Hi. Is there an easy way to tell if your drivers be it system, hardware or devices, are up to date?
I found a site, "DriverAgent.com" that scans your system and tells you what drivers you need. But it costs money to download the drivers from their links. So I tried updating the drivers through the "Device Manager" and had it search the net for the drivers. It found no better drivers for any of the stuff that the "DriverAgent" scan said I needed. Is there a free utility out there that scans and finds then downloads the drivers that you need? Or is the scan from DriverAgent unreliable? Thanks for any help!

There use to be a couple of programs out there years ago, like Oil Can, and a couple of others, but they cost money on a anuall basis. I don't know if they still exist. I find the most reliable way is to go to the manufacturer's site and download from there. That way you know it's the latest.

That's why I asked if there is an EASY way. Or if there is a utility that makes it simpler. Finding the "Manufacturer" site may be easy if you need a couple of drivers. But according to the "Driver Agent" scan, I need 12 drivers!!! Such as, IDE ATA/ATAPI Controller, Multi Media Audio controller, Via SATA Raid Controller etc. And just how do you find the manufacturer of the afore mentioned?
Thanks for the input. Any other ideas? Thanks for any additional help!

TBH, I wouldn't put much faith in the system that you scanned your comptuer with. While the drivers may be out of date, the updated drivers may have been updated to include things that don't deal with your system (like it could be ugraded to deal with new intel core 2 duo processors, but you run an AMD 64 so the update wouldn't affect you). See what I mean? I'm a firm believer in "if it ain't broke, then don't fix it". You can update what ever drivers you want, but some manufacturers will say just use what came with the hardware or not to update it because it's plug and play. I ordered a DVD/CD burner and it came without an installation CD (no drivers!). I called up LG (manufacterer) and asked why it didn't come with any drivers, and where could I get the latest drivers to download and install...they told me not to unless I had problems with it, that the drive was "plug and play" and that windows will automatically install it and it'll work fine.

If something's not working right, or it would work better if you updated the driver, then download them manually so that you know it's done right with the correct drivers. I wouldn't trust a program to update my video drivers in fear that something would go wrong upon installation that would cost me money to fix!

Just my humble opinion! Hope it helps!

Thank you for the info. You make a good point. I too do not like to fix something that isn't broke.
But I think something may be broke. A day ago I got a message after reboot. It said "System has recovered from a critical error". An error report was created and waitng for me to connect to the internet and send, which I did. After the report completed, a page opened with an explanation of what caused the error and suggested fixes. The explanation said it was a "Stop" error relating to a "Driver", but could not state specifically what caused it to happen. Or give a suggestion on how to fix it. I hope that makes sense to you. I think it did say to make sure all of my drivers are up to date. That's what started all of this. Thanks again. Any ideas?

Well, errors are caused for a billion reasons, so it's hard to pinpoint just what exactly caused your stop error! LOL! It may have been something simple, like a program shut down improperly, or windows shut down incorrectly. If it hasn't happened again, or it doesn't happen all the time, I wouldn't worry about it. If it comes up again with a stop error, write down the error and post about it and perhaps someone can help you out (I'm no pro with windows!). Be sure to post about the error that you get in the correct area, most likely the area that pertains to your operating system (Windows XP, Windows ME etc.), this way, you'll get a faster response by someone who knows about the operating system.

In the meanwhile, I'd run a system defrag just to be safe. I know that when your hard drive gets to fragmented, it can really mess things up, and cause errors. Also, I'd let windows check it for errors. To do this, open up windows explorer, right click on your hard drive (probably C:) then click on "Properties" and another window will pop up. In this new window, click on the "TOOLS" tab, then click on "Check Now", and another window will open. Put a check in both boxes (next to "Automatically fix file system errors" and "Scan for and attempt recovery of bad sectors"). Now click Start. This may take a while, it's ok. Only do one at a time, don't start a defrag, then start a check disk (it'll take 5 times as long to do both unless you have a dual core processor).

Hope this all helps!

Dito on Stevealmighty's point. You really only ever need to update drivers if something isn't working....

Uh, yeah....like I said in my last post... "But I think something may be broke. A day ago I got a message after reboot. It said "System has recovered from a critical error". An error report was created and waitng for me to connect to the internet and send, which I did. After the report completed, a page opened with an explanation of what caused the error and suggested fixes. The explanation said it was a "Stop" error relating to a "Driver", but could not state specifically what caused it to happen. Or give a suggestion on how to fix it. I hope that makes sense to you. I think it did say to make sure all of my drivers are up to date. That's what started all of this."
Doesn't a "Critical Stop Error" suggest that something is NOT working?

Steve, I did as you suggested. I Defragmented even though it said "The Volume Does Not need to be defragmented". And I ran Chckdisk, but it had to schedule it for the next reboot, so I rebooted and it ran. From what I could see it found no errors. Something I read here at BC said that updating drivers is very important to keeping your machine in good health. But from what I'm reading here on this topic I get the impression that it is not so important. Confusing. Are drivers important or not? And should I not be investigating the Critical Stop error that is somehow related to "Drivers"?? I don't know how to explain it any better. Sorry, and if I knew what the problem was I would not be bothering anyone here at BC. Anyway, I'm still at a loss as to what to do next. Maybe I'll get the Critical Error again and this time it will fry my machine and then I won't have to worry about it anymore.....or maybe it will fix itself.
Thanks for the help, I know you are trying and I know how hard it must be to fix something that is not in your presence. But I do appreciate your effort and time! Thank you!

I'd say updating drivers is somewhat important.

Yes, updating drivers can solve Critical Stop Errors.
No, there isn't really any good automated way of doing it. You'll have to do it by hand.

If you give us the hardware details of your computer we can help you by pointing in the right direction.

Giving us the details of the Error message will also help. You can find them in under system in the event viewer (Start>Control Panel>Performance and Maintenance>Administrative Tools>Computer Management)

Thank you! Your yes and no answers are very helpful.
I did as you suggested. I looked at the Event Veiwer and found that On the day the I got the Critical Stop error (11-27) I had countless Errors from the "Service Control Manager" all of the Event ID's were 7023, 7035 and 7036. Says "None" under Category and "N/A" under User. I have no Idea what it all means. I did not see anything under any date that said Stop error or Critical error. Then two days later (11-29) I see the same thing but I also see two Errors from DCOM, Event ID 10005, User (myname) and System.
Intel Celeron D, 2.93GHZ, VIA P4M800 chipset,512 memory, Radeon 9200 128mb graphics, SoundBlaster Live audio, U.S.Robotics 56k V92 modem.

I hope that makes sense. Definitely not in my area of expertise. Thanks again!

I use Version Tracker to inform me of updates. But as others have said, I belong to the "if it ain't broke, don't fix it" school.

First tho', we'll need more information about the errors to start and figure out what's causing this. Right click on the errors and select Properties - then look for the text that describes the error -that's what we'll need.

Also, if these are STOP or BSOD errors, search your hard drive for files that end in .dmp or .mdmp. If you find them, follow the instructions at this link ( http://forums.majorgeeks.com/showthread.php?t=35246 ) and copy/paste the results here for us to have a look at.

I should make sure that I'm following your instructions correctly on this. Looking in the "Event Viewer" there is a list, Application, Security, System, and Internet Explorer.
Am I to look at the evnts in "System"? I assume so and did so. Then opened the properties of one of the DCOM errors and in the text box I saw this:
Event Type: Error
Event Source: DCOM
Event Category: None
Event ID: 10005
Date: 11/29/2006
Time: 9:43:45 AM
User: NONE-JMKHVTA5XD\Administrator
Computer: NONE-JMKHVTA5XD
Description:
DCOM got error "This service cannot be started in Safe Mode " attempting to start the service netman with arguments "" in order to run the server:
{BA126AE5-2166-11D1-B1D0-00805FC1270E}

For more information, see Help and Support Center at http://go.microsoft.com/fwlink/events.asp.

One of the Service Control Manager errors read like this:
Event Type: Error
Event Source: Service Control Manager
Event Category: None
Event ID: 7001
Date: 11/29/2006
Time: 9:44:43 AM
User: N/A
Computer: NONE-JMKHVTA5XD
Description:
The DNS Client service depends on the TCP/IP Protocol Driver service which failed to start because of the following error:
A device attached to the system is not functioning.

For more information, see Help and Support Center at http://go.microsoft.com/fwlink/events.asp.


I'm not technical at all and the links from Help and Support just confused me even more. Sorry about my technical ignorance. I'm not even sure which errors to look at because on some of the dates listed there are alot of errors and are mostly from the "Service control Manager". Am I giving you the right info? Thanks again!

The first error isn't normally a problem - but the second one is.

Next, some of the drivers that DriverAgent told you that you need are bundled in your chipset drivers (with the VIA I believe it's 4 or 5 in 1).

Next, in order to avoid installing all of your drivers, we'll need the information on the Blue Screen of Death that you experienced. There are 3 ways to get this information:
1) By copying it from the BSOD (more info in the link in the next item)
2) By viewing your Event Viewer and looking for the errors that occurred when the BSOD did. Here's a link to a mini-guide: http://www.bleepingcomputer.com/forums/topic40108.html
3) Search your hard drive for files ending in .dmp or .mdmp. These are memory dumps generated when the BSOD occurred. Analysis of them can help to find the particular driver that's at fault. I don't have the link to the analysis right now, but will try and post it later.

Driver updates are simple, but tedious. Also, there's no need to update them unless you're having "issues". Here's the routine:
1) Visit Windows Update and get all the updates
2) Scan your system for malware. Here's a nice, free online scan: http://safety.live.com Choose the Full Service Scan
3) Update your motherboard/chipset drivers (you'll find these at the motherboard manufacturer's site). This is the most important set of drivers for your system.
4) Update your SATA drivers if they're not a part of the chipset.
4) Update your video drivers
5) Update your network card drivers (to include modem, NIC, wireless if applicable)
6) Update your sound drivers
7) Update the drivers for any other hardware device plugged into your system - either inside the case or in the ports on the outside of the case. You'll do a visual inspection for these and make a list.
'

Okay, that second one is there alot so it must be a problem. But I think I also found the alert log from the BSOD. It reads like this:
Event Type: Error
Event Source: System Error
Event Category: (102)
Event ID: 1003
Date: 11/26/2006
Time: 12:09:22 PM
User: N/A
Computer: NONE-JMKHVTA5XD
Description:
Error code 100000c5, parameter1 00000006, parameter2 00000002, parameter3 00000001, parameter4 8054ae34.

For more information, see Help and Support Center at http://go.microsoft.com/fwlink/events.asp.
Data:
0000: 53 79 73 74 65 6d 20 45 System E
0008: 72 72 6f 72 20 20 45 72 rror Er
0010: 72 6f 72 20 63 6f 64 65 ror code
0018: 20 31 30 30 30 30 30 63 100000c
0020: 35 20 20 50 61 72 61 6d 5 Param
0028: 65 74 65 72 73 20 30 30 eters 00
0030: 30 30 30 30 30 36 2c 20 000006,
0038: 30 30 30 30 30 30 30 32 00000002
0040: 2c 20 30 30 30 30 30 30 , 000000
0048: 30 31 2c 20 38 30 35 34 01, 8054
0050: 61 65 33 34 ae34


Also, do I need the "bundled drivers" that are in the via chipset?
I ran the online scan that you provided the link for and it found 5 registry errors, and 5.6mb of temp files. Found no defragmentation and no open ports. Any advice?
Thanks for your help John!

OK, we've got the error code, which will help narrow things down a bit. Any luck with searching for a .dmp or .mdmp file on your system?

Here's some links to the error message:
http://aumha.org/win5/kbestop.php#0xc5
http://www.osronline.com/ddkx/ddtools/bccodes_7cfb.htm

It says, basically, that a driver misbehaved - but only a little bit. Lotta help, huh?

The easiest solution is to find the .dmp or .mdmp files - I know a bit about analyzing them. Another possibility is to use the Driver Verifier built into XP (my copy of XPPro has it, I dunno about other versions). Just type "verifier" (without the quotes) at the Run dialog.

I'm not real good with this tool, but it does have possibilities. Here's a link on how to use it: http://support.microsoft.com/kb/244617 In particular, look for unsigned drivers. I have not had the opportunity to run this on a system with a driver problem so your situation may produce different results.

Okay, I've searched for .dmp and .mdmp files and found 5) .dmp files and 1) .mdmp file.
Two of the .dmp files are "Crash.dmp" from a game that my kid used to play, I can uninstall it if needed. One is a "Mini100106-01.dmp" and the last two are "vsmon_2nd_2006_11_29_21_11_26_small.dmp" one of which is in "compressed .zip" form.
The one ".mdmp" file is also from an old game and is an "Exception Minidump". I can uninstall that game as well if needed because noone plays it much anymore.

Also, I can run the "verifier" utility on my machine (I'm running WinXPSP2 Home edition). But not sure what to do with the info that I see. I'm going to follow the link on how to use it, that you provided, I'll post more about that later. Thanks again John, this is a tough one and I appreciate the help!

Here's the link on how to analyze dump files: http://forums.majorgeeks.com/showthread.php?t=35246

Choose the most recent file and run the debugger on it. The Mini-Dump one is probably the most current one.

With the verifier, I just cruise around and look for items that aren't verified or digitally signed - but I'm not much for RTFM!

I'm working on analyzing the dumps.
On the veifier, if I find items that are not signed or verified what do I do next? And what does "RTFM" mean?
Thanks again!

Update the unsigned one's first - they may have been less rigorously designed than those that are signed.

RTFM is an acronym for "Read The F***ing Manual" - usually said when someone has done something that would have been prevented by RTFM.

I ran the verifier and selected "Create Standard settings" then clicked next. Then on that page I selected "Automatically Select Unsigned Drivers" then click next. As soon as I clicked next I got a Zone Alarm Firewall alert asking if wanted to allow "verifier" to access the internet, I allowed it. On the next page I saw a list 8 drivers, 4 of which are from my antivirus software. AVG Free.
3 are device drivers, usb, camera/scanner, and camera controller. The last one on the list is "secdrv.sys" "Macrovision SECURITY Driver". At this point my options are to click "back" or "finish", I clicked "finish" and got a message saying that the system would have to be rebooted for the settings to take effect. So I rebooted. And all seems well. But if I run the verifier again, I see all the same stuff listed.

On the debugger. Following the instructions at the link you provided (thanks), I don't get very far. I don't understand this: "Inside of Windbg, go to File, Open Crash Dump and load the file."
When I do as that says I see a list of folders, I also see that where it says "File Name" the words "MEMORY.DMP" have already been entered, so I click open and get an error saying "MEMORY.DMP file not found". so then I'm stuck. Advice? Thanks!

The AVG stuff always shows up - I'd ignore it until the very last. The common factor here seems to be USB devices - so I'd try updating your USB drivers first. They're usually packaged with the motherboard/chipset drivers. Then I'd update the Macrovision Security Driver, then the drivers for the devices that you attach to the USB ports.

In that list of folders that's displayed, you have to navigate to the location where the actual dump file (the Minidump one) is located. MEMORY.DMP is just the generic fill-in that it does when it opens.

I tried updating the USB drivers through the Device Manager, searching the internet but none would update because "a better driver could not be found". I'm not sure what you mean by "They're usually packaged with the motherboard/chipset drivers." Does that mean that I should be looking for the drivers a different way? Instead of through the Device Manager? Or should I be looking for motherboard/chipset drivers?
I've also tried updating the devices connected to the USB ports by way of the Device Manager to no avail. I also cannot figure out how to update the macrovision security driver. Found no info at the macrovision site.

I'll try the Debugger again, thanks for clearing that up for me.
Thanks again!

IMO the utility to update drivers through Device Manager was a waste of coding. It rarely works.

I prefer going out and finding my own. In this case, you'll need to supply the exact make and model of your system. If it's a custom build, we'll need the exact make and model of your motherboard. If you can't find these, try this free utility to find out: http://www.gtopala.com/index.html

From what we've been through so far, I suspect that it's either your motherboard/chipset drivers (the VIA 4 in 1 or HyperIon drivers) and/or the driver for your network card. We can find both of these on the manufacture's website.

Leave it to Microsoft to put in useless utilities!
I have "Everest Home Edition", I think that will show me the make and model of my motherboard.
My network card is a "VIA RhineII Ethernet adapter" and is disabled because I use a dialup. Do I still need the drivers for it? It was at one time(about 6 months ago) installed but I was told by someone here at BC that I did not need it if using a dialup modem to connect to the net. So I disabled it.
What do I do about the "Macrvision Security Driver"?

Also, I tried the debugger utility again, In the list of folders that we discussed, there are NO .dmp or .mdmp files in any of the folders to run the debugger on. Looking in each folder, I saw .dll files more than anything, and nothing that said "Dump", "Crash Dump" or "MiniDump". So I'm still stuck on that. What am I doing wrong? Thanks!

Edit: Update, I just updated the chipset drivers. Rebooted after updating and all seems okay. I don't see any change in anything so far.

Sorry, I assumed that you were using the NIC (I don't re-read the posts because of my vision problems). If the NIC is disabled, then it shouldn't be a problem - but, I'd try updating your modem drivers also.

I just updated the modem drivers because I replaced the modem due to a belief that it was a bad one. It was getting old. But I replaced it with the exact make and model that I already had. "U.S.Robotics V.92 Fax Win Int."
I downloaded and installed the latest drivers for it. But it does the same thing that the old modem did. My ISP says it is not a modem problem but a "phone line" problem. The phone company says it is an ISP problem. Vicious circle. At any rate, the drivers for the modem are the latest available.
I still do not know how to update the Macrovision Security Driver, or where to find it.
Thanks John!

Cdac15ba.sys is likely to be the Macrovision Security Driver - it seems to be installed as a part of some games. You might try uninstalling or updating any games that you have installed to see if this fixes it.

The ISP has confirmed that it's not a modem problem - and you've installed the latest and greatest drivers for it - so the search will go outward from here.

The first thing to check is the phone connection from your PC to the wall - try using a new cord. Then try checking the connection from the wall to the box on the outside of your house. I'd presume that problems with the line may not be obvious on the phone, but may be obvious to the computer (sorta like line loss with a cable connection). It may be as simple as cleaning the contacts at each junction that the wire goes through.

But, this doesn't fix the BSOD problem (but it may improve your connection).

The easiest thing now is to disable Automatic restart and then wait for it to Blue Screen again. To disable it, go to Start...Run...and type in "sysdm.cpl" (without the quotes) and press Enter. Then click on the Advanced tab, then on the Startup and Recovery Settings button.

In the next screen, uncheck the box that says "Automatically restart" and click OK to save the settings.

Then, when you get the next BSOD, you can write down the information that we need. FYI - the info is described in this mini-guide: http://www.bleepingcomputer.com/forums/topic40108.html

Also, when you reboot, Windows will often ask to send an error report to Microsoft. Before letting it send, click on the Details link and get the location of the .dmp or .mdmp file. Then use Windows Explorer to copy it to your Desktop. You can then send the report, but you'll still have a copy of the .dmp/.mdmp file on your desktop for analysis.

Understood. The internet connection problem will hopefully be solved soon, I'm working on it anyway.

I will disable "auto restart" and wait for the BSOD to happen again.

So far I have updated the "chipset drivers" and any others that I can find for hardware and have not had the BSOD. The only thing that has caused a problem is the "truevector internet monitor" that is part of Zone Alarm Firewall. It actually caused(I think) my computer to suddenly shut down. When that happened I rebooted and Windows did not ask to send and error report, but I looked in the "Event Veiwr" and found the following:
Event Type: Error
Event Source: Application Error
Event Category: (100)
Event ID: 1000
Date: 12/11/2006
Time: 10:36:15 AM
User: N/A
Computer: NONE-JMKHVTA5XD
Description:
Faulting application vsmon.exe, version 6.1.737.0, faulting module rpcrt4.dll, version 5.1.2600.2180, fault address 0x000088a4.

For more information, see Help and Support Center at http://go.microsoft.com/fwlink/events.asp.
Data:
0000: 41 70 70 6c 69 63 61 74 Applicat
0008: 69 6f 6e 20 46 61 69 6c ion Fail
0010: 75 72 65 20 20 76 73 6d ure vsm
0018: 6f 6e 2e 65 78 65 20 36 on.exe 6
0020: 2e 31 2e 37 33 37 2e 30 .1.737.0
0028: 20 69 6e 20 72 70 63 72 in rpcr
0030: 74 34 2e 64 6c 6c 20 35 t4.dll 5
0038: 2e 31 2e 32 36 30 30 2e .1.2600.
0040: 32 31 38 30 20 61 74 20 2180 at
0048: 6f 66 66 73 65 74 20 30 offset 0
0050: 30 30 30 38 38 61 34 00088a4

And,
Event Type: Error
Event Source: Service Control Manager
Event Category: None
Event ID: 7034
Date: 12/11/2006
Time: 10:41:27 AM
User: N/A
Computer: NONE-JMKHVTA5XD
Description:
The TrueVector Internet Monitor service terminated unexpectedly. It has done this 1 time(s).

For more information, see Help and Support Center at http://go.microsoft.com/fwlink/events.asp.

I immediatly went to the Zone Labs site and downloaded and installed the newest update. During installation I selected "Clean Install" instead of "Update" and have no problems since then. I did this last night(12/11/06).
Thanks!

It's DejaVu all over again! I gave up using ZA years ago because of problems with this service - and it's rearing it's ugly head once again. As I recall the fix was to uninstall ZA, then reinstall it.

But, in my case the fix was to leave ZA behind and get another free firewall.

Updating drivers can be very important. They can stop errors, but they can also create many other problems as well. I get stop errors from time to time and they're most likely driver related. Some drivers you should definitely update frequently, such as the video card. ZoneAlarm can cause a multitude of problems, but it isn't as much of a system hog as Norton or McAfee. I went for PC-Cillin.

I went with Zone Alarm because I read here at BC about Firewalls and security. Zone Alarm was one of them that was recommended. While checking into Firewalls in general I found a review in one of the pc magazines that said tha ZA was the "only free firewall that was adaptive" and "cappable of stoping outbound connections from spy/malware to it's owner". Sounded great to me!
I've gotten all the drivers that I can find so far. And haven't had any stop errors or BSOD. Hopefully that is solved. Thanks for all of the helpful info everyone!

ZoneAlarm is, for the most part, an excellent program. I went with PC-cillin because ZA caused a number of problems with several programs. If I didn't use them, I would probably go with ZA again. Here's a question, is ZA Internet Security Suite and PC-cillin's suite compatible with Windows Vista?

Trend Micro has Vista compatible programs out - but I don't know if they're the same one's as the XP versions. A check of their site should tell you (I used a beta version a while back).

As for firewalls, I'm expecting that there will be a delay in Vista compatible firewalls. I've spent some time on the Comodo forums and they're not happy with the way that Microsoft is treating the free firewall community.