Really Strange Computer Problem

CForresterCForrester P0rk(h0p Join Date: 2002-10-05 Member: 1439Members, Constellation
in Off-Topic
<div class="IPBDescription">Need URGENT HELP</div> Okay, I've been having a severe WinXP Pro bluescreen problem. I'll describe what is happening and attach a dxdiag to the end of this post.

1) The first problem I got was a few days ago, when I started a torrent and went to bed. When I woke up, XP had bluescreened, complaining about 'ntfs.sys'. I restarted my computer and everything was fine from there.

2) Starting two days ago, I was experiencing bluescreens every few hours, this time complaining about an ATI driver file. This usually happened rarely when I did something that used 3D. (Randomly bluescreening when opening a program that uses the 3D engine)

3) Yesterday, it started happening seemingly randomly, but only once in a while. This time it was saying "BAD_POOL_CALLER" and didn't refer to any files.

4) Today, after a particularly nasty crash, I uninstalled my video drivers. This stabilized the system. I didn't get any bluescreen errors. So I tried reinstalling the drivers. When I did and restarted, I got another bluescreen complaining about "BAD_POOL_CALLER'. So I, once again, uninstalled them. Then I ran Driver Cleaner and removed every trace.

5) Now, I try to install the drivers again (I've tried two different versions, so far) and they bluescreen when unpacking the install files. I've tried manually decompressing using WinRAR, but it also bluescreens.

6) So I figure... Time to reinstall Windows, right? So I put the CD in the drive and reboot, boot in to Windows Setup and when I hit Enter at the main install screen, it bluescreens. (The first time was for 'ntfs.sys', I forget what the second was for, but it was different.) What the hell? I can't even use Windows Setup?

I'm downloading the latest Omega Drivers now, I'm gonna try installing those. What I was using previously and reinstalled the first time were the official Catalyst 4.10s. I also tried installing the 4.9s with no luck.

I'm worried that it might be a hardware problem with either my video card or my hard drive, my most likely choice being the hard drive. <!--emo&:(--><img src='http://www.unknownworlds.com/forums/html//emoticons/sad-fix.gif' border='0' style='vertical-align:middle' alt='sad-fix.gif' /><!--endemo-->

Specs:
P4 1.8 GHz
1 GB RAM
40 GB HDD (Three partitions: C:\ for Windows, D:\ for my data and E:\ for my swap file)
Sapphire Radeon 9000

Attached is my dxdiag file. PLEASE help! I'm going to try installing the Omega Drivers right now, I'll edit my post in about 20-30 minutes with the result if my computer doesn't break entirely.
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Comments

  • NecroticNecrotic Big Girl&#39;s Blouse Join Date: 2002-01-25 Member: 53Members, NS1 Playtester
    A DXDiag report from when you've installed your actual graphics drivers would be more helpful as you've said when using generic drivers you have no problems.

    Fom what you've described it sounds in my opinion to be driver corruption somewhere along the line for the most part but being unable to run the XP install is worrying.

    I'm assuming you were just trying to run the install over an existing installation? If so because its corrupted it may be causing problems with the installation.

    Remember, if all else fails - format <!--emo&:p--><img src='http://www.unknownworlds.com/forums/html//emoticons/tounge.gif' border='0' style='vertical-align:middle' alt='tounge.gif' /><!--endemo-->
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  • SwiftspearSwiftspear Custim tital Join Date: 2003-10-29 Member: 22097Members
    Vid card hardware error? It sounds like a driver error, but its extreamly strange for it to be happening after the drivers have been uninstalled and reinstalled (at least if they were done properly). I assume you DL'ed new driver files rather than using one on your HDD already...

    Very Very wierd that windows setup doesn't work... It should be able to boot remotly compleatly seperate from any HDD data whatsoever.
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  • CForresterCForrester P0rk(h0p Join Date: 2002-10-05 Member: 1439Members, Constellation
    Okay, I can't even log in now. I get the bluescreen every time, so I can't uninstall because, as far as I know, you can't uninstall the Catalyst drivers in safe mode... If there is a way, please tell me.

    I can't even format... I start Windows Setup, press ENTER to start and it crashes.

    Anyone want to donate a hard drive to me? <!--emo&;)--><img src='http://www.unknownworlds.com/forums/html//emoticons/wink-fix.gif' border='0' style='vertical-align:middle' alt='wink-fix.gif' /><!--endemo--> Any drive that is 40 GB+ will do, for now. (I have data to back up. I wouldn't be able to stand losing some of the data I have stored on that drive... It's my entire life for the past 2 or 3 years. <!--emo&:(--><img src='http://www.unknownworlds.com/forums/html//emoticons/sad-fix.gif' border='0' style='vertical-align:middle' alt='sad-fix.gif' /><!--endemo--> ) Maybe if I take the current drive out and put a new one in, Windows Setup will work and I can install to there and then plug my second drive back in as a slave and copy the important data from it over to the new drive...
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  • SwiftspearSwiftspear Custim tital Join Date: 2003-10-29 Member: 22097Members
    Boot from the windows CD to reinstall...
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  • NecroticNecrotic Big Girl&#39;s Blouse Join Date: 2002-01-25 Member: 53Members, NS1 Playtester
    And this is why we partition our windows away from all our useful data kids...
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  • EEKEEK Join Date: 2004-02-25 Member: 26898Banned
    <!--QuoteBegin-Necrotic+Oct 31 2004, 05:12 AM--></div><table border='0' align='center' width='95%' cellpadding='3' cellspacing='1'><tr><td><b>QUOTE</b> (Necrotic @ Oct 31 2004, 05:12 AM)</td></tr><tr><td id='QUOTE'><!--QuoteEBegin--> And this is why we partition our windows away from all our useful data kids... <!--QuoteEnd--> </td></tr></table><div class='postcolor'> <!--QuoteEEnd-->
    You know, I'm on a computer science floor, and not even everyone here runs partitions. I have like, 9 partitions, and the brainiac across the hall has a massive C: drive....
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  • Seph_KimaraSeph_Kimara Join Date: 2003-08-10 Member: 19359Members
    <a href='http://www.microsoft.com/resources/documentation/Windows/XP/all/reskit/en-us/Default.asp?url=/resources/documentation/Windows/XP/all/reskit/en-us/prmd_stp_czgw.asp' target='_blank'>http://www.microsoft.com/resources/documen...md_stp_czgw.asp</a>

    From the sounds of that, it's faulty drivers or hardware.
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  • ElvenThiefElvenThief aka Elven Thief (ex. NS Programmer) Join Date: 2002-11-15 Member: 8754Members, Retired Developer, NS1 Playtester, Constellation
    Find out who your hard drive manufacturer is and download their diagnostic programs (usually a boot disk or cd). If it's happening just when you unpack files with winrar, I doubt its so much the driver as it is the file system/hard drive. It's probably attempting to write to the same position and just screwing up.
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  • RPG_JssmfulhudRPG_Jssmfulhud Join Date: 2002-11-02 Member: 4006Members
    You could have a faulty RAM stick. I had the same problem and threw out the damaged stick. Computer now works.

    Try to install XP with one stick at a time and find out which one (if any) is faulty.
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  • Dorian_GrayDorian_Gray Join Date: 2004-02-15 Member: 26581Members, Constellation
    One word. Knoppix. Try using it to burn as much data as humanly possible to CDs, then use it to write zeros to your whole drive, thus removing any trace of anything windowsy. <!--c1--></div><table border='0' align='center' width='95%' cellpadding='3' cellspacing='1'><tr><td><b>CODE</b> </td></tr><tr><td id='CODE'><!--ec1-->dd if=/dev/zero of=/dev/hda {or whatever your main partition is}<!--c2--></td></tr></table><div class='postcolor'><!--ec2--> should do the trick. Also, you can use it to run diagnostics most likely (never tried) to check RAM problems or other hardware issues.
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  • CForresterCForrester P0rk(h0p Join Date: 2002-10-05 Member: 1439Members, Constellation
    edited October 2004
    Thanks for the tips, guys.

    How strange... I left the computer off over night and now I just tried to boot it up again, and here I am. It's working fine with the Omega drivers... I'll need to give it a test run of a few hours just to see if it's stable, but I'm hoping it is...

    Can RAM just go "bad" without any human factor at all? (Besides using the computer, of course) This is the same RAM that I've had for a year without issue, I haven't opened my case or even touched it (except to reset during bluescreen errors) in months.

    [EDIT:] By the way, I have partitioned my drive. <!--emo&;)--><img src='http://www.unknownworlds.com/forums/html//emoticons/wink-fix.gif' border='0' style='vertical-align:middle' alt='wink-fix.gif' /><!--endemo--> C:\ is for my Windows installation, D:\ for my data. The problem is that I've got settings and stuff saved to C: that aren't absolutely essential, but I'd like to keep them, if possible. (Like my favourites)
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  • ZelZel Join Date: 2003-01-27 Member: 12861Members
    the first problem with ntfs.sys sounded like the harddrive. I was going to say defrag like you havent in years, because when the drive is way too fragmented it has trouble reading.

    with the other problems it sounded like video card or harddrive hardware, ie the part itself was faulty.
    since it is okay after leaving it off overnight, it is most likely a heat related hardware fault. open up the side, get all the dust out and after running for 20 minutes see if the harddrive is hot and the center of the video card, above the GPU core. (if youre worried about putting your finger onto the electronics directly, put a peice of non-conducting material between your finger and the videocard, like a peice of paper.

    they both should be hot, but not boiling/scalding hot. if they are so hot that you cant leave your finger there for more than twenty seconds, your computer needs more cooling.


    you arent by any chance in the southern hemisphere? new heating issues tend to arise in the summer, not the winter....
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  • CForresterCForrester P0rk(h0p Join Date: 2002-10-05 Member: 1439Members, Constellation
    Nope, it's completely dead now. Windows won't boot without a bluescreen. I'm posting from my brother's computer, at the moment.

    I use Diskeeper and have it set to defrag every day, so it wasn't that.

    I'm running Memtest86 right now to verify that it isn't my memory. I have to wait two weeks to be able to afford replacement parts... :/ And even then, I'll only have about $100 Canadian to spend...

    I'm gonna leave it off after I've run the tests in case it's my hard drive, so that I don't put any more strain on it and can still copy my files from it...
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