View Full Version : BSOD
My trusty 4 year old Dell Inspiron 630M running Win Xp SP3 has started to produce the BSOD after it has been on (usually hooked up to the mains) for a while. It will restart via Safe mode and I have done all the usual things such as System Restore, run MBAM, defrag, Avast scan, CCleaner etc. I have not made any changes to programmes etc and all MS updates are incorporated.
The BSOD says - apart from the usual blurb - "STOP:0x000000F4 and, in brackets,
ox00000003
0x8A47D340
0x8A47D4B4
0x805C8C7C"
I have spent quite a time on Googie and also on the MS website, but not being an IT genius, I find it difficult to sort out the wheat from the chaff.
Can anyone please help me with a decode of this lot or point me towards where I can get some understandable decode of these codes. I suspect it may be to do with overheating, but the fan can still be heard from time to time.
Thank you
mcdhu
It most probably is due to overheating, its amazing how much dust will accrue over the years...
Get a can of spray duster, unplug the machine, take it outside (in dry weather of course) and dust it liberally.
You may at this point also wish to take out and re-seat the memory as the contacts oxidise also which can give you a BSOD also.
After that see how she goes....
p.s. Most computer shops PCWorld, Curry's (Or Comp USA in the states) will stock spray duster.
Sprogget
3rd May 2010, 11:20
I have in the past used a hoover & a leaf blower to clean out pc's. Remarkably effective, but not recommended.:uhoh:
Ok, hoovered out and reseated RAM - same again but different codes in brackets.
Could it be the coin cell battery? Do laptops have these?
mcdhu
Loose rivets
3rd May 2010, 15:17
Is the RAM in two parts? If so, try one at a time. Bank 0 or the lowest slot of course.
Did much dust come out? Were you able to be sure that fluff was cleared from the CPU/heat-sink area?
Have you tried leaving it in Safe Mode for a time that would give the BSOD if in normal start-up?
No, RAM in 1 bit - upgraded about 6 months ago so not much muck at all. Found an old copy of Active Disk Monitor so updated it and ran - temp fine (37C) and nothing found there.
Had my old battery still, so I've put it back in to see if it might be that.
I haven't tried leaving it up in Safe mode to see if it goes BSOD! I'll do that and report back.
Many thanks for the help. I just need it to last for another 18 months until I retire - I only really use it for dragging to the sim and hotels!! Nice new iMac at home!
Cheers
mcdhu
BTW, had a look in the event log - not that it means anything to me, but there was much mention of 'SideBy Side' code 32 and 39???!!!
Sprogget
3rd May 2010, 17:44
Has your system updated any device drivers recently? They're a great cause of bsods. If you've plugged in a new device or updated a driver, I would certainly look there & roll back to an earlier driver.
Latest bad news: UNMOUNTABLE-BOOT-VOLUME.
Won't start in any mode so methinks a visit to friendly local Asian puter repair shop is in order tomorrow!! Ah well!
mcdhu
Loose rivets
3rd May 2010, 22:20
Is the BIOS seeing the drive? Re-seat the drive perhaps.
Sprogget
3rd May 2010, 22:40
Borked. Check the drive cables aren't loose and/or reinstall os.
Yup, fresh install of xp - Mr Hafiq will do it. I don't have a disc - it didn't come with one. Ah well - never mind it's not the end of the world!!
Thanks all,
mcdhu
mad_jock
4th May 2010, 07:14
To be honest it sounds like your drive is goosed
You might be able to do a short term fix on it but in the time frame you want to use it on I don't think it will survive until your escape date.
If your over in Asia you should be able to pick one up for next to nothing.
If you pull the battery and power cable flip the laptop upside down and look at the bottom. Find the compartment with a disk picture and open it. The disk will be in a caddy of some form held in by 4 screws. Remove the caddy and takeonly the disk with you to get another one.
If you go to a tech shop they should be able to setup the disk and blow a image across to the new disk. That should keep you running until you can get home and have access to the install disk. Although as your fiddling with it anyway it might be worth going for windows 7. Should be able to get the thing fixed and upgraded for less than $100
mad_jock, you're right. HD knacked. It's in hospital as we speak!!
Thanks
mcdhu
Bushfiva
5th May 2010, 01:42
JUst finished fixing a friend's computer with different symptoms -- usually BSOD on cold boot, sometimes on restart -- but with the same first two error codes as you. In my case, hours of futzing and Googling turned up a possible problem with AHCI. The fix was to install an updated driver, not available from the manufacturer but present in the latest Intel RAID driver package (though this is a non-RAID notebook).
So if your new drive has the same problems, you know the next step :-)