Blue Screen of Death

[Eggman]

For the first time, I've encountered a "Blue Screen of Death." Here is the error message:

Code: Select all

***STOP: 0x0000008E (0xC0000005, 0xE382B800, 0xF258FAE4, 0x0000000)

The error occurred three times in the space of about an hour. Each time, it occurred while I was running Zero Editor, about 15-20 minutes after starting the computer, although I can't be entirely sure that the problem is ZE-related.

I'm running Windows XP with SP3. I've had the computer for about four months, and I haven't installed any new hardware or software in at least a month. I'm pretty clueless when it comes to this kind of error since I had never encountered one until today, so any help would be appreciated.

[Deviss]

For the first time, I've encountered a "Blue Screen of Death." Here is the error message:

Code: Select all

***STOP: 0x0000008E (0xC0000005, 0xE382B800, 0xF258FAE4, 0x0000000)

The error occurred three times in the space of about an hour. Each time, it occurred while I was running Zero Editor, about 15-20 minutes after starting the computer, although I can't be entirely sure that the problem is ZE-related.

I'm running Windows XP with SP3. I've had the computer for about four months, and I haven't installed any new hardware of software in at least a month. I'm pretty clueless when it comes to this kind of error since I had never encountered one until today, so any help would be appreciated.

i had same problem i updated my graphic card drivers and now only bf2 get or strange colours or few few times this crash xD

[501st_commander]

Try to run the anti-virus in save mode.

[Eggman]

Old post:

Hidden/Spoiler:

[quote="501st_commander"]Try to run the anti-virus in save mode.[/quote]

I'll give it a shot. The computer has some version of Norton, which has caused problems in the past with munging. I disabled it while working in ZE and still got the error, but I'll try playing around with it a bit more.

Also: I can be relatively sure at this point that the error is related to ZE, as I was using the computer for several hours this evening and had no problems.

Edit: The error still occurs, even when the anti-virus is disabled entirely, and it is definitely related to Zero Editor.

Although the blue screen of death only appears with Zero Editor, I don't think the problem is limited to that program - I tried running a couple of games, and each had issues. Battlefront would freeze up or show a black screen for a second if there were a moderate amount of effects on the screen, while another game would consistently crash to the desktop with a "program not responding" error after about fifteen or twenty minutes of gameplay. Could this mean the problem is RAM-related?

Edit: I just checked, and apparently the system only has 1 GB of RAM (video card has 256 MB). I don't know how much RAM is generally needed for things like Battlefront or Zero Editor, but 1 GB is certainly a very low amount.

[501st_commander]

1gb is low, it also may be the video card. Check to see if there is an update for your version.

[Eggman]

Old post:

Hidden/Spoiler:

[quote="501st_commander"]1gb is low, it also may be the video card. Check to see if there is an update for your version.[/quote]

I was just about to edit my post with something along those lines - I updated the drivers for my video card. I tried running Battlefront, and it worked fine. I'll test Zero Editor and other problematic programs tomorrow.

Update: Zero Editor no longer goes to the blue error screen, but freezes or goes to a black screen.

[501st_commander]

hmmm.... odd. What system changes did you make before this started?

[Eggman]

hmmm.... odd. What system changes did you make before this started?

None that I'm aware of. As I said earlier, I haven't installed any new hardware or software in at least a month, I haven't downloaded any files since April, I haven't even changed any settings on the computer. Everything was fine on Friday, then on Saturday the problem suddenly appeared.

[501st_commander]

go to update.microsoft.com, click the second choice (not the recommended one). On the left, click "view update History" (i think its like that or similar) and look for update on Friday/Saturday that installed. Post the update(s) name and kb number (ex. kb1359161) if there was any. Ill look in to them and see if anyone else had this problem.

[Eggman]

The last time an update was installed on my computer was May 12, well before any problems appeared.

Edit: Looks like I gave Battlefront the green light too early - it just had another freeze after twenty minutes or so of gameplay. While I'm no expert on the matter, I think this is definitely a RAM issue.

[RED51]

Sounds like a virus...

[Eggman]

I ordered an extra 1GB of RAM. It should be here within 1-2 weeks, so now I just have to wait around to see if that resolves anything.

I guess updating the video card drivers didn't have any effect. As I said, Battlefront and other games still have the same problems with crashing, freezing, or becoming choppy, and Zero Editor just caused another Blue Screen of Death - so the types of crashes seen in the programs aren't always the same, but they seem to all be caused by the same underlying issue.

Edit: I'll also try switching out the video card with another one I still have lying around from an old computer.

[lucasfart]

Unless you're using Vista, 1gb would be plenty, wouldn't it? My XP computer has 512mb RAM and 128mb graphics and the game runs fine on lowest graphics settings....

EDIT:Found this on a site, might be helpful for you to try.

Hidden/Spoiler:

[quote]Background information on Stop Error message 0x8E
http://msdn2.microsoft.com/en-us/library/ms794023.aspx

0x0000008E: KERNEL_MODE_EXCEPTION_NOT_HANDLED
A kernel mode program generated an exception which the error handler
didn't catch. These are nearly always hardware compatibility issues
(which sometimes means a driver issue or a need for a BIOS upgrade).
Source: http://aumha.org/a/stop.htm

Are there any yellow question marks in Device Manager? Right click on
the My Computer icon on your Desktop and select Properties,
Hardware,Device Manager. If yes what is the Device Error code?

Try Start, Run, type "sigverif.exe" without quotes and hit OK. What
drivers are listed as unsigned? Disregard those which are not checked.

Remove any dust bunnies from inside the computer casing using an Air
Duster and check all fans are running.

Check the hard drive for bad sectors by running chkdsk /f /r

You need to be aware that running chkdsk can take hours

Faulty RAM. You might test your RAM memory
http://www.memtest.org/

http://www.elephantboycomputers.com/pag ... are_Tshoot[/quote]

Source: http://www.eggheadcafe.com/software/asp ... -stop.aspx

Also, was there any other text with the BSOD??

[Teancum]

Ick. STOP errors are nasty. Much nastier than your typical BSOD. Typically speaking it's a hardware issue of some sort, whether it be a low-level hardware-to-software communication issue, or actual faulty hardware. The 8E error is even harder to catch, since it's a "KERNEL_MODE_EXCEPTION_NOT_HANDLED" error (in other words, the Kernel doesn't have a specific reason for the crash). What I would do is strip all hardware you don't need and go with the baremost minimum in RAM, then try to crash the machine. If it crashes, swap RAM. If it still crashes, replace it with other RAM (if you have any lying around). It could also be the VRAM on the video card as well. Any time I've had an error that I spend several hours on it's always RAM. Not saying that's the definitive answer, just an educated guess.

[Eggman]

I've been poking around the internet to do a bit of my own research on 8E errors and found pretty much the same info everyone shared in the last couple of posts. 8E errors are most often caused by RAM - not necessarily due to a shortage, but due to damage or other problems with the current memory - so I should be on the right track by ordering another 1GB of RAM as either an addition or replacement. Even if the existing RAM turns out to be fine, it won't hurt to have some more, so it's money well spent either way. In the meantime, I'll run a memory test and try swapping out the video card like I said before. This is just throwing an uninformed idea out there, but could it be more likely to be a VRAM issue since the errors only occur while running graphics-intensive programs?

Edit: Memory test didn't find any problems with the RAM. I'll see if switching the video card has any effect.

Edit 2: Switching video cards has no effect. I tested it with the game Jedi Outcast and still encountered a freeze after about three minutes of gameplay. I know it's not the video card in this case because it never had any problems in the past and I was running the game with similar settings to what I've used before with this card. I'll give the memory test another whirl for good measure, but I don't have much confidence in finding an issue that it somehow missed before.

Edit 3: Second memory test confirmed that there aren't any apparent problems with the RAM.

Edit 4: Ran the same game with lowest graphical settings. No effect.

[RED51]

That's not good...

[501st_commander]

with that it could be..

Motherboard
hard drive
BIOS

maybe the power supply

[Teancum]

Memory tests won't find issues unless there's currently one. It's not a guarantee.

[501st_commander]

What brand is the computer?

[Eggman]

It's a rebuilt computer from a local shop, so it doesn't have any specific brand (the case has a Dell sticker, but I think it's just a remnant from the past). Here are the system specs:

Operating System: Microsoft Windows XP Professional (5.1, Build 2600)
BIOS: Award Modular BIOS v6.0
Processor: AMD Athlon(TM) XP 2200+, MMX, 3DNow, ~1.8GHz
Memory: 1024MB RAM
Page File: 236MB used, 2226MB available
DirectX Version: DirectX 9.0c (4.09.0000.0904)

Edit: I realized that I could scavenge a stick of RAM from the same computer I got the spare video card out of, so I went ahead and did so. I opened up computer I'm trying to fix and found that it actually had three separate sticks of RAM - fun stuff, right, having to swap around every one in every slot until I find where the problem is? Well, I just dove right into it and replaced the first stick with the spare from the old computer, used Jedi Outcast as a test, and what do you know, I think the problem could be solved! I had the game running for a solid 30 minutes without a single problem. I still need to do some more testing to be sure the problem is fixed, but things are looking up. It really pays off to have a junk computer sitting around for spare parts. I'll report back after I test ZE later today.

Edit 2: *Sigh* Did a bit more testing with Outcast and got a freeze about 20 minutes in. Looks like I'll be spending the whole day with my head buried in the computer after all.

Edit 3: Removed all sticks of RAM except for the spare stick from the old computer and ran the same test, with a freeze after about 20 minutes. I know that stick of RAM doesn't have a problem, so it could be the slot itself that has issues. I'll rotate this same stick through the other two slots and see what happens. Who would have thought playing a computer game could become a chore?

Edit 4: No good. I tried a functional stick of RAM in all three slots, and every time the game froze after about 20-30 minutes. It's worth noting that the freeze occurs regardless of whether or not I actually play the game for a full 20 minutes, have the game paused for a while, or have lots of things happening on-screen at once. The only remaining possibility I can think of is that something is overheating, but the computer doesn't have any substantial amount of dust in it, it doesn't sound like it's ever laboring over anything, and it doesn't feel unusually hot after the freezes occur.