Hi,
Not sure where this post should go, but here goes: Whenever I reboot my PC, it crashes and I get a BSOD. NOW…every time it does this a different cause is listed on the bottom of the screen. When I reboot it again, it takes a bit longer and finally comes up good. This has me a bit perplexed as to the cause. I am running WinXP SP3 and frequently run diagnostics to ensure the PC is running well. I have CA Internet Suite as my AV pgm and using latest ver of Firefox and Thunderbird.
Any clues as to why this is happening and possible fixes would be appreciated!
Thanks…
Tax
Hi tasman27,
What brand and model computer are you running?
As you are receiving random BSOD error codes, it does make the problem you having difficult to diagnose and it also means that there may be a PSU (power source) or perhaps some other hardware fault.
A buggy driver or program might also be the problem.
Have you recently installed any new programs, drivers or hardware?
If this works we can at least rule out a faulty PSU. Try a System restore.
Go to Start / All programs / Accessories / System tools / click on System restore to open it and choose a restore point previous to when your PC crashes started.
What is the diagnostic program you said you are regularly using and does it include a registry cleaner?
Cheers,
Lee
Well, downloaded Who Crashed only to find out that the PC isn't set to record small dumps so I went into Control Panel and activated that. I have 3 diagnostic programs I run once per week - Advanced System Care, CCleaner, and Uniblue Registry Booster. I've settled on these after MANY trial and errors with others. I am also running CA Internet Suite. For the most part, the PC usually runs efficiently and is pretty quick, however this crashing thing has me puzzled and annoyed!
The PC is one I built and have made upgrades to over the years. I prefer that over buying an overpriced 'name brand' that isn't exactly what I need and isn't expandable. I'll record what the program finds the next time it crashes,
Thanks,
Taz
I have 3 diagnostic programs I run once per week - Advanced System Care, CCleaner, and Uniblue Registry Booster. I've settled on these after MANY trial and errors with others. I am also running CA Internet Suite.
I would suggest you uninstall Advanced System Care and Uniblue Registry Booster. They are both snake-oil products.
At WTT we do not endorse or recommend the use of "diagnostic" software containing a reg. cleaner or any other type of performance "enhancer" or "boosters". They cause more problems than they ever solve and every reg. cleaner removes false positives. Eventually some of those false positives removed will lead to PC problems. Like the one your having now.
Cleaning your registry of orphaned entries, is a bit like cleaning out 1 parking space in a parking lot the size of Montana.
It might be worth your while to read what Mark Russinovich has to say about Registry Cleaners here.
Now you have enabled your dump files, we need to look at what they are recording.
Lee,
Here's what's being reported by the dumps:
System Information (local)
——————————————————————————–
computer name: DAD
windows version: Windows XP Service Pack 3, 5.1, build: 2600
windows dir: C:\WINDOWS
CPU: GenuineIntel Intel® Core™2 Duo CPU E8400 @ 3.00GHz Intel586, level: 6
2 logical processors, active mask: 3
RAM: 3488583680 total
VM: 2147352576, free: 2045767680
——————————————————————————–
Crash Dump Analysis
——————————————————————————–
Crash dump directory: C:\WINDOWS\Minidump
Crash dumps are enabled on your computer.
On Tue 7/26/2011 11:36:32 PM GMT your computer crashed
crash dump file: C:\WINDOWS\Minidump\Mini072611-01.dmp
This was probably caused by the following module: kmxamrt.sys (KmxAMRT+0xFDBE)
Bugcheck code: 0x1000008E (0xFFFFFFFFC0000005, 0xFFFFFFFFB9E7FDBE, 0xFFFFFFFFA89C8FCC, 0x0)
Error: KERNEL_MODE_EXCEPTION_NOT_HANDLED_M
file path: C:\WINDOWS\system32\drivers\kmxamrt.sys
product: CA Anti-Malware Realtime
company: CA
description: CA Antivirus File System Filter Driver for XP/2003
Bug check description: This indicates that a kernel-mode program generated an exception which the error handler did not catch.
This appears to be a typical software driver bug and is not likely to be caused by a hardware problem.
A third party driver was identified as the probable root cause of this system error. It is suggested you look for an update for the following driver: kmxamrt.sys (CA Antivirus File System Filter Driver for XP/2003, CA).
Google query: kmxamrt.sys CA KERNEL_MODE_EXCEPTION_NOT_HANDLED_M
On Tue 7/26/2011 2:36:26 AM GMT your computer crashed
crash dump file: C:\WINDOWS\Minidump\Mini072511-02.dmp
This was probably caused by the following module: kmxagent.sys (kmxagent+0x8A64)
Bugcheck code: 0x1000008E (0xFFFFFFFFC0000005, 0xFFFFFFFFB8C24A64, 0xFFFFFFFFA9CB3A98, 0x0)
Error: KERNEL_MODE_EXCEPTION_NOT_HANDLED_M
file path: C:\WINDOWS\system32\drivers\kmxagent.sys
product: Host Intrusion Prevention System
company: CA
description: HIPS Agent Driver
Bug check description: This indicates that a kernel-mode program generated an exception which the error handler did not catch.
This appears to be a typical software driver bug and is not likely to be caused by a hardware problem.
A third party driver was identified as the probable root cause of this system error. It is suggested you look for an update for the following driver: kmxagent.sys (HIPS Agent Driver, CA).
Google query: kmxagent.sys CA KERNEL_MODE_EXCEPTION_NOT_HANDLED_M
On Mon 7/25/2011 1:50:38 PM GMT your computer crashed
crash dump file: C:\WINDOWS\Minidump\Mini072511-01.dmp
This was probably caused by the following module: asacpi.sys (ASACPI+0x7F0)
Bugcheck code: 0x1000008E (0xFFFFFFFFC0000005, 0xFFFFFFFFB9F8DDCE, 0xFFFFFFFFA9BE180C, 0x0)
Error: KERNEL_MODE_EXCEPTION_NOT_HANDLED_M
file path: C:\WINDOWS\system32\drivers\asacpi.sys
product: ATK0110 ACPI Utility
description: ATK0110 ACPI Utility
Bug check description: This indicates that a kernel-mode program generated an exception which the error handler did not catch.
This appears to be a typical software driver bug and is not likely to be caused by a hardware problem.
A third party driver was identified as the probable root cause of this system error. It is suggested you look for an update for the following driver: asacpi.sys (ATK0110 ACPI Utility, ).
Google query: asacpi.sys KERNEL_MODE_EXCEPTION_NOT_HANDLED_M
——————————————————————————–
Conclusion
——————————————————————————–
3 crash dumps have been found and analyzed. 3 third party drivers have been identified to be causing system crashes on your computer. It is strongly suggested that you check for updates for these drivers on their company websites. Click on the links below to search with Google for updates for these drivers:
asacpi.sys (ATK0110 ACPI Utility, )
kmxagent.sys (HIPS Agent Driver, CA)
kmxamrt.sys (CA Antivirus File System Filter Driver for XP/2003, CA)
If no updates for these drivers are available, try searching with Google on the names of these drivers in combination the errors that have been reported for these drivers and include the brand and model name of your computer as well in the query. This often yields interesting results from discussions from users who have been experiencing similar problems.
Read the topic general suggestions for troubleshooting system crashes for more information.
Note that it's not always possible to state with certainty whether a reported driver is actually responsible for crashing your system or that the root cause is in another module. Nonetheless it's suggested you look for updates for the products that these drivers belong to and regularly visit Windows update or enable automatic updates for Windows. In case a piece of malfunctioning hardware is causing trouble, a search with Google on the bug check errors together with the model name and brand of your computer may help you investigate this further.
What's next? I did contact CA over last weekend and had to reinstall the program due to some inconsistencies in it. The tech remotely uninstalled the current version and gave me a link to download the current version which I installed..
It seems right after that I started to have some issues. Should I uninstall and reinstall CA?
Taz
Actually, I uninstalled CA and installed MSE as you suggested. Didn't seem to matter and at one instance seemed to make it worse. I found a driver for AVG that wasn't uninstalled with the program ( I HATE uninstallers) and managed to remove it and it made the crashes a bit less.
Some of the crash notes (or apparent causes are ATMFD.sys, SCSIPORT.sys, TCPIP.sys, ACPI.sys, kmxAMRT.sys, kmxagent.sys, vcredist.msi. Inaddition MS Update has been trying to update XP with a file called Microsoft Visual C++ KB 2538242. It's tried 13x and each time it says its installed but keeps coming back. Now, I've been unable to log into the MS update link to shut it off.
It seems it crashes now every other reboot with one of the above reasons. Any thoughts?
Taz
Things seemed to have gotten worse. Now my desktop icons don't come up and I can't keep a program open when I click on it. It immediately shuts down. I'm working on my laptop now to see how I can get my desktop back to 'normal'. The screen seems to be freezing during boot up and =after. I'm still getting crashes every other reboot and I've lost my internet connection.
Does anyone think this is a virus or malware doing this? Should I boot up in safe mode and run a virus scan even tho a regular scan doesn't turn anything up?
HELP?????????
Taz
Some very odd things are happening on your PC tasman27.
Got to Virus, Spyware & Malware Removal section of this forum and open a thread. Please read the pinned post "Are you Infected? Need Help"? before you create the thread.
The PC is one I built and have made upgrades to over the years. I prefer that over buying an overpriced 'name brand' that isn't exactly what I need and isn't expandable. I'll record what the program finds the next time it crashes,
Thanks,
Taz