Windows 10: BSOD ntoskrnl.exe

Howdy all. I've been having some BSOD issues with my Alienware M17 R2 (2015). In the past (more than a year ago)I was having upwards of one BSOD per day. Then about 2 weeks ago, I did a clean install of Windows 10 Home. It did not resolve the problem, but definitely diminished it. I still get BSODs, about once a week. The system will BSOD at any time, no matter what app is open or if it is sitting idle. I have 2 BSODs attached in the zip file. One from 05/23. Its bug check thread was "SYSTEM EXCEPTION: ERROR NOT HANDLED". The one from 05/30 has a bug check thread of "DRIVER POWER STATE FAILURE". Both instances I looked at my drivers to see if anything needs updating, but I am (allegedly) running the most up to date drivers for my system. Both BSODs seem to occur in the ntoskrnl.exe driver. I am not sure what driver files could be affecting this windows driver. Advice?

:)

 

Lots of BSOD's

PS: after my previous/last replie i had 3 more BSOD's:

seems like there are a lot of random once...

MEMORY_MANAGEMENT win32kbase.sys

MEMORY_MANAGEMENT ntoskrnl.exe

ntoskrnl.exe

 

BSOD APC_INDEX_MISMATCH ntoskrnl.exe+142940

I had a BSOD. Bug Check String APC_INDEX_MISMATCH , cause by driver ntoskrnl.exe caused by address ntoskrnl.exe+142940. Adive on the fix for this. XPS 15 9950 RUNNING Windows 10 Pro.

 

Code: 0x0000009F: DRIVER_POWER_STATE_FAILURE (31.05.2017 04:31:13) [Windows 10] CAUSED BY: pci.sys [2.08.2025] * NT Plug and Play PCI Enumerator (Windows System File) nvlddmkm.sys [1.05.2017] * nVidia Video drivers * => Download Drivers | NVIDIA PROCESS: System Usual causes: Device driver TO RESOLVE: 1. Check Drivers 2. Disable security software for testing ============================================================================================================== 0x1000007E: SYSTEM_THREAD_EXCEPTION_NOT_HANDLED_M (23.05.2017 23:04:28) [Windows 10] CAUSED BY: memory_corruption dump_iaStorA.sys [21.04.2016] * driver created to provide disk access during crash dump file generation (Windows System File) PROCESS: svchost.exe Usual causes: TO RESOLVE: 1. Check Drivers[/quote]
1. Please update or roll back NVIDIA driver:
nvlddmkm.sys [1.05.2017] * nVidia Video drivers * => NVIDIA

2. Please check your TPM status (for encryption), do you use bitlocker or Kaspersky encryption? There are errors in windows event log which point to that:
Code: 2017-05-06T03 27:06.370 Error: The device driver for the Trusted Platform Module (TPM) encountered an error in the TPM hardware, which might prevent some applications using TPM services from operating correctly. Please restart your computer to reset the TPM hardware. For further assistance on this hardware issue, please contact the computer manufacturer for more information.[/quote]
3. U should also do an memtest to test your RAM





Diagnostic Test

RAM TEST


Run MemTest86+ - Test RAM - Windows 10 Forums







Note MemTest86+ needs to be run for at least 8 complete passes for conclusive results. Set it running before you go to bed and leave it overnight. We're looking for zero errors here. Even a single error will indicate RAM failure.

Make a photo of the result and post it.

 

I ran the command line to check my TPM. It is activated and enabled. Not sure why as I have Windows Home so Bitlocker is not available. I do use Kaspersky. I wasn't aware Kaspersky uses the TPM. I will roll back the Nvidia drivers tonight. I noticed there is a line that has dump_iaStorA.sys. Is that because RST is part of the memory dump or is a possible cause of it.

I will set Memtest to run overnight again. When the BSODs first presented themselves over a year ago I ran Memtest overnight to rule out bad RAM. It showed no errors. But that was some time ago. Things could have changed.

Thank you.

 

1. Please update or roll back NVIDIA driver:
nvlddmkm.sys [1.05.2017] * nVidia Video drivers * => NVIDIA

2. Please check your TPM status (for encryption), do you use bitlocker or Kaspersky encryption? There are errors in windows event log which point to that:
Code: 2017-05-06T03 27:06.370 Error: The device driver for the Trusted Platform Module (TPM) encountered an error in the TPM hardware, which might prevent some applications using TPM services from operating correctly. Please restart your computer to reset the TPM hardware. For further assistance on this hardware issue, please contact the computer manufacturer for more information.[/quote]
3. U should also do an memtest to test your RAM





Diagnostic Test

RAM TEST[/quote]


Run MemTest86+ - Test RAM - Windows 10 Forums







Note MemTest86+ needs to be run for at least 8 complete passes for conclusive results. Set it running before you go to bed and leave it overnight. We're looking for zero errors here. Even a single error will indicate RAM failure.

Make a photo of the result and post it. I ran Memtest for 8 passes. No errors. I updated the Nvidia drivers to the latest available. I use Kaspersky Internet Security, not Kaspersky encryption or Bitlocker. So I am not sure what application is using my TPM other than Windows for secure boot.

 

Did u receive any bluescreen again after changing these things?

 

I have not received any BSOD's after updating the Nvidia drivers.

 

Alright, let us know if you have problems again.

 

Just had another BSOD. This one was different though. It indicated a watchdog.sys driver. I've never heard of that before...

 

The debugging of the latest bsod minidump files indicates that the Nvidia driver is misbehaving.
See the steps below to uninstall and re-install the Nvidia driver.

Open administrative command prompt and type or copy and paste:

1) winver (in the pop up about windows > view your windows version and build > type this information into the thread)

2) sfc /scannow

3) dism /online /cleanup-image /restorehealth

4) chkdsk /scan

When these have completed > right click on the top bar or title bar of the administrative command prompt box > left click on edit then select all > right click on the top bar again > left click on copy > paste into the thread

5) Uninstall all Nvidia drivers/softwareThe best way to do this is to uninstall everything of Nvidia using Display Driver Uninstaller and install new drivers from your Dell website. Display Driver Uninstaller Download version 17.0.6.7: Official Display Driver Uninstaller DDU Download

If Nvidia reappears in the dumps after these steps please download and install one of the temperature monitoring software applications for video card stress testing.
Speccy - Free Download - Piriform: Speccy - System Information - Free Download
HWMONITOR | Softwares | CPUID: HWMONITOR | Softwares | CPUID
SpeedFan - Access temperature sensor in your computer: SpeedFan - Access temperature sensor in your computer

Code: BugCheck 113, {19, 2, 10de, 13d8}*** WARNING: Unable to verify timestamp for nvlddmkm.sys*** ERROR: Module load completed but symbols could not be loaded for nvlddmkm.sysProbably caused by : dxgkrnl.sys ( dxgkrnl!DpiFdoHandleSurpriseRemoval+137 )[/quote]
Code: Unable to load image \SystemRoot\System32\DriverStore\FileRepository\nvdmi.inf_amd64_eb8e050d8fbbf1b3\nvlddmkm.sys, Win32 error 0n2*** WARNING: Unable to verify timestamp for nvlddmkm.sys*** ERROR: Module load completed but symbols could not be loaded for nvlddmkm.sys[/quote] nvlddmkm.sys nVidia Video drivers Download Drivers | NVIDIA
Get from OEM for laptops


Code: ffffcc01`28b7b008 fffff80d`fb972010Unable to load image \SystemRoot\System32\Drivers\dump_iaStorA.sys, Win32 error 0n2*** WARNING: Unable to verify timestamp for dump_iaStorA.sys*** ERROR: Module load completed but symbols could not be loaded for dump_iaStorA.sys dump_iaStorA+0xc2010[/quote]

 

Diagnostic Test

GPU TEST


Run FurMark - GPU Stress Test - Windows 10 Forums







Warning Your GPU temperatures will rise quickly while Furmark is running. Keep a keen eye on them and abort the test if overheating occurs.

Take a Screenshot and post it here.

 

My BSODs went away until today. Got a Memory Management BSOD. Running the DM collector log showed the system suffered three additional BSODs between the one in July and the one today. Not understanding how I keep getting BSODs if I am continually updating my Nvidia drivers to the latest ones (I uninstall using DDU every time).

 

There was no definitive misbehaving driver in the debugging of the mini dump file.
It was bugcheck A
It did display CtHdaSvc.exe
That is Creative High Definition Audio Service or Sound Blaster Audio Service
These software programs have multiple drivers.
They could be uninstalled using control panel/device manager. It is unclear at this juncture how they relate to the bsod.

Had you tested the Nvidia graphics driver with FurMark?
If you did what was the duration of testing and the highest temperature?

Please use one drive or drop box to post a share link for the memory dump:

memory dump file: %SystemRoot%\MEMORY.DMP or C:\Windows\MEMORY.DMP
Use file explorer > this PC > local C: drive > right upper corner search enter each of the above to find results.


Windows driver verifier is a tool that is used to find misbehaving drivers.
It will repetitively produce bsod until misbehaving drivers are fixed or until it is turned off.

There are 3 methods commonly used to turn off windows driver verifier and all are done using the windows advanced troubleshooting menu.
1) startup options (not startup repair) > select #6 safe mode with command prompt > type: verifier reset
2) command prompt > Administratof X:\Windows\system32.cmd.exe > type: verifier /bootmode resetonbootfail
3) restore
The command should be used in the above order and only advance if the prior method fails.
Using restore typically leads to the loss of the mini dump and little progress is made in the troubleshooting.

To practice the windows advanced recovery options you can open administrative command prompt and type:
shutdown /r /o /f /t 00

Windows driver verifier may produce system sluggishness while it is in use.

Once the last bsod is found there will be an additional 36 hours of using this tool to see if there are any further bsod. If there are none then troubleshooting with windows driver verifier will be completed.

This link has the custom test settings for use:
Driver Verifier-- tracking down a mis-behaving driver.

This link has the methods to turn off windows driver verifier:
Enable and Disable Driver Verifier in Windows 10

This link has information on startup and recovery settings and how to un-check automatic restart so that you have time to view the bsod window. Sometimes the misbehaving driver is displayed in the form *.sys If you see the misbehaving driver please record it and post the information into the thread.

BSOD Finding and fixing them

Download and install:
Blue screen of death (STOP error) information in dump files.
Resplendence Software - WhoCrashed, automatic crash dump analyzer
Run them after each BSOD then uninstall the misbehaving driver.

Post a new zip after each bsod and we will guide you through the troubleshooting:
BSOD - Posting Instructions - Windows 10 Forums

 

Thank you for your reply. I ran FurMark as recommended. It immediately caused a BSOD Memory Management error. I rebooted and reran FurMark and immediately got a BSOD again. Both times pointed to my Nvidia drivers. I tried FurMark again with the stock GPU drivers for my system and the latest drivers from Nvidia. Both times still gave a BSOD. I then sent my machine in for repair and it was determined the motherboard is faulty. Hopefully the replacement will fix the issues with system.