Windows 10: DPC_WATCHDOG_VIOLATION 0x133

My computer started freezing randomly after updating to Windows 10 (from win7). Mouse completely frozen, keyboard unresponsive. The only thing I could do was a hard reboot every time. I tried searching for info online and found lots of people with the same problem but no answers really. On some forum someone suggested unplugging keyboard, mouse, ... to see if that was the problem. When my pc froze again today I did just that. Started unplugging everything connected to my pc. While it didn't solve anything I did get a BSOD for the first time (coincidence?) saying I should look up more info about DPC_watchdog_violation error and that my pc would be rebooted...

googling the error code didn't yield much info so I'll try my luck here.

:)

 

Bug Check 0x133 DPC_WATCHDOG_VIOLATION

I seem to have the same problem, Kristopher. Like you, I'm very frustrated: this is my main PC (and only windows PC) and I have work to be getting on with.

Suggesting it's a hardware fault isn't hugely helpful because that's the nuclear option - replacing the PC and, in my case, the hardware in question was working fine till I re-installed windows 10.

At the very least, some clue as to which bit of hardware is at fault would help. A large 40pt sad face emoji doesn't help.

 

Bug Check 0x133 DPC_WATCHDOG_VIOLATION

Hi Kristopher,

Usually, Blue Screen of Death (BSOD) with error message DPC_WATCHDOG_VIOLATION is caused by a hardware issue or system file corruption. For us to isolate your concern, we need answers to the following:

• Did you make any changes on your computer prior to the issue?
• Does the issue occur when you're doing a specific activity?
• Have you taken any troubleshooting steps so far?

Meanwhile, we recommend that you follow the steps on this
article on how to troubleshoot blue screen errors.

Keep us posted and we'll be willing to assist you further.

 

Dump didn't really show anything useful.

Your upgrade from Windows 7 to Windows 10 left a lot of very old driver files.

Code: 2006/11/02 10:08:53 C:\WINDOWS\system32\DRIVERS\wimfltr.sys 2008/09/24 20:28:20 C:\WINDOWS\system32\drivers\SiSRaid2.sys 2008/10/01 23:56:04 C:\WINDOWS\system32\drivers\sisraid4.sys 2009/07/14 02:00:20 C:\WINDOWS\system32\DRIVERS\dot4usb.sys 2009/10/20 20:08:42 C:\WINDOWS\system32\Drivers\PxHlpa64.sys 2010/01/29 02:03:36 C:\WINDOWS\system32\drivers\AtiHdmi.sys 2010/02/27 00:32:11 C:\WINDOWS\system32\DRIVERS\Impcd.sys 2010/06/11 10:50:31 C:\WINDOWS\system32\drivers\SaiK0836.sys 2010/07/07 18:45:06 C:\WINDOWS\system32\drivers\SaiMini.sys 2010/07/07 18:45:06 C:\WINDOWS\system32\drivers\SaiBus.sys 2010/10/15 10:28:17 C:\WINDOWS\system32\DRIVERS\IntcDAud.sys 2010/10/20 01:33:43 C:\WINDOWS\system32\drivers\HECIx64.sys 2011/04/11 20:48:16 C:\WINDOWS\system32\drivers\iaStorV.sys 2012/05/03 21:56:17 C:\WINDOWS\system32\DRIVERS\GEARAspiWDM.sys 2012/08/02 19:35:46 C:\WINDOWS\system32\drivers\Dot4Prt.sys 2012/08/06 19:01:00 C:\WINDOWS\system32\DRIVERS\Dot4.sys 2012/11/27 01:02:51 C:\WINDOWS\system32\drivers\stexstor.sys 2012/12/11 22:21:44 C:\WINDOWS\system32\drivers\amdsbs.sys 2013/01/21 20:00:28 C:\WINDOWS\system32\drivers\vstxraid.sys 2013/02/04 20:47:18 C:\WINDOWS\system32\drivers\bxvbda.sys 2013/03/16 00:39:38 C:\WINDOWS\system32\drivers\lsi_sss.sys 2013/03/26 22:36:54 C:\WINDOWS\system32\drivers\HpSAMD.sys 2013/06/04 00:02:39 C:\WINDOWS\system32\drivers\megasr.sys[/quote] My recommendation is to use Macrium Reflect Free to do an image backup of your hard drive to an external USB hard drive. This will save all your data.

Next do a Clean Install of Windows 10. You may have to do some searching to find drivers for some of your devices, but then again maybe not.

Once everything is working then you can extract your data from the image backup using Macrium Reflect and put it where it belongs in the new install. Create a new image backup when this is done.

You will have to reinstall all software. Create another image backup when this is done.

If you don't want to do that yet we can do some other testing first.

Driver Verifier:

Driver Verifier is a diagnostic tool built into Windows 10, it is designed to verify both native Microsoft drivers and third party drivers. Driver Verifier's verification process involves putting heavy stress on drivers with the intention of making bad, outdated, incompatible or misbehaving drivers fail. The required result is a BSOD (Blue Screen of Death) which will generate a crash dump for debugging purposes.
Machines exposed to Driver Verifier will run very sluggishly due to the stress being applied to the drivers.

Driver Verifier - Enable and Disable in Windows 10

Warning:
It is not advised to run Driver Verifier for more than 48 hours at a time. Disable Driver Verifier after 48 hours or after receiving a BSOD, whichever happens soonest.

Always create a Restore Point prior to enabling Driver Verifier.

RAM:

Download Memtest86+ (you want the 2nd one Download - Pre-Compiled Bootable ISO (.zip)). Unzip it then create a CD from the iso file using your CD burning software. There is a good freeware burner called ImgBurn which will do this easily.

DO NOT burn the .iso file directly to CD. It must be used as input to a program that knows what to do with it, like the one I mentioned above.

You can do this on any computer that has a working CD Burner.

You can also use a Flash drive instead of a CD.

Download - Auto-installer for USB Key (Win 9x/2k/xp/7) *NEW!*.
Unzip and run Memtest86+ USB Installer.exe.
It will format the flash drive if you tell it to. I used a small, 16MB flash drive and it had 8.5GB left when done.

Boot the CD or Flash drive and run Memtest86+ for at least 3 complete passes unless it shows errors sooner than that. An overnight run is even better.

Hard Drive:

Check the hard drive with the manufacturer's diagnostic tools.

7 Free Hard Drive Testing Programs
Hard Drive Diagnostics Tools and Utilities (Storage) - TACKtech Corp.
Bootable Hard Drive Diagnostics

 

I'm going on a trip for a few days starting tomorrow but I'll start trying out your tips as soon as I get back. Thank you for taking a look at my dump file and for your quick reply. Much appreciated *Cool