Installed SP1; random Machine Check Exceptions result

  • Thread starter Thread starter Adam Stemp
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A

Adam Stemp

Prior to installing Windows XP SP1 my install is as stable as ever. I have
found Windows XP to be the most satisfying operating system I have ever
used. After SP1 is installed however things go horribly wrong.
The machine boots up as normal and everything seems fine. But then,
apparently randomly and for no reason, BANG! Blue Screen of Death. The debug
info below is consistant every time it happens. I can have a fresh install
or regularly used install and the same effect happens. It can be 100% CPU
load or 1%. Thinking this could be a power supply issue I upgraded my 300
Watt power supply to a new 550 Watt one but without success. This bios has
been updated to the newest available. This problem isn't vital to fix since
I'm likely to do a big upgrade of the board etc in the near future but I
would like to get to the bottom of it. The only variables I haven't changed
are the RAM (which is fine both without SP1 installed and in memcheck86) and
the graphics card (but the screen of death makes no mention of this). I have
tried ACPI on and off. Believe me, if feels like there is little I haven't
tried! Any help on this matter would be very much appreciated.

System info
Board: ECS K7S5A 1.X
Processor: Duron 900
Memory: 256MB 100Mhz SDRAM
Graphics: Nvidia Geforce2Ti
Power Supply: NEW Qtec 550 Watts

Windows Debug Info
Event Type: Error
Event Source: System Error
Event Category: (102)
Event ID: 1003
Error code 0000009c, parameter1 00000001, parameter2 805366f0, parameter3
b6000000, parameter4 00000181.
 
Adam said:
Prior to installing Windows XP SP1 my install is as stable as ever. I
have found Windows XP to be the most satisfying operating system I
have ever used. After SP1 is installed however things go horribly
wrong. The machine boots up as normal and everything seems fine.
But then, apparently randomly and for no reason, BANG! Blue Screen of
Death. The debug info below is consistant every time it happens. I
can have a fresh install or regularly used install and the same
effect happens. It can be 100% CPU load or 1%. Thinking this could be
a power supply issue I upgraded my 300 Watt power supply to a new 550
Watt one but without success. This bios has been updated to the
newest available. This problem isn't vital to fix since I'm likely to
do a big upgrade of the board etc in the near future but I would like
to get to the bottom of it. The only variables I haven't changed are
the RAM (which is fine both without SP1 installed and in memcheck86)
and the graphics card (but the screen of death makes no mention of
this). I have tried ACPI on and off. Believe me, if feels like there
is little I haven't tried! Any help on this matter would be very much
appreciated.

System info
Board: ECS K7S5A 1.X
Processor: Duron 900
Memory: 256MB 100Mhz SDRAM
Graphics: Nvidia Geforce2Ti
Power Supply: NEW Qtec 550 Watts

Windows Debug Info
Event Type: Error
Event Source: System Error
Event Category: (102)
Event ID: 1003
Error code 0000009c, parameter1 00000001, parameter2 805366f0,
parameter3 b6000000, parameter4 00000181.
Click to expand...

Any new hardware? If not, something is probably going bad... motherboard?
http://msdn.microsoft.com/library/en-us/w2kmsgs/1252.asp
 
Adam said:
Nope. No new hardware. Tried with all cards taken out except
Graphics. Same result. I tried installing SP1 weeks after its
release. Same result on this hardware! :-(
Click to expand...

More through Google:
http://www.google.com/search?sourceid=navclient&ie=UTF-8&oe=UTF-8&q=MACHINE_CHECK_EXCEPTION

Latest Microsoft KB Article:
http://support.microsoft.com/?kbid=329284

....and this:
STOP: 0x0000009C (0x00000004, 0x00000000, 0xb2000000,
0x00020151)"MACHINE_CHECK_EXCEPTION"
System bus errors. Memory errors that may include parity or Error Correction
Code (ECC) problems. Cache errors in the processor or hardware. Translation
Lookaside Buffers (TLB)
errors in the processor. Other CPU-vendor specific detected hardware problems.
Vendor-specific detected hardware problems. This behavior occurs because your
computer processor detected an unrecoverable hardware error and reported it to
Windows XP. To do so, it used the Machine Check Exception (MCE) feature of
Pentium processors or the Machine Check Architecture (MCA) feature of some
Pentium Pro processors. Running the processor or mainboard beyond its
specifications. Noisy power, overstressed power strips, outmatched power
supplies and failing power supplies can destabilize your computer. Extreme
thermal conditions caused by the failure of cooling devices such as fans.
Damaged memory, or memory that is not the correct type for your computer. If
you recently changed the memory configuration, revert to the previous
configuration to
determine what is wrong.
 
Hi Adam,

See if this helps:

Error Message: STOP: 0x0000009C (0x00000004, 0x00000000, 0xb2000000,
0x00020151) ...
http://support.microsoft.com/?kbid=329284

--
Best of Luck,

Rick Rogers aka "Nutcase" MS-MVP - Win9x
Windows isn't rocket science! That's my other hobby!

Associate Expert - WinXP - Expert Zone
 
relic said:
More through Google:
http://www.google.com/search?sourceid=navclient&ie=UTF-8&oe=UTF-8&q=MACHINE_CHECK_EXCEPTION

Latest Microsoft KB Article:
http://support.microsoft.com/?kbid=329284

...and this:
STOP: 0x0000009C (0x00000004, 0x00000000, 0xb2000000,
0x00020151)"MACHINE_CHECK_EXCEPTION"
System bus errors. Memory errors that may include parity or Error Correction
Code (ECC) problems. Cache errors in the processor or hardware. Translation
Lookaside Buffers (TLB)
errors in the processor. Other CPU-vendor specific detected hardware problems.
Vendor-specific detected hardware problems. This behavior occurs because your
computer processor detected an unrecoverable hardware error and reported it to
Windows XP. To do so, it used the Machine Check Exception (MCE) feature of
Pentium processors or the Machine Check Architecture (MCA) feature of some
Pentium Pro processors. Running the processor or mainboard beyond its
specifications. Noisy power, overstressed power strips, outmatched power
supplies and failing power supplies can destabilize your computer. Extreme
thermal conditions caused by the failure of cooling devices such as fans.
Damaged memory, or memory that is not the correct type for your computer. If
you recently changed the memory configuration, revert to the previous
configuration to
determine what is wrong.
Click to expand...

Thanks for your quick responses but the puzzling thing is it still doesn't
explain why this only happens when SP1 is installed.
 
doesn't
explain why this only happens when SP1 is installed.
Click to expand...

Ya know, I had a K7VZA that absolutely refused to run if I installed
SP1. A stone reliable setup would suddenly throw bluescreens at the
drop of a hat...and no two were exactly alike. Since I've changed to a
K7S5a Pro, I have SP1 installed and no problem. I've also had SP2 beta
in briefly with no trouble.
 
Adam said:
After SP1 is installed however things go horribly
wrong.
Click to expand...
The only variables I haven't changed are
the RAM (which is fine both without SP1 installed and in memcheck86)
and the graphics card (but the screen of death makes no mention of
this). I have tried ACPI on and off.
Click to expand...

Have you tried a BIOS update?
 
Source System
Type Error
Description Error code <error code>, parameter1 <value>, parameter2
<value>, parameter3 <value>, parameter4 <value>.
Things to understand What are the Windows error codes?
Comments Adrian Grigorof (Last update 10/6/2003):
Most of the problems leading to this event indicate faulty hardware, bugs
in device drivers or incompatible hardware.

A troubleshooting approach from a newsgroup post: "Boot from CD to start
the Recovery Console, then read setuplog.txt, and setupapi.log, to see what
happens when it boots.

Another newsgroup posts suggests that this error requires the debugger to
look at the parameters of the error. Usually this is some hardware driver
failure. Running 'verifier' may identify it. Article Q244617 - How to Use
Driver Verifier to Troubleshoot Device Drivers in Windows 2000 may help."

Error code 0000000a = "IRQL_NOT_LESS_OR_EQUAL" - The error that generates
this bug check usually occurs after the installation of a faulty device
driver, system service, or BIOS. For additional details see the link to
error code 0x0000000a.

Error code 00000020 = "KERNEL_APC_PENDING_DURING_EXIT" - May indicate a bug
in a device driver. For additional details see the link to error code
0x00000020.

Error code 00000050 = "PAGE_FAULT_IN_NONPAGED_AREA" - See the link to
error code 00000050 for information about what may cause this.

Error code 0000009c = "MACHINE_CHECK_EXCEPTION" - This indicates that a
fatal machine check exception has occurred. See also Q162363 and error code
0x0000009c.

Error code 000000ce =
"DRIVER_UNLOADED_WITHOUT_CANCELLING_PENDING_OPERATIONS" - This indicates
that a driver failed to cancel pending operations before unloading. If the
driver responsible for the error can be identified, its name is printed on
the blue screen.

Error code 000000ea = "THREAD_STUCK_IN_DEVICE_DRIVER" - A device driver is
spinning in an infinite loop, most likely waiting for hardware to become
idle. This usually indicates problem with the hardware itself, or with the
device driver programming the hardware incorrectly. In many cases this is
the result of a bad video card or a bad display driver.

Error code 1000007f = "UNEXPECTED_KERNEL_MODE_TRAP_M" - The first parameter
displayed on the blue screen specifies the trap number. Trap number
0x00000000, or Divide by Zero Error, may indicate memory corruption. Other
hardware problems, or software failures can cause this error. See the the
link to Bug Check codes for more explanations about various trap numbers.

Error code 1000008e = "KERNEL_MODE_EXCEPTION_NOT_HANDLED_M" - Most of
newsgroup comments about this error point to faulty hardware or drivers.
The hardware varies from modems, video cards, USB device to memory or sound
cards. Sometimes it proves to be hardware that it is not compatible with
Windows XP. Q310740 gives an example of this error occuring when and old
Audigy sound card driver is installed.

Error code 100000be = "ATTEMPTED_WRITE_TO_READONLY_MEMORY" - This is issued
if a driver attempts to write to a read-only memory segment. If the driver
responsible for the error can be identified, its name is printed on the
blue screen. A faulty device driver would typically be the cause of that.
Also, potential file corruption.

Error code 100000ea = "THREAD_STUCK_IN_DEVICE_DRIVER_M" - This indicates
that a thread in a device driver is endlessly spinning. See the information
for 000000ea.

Error code 0000007F = "UNEXPECTED_KERNEL_MODE_TRAP" - From a newsgroup
post: "According to Q104292, there are two known causes for this error:
- corrupt system files, especially file system files
- mismatched memory or motherboard problem
This error generally occurs during boot, with no parameters specified
except the first one. Suggested troubleshooting is to run repair to check
for corrupt files, then low-level hardware diagnostics (including
diagnosing RAM and the motherboard)." See also the link to error code
0x0000007F.

Error code 0x10000050 = Some information about this type of error can be
found via the error code 0x10000050 link.

Ionut Marin (Last update 11/10/2003):
- Error code 00000050 = "PAGE_FAULT_IN_NONPAGED_AREA" - See Q817197.
- Error code 0000001E - See Q820767.

Anonymous (Last update 11/10/2003):
In my case, the error occurred after installing Kingston HyperX KHX3200/512
in a P4C800 and activated performance mode in BIOS. After I disabled
Performance Mode, the problem disappeared.

Christian Garbass (Last update 10/17/2003):
Error code 0000007f = "UNEXPECTED_KERNEL_MODE_TRAP" - When I remote
controlled a machine with Altiris Carbon Copy 5.8.410 and tried to open a
shortcut on the desktop of the controlled machine it caused the machine to
hang up and to reboot.

Isd503 (Last update 9/22/2003):
Error code 0000007f = "UNEXPECTED_KERNEL_MODE_TRAP" - This error surfaced
on my machine running Windows XP Professional, SP-1. I tried the suggestion
of setting the virtual memory to zero and rebooting. After logon, I
recreated the page file and the problem dissapeared.

Adrian Florin Moisei (Last update 5/15/2003):
Error code 000000d1 = "DRIVER_IRQL_NOT_LESS_OR_EQUAL". A faulty device
driver would typically be the cause of that. See also the comments for
event id 1001 from "Save Dump".

Error code 000000c2 = "BAD_POOL_CALLER" - See Q265879 link below.
Error code 00000044 = "MULTIPLE_IRP_COMPLETE_REQUESTS" - See Q196022,
Q296734 and Q294876.

PaulD
Windows XP SP1 resolve this issue. See Q317277.

Birol | AKBAY
In my case, this error for a motherboard using Bus Mastering and a NIC that
does not support Bus Mastering. When Bus mastering is disabled from BIOS,
this type of error went away.

Anonymous
With error code 100000ea, this occured in my case due to a faulty video
card.

Charlton Wang
From the net, someone mentioned setting the Virtual memory to 0 and then
reboot, delete the pagefile.sys file. Then set the virtual memory back to
normal. It worked for me.

Axton
Turned out to be BlackIce v2.9 causing blue screen.
 
Adam Stemp said:
http://www.google.com/search?sourceid=navclient&ie=UTF-8&oe=UTF-8&q=MACHINE_CHECK_EXCEPTION computer.

Thanks for your quick responses but the puzzling thing is it still doesn't
explain why this only happens when SP1 is installed.
Click to expand...

Well, I think I have finally solved this issue. I made an integrated install
cd of Windows XP + SP1 then turned off ACPI in the BIOS. I also set more
conservative memory timing settings. I've installed onto a fresh partition
and all seems okay so far. I've run 3DMark2001 a few times and this was
always a dead cert to crash the system but all seems good now :-)
In the past I have set ACPI enabled in BIOS and then either installed XP
as a Standard PC or post-install changed the Computer device to Standard PC
in the Device Manager and THEN installed SP1. This has not worked for me.
Installing everything fresh seems to have made the difference. I'm not sure
what significance the memory timings have on this whole issue. I'm still
trying things out to get to the bottom of it. But it seems that if you TURN
OFF ACPI in the BIOS then that is half the battle won!
I've seen others with this problem but never seen a satisfactory
solution. Hopefully I'm nearly there!
 
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