your system configuration may be incorrect. Possibly this problem is caused by another driver on your system which cannot be identified at this time.

The WhoCrashed analysis seems nonspecific to me and seems to indicate a hardware and/or configuration problem without identifying the driver(s) responsible.

I have already considered the "scorched earth" method--backing up all important files, reformatting the hard drive, and performing a clean install of Windows Vista from my install disk. If I can't ascertain the cause(s) by CHKDSK and the problem persists, I'll resort to "scorched earth".

I appreciate all responses above and welcome/appreciate additional suggestions.

Thanks,

 

the laws of entropy support that methodology.

 

right click on the icon for the "DOS" prompt. select "run as administrator".
run chkdsk.

 

so far what ive read up on it states numerous times that this error is caused by overclocking.

first question.... was you overclocking as then we know what route to take.

 

I would look at the possibility that you have a faulty RAM module or even an issue with your Motherboard...with the new information it would appear that it is a hardware failure. Are you running the CPU at 100% or are you allowing speed-step to throttle?

Jeff

 

Jeff-

I assume I'm running the CPU at 100%--I just boot up my PC and use without taking any specific steps to slowly throttle up the CPU. What's the significance of how the CPU is throttled up?

I ran the CHKDSK yesterday morning with no apparent problems detected. You mentioned that the Blue Screen View information suggested a hardware failure. Please pardon my ignorance--any suggestions as to how I investigate this possibility? Incidentally, I haven't encountered a blue screen crash (BSC) for 3 days now, not sure if this means the problem is somehow resolved or if this is simply a fallow period before the BSCs start again. I'd still like to investigate further the possibility of hardware problems.

Thanks,

 

"Bug check description: This bug check indicates that a fatal hardware error has occurred. This bug check uses the error data that is provided by the Windows Hardware Error Architecture (WHEA).
This is likely to be caused by a hardware problem problem. This problem might be caused by a thermal issue.
The crash took place in a standard Microsoft module. Your system configuration may be incorrect. Possibly this problem is caused by another driver on your system which cannot be identified at this time."

This is indicative of a faulty piece of hardware, it could be a driver and/or BIOS issue or it can from a faulty RAM Module, hence why I suggested running the Vista Memory DIAG from Windows RE. I had a laptop that had these type of BSOD events and then the Nvidia Vid Card went out and had to have the MoBo replaced...

How Windows RE Works

Windows RE tecnnet article.

 

Jeff-

Thanks for your suggestions. I apologize, I overlooked your earlier recommendation to run the Vista Memory Diagnostic from the Windows Repair environment using the Vista install CD; I ran it twice with no errors found. My PC was one of those affected by the nVidia GPU problems; I had my GPU replaced 18 months ago under the Dell extended warranty for nVidia-related issues. As per my CPUID monitor, my GPU temperatures range 56C-80C.

I'm admittedly a PC dummy and would like to ask if you have suggestions for further investigation.

Thanks much,

 

No worries....with-out sitting in front of the machine it is hard to decypher what is at the root of the BSOD.

Have you used the Microsoft Online Crash Analysis?

Microsoft Online Crash Analysis

HTH,

Jeff