Author Topic: BSOD help sought (Read 608 times)

S_C · « **on:** February 10, 2012, 09:12:08 PM »

So my Mum's PC has been Having Issues (tm) for a while now.

It's had several different BSODs over a long period. The latest is BAD_POOL_HEADER. They come at random. Which programs have been invoked, temperature, time since restart all seem quite random. She's running XP Home.

My partner said a couple of months ago, after updating all Mum's drivers and cleaning out the inside of the box "Well, if that doesn't work you're gonna need a new HDD."

Mum is currently in the process of backing up all her data (a horrible, horrible job) and when I told my partner he said it mightn't be the HDD after all and, in fact, he never said it would be, and if he did happen to say it, he doesn't know why. Arrgh!

What I would like is if someone here could help me work out why Mum is getting her BSODs, and ideally, help me fix the problem.

Any takers?

MetaCortex · « **Reply #1 on:** February 10, 2012, 10:45:55 PM »

It might be helpful if you could take a picture of the screen so we could see exactly what it says.

S_C · « **Reply #2 on:** February 11, 2012, 05:28:43 AM »

I have one on my phone. When I get back to my pc I'll post it.

S_C · « **Reply #3 on:** February 11, 2012, 08:24:14 PM »

And here it is

MetaCortex · « **Reply #4 on:** February 12, 2012, 11:10:34 AM »

What is the make and model of the computer, and is Windows completely up to date with all of the latest updates from windowsupdate.microsoft.com? Also, do you have a Windows XP installation CD?

S_C · « **Reply #5 on:** February 12, 2012, 12:38:01 PM »

It's not a make or model, it's just a computer a man in a shop built for her.

Here's what Belarc says (I can upload the whole result as a file if that would help)

2.40 gigahertz Intel Core 2 Duo
Micro-Star MS-7255 V2.0 2.0
2048 Megabytes Usable Installed Memory
WDC WD2500JS-60MHB5 [Hard drive] (250.06 GB) -- drive 0, s/n WD-WCANKK162439, rev 10.02E04, SMART Status: Healthy
NVIDIA GeForce 7300 LE [Display adapter]
Realtek High Definition Audio

All required security hotfixes (using the 01/10/2012 Microsoft Security Bulletin Summary) have been installed.

And I am sure we do have the XP disk somewhere. I'll need to dig it out though.

MetaCortex · « **Reply #6 on:** February 12, 2012, 04:49:15 PM »

Give chkdsk a shot if you haven't already. Follow directions here: http://support.microsoft.com/kb/315265

You want the chkdsk volume:/r option (instead of 'volume' type the name of your hard drive, in most cases 'c')

Let me (us) know if it finds/repairs any bad thingys after it runs when you restart.

S_C · « **Reply #7 on:** February 12, 2012, 05:33:43 PM »

I have already done chkdsk. It did the check over a looong time on restart. When I came back to her computer, Windows had started normally without leaving me any messages.

Imaginary · « **Reply #8 on:** February 12, 2012, 05:44:05 PM »

Das Google suggests driver problems, potentially with either Roxio or whatever anti-virus program she's running.

S_C · « **Reply #9 on:** February 12, 2012, 07:43:20 PM »

We've updated all her drivers, updated her anti-v and malware programs, and she's never used Roxio.

KnightOfNi · « **Reply #10 on:** February 12, 2012, 09:52:16 PM »

Another suggestion from the peanut gallery - bad/failing memory. Unfortunately that motherboard's apparently maxed out on RAM, but Crucial.com has 2GB of replacement for only $31. http://www.crucial.com
Otherwise, you could try downloading and reinstalling drivers to see if you can fix it - but it's shotgunning in the dark, unfortunately - and going to Win 7 isn't a good option with a motherboard that only supports 2GB RAM.

S_C · « **Reply #11 on:** February 12, 2012, 10:25:28 PM »

Is there a way to test the RAM, apart from swapping it out?

Kyle J Cardoza · « **Reply #12 on:** February 12, 2012, 10:39:13 PM »

Download, unzip, and burn this to a CD: http://www.memtest.org/download/4.20/memtest86+-4.20.iso.zip

Boot the CD.

Wait a long time.

S_C · « **Reply #13 on:** February 13, 2012, 02:21:27 AM »

Boot the machine from the CD, yes?

Gudy · « **Reply #14 on:** February 13, 2012, 08:50:43 AM »

S_C · « **Reply #15 on:** February 13, 2012, 07:06:29 PM »

Ok, the CD has one file called mt420.iso on it

When I boot the machine, it checks the CD drive and just boots normally.

How have I stuffed up?

Kyle J Cardoza · « **Reply #16 on:** February 13, 2012, 07:25:36 PM »

You don't burn a .iso file as a file, it's a disc image. You need a program like http://cdburnerxp.se to burn it so it actually works.

MetaCortex · « **Reply #17 on:** February 13, 2012, 09:01:35 PM »

Or a program like ImgBurn, my personal favorite free burning program.

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Author Topic: BSOD help sought (Read 608 times)