[SOLVED] BSOD - caused by a driver but I'm not sure which

holaboo

Member
Joined
Sep 20, 2014
Posts
8
Hey guys,

Recently started getting BSOD every 30mins to a few hours and I have not installed any new software/hardware recently. I have however found out that the problem is caused by a driver.

I have tried to update various drivers to no avail. I have attached the debug file for your reference.

Many thanks in advance for any help given!
 

Attachments

Sorry, just read the requirements after I made my post (but can't edit it).

Here is a re-vamped post:

OS - Windows 8.1, 8, 7, Vista ?
8.1
· x86 (32-bit) or x64 ?
x64
· What was original installed OS on system?
windows 8.1
· Is the OS an OEM version (came pre-installed on system) or full retail version (YOU purchased it from retailer)?
OEM
· Age of system (hardware)
6months
· Age of OS installation - have you re-installed the OS?

· CPU
AMD A8-5600k APU with Radeon HD Graphics 3.6GHz
· Video Card
GeForce GT 630

· MotherBoard


· Power Supply - brand & wattage (if laptop, skip this one)

· System Manufacturer
· Exact model number (if laptop, check label on bottom)

Desktop
I was unable to run the perfmon /report, it came up with administrator right issues (not sure how to run things in administrator from the console).
 
Hi,

CRITICAL_STRUCTURE_CORRUPTION (109)

This indicates that the kernel has detected critical kernel code or data corruption.

There are generally two causes for this bug check:


  1. A driver has inadvertently, or deliberately, modified critical kernel code or data. Microsoft Windows Server 2003 with Service Pack 1 (SP1) and later versions of Windows for x64-based computers do not allow the kernel to be patched except through authorized Microsoft-originated hot patches.
  2. A hardware corruption occurred. For example, the kernel code or data could have been stored in memory that failed.

This bug check is never conclusive, so we'll need to do detective work.



1. Uninstall 360 Internet Security ASAP! Terrible.. terrible software. Replace it with Windows Defender for now, please:

Windows Defender (how to turn on after removal)

A.Navigate to Control Panel (with icons). You can do this by hitting Start > Search > Control Panel. Once in Control Panel, change the drop-down from Category to Large and/or Small icons.

B.Among the list of icons, find and click Action Center.

C.Assuming the removal of your prior antivirus software went properly, you will notice for both Spyware and unwated software protection (important) and Virus protection (important), it'll have a button labeled Turn on now. Click this button (it doesn't matter which, as Windows Defender serves as both in Windows 8/8.1).

2. sptd.sys is listed and loaded in your modules list; SCSI Pass Through Direct Host - Daemon Tools (known BSOD issues). Please remove it ASAP with the uninstaller tool - DuplexSecure - Downloads

3. If the above fails to solve the problem, please enable Driver Verifier for more info:

Driver Verifier:

What is Driver Verifier?

Driver Verifier monitors Windows kernel-mode drivers, graphics drivers, and even 3rd party drivers to detect illegal function calls or actions that might corrupt the system. Driver Verifier can subject the Windows drivers to a variety of stresses and tests to find improper behavior.

Essentially, if there's a 3rd party driver believed to be causing the issues at hand, enabling Driver Verifier will help us see which specific driver is causing the problem.

Before enabling Driver Verifier, it is recommended to create a System Restore Point:

Vista - START | type rstrui - create a restore point
Windows 7 - START | type create | select "Create a Restore Point"
Windows 8/8.1 - Restore Point - Create in Windows 8

How to enable Driver Verifier:

Start > type "verifier" without the quotes > Select the following options -

1. Select - "Create custom settings (for code developers)"
2. Select - "Select individual settings from a full list"
3. Check the following boxes -
- Special Pool
- Pool Tracking
- Force IRQL Checking
- Deadlock Detection
- Security Checks (only on Windows 7 & 8/8.1)
- DDI compliance checking (only on Windows 8/8.1)
- Miscellaneous Checks
4. Select - "Select driver names from a list"
5. Click on the "Provider" tab. This will sort all of the drivers by the provider.
6. Check EVERY box that is NOT provided by Microsoft / Microsoft Corporation.
7. Click on Finish.
8. Restart.

Important information regarding Driver Verifier:

- Perhaps the most important which I will now clarify as this has been misunderstood often, enabling Driver Verifier by itself is not! a solution, but instead a diagnostic utility. It will tell us if a driver is causing your issues, but again it will not outright solve your issues.

- If Driver Verifier finds a violation, the system will BSOD. To expand on this a bit more for the interested, specifically what Driver Verifier actually does is it looks for any driver making illegal function calls, causing memory leaks, etc. When and/if this happens, system corruption occurs if allowed to continue. When Driver Verifier is enabled per my instructions above, it is monitoring all 3rd party drivers (as we have it set that way) and when it catches a driver attempting to do this, it will quickly flag that driver as being a troublemaker, and bring down the system safely before any corruption can occur.

- After enabling Driver Verifier and restarting the system, depending on the culprit, if for example the driver is on start-up, you may not be able to get back into normal Windows because Driver Verifier will detect it in violation almost straight away, and as stated above, that will cause / force a BSOD.

If this happens, do not panic, do the following:

- Boot into Safe Mode by repeatedly tapping the F8 key during boot-up.

- Once in Safe Mode - Start > Search > type "cmd" without the quotes.

- To turn off Driver Verifier, type in cmd "verifier /reset" without the quotes.

- Restart and boot into normal Windows.

If your OS became corrupt or you cannot boot into Windows after disabling verifier via Safe Mode:

- Boot into Safe Mode by repeatedly tapping the F8 key during boot-up.

- Once in Safe Mode - Start > type "system restore" without the quotes.

- Choose the restore point you created earlier.

-- Note that Safe Mode for Windows 8/8.1 is a bit different, and you may need to try different methods: 5 Ways to Boot into Safe Mode in Windows 8 & Windows 8.1

How long should I keep Driver Verifier enabled for?

I recommend keeping it enabled for at least 24 hours. If you don't BSOD by then, disable Driver Verifier. I will usually say whether or not I'd like for you to keep it enabled any longer.

My system BSOD'd with Driver Verifier enabled, where can I find the crash dumps?

- If you have the system set to generate Small Memory Dumps, they will be located in %systemroot%\Minidump.

- If you have the system set to generate Kernel Memory Dumps, it will be located in %systemroot% and labeled MEMORY.DMP.

Any other questions can most likely be answered by this article:

Using Driver Verifier to identify issues with Windows drivers for advanced users

Regards,

Patrick
 
Hi Patrick,

I've taken your advice and enabled the verifier but made the mistake to run a chkdsk /r at the same time and my computer just kept BSODing during the chkdsk. I've managed to stop this by disabling driver verifications from the startup menu and have included both my latest minidump file (the memeory.dmp file was 260mb... way too big to upload) for your reference.

Will uninstall 360 now too :)

Would my hard drive be corrupt since my computer BSOD'd during chkdsk?

Thanks,
 

Attachments

No, your HDD is fine. Let me know if there are any crashes after you've followed my steps.

FWIW, the kernel dump isn't showing anything.

Regards,

Patrick
 
Thanks for the help Patrick,

I'm still getting BSOD after I've followed your steps. I remember doing a search on the vid/pid of what caused the error and it was apparently my razer arctosa keyboard driver, but I have updated my driver since them and still getting the BSOD.

Any other steps I could follow to try and identify the problem?

Is there any way I can post my memeory.dmp file? (its around 90mb after I zip it).

p.s. would a system restore from the installation CD possibly solve the problem?

Thanks,
 
Enable DV and upload the kernel dump to a 3rd party site, preferably filedropper. Link it here after.

Regards,

patrick
 
I think I've solved the problem.

sptd.sys seems to have been the culprit, I must have not removed it properly the first time. Went through the steps again and no crash since last night!

Thanks for your help patrick!
 
That's not surprising, sptd is a well known cause of BSODs. It's really bad programming that they really need to sort out but haven't done...
 
Hi Jared, why is sptd a big cause of BSODs and how would it get installed onto my computer?

Just so I know how to avoid this in the future
 
SPTD.sys is a driver and application programming interface that offers a new way to access SCSI sotrage devices, why it causes the problems I am unsure.

It's used by Alcohol 120%, Daemon Tools and PowerAchiver Pro. You can disable it as a setting in PowerAchiver but with Alcohol and Daemon Tools you must remove the software.
 

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