Solved BSOD every few days, multiple error msgs

DJRoff

Power Noob
Messages
79
Location
Delaware, USA
Hey there --

I'm having repeated BSOD events, every few days, and am having a devil of a time pinning anything down. The error codes may come up as BAD POOL CALLER, or SYSTEM SERVICE EXCEPTION, or PAGE FAULT IN NON-PAGED AREA. Those are the three I've seen multiple times. WhoCrashed gives plain-English explanations, but they're extremely general, and of little value to me. (i.e., "This is most likely a bad driver and not a hardware problem... the error occurred in the kernel..." DUH!) I've tried BlueScreenView, but I honestly don't have a clue how to begin with all that detailed information, and I could use some more expert help. (The upload is from the SF tool.)

There doesn't seem to be a pattern to when it happens, I've been surfing the net when it crashes, and I've sat down in the morning to find that it crashed overnight. Oddly enough, it has NOT crashed when I've been in the middle of anything intensive, like photo editing or manipulating music files.

The motherboard I'm working on is an Asus M3A-78CM, an older AMD AM2+ board with DDR2 memory, and I'm already aware of some driver issues with Win 8, particularly the VIA audio drivers, which are being worked around with some generic ones from nVidia. There is also a scanner attached which has no 64-bit drivers for it, but I have that disabled. And there is a quirky printer which seems to have a love/hate relationship with my system. Other than that, everything performs VERY well... except for these blue screens. Any help will be appreciated!
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Windows 8.1 Pro 64-bit, Windows 7 Pro 64-bit, Windows XP Pro 32-bit, Ubuntu 14.04 64-bit
another one...

I'll just upload these as they happen. This particular blue screen came as I was trying to compose an email.
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Windows 8.1 Pro 64-bit, Windows 7 Pro 64-bit, Windows XP Pro 32-bit, Ubuntu 14.04 64-bit
Your last 3 BSOD's were caused by splwow64.exe. Splwow64.exe is a Windows core system file. The program runs in the background and is not normally visible to allow 32-bit applications to connect with the 64-bit printer spooler service on x64 Windows builds and is started by the parent process spoolsv.exe.

Having said that, If this file is corrupted then BSOD might occur. So I suggest:
  1. Make sure you have the latest BIOS updated.
  2. Temporary disconnect your printer.
  3. Open the elevated command prompt and run:
    dism /online /cleanup-image /restorehealth
  4. Next, run:
    sfc /scannow
  5. Use Windows as normal to see if BSOD occurs again.
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    8.1x64PWMC Ubuntu14.04x64 MintMate17x64
    Computer type
    PC/Desktop
    System Manufacturer/Model
    Home Brewed
    CPU
    I7 4970K OC'ed @4.7 GHz
    Motherboard
    MSI-Z97
    Memory
    16 GB G-Skill Trident X @2400MHZ
    Graphics Card(s)
    NVIDIA GeForce GTS 450
    Sound Card
    X-Fi Titanium Fatal1ty Professional Series
    Monitor(s) Displays
    Dual HP-W2408
    Screen Resolution
    1920X1200
    Hard Drives
    256 GB M2 sm951, (2) 500GB 850EVO, 5TB, 2 TB Seagate
    PSU
    Antec 850W
    Case
    Antec 1200
    Cooling
    Danger Den H20
    Keyboard
    Logitech
    Mouse
    Logitech Performance Mouse MX
    Internet Speed
    35/12mbps
    Browser
    Firefox
Your last 3 BSOD's were caused by splwow64.exe. Splwow64.exe is a Windows core system file. The program runs in the background and is not normally visible to allow 32-bit applications to connect with the 64-bit printer spooler service on x64 Windows builds and is started by the parent process spoolsv.exe.

Having said that, If this file is corrupted then BSOD might occur. So I suggest:
  1. Make sure you have the latest BIOS updated.
  2. Temporary disconnect your printer.
  3. Open the elevated command prompt and run:
    dism /online /cleanup-image /restorehealth
  4. Next, run:
    sfc /scannow
  5. Use Windows as normal to see if BSOD occurs again.

Thanks! Ran both of those this morning. The first operation completed with a message that the "store corruption" had been repaired. The second part completed and came back saying there were no "access violations", or some such thing. We'll see how it pans out, and I'll keep you posted.
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Windows 8.1 Pro 64-bit, Windows 7 Pro 64-bit, Windows XP Pro 32-bit, Ubuntu 14.04 64-bit
...again

Unfortunately, it just gave me another BSOD. All I had done was plug in the printer (first time after this morning's command-prompt work), print a shipping label, close my browser, and walk away. When I came back, it had restarted.

This time, the dump will be a little different, I tried switching it to "kernel dump" this morning, to see if that would give us more information, if and when it happened again.
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Windows 8.1 Pro 64-bit, Windows 7 Pro 64-bit, Windows XP Pro 32-bit, Ubuntu 14.04 64-bit
...and again...

Another one this evening. Again, I had printed something, noticed the printer icon was stuck in the tray, and went to refresh it, when I got a BSOD. I think you're on the right track that it has something to do with the 64-bit print spooler, but what we tried the first time obviously did not fix the problem. I'm going to escalate the debugging options to "Complete Memory Dump", in hopes that will help.
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Windows 8.1 Pro 64-bit, Windows 7 Pro 64-bit, Windows XP Pro 32-bit, Ubuntu 14.04 64-bit
As indicated in my previous post. This might have something to do with your printer. You might want to check if there's an updated driver for your printer.

In the mean time, unplug your printer, open services and disable the "Print Spooler" for now to see if you get BSOD again.
Please report back.
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    8.1x64PWMC Ubuntu14.04x64 MintMate17x64
    Computer type
    PC/Desktop
    System Manufacturer/Model
    Home Brewed
    CPU
    I7 4970K OC'ed @4.7 GHz
    Motherboard
    MSI-Z97
    Memory
    16 GB G-Skill Trident X @2400MHZ
    Graphics Card(s)
    NVIDIA GeForce GTS 450
    Sound Card
    X-Fi Titanium Fatal1ty Professional Series
    Monitor(s) Displays
    Dual HP-W2408
    Screen Resolution
    1920X1200
    Hard Drives
    256 GB M2 sm951, (2) 500GB 850EVO, 5TB, 2 TB Seagate
    PSU
    Antec 850W
    Case
    Antec 1200
    Cooling
    Danger Den H20
    Keyboard
    Logitech
    Mouse
    Logitech Performance Mouse MX
    Internet Speed
    35/12mbps
    Browser
    Firefox
Ok, I have it unplugged and the print spooler disabled temporarily. We'll see what happens.

I have tried updating the printer drivers recently, but unfortunately what I have is the latest there is for this printer. It's an HP inkjet, and I've gotten rid of all the HP bloatware I could find, just running it with the barebones drivers. But I wouldn't have thought the hardware could cause such problems.
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Windows 8.1 Pro 64-bit, Windows 7 Pro 64-bit, Windows XP Pro 32-bit, Ubuntu 14.04 64-bit
Ok, I have it unplugged and the print spooler disabled temporarily. We'll see what happens.

I have tried updating the printer drivers recently, but unfortunately what I have is the latest there is for this printer. It's an HP inkjet, and I've gotten rid of all the HP bloatware I could find, just running it with the barebones drivers. But I wouldn't have thought the hardware could cause such problems.

BSOD can happen due to:
  1. Loose Cables
  2. Defective Hardware
  3. Incompatible Software
  4. Drivers software
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    8.1x64PWMC Ubuntu14.04x64 MintMate17x64
    Computer type
    PC/Desktop
    System Manufacturer/Model
    Home Brewed
    CPU
    I7 4970K OC'ed @4.7 GHz
    Motherboard
    MSI-Z97
    Memory
    16 GB G-Skill Trident X @2400MHZ
    Graphics Card(s)
    NVIDIA GeForce GTS 450
    Sound Card
    X-Fi Titanium Fatal1ty Professional Series
    Monitor(s) Displays
    Dual HP-W2408
    Screen Resolution
    1920X1200
    Hard Drives
    256 GB M2 sm951, (2) 500GB 850EVO, 5TB, 2 TB Seagate
    PSU
    Antec 850W
    Case
    Antec 1200
    Cooling
    Danger Den H20
    Keyboard
    Logitech
    Mouse
    Logitech Performance Mouse MX
    Internet Speed
    35/12mbps
    Browser
    Firefox
Ok, I have it unplugged and the print spooler disabled temporarily. We'll see what happens.

I have tried updating the printer drivers recently, but unfortunately what I have is the latest there is for this printer. It's an HP inkjet, and I've gotten rid of all the HP bloatware I could find, just running it with the barebones drivers. But I wouldn't have thought the hardware could cause such problems.

BSOD can happen due to:
  1. Loose Cables
  2. Defective Hardware
  3. Incompatible Software
  4. Drivers software

...in short, just about anything! That's why I'm enlisting your aid, here. It's not very helpful when an "analysis" program tells you the trouble is "probably with a faulty driver", but not what that driver is... since the average system has literally hundreds of them.

The printer I'm using has always been trouble, in one form or another -- it came from where I work, where it was "retired" due to repeated instances of not getting along with the Windows 7 machine there. But it seemed to work most of the time for me at home, so I've continued to use it. But if it's the source of my BSOD troubles, I have no problem giving it the heave-ho. (No BSODs since yesterday, btw, so far so good.)
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Windows 8.1 Pro 64-bit, Windows 7 Pro 64-bit, Windows XP Pro 32-bit, Ubuntu 14.04 64-bit
Have you ever tried to replace the printer cable ?
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    8.1x64PWMC Ubuntu14.04x64 MintMate17x64
    Computer type
    PC/Desktop
    System Manufacturer/Model
    Home Brewed
    CPU
    I7 4970K OC'ed @4.7 GHz
    Motherboard
    MSI-Z97
    Memory
    16 GB G-Skill Trident X @2400MHZ
    Graphics Card(s)
    NVIDIA GeForce GTS 450
    Sound Card
    X-Fi Titanium Fatal1ty Professional Series
    Monitor(s) Displays
    Dual HP-W2408
    Screen Resolution
    1920X1200
    Hard Drives
    256 GB M2 sm951, (2) 500GB 850EVO, 5TB, 2 TB Seagate
    PSU
    Antec 850W
    Case
    Antec 1200
    Cooling
    Danger Den H20
    Keyboard
    Logitech
    Mouse
    Logitech Performance Mouse MX
    Internet Speed
    35/12mbps
    Browser
    Firefox
Have you ever tried to replace the printer cable ?

Yes, and no. It's USB, and at one point, I had about 3 or 4 cables strung together so I could have it on the other side of my room. At the moment, I've moved it back to near the machine, so it only has the one cable. All of these cables are different from what it was plugged into at work. But no, I have not swapped out that one remaining USB cable since this round of troubles began. When I do hook it back up, I'll try that, just for good measure.
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Windows 8.1 Pro 64-bit, Windows 7 Pro 64-bit, Windows XP Pro 32-bit, Ubuntu 14.04 64-bit
Ok, it's been a solid week now with no BSOD, so I think we can safely say the problem is somewhere between the print spooler software or the printer itself. I'm going to re-enable the spooler, but not plug in that printer just yet. There is another (newer) printer in a different room, on my network, which I can use for now. I'll give it a week that way, and see what happens.
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Windows 8.1 Pro 64-bit, Windows 7 Pro 64-bit, Windows XP Pro 32-bit, Ubuntu 14.04 64-bit
Ok, I think we can assume it was the printer causing all the problems. I've had the print spooler active for a week and a half now, WITHOUT the troublesome printer, and nothing has happened. Been able to print to the other one on the network just fine. Thanks for pointing me in that direction, I've marked this one as "solved".
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Windows 8.1 Pro 64-bit, Windows 7 Pro 64-bit, Windows XP Pro 32-bit, Ubuntu 14.04 64-bit
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