Random 0x0000003B BSOD in W7 Pro x64

A

ADC

Member
Joined
Jan 22, 2019
Posts
18
Hi! As said in my introduction post, I'm having constant SYSTEM_SERVICE_EXCEPTION (0x0000003B, pointing to win32k.sys) BSOD and would like some guiding about how to solve it. Dumps included and all the info I consider relevant to the matter. Just let me know in case you need the full memory dump.

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SYSTEM:
. OS - Windows 7 Professional SP1
· x64
· OEM
. Desktop computer
· 10+ years hardware
· 3 months (installation right after purchase)
· CPU: Core 2 Duo E8400
. RAM: 4GB DDR2
· Video: Onboard Intel 82945G Express Chipset Family
· MotherBoard - Gigabyte GA-945GCMX-S2 rev. 66 (F6i BIOS, the last version)
· PSU - Corsair V400
· System Manufacturer: custom computer


It's not a new hardware. And it's second hand.

Tried some hardware changes, to no avail:
- Changed memory modules
- Changed PSU
- Changed SATA cables
- Disabled onboard LAN for testing
- Changed mouse
- Changed keyboard


================================================

RAM:
BSODs reduced drastically after RAM modules change. One of the old ones were faulty (the BSODs were all over the place before, and pointing to different errors). Now it's only the 3B error, apparently. Sometimes the computer works flawlessly after hours of heavy Youtube use, then BSOD. Sometimes, the BSOD occur after a few minutes.

SYSTEM:
Pretty much a fresh installation, without aditional drivers, except video driver (see below). No updates, hotfixes, etc. No games, no fancy mouse/keyboard/joypad drivers. Programs installed are Firefox, Chrome, Winamp, K-Lite Codec Pack, CPU-Z, Hardware Monitor, Process Explorer, SeaTools, HD Tune and Blue Screen View. The BSOD occurred even before all these programs were installed.

Changed HDD/System (Windows XP Professional SP3 x32) and everything works well. No BSOD. Which makes me think it's not a hardware fault.


DRIVERS:
- Only driver change was the onboard Intel Graphics video driver. Installed the last version available on the Intel site. W7 says it's not signed, so I manually disable the driver verify check at every boot (F8). Needed to install .NET Framework 4 since the drivers demanded it.

Other drivers (sound, LAN, etc) are native signed generic W7 drivers (didn't update any, for testing purposes).

UPDATES:
- Didn't install any.

USAGE:
- Internet (most Youtube), listening music, watch movies. No gaming, graphic edition or CPU-heavy tasks.

TEMPERATURE:
Hardware Monitor says CPU temperature is OK. "39º to 44º Celsius" (100º to 111º F)

SECURITY:
What security software are you using? (Firewall, antivirus, antimalware, antispyware, and so forth)
Are you using proxy, vpn, ipfilters or similar software?
Are you using Disk Image tools? (like daemon tools, alcohol 52% or 120%, virtual CloneDrive, roxio software)

None of them. Using mostly Youtube so I'm not that worried. And since the problems occur even when the computer was testing offline, I didn't bother.


Any help would be of great value. Thanks in advance.
 

Attachments

Hi ADC - welcome to the forums :)

It looks like all 3 dump files are being caused by the exact same exception. It's occurring in a thread owned by Chrome while calling the function win32k!xclipobj::vsetup which seems to be trying to use an object pointer to reference a variable or member function but the value of that pointer is 0; which is invalid.

If it were me I'd be updating Windows 7 with the latest updates available until there are none left to install. Is there a reason you're not updating? I can easily see a win32k bug being addressed by Windows updates.
 
@cwsink: first of all, thank you very much for your time and willingness to help. And for the welcome too. :)

You said it was caused by Chrome. Do you think it's a Chrome fault or it could happen with any app/browser? (I'm almost sure the last minidump happened when I was using Firefox but can't remember exactly) BTW, I'm using only Firefox for 2 days and didn't have any BSOD episode...

Also, do you think that, for testing purposes, I should uninstall the Intel video driver and use the default one? Is it possible that, even with all signed drivers, the BSOD still occur? I've researched and found that this kind error is generally attached to a faulty video driver. Of course it's not the correct fix because I'll lost the Intel display config apps and so, but since the driver is not signed and I must disable the driver verifier at every boot in order to use it, maybe it has something to do with the problem.

About the Windows updates, I tried to edit this part of the initial post, but didn't find an editing button. I don't have the Windows 7 disk, as the OS came pre-installed in my setup. I've done some checking and it is a fresh install, without any aditional software, patches or updates.

I don't like the idea of installing tons of updates without having the W7 installation disk, but if it's my only choice, I'll do it. In this case, what would be the best way to update this system? Is there a package I could download with everything I need to install? Should I create a restoration point?

Totally out of curiosity, could you please post a snippet of the dump files and explain a little about your investigation method?

Sorry for the lenghty post and for these many questions. :P
 
UPDATE: today 2 BSOD occurred during a Firefox session, so the problem is not attached exclusively to Chrome. Same 3B error code.

The 2 episodes occurred in Youtube, watching the same 720p60 video.
 
Please post the new dump files for debugging or run the file collection app again.
 
Ok, here's the new dumps. I moved the old dumps to another folder and included only the last 3 ones. Let's update the situation:

1 - 2 BSOD using Firefox (0000003B)
2 - 1 BSOD using Media Player Classic (playing a random HD video) (0000003B). Occurred 5 minutes after boot.

I've noted the error occur mostly when I'm using the latest Intel video driver. It's not signed, so I must disable the driver verification during the boot, pressing F8. Strangely enough, the Gigabyte site doesn't have a W7 video driver option for my mobo, so I downloaded it from the Intel site.

If I don't disable the driver signature during the boot, the driver doesn't load, video playing becomes "erratic" BUT... there's no BSOD.

As a side note, when I say "erratic" I mean: the video playback loses lots of frames but, when I move the mouse, everything turns back to normal. If I stop moving the mouse, video becomes choppy again. Weird...

I considered running the driver verifier tool as instructed in another post, but I think it's redundant, since we've nailed the problem around the video driver. But I can do it, if you think it will help.

Again, thanks for your time. Hope we can fix the problem.
 

Attachments

You've already debugged this yourself, it's the video driver.

Download the latest from your actual manufacturer's website and let it be. If there's no version specific to your OS, consider Windows update in cases like this.
 
Forget the above dump. There's a new one, now pointing to a 0000000A error. Occurred during a Facebook section (Firefox). Included in this attachment.

This is gettin' weird. :huh:
 

Attachments

Patrick said:
You've already debugged this yourself, it's the video driver.

Download the latest from your actual manufacturer's website and let it be. If there's no version specific to your OS, consider Windows update in cases like this.
Click to expand...

As I said, I'm using the most up to date video driver. Problem is that it's not signed, so I must disable the driver signature feature during the boot. Dunno if it has something to do with it, but...

Anyway, there's another error, and maybe it brings some new info to the problem.

Updating Windows seems critical here. What would be the best way? (I'm totally new to Windows 7)
 
UPDATE: dunno if it's valid as a case study, but I tried to uninstall the Intel non-signed driver and use the Windows signed version instead. To my surprise, the same 3B error occurred in a matter of minutes. I've included only the respective minidump. Please, take a look at it.

Therefore, I think it isn't the case of a driver verifier procedure, since it will probably point to the same recurring error.

So, if the default Windows video driver is causing the BSOD too, is it safe to blame the video driver as the main cause of the problem? Does it makes sense a native Windows driver causing a BSOD?

(just as a side note, the Windows XP boot is working flawlessly)

Thanks for your help and patience.
 

Attachments

The very first thing to do here is to allow the hundreds of Windows Updates in and install them all (as was suggested by cwsink in post #2).

You should have well over 200, if not over 300 Windows Updates installed by now, but you only have 2 -
Code: 
Hotfix(es):                                2 hotfix(es) instalado(s).
                                           [01]: KB958488
                                           [02]: KB976902

It is futile to debug these BSODs until ALL outstanding Windows Updates are installed as the WU contain many patches of Microsoft drivers.

Regards. . .

jcgriff2
 
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Many thanks to you all.

Well, so let's find out how to update this little beast. I suspect that, in this case, it would be futile to run the driver verifier too, so let's see if the updates alone fix the problem. I'll come back here once I have done it.

Best regards. :thumbsup2:
 
Yes - go to Control Panel; Windows Updates and allow ALL Windows Updates to download and install.

It will likely take several re-boots to complete the successful installation of all of the outstanding Windows Updates. Some Windows Updates may fail the first time around. Don't be too concerned about them as Windows will attempt a reinstall of all failed Windows Updates at some point thereafter, usually with a successful conclusion.

I do see that you have Windows 7 Service Pack 1 installed, which will end up saving you some time.

You can run Driver Verifier after all Windows Updates are installed, assuming that BSODs continue. Even with the missing Windows Updates, I don't think the system should be BSOD'ing unless there are 3rd party drivers (non-Microsoft drivers) installed that were written with the updated/patched Windows drivers in mind. Again, updated/patched Microsoft Windows drivers generally come from only one place - Windows Updates. The only other possibility is if you were to manually download and install a hotfix.

Regards. . .

jcgriff2
 
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Thanks for the tips https://www.sysnative.com/forums/members/1-jcgriff2/jcgriff2! I'll proceed with the updates next weekend, then will come back here with the results.

Researching, I've found something about a "2016 convenience rollup" which seems it's a cumulative update until that year. I think it's the way to go.

At this moment, there's no non-MS drivers installed, all drivers are Windows natives. Still, I think it's curious that a native driver causes BSODs, even if it's an early one. :huh:
 
If you have no programs/apps installed (no 3rd party kernel mode drivers) and are just running Windows 7 SP1 - even without updates - then the likely cause of your BSODs is unknown hardware failure.
 
jcgriff2 said:
If you have no programs/apps installed (no 3rd party kernel mode drivers) and are just running Windows 7 SP1 - even without updates - then the likely cause of your BSODs is unknown hardware failure.
Click to expand...
Even the Windows XP boot running flawlessly?? :eek2:

I mean, I installed Windows XP SP3 (32 bits) on another HDD and it's running perfectly, without crashes. And the XP is bare bones too, no updates.

It's really gettin' weird but let's see what happens after the updates.
 

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