BleepingComputer.com: Regular crashing

For the last month or two I have been getting regular crashes when using the internet or running programs. The errors are usually reported as device driver errors and very occationally as spooldr.sys. Sometimes the system can restart straight away afterwards, at other times it crashes again continually once Windows reloads and I have to leave it off for a while before it can work again. I have tried to reformat but the system always crashes once the Windows XP Setup menu appears. I have run every antivirus program I can think of but none found anything. I have also posted topics about it here twice before (http://www.bleepingcomputer.com/forums/topic268086.html and http://www.bleepingcomputer.com/forums/topic269368.html) but so far nobody can find a solution, can anybody help? Im using Windows XP SP3.

Hi,
I'm SteinPooch, and I'll be helping you today.

It seems you may have a hard drive issue. Can you run Windows chkdsk to see if your hard drive is damaged? If you can access Windows, try running it. Just go to Start, My Computer, right click on your hard drive, click properties, go to the Tools tab, and click the 'Check Now' button in the Error Checking box. If this doesn't work, please post back.

Have a happy Turkey Day!

Hi, thanks for trying to help The check said that there were no problems but I got another "Blue screen error caused by a device or driver" crash when Windows was restarting afterwards.

Exact details of error message?

Louis

How do I find out the details?

Near the bottom of the onscreen error message...there should be a section entitled/headed "Technical Information".

That information is the system's way of providing clues to what it deems to be the problem.

Louis

This post has been edited by hamluis: 28 November 2009 - 03:53 PM

Okay, I hope this is the right information. The latest crashes have been

BAD_POOL_CALLER

STOP: 0x000000C2 (0x00000007, 0x00000C04, 0x00000000, 0xD682ABAA)

and

STOP: 0x0000008E (0xC0000005, 0x80573F8E, 0xB0DAC910, 0x00000000)

and when the system crashes at Windows startup I get

STOP: c000021a {Fatal System Error} 0x00000402 (0x00000000 0x00000000)

That's the type of info, thanks .

You have 3 different error messages. The website for getting basic info about these types of errors (STOP errors) is http://www.aumha.org/a/stop.htm.

0x000000C2: BAD_POOL_CALLER
A kernel-mode process or driver incorrectly attempted to perform memory operations. Typically, a faulty driver or buggy software causes this.

What that means to me is that the system has a damaged driver which is trying to load and creating problems.

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).

Same interpretation by me...damaged driver.

0xC000021A: STATUS_SYSTEM_PROCESS_TERMINATED
This occurs when Windows switches into kernel mode and a user-mode subsystem, such as Winlogon or the Client Server Runtime Subsystem (CSRSS), is compromised. Security can no longer be guaranteed. Because Win XP can’t run without Winlogon or CSRSS, this is one of the few situations where the failure of a user-mode service can cause the system to stop responding. This Stop message also can occur as a result of malware infestation or when the computer is restarted after a system administrator has modified permissions so that the SYSTEM account no longer has adequate permissions to access system files and folders.

Change of focus, this I interpret as meaning there is a malware possibility. This error should, IMO, always be interpreted as a malware problem initially...but user should try to verify same by analyzing applicable .dmp file.

Looks like spooldr.sys is malware, http://www.tech-faq.com/spooldr.sys.shtml AND http://www.bleepingcomputer.com/startups/spooldr-19591.html

Since neither of those links you posted leads to anything useful...I suggest that you initiate a malware post, following all administrative guidelines for doing so.

I will now suggest that this thread be moved to a malware forum at BC. From now on, take all instructions from personnel there or a BC Administrator.

Louis

In the HiJack This forum, Kahdah already said that there was no sign of malware concerning this computer and issue:

kahdah, on Nov 12 2009, 06:35 AM, said:

Since malware has already been ruled out, we need to examine other causes.

Orange Blossom

Thanks, OB .

OK, let's start with a diagnostic on the hard drive...and the idea of changing the CMOS battery. A weak CMOS battery can make the system behave strangely. It costs less than $5, so it's worth changing, whether it cures the situation or not.

CMOS Battery Replacement - http://www.liverepair.com/encyclopedia/art...cmosreplace.asp

Hard Drive Diagnostics Tools and Utilities (Storage) - TACKtech Corp. - http://www.tacktech.com/display.cfm?ttid=287#samsung

To run the hard drive diagnostic, you need to take a look at the hard drive...go to the website of the respective manufacturer...and download the diagnostic file which is prepared for CD (.iso file).

Then...use any of the following methods/programs to burn that .iso file to CD, converting it to a tool which can used to check the hard drive. Utilities like this are not dependent on whether Windows is working properly.

Hard Drive Installation and Diagnostic Tools - http://www.bleepingcomputer.com/forums/topic28744.html

Louis

I followed the guide (my harddrive is Western Digital) and downloaded Data Lifeguard Tools 11. I ran both the quick and extended tests and both gave a "pass".

How about the CMOS battery?

If the hard drive received a go on the long test...then your next suspect would seem to be RAM.

Louis