Help! Fed up of blue screen, physical memory dump problem.

[Varchasve]

Greeting friends!

since few days I am facing this problem, I have tried every possible thing, but in vain. Earlier blue screen used to show in long intervals. But now it is showing within 10-15 minutes when I start my computer. I tried to find the solution of this problm, but no help. So, the last thing I did I increased the virtual memory, but the practice continues. please help me to overcome this problem.

my PC config:
AMD Athlon(tm) 64X2 dual
Core Processor 3600+
1.90 GHz, 768 of RAM

[redwudz]

There are dozens of causes for BSODs. The BSOD screen should give you info about the crash. Write that down. If the screen disappears rapidly and the computer reboots, you can change that in 'Control Panel>System>Advanced system settings>Startup and recovery'. UNCHECK 'Automatically restart'. I think that's correct for XP, I haven't used the OS in a while.


You can also try testing the RAM memory with Memtest 86. You may have some faulty RAM, as that's a common cause. http://www.memtest86.com/

If the RAM checks out, you might try temporarily booting to a Linux disc. That may help to rule out software/OS problems. Ubuntu is easy to use and has most drivers included. You don't have to install it, it just runs off a burned CD and it's free. http://www.ubuntu.com/desktop/get-ubuntu/download

But most important is the BSOD info. It may say the fault is in 'module XX' or similar. That info is very important for tracing down these sort of problems.

EDIT: Just to add, the 'Physical memory dump' almost always happens with a Windows crash. It's really only useful to Microsoft, so I would forget about it and look to the BSOD screen for hints about the crash.

[Varchasve]

thnx for the info bro, I cheked my RAM, reinstalled all drivers, but of no help. I got Ubuntu, but I am obssessed with Win XP. I thought I have to increase the RAM memory. But it seems I have to do more than that. I think that is the common problem among XP users, should have received more infos.

[filmboss80]

I have found that the memtest software isn't all that reliable with newer types of RAM memory. If you have separate RAM memory sticks, take one out and see how long it runs. If you get a BSOD again, put that memory stick back in and take out another. Do this until you completely rule out faulty RAM memory. And by faulty, I mean memory that works sometimes, but occasionally fails. It is the cause of most BSOD problems like the one you described.

Also, you need to actually look at the BSOD message to better determine the source of the problem. Follow the startup instructions given by Redwudz.

Don't be so quick to blame XP. You're problem is most likely hardware related.

[wulf109]

XP will run on 1GB of memory,but it's much happier with 2Gb's. Adjusting virtual memory is dangerous territory,to be avoided unless you know what you are doing. I would format the HD and re-install everything.
Is there one program that seems to slowdown multi-tasking?

[juststarting]

You didn't state whether you added new memory or changed any other hardware on your machine. Was the PC working fine prior to these BSODs? Mine had exact same ailments and turned out to be new memory I had installed. Memtest ran fine. RMA'd memory and new memory worked fine and no more Blue Screens.

[Varchasve]

I have found that the memtest software isn't all that reliable with newer types of RAM memory. If you have separate RAM memory sticks, take one out and see how long it runs. If you get a BSOD again, put that memory stick back in and take out another. Do this until you completely rule out faulty RAM memory. And by faulty, I mean memory that works sometimes, but occasionally fails. It is the cause of most BSOD problems like the one you described.

Also, you need to actually look at the BSOD message to better determine the source of the problem. Follow the startup instructions given by Redwudz.

Don't be so quick to blame XP. You're problem is most likely hardware related.

hi,

thnx for the suggestion, i got single RAM of 1 GB. I think upgrading it might help. cause I have tried updating the drivers. So, the option I left with the RAM part. And I am not balming XP users, As I use the word "obsessed". Cause while doing some research on the blue screen, I found most of them were XP users, So, I said they encounters the most. I am fed up of reinstalling again and again. Now, lemme try with the hardware upgrading part.

[Varchasve]

XP will run on 1GB of memory,but it's much happier with 2Gb's. Adjusting virtual memory is dangerous territory,to be avoided unless you know what you are doing. I would format the HD and re-install everything.
Is there one program that seems to slowdown multi-tasking?

hi,

Well I am thinking the same way, but XP can run fine on 512 RAM. I have formatted HDD several times, it runs fine for some days, then again the movie begins. Regarding the virtual memory thing can ya be more precise As i did this while searching on google. there is no program that is affecting it.

[Varchasve]

You didn't state whether you added new memory or changed any other hardware on your machine. Was the PC working fine prior to these BSODs? Mine had exact same ailments and turned out to be new memory I had installed. Memtest ran fine. RMA'd memory and new memory worked fine and no more Blue Screens.

hi,

nope, I had change nothing. everything was working fine. it stared few months back and now it does on regular basis.

[ranchhand]

Don't worry about virtual memory or amount of RAM you have. If your computer was running perfectly for years and suddenly started this problem, it will be one of the following:
*Overheating: One of the most common causes; pull the side off your computer, take it out on the back porch, and blow it out by reversing the airflow on a vacuum cleaner. You will be surprised at the amount of dust that comes flooding out. Especially clean the CPU heatsink and fan, it is easy to overlook. Of course, be careful doing this.
*While you are doing the above and the side of the case is off, check your mainboard for bulging/cracked capacitors; look for electrolyte leakage. Recently Samsung and Dell have had severe problems with bad capacitors and have thousands of complaints from customers. It is an increasingly common problem with all mainboards.
*A component going bad-run integrity checks on your memory and your hard drive. By the way, for memory testing on newer memory platforms you might want to check out http://www.memtest.org/ It is an excellent, free utility that will handle advanced memory technology. Seatools from Seagate will test your hard drive.
*Check for a Virus that is attempting a web browser hijack or system takeover running in the background.
*Driver conflicts: have you recently updated drivers for peripherals, or installed new drivers for peripherals that you have recently installed?
*Service Pack updates: will occasionally cause major system problems. Same goes for any new software you recently installed.

Until you post the crash message on your BSOD we are all shooting in the dark here.

[Bjs]

Mostly covered so far.

Basically for proper test you need to strip the system down to the basic parts ... if no issue, then work up from there by adding the components back one at a time, retesting at each stage.

1: Check actual FSB of cpu, enter bios and check memory settings is LOCKED to cpu true FSB rate, not AUTO... it's rare a board would need this but I still have one here and it's how I resolved it's issue.

2: If using addon GPU, shut down and remove power ... reseat the gpu. ... the contacts oxidize over time.

3: Enter safe mode ... if issue dose not appear after a normal amount of time when blue screen would have appeared then enter normal os and reassess.

Aside from memory and os imperfections blue screens can also appear or be triggered by faulty devices which appear to function as per normal. Mouse, keyboards, external drives, PSU ... normally one would consider swapping these from another system to try ruling out them as part of the problem.

Forget about manufacturers hard drive test utilities as most aren't worth using, instead grab Active@ Hard Disk Monitor , it'll give an indication as to the drives health status ... anything nearing 80% (raw & spin up time) should be replaced.

Any external drive will need to be mounted into the system as the program cannot detect parameters from externals as yet ... or ever will... we can only wait and see.

In windows xp > start > settings > control panel > system > advanced > startup and recovery (settings) > system failure > uncheck "automatic restart" > ok > ok.

This will give you time to write down the error which might be more meaningful as a lot of these errors will appear well before the system has time to write any log in which to analyze later.

And a utility which will list drivers, includes goodle search and reporting to html / text abilities > DriverView ... handy.