BleepingComputer.com: BSOD problem ?

Just started to get a system lockup/freeze followed by bsod which occurs randomly on my xp 32bit machine.I have the latest graphic drivers.
Please any ideas ?

stop 0x0000008e
(0xe0000001,0xf77af925,0xb1b732ex,0x00000000)
whatchdog.sys - address f77af925 base at f77af000,datastamp 48025

Thanks

This post has been edited by hamluis: 14 August 2011 - 02:24 PM
Reason for edit: Removed unnecessary blank lines.

We need to know more about your BSODs...

Download BlueScreenView (in Zip file)

No installation required.

Unzip downloaded file and double click on BlueScreenView.exe file to run the program and When scanning is done, go to Edit > Select All.

Then go to File > Save Selected Items, and save the report as BSOD.txt.

Open BSOD.txt in Notepad, copy all content, and paste it into your next reply.

Compliments of Broni

==================================================
Dump File : Mini081311-01.dmp
Crash Time : 8/13/2011 8:54:14 PM
Bug Check String : KERNEL_MODE_EXCEPTION_NOT_HANDLED
Bug Check Code : 0x1000008e
Parameter 1 : 0xe0000001
Parameter 2 : 0xf77af925
Parameter 3 : 0xb1b732e4
Parameter 4 : 0x00000000
Caused By Driver : watchdog.sys
Caused By Address : watchdog.sys+925
File Description : Watchdog Driver
Product Name : Microsoft® Windows® Operating System
Company : Microsoft Corporation
File Version : 5.1.2600.5512 (xpsp.080413-2108)
Processor : 32-bit
Crash Address : watchdog.sys+925
Stack Address 1 :
Stack Address 2 :
Stack Address 3 :
Computer Name :
Full Path : C:\WINDOWS\Minidump\Mini081311-01.dmp
Processors Count : 4
Major Version : 15
Minor Version : 2600
Dump File Size : 106,496
==================================================

Is this the only BSOD?

cryptodan, on 14 August 2011 - 04:45 AM, said:

This particular bsod has occurred many times over the past weeks on and off i do not know why but there was only one dump file available to view when i ran bluescreenview which was the one i posted in my last post.

What are you doing when the BSOD occurs?

cryptodan, on 14 August 2011 - 01:51 PM, said:

Watching videos on youtube,iplayer and other video sites when i either play a video or fast forward a part of a video it causes a system lockup mouse/keyboard does not work and a few minutes later a bsod occurs.I know totally bizarre but thats what seems to cause the bsod.

Have you made sure that Adobe Flash is updated, and have you checked your video card drivers?

cryptodan, on 14 August 2011 - 09:08 PM, said:

Yes i have those updates but has made no difference the lockup and bsod still occur.

This is another bsod that occurs in the same fashion as the last but seems to be nvidea driver related this time.

==================================================
Dump File : Mini081511-01.dmp
Crash Time : 8/15/2011 10:46:32 AM
Bug Check String : KERNEL_MODE_EXCEPTION_NOT_HANDLED
Bug Check Code : 0x1000008e
Parameter 1 : 0xc0000005
Parameter 2 : 0xbd089295
Parameter 3 : 0xa5d92890
Parameter 4 : 0x00000000
Caused By Driver : nv4_disp.dll
Caused By Address : nv4_disp.dll+77295
File Description : NVIDIA Windows XP Display driver, Version 280.26
Product Name : NVIDIA Windows XP Display driver, Version 280.26
Company : NVIDIA Corporation
File Version : 6.14.12.8026
Processor : 32-bit
Crash Address : nv4_disp.dll+77295
Stack Address 1 :
Stack Address 2 :
Stack Address 3 :
Computer Name :
Full Path : C:\WINDOWS\Minidump\Mini081511-01.dmp
Processors Count : 4
Major Version : 15
Minor Version : 2600
Dump File Size : 106,496
==================================================

When did these BSOD's start to happen?

Here is what Microsoft has to say about watchdog.sys:

In Microsoft Windows XP SP1 and later operating systems, GDI (Graphics Driver Interface) uses a watchdog timer to monitor the time that threads spend executing in the display driver. The watchdog defines a time threshold. If a thread spends more time in a display driver than the threshold specifies, the watchdog tries to recover by switching to VGA graphics mode. If the attempt fails, the watchdog generates bug check 0xEA, THREAD_STUCK_IN_DEVICE_DRIVER.

Here is what I have to say:

Something is wrong with the video subsystem. When it gets hung for "too long" (whatever too long means), the watchdog.sys is going to try to do something about it.

You could adjust the threshold time for "too long", and that may fix the symptom of the problem, but it will not fix the real problem.

Since we know little about your system, and it looks graphics driver related, please provide more information as follows:

Click Start, Run and in the box enter:

msinfo32

Click OK, and when the System Summary info appears, click Edit, Select All, Copy and then paste the information back here.

For video driver information, expand the Components, click Display, click Edit, Select All, Copy and then paste the information back here.

There will be some personal information (like System Name and User Name), and whatever appears to be private information to you, just delete it from the pasted information.

That will tell us te NVIDIA driver you have now, then you should see if there is a later version.

Since you have an NVIDIA card, I would do this next:

The best way to reinstall the NVIDIA software is to visit the NVIDIA support web page and either let it check your system and recommend the best
software for your system or for you to find the correct version of software yourself on their web page and download the latest video driver software package for your system and install it yourself.

It is recommended to run the NVIDIA scan with Internet Explorer.

Here is the link to the NVIDIA support page for the scan:

http://www.nvidia.com/Download/PreScan.aspx?lang=en-us

Read the directions, then click the GRAPHICS DRIVERS button to start the scan.

Let their online scanner take a look at your video system and see what it suggests for drivers and consider their analysis if they suggest a new
driver.

Download and install the recommended driver and reboot your system and check the installed driver version again.



When you get done, repeat the msinfo32 process so we can see what the new video driver you have is.

joseibarra, on 15 August 2011 - 06:41 AM, said:

OS Name Microsoft Windows XP Home Edition
Version 5.1.2600 Service Pack 3 Build 2600
OS Manufacturer Microsoft Corporation
System Name @@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@
System Manufacturer Gigabyte Technology Co., Ltd.
System Model P35-DQ6
System Type X86-based PC
Processor x86 Family 6 Model 15 Stepping 7 GenuineIntel ~2997 Mhz
BIOS Version/Date Award Software International, Inc. F5, 8/20/2007
SMBIOS Version 2.4
Windows Directory C:\WINDOWS
System Directory C:\WINDOWS\system32
Boot Device \Device\HarddiskVolume1
Locale United States
Hardware Abstraction Layer Version = "5.1.2600.5512 (xpsp.080413-2111)"
User Name BIL-6C0C05D0076\cx
Time Zone GMT Daylight Time
Total Physical Memory 4,096.00 MB
Available Physical Memory 1.73 GB
Total Virtual Memory 2.00 GB
Available Virtual Memory 1.96 GB
Page File Space 5.34 GB
Page File C:\pagefile.sys



Name NVIDIA GeForce GTX 260
PNP Device ID PCI\VEN_10DE&DEV_05E2&SUBSYS_0ABA19F1&REV_A1\4&1A9C9F1A&0&0008
Adapter Type GeForce GTX 260, NVIDIA compatible
Adapter Description NVIDIA GeForce GTX 260
Adapter RAM 896.00 MB (939,524,096 bytes)
Installed Drivers nv4_disp.dll
Driver Version 6.14.12.8026
INF File oem25.inf (Section005 section)
Color Planes 1
Color Table Entries 4294967296
Resolution 1920 x 1200 x 60 hertz
Bits/Pixel 32
Memory Address 0xF6000000-0xF6FFFFFF
Memory Address 0xE0000000-0xEFFFFFFF
Memory Address 0xF4000000-0xF7FFFFFF
I/O Port 0x0000B000-0x0000BFFF
IRQ Channel IRQ 16
I/O Port 0x000003B0-0x000003BB
I/O Port 0x000003C0-0x000003DF
Memory Address 0xA0000-0xBFFFF
Driver c:\windows\system32\drivers\nv4_mini.sys (6.14.12.8026, 11.96 MB (12,542,592 bytes), 6/11/2011 11:58 PM)


Just done the on line nvidia driver update scan and got the following bang up to date:

NVIDIA GeForce GTX 260 280.26 Your PC currently has the latest driver installed for your GPU. No driver update is necessary at this time.

cryptodan, on 15 August 2011 - 05:03 AM, said:

Over the past 1 month on and off the problem seems to go away for a short while and then comes back.

Check to make sure your video card's heatsink and fan assembly is free of dust.

Good idea.

Take the NVIDIA card completely out, clean it up, yell at it, threaten it, etc. and put it back it in the same slot... unplug/replug anythng that will come undone without too much force one connection at a time (so you don't get mixed up).

Could just be a bad connection.

Describe your current antivirus and anti malware situation: McAfee, Symantec, Norton, Spybot, AVG, Avira!, MSE, Panda, Trend Micro, CA, Defender, ZoneAlarm, PC Tools, Comodo, etc.

If you keep getting BSODs, you may need to upload some crash dumps so we can take a look deeper inside them.

BlueScreenView is pretty good but also says this:

BlueScreenView tries to locate the right driver or module that caused the blue screen by looking inside the crash stack. However, be aware that the driver detection mechanism is not 100% accurate, and you should also look in the lower pane, that display all drivers/modules found in the stack.