Calling serious geeks! Please help with serious error messages!

[Petra]

Increasingly, I'm getting serious error messages and spontaneous reboots. And programs often need to close due to error messages. :(

I've run CHKDSK and found no bad sectors. I've defragged and cleaned the registry with pctools' Registry Mechanic. I've scanned for and cleaned up any spyware. I've done a boot-time virus scan with Avast.

I don't think it's software.


In the device manager, there are no conflicts showing.


Earlier this morning, after restarting from safe mode, the computer wouldn't boot at all. The power was running, but it couldn't boot. I thought that my mobo had completely fried at that point, and almost broke my toe kicking my filing cabinet.

I left it for about half an hour, and then decided to give it one more try - it booted! - so I then rebooted again, this time from the WinXP disk to try a repair Win XP thing - clutching at straws an' all - and I couldn't get it to do any frikken repairs! After logging on as Admin, I didn't know what dos command to add to the C:\WINDOWS> command line. I thought the repair function would be f@%&*ing automatic! Bastards.

Anyway, I wandered off for a minute to breathe deeply and think about which command would be the one I need without screwing things up even more, and when I came back to the pc about 5 minutes later, I had a blue screen with this info on it:

DRIVER_IRQL_NOT_LESS_OR_EQUAL

followed by the usual "you're fucked" messages about how some serious error has occurred and windows has had to shut down; followed by...


***STOP: 0x000000D1 (0xffffffff, 0x00000002, 0x00000000, 0xF7348E44)

***USBPORT.SYS - Address F7348E44 base at F7344000

DateStamp 3d6ddc31



Any clues? Is my mobo? :(


:computer:

[BracesForImpact]

My guess would be a bad driver, specifically the USB.sys driver, which is the Intel driver for your USB 1.0 or 2.0 ports. Another possibility is your RAM.

If you can get the computer to boot again, you can download USB.sys in quite a few locations; you can google it. Alternatively, if it's the RAM, check inside your computer. If you have more than 1 stick in there, I suggest you remove one and try to boot, if unsuccessful, try the other. This could tell you if you have a bad RAM stick.

Finally, if you do decide to format your hard drive (remember this will destroy any previous data on the drive) the command line you're looking for is HERE. (http://www.microsoft.com/resources/documentation/windows/xp/all/proddocs/en-us/format.mspx?mfr=true)

Hope this helps!

[Petra]

Thanks, BFI. I reformatted it only a couple of weeks or so ago, and I've just done a system restore to roll things back to a couple days after that reformat, about the time I'd finished reinstalling all the drivers and stuff.

I'll look into the usb drivers and see what I can come up with.


I think my RAM is good - at boot up, when it's doing the memory check, it definitely shows all 2 gb of it as ok. Can I depend on the boot results of the memory check, or should I test each stick anyway?


We've had a couple of power cuts - each time while I've been in the middle of something on my pc - and probably a power surge or two, too - in the last month or so. Might that have anything to do with it? */me crosses fingers that you don't answer with what I'm afraid you might*

[LadyShea]

You are braver and smarter than I. I got the blue "you're fucked" screen and gave up on the spot.

[Stormlight]

Can I depend on the boot results of the memory check ...

No.

... or should I test each stick anyway?

Yes, absolutely.

Also, to expand on what Bfi said about the drivers, try this (if you manage to boot to XP: In the run menu type sigverif. This will show a list of drivers that are not signed by MS. Try to find drivers that are.

Oh, and also try Memtest (http://www.memtest86.com/)

[Petra]

You are braver and smarter than I. I got the blue "you're fucked" screen and gave up on the spot.

Believe me, at about 3am I wasn't feeling too smart at all. Brave, sure. But decidedly stoopid.



Anyway, I have now completed everything and all issues are solved. It was a one of 3 sticks of RAM, so thanks for the heads up on that one, guys. Much obliged. :)


And as so many system files had become corrupt, I did a yet another reformat. But no more nasty things are happening, and my fingers are crossed that things will stay that way.


Thanks again! :2thumbsup:



And now, I think I'll go crash. :tired:

[JoeP]

Phew.

What test did you use to isolate the naughty RAM?

[Stormlight]

Backup, backup, backup ... now!

[Petra]

Phew.

What test did you use to isolate the naughty RAM?


I used the "process of elimination" test first, by removing sticks until I found the bad one.

Then I booted to memtest, as suggested by Stormlight (thank you, Stormlight), to check that what I'd left in the machine was ok.

Then , to double check, I put the bad RAM back in, and had problems again.


Confirmation complete. :D



As to backing things up, I have two physical drives. One contains the operating system, drivers, and programs, leaving the rest of the disk free to use as scratch for photoshop; and the other is partitioned into 2 drives for data. I have far too much data on those drives to back up much of it to cd or dvd, unfortunately. Any files that are particularly important, I do commit to cd, though. If I lose the rest, well, to hell with it - I just start again. When I'm having major problems like I've just had, I simply disconnect that drive until I've fixed the main drive. Then I reconnect the drive and run CHKDSK on both drives to make sure that they are physically ok with no bad sectors.


Luckily, my RAM is still under warranty, and so will be replaced free of charge. Good thing I bought the 5 year extended warranty, 'cos if I'd stuck with the 3 year one, I would've been past that date by 2 weeks! :cool:


So all's well that ends well. :yup:

[Petra]

Well, as it happens, it was not so much my RAM as it was a failing hard drive.

I managed to temporarily fix it here and there, but the probs always came back after a day or two. So, I sent it off to the place I got to build the computer at originally, with my extended guarantee paperwork in hand, and they discovered bad sectors on my Seagate. Something Winblows scandisk didn't pick up. Bugger.


Anyway, I now have a new hard drive, free of charge - but minus a week or so of 'puter use - and so far so good.


But, then, I've only had it back since this morning, and have only just [almost] finished loading everything anew yet again.


I'm now officially a reformat/reload expert. :smugnod:

[Deadlokd]

With all the data you have, it would probably be worth your while to buy a 120 or 200 Gig harddrive and plug it in once a month and backup. It's saved my sanity more than once.

By the way, did you see that Petra is one of the new Seven Wonders of the World.

[But]

Better yet, use several disks and a RAID driver.

[viscousmemories]

By the way, did you see that Petra is one of the new Seven Wonders of the World.
I noticed that in the headlines the other day. :giggle:

[Petra]

Unfortunately, I can't afford all that extra hardware, but then I'm not too bothered. CD's serve me pretty well when I need them, and everything else doesn't really matter. :)


Also, I knew I was special. A true wonder, f'sure. :smugnod: