BLUE SCREEN OF DEATH PART II 1

[labninja]

As you might or might not recall from Jan 18:<br>
I have a SBS server (4.5) that keep on crashing randomly. It started off with 0x0000001a memory dumps. Then I stopped the Backup and Anti-Virus services and now it is coming up with STOP 0x0000001E KMODE_EXEPTION NOT HANDLED blue screens. I then added a new UPS, replaced all the hubs, redone some of the network cabling, reseated the memory & processor, removed one of the network cards, moved it three flours down in the same building. It ran fine for 1 week exactly and has now started to crash left, right and centre.<br>
<br>
Any more ideas?

 

[MrDan]

I'm assuming a reinstallation of software has already been performed?

 

[DougP]

I think your problem is Hardware in the Server Not outside it.<br>
Blue screens are always hardware<br>
That's why Microsoft makes an HCL (Harware compatablity list)<br>
If part is not on the list or you don't have the most current driver for it then it could be a problem.<br>
The reason you get the Blue Screen is NT can't resolve the problem so it puts up a screen to tell someone who understands it what the problem is.<br>
<br>
Start by swapping out Internal components<br>
Motherboard, SCSI card(s), etc.<br>
<br>
Hope this Helps

 

[labninja]

We now have it pinned down to RAS. As soon as you start the RAS service, it crashes with IRQ NOT LESS etc blue screen.<br>
<br>
Thanx!

 

[2ffat]

We had a similar problem with the BSOD and IRQ NOT LESS... . The problem went away after we updated the drivers for the NIC card. Is there a problem with the drivers for RAS?<br>

 

[BruceP]

Sounds like you found the problem with the RAS service. I would suggest the same thing as 2ffat, update the NIC and modem drivers.<br>
<br>
And to reply to DougP's comment, beware of the term &quot;always&quot; and &quot;never&quot;. Blue screens are NOT always hardware. That is false assumption. Blue screens are many times memory leaks, buggy drivers, poorly written application software, etc. To assume it is always hardware is a dangerous assumption.

 

[DougP]

you pin-pointed your own problem in the 3RD post<br>
IRQ conflict<br>
See the blue screen is telling you but your not listening.<br>
<br>
BRUCE YOU ARE CONTRADICTING YOU OWN SELF<br>
<br>
heres your quote from above read it out load.<br>
<br>
&quot;Sounds like you found the problem with the RAS service. I would suggest the same thing as 2ffat, update the NIC and modem drivers.&quot;<br>
<br>
What is a NIC card (a hardware device)<br>
What is RAS connected to a MODEM (hardware)<br>
Yes it is a driver (software) but it is there for one reason to Drive a hardware device.<br>
thus the BLUE screen<br>
NT can't figure out the problem directly related to a hardware device.<br>
<br>
<br>

 

[labninja]

Thanx for all the responses. Especially DougP and BruceP! We now followed your recommendations and reinstalled the modem with the latest driver - so far so good - running for 2.5 hours. Will keep you posted. It is ironic that you have the same argument about hardware/software, because I had the same argument with Dell. With a Dell server comes a three year on-site hardware maintenance agreement. Now I agree, that a modem driver is actually software, but if a modem is not functioning because of it's driver - I class it as a hardware problem and they should fix it. Anyway thanx for all the advice so far!<br>
<br>
Regards<br>
labninja (Or should I say, the Wyatt Earp of the IT world)

 

[BruceP]

Well, to address DougP's point, did you physically replace the modem and the nic? or just update the drivers? If it were a HARDWARE problem, updating SOFTWARE would not fix it.... I mean... how can software fix a hardware problem? Only replacing or repairing hardware can fix a hardware problem.<br>
<br>
Think about it for a minute... updating a driver is a software fix... to a software problem... (poorly written driver).

 

[MasterRacker]

I don't want to get directly involved in the war here, but I'll add 2 cents. At the last 2 NT seminars I attended the speakers at each claimed that a BSOD is always hardware. However, I once saw a dvide by zero BSOD that came from a fault driver so I know it's not ALWAYS. From my experience, I would say it's MOSTLY hardware however.<br>
<br>
Following is an excerpt from an TechRepublic article by Brian Posey that I found in TechNet about BSODs :<br>
<br>
DIVIDE_BY_ZERO_ERROR<br>
This error is caused by an application trying to divide by zero. If you receive this error and don’t know which application caused it, you might try examining the memory dump.<br>
IRQL_NOT_LESS_OR_EQUAL<br>
The IRQL_NOT_LESS_OR_EQUAL error is caused by a buggy device driver or an actual hardware conflict. If you’ve recently added new hardware to your system, try removing it and see if the error goes away. Likewise, if you’ve recently loaded a new device driver, you might try using ERD Commander Professional Edition, by Winternals Software, to temporarily disable the new driver and see if the problem goes away.<br>
KMODE_EXCEPTION_NOT_HANDLED<br>
An incorrectly configured device driver usually causes this type of error. As I’ll explain later, you can use another section of the blue screen to figure out which driver is causing the problem.<br>
REGISTRY_ERROR<br>
Such an error indicates a catastrophic failure in the system’s registry. However, this error can sometimes be caused by failure to read the registry from the hard disk rather than because the registry itself is corrupt. Most of the time though, if you get this error, you’ll have to restore from backup.<br>
INACCESSIBLE_BOOT_DEVICE<br>
Just as the name implies, this error indicates that Windows NT is having trouble reading from the hard disk. This error can be caused by a faulty device driver or a bad small computer systems interface (SCSI) terminator. If you’ve checked for these problems, but are still receiving the error, check to make sure that a virus hasn’t destroyed your boot sector.<br>
UNEXPECTED_KERNEL_MODE_TRAP<br>
This error message is almost always caused by your computer’s memory. If you receive this error, check to make sure that all of your single inline memory modules (SIMMs) are the same type and speed. You should also check to make sure that your computer’s Complementary Metal Oxide Semiconductor (CMOS) is set for the correct amount of RAM. If all of these suggestions check out, try replacing the memory in the computer.<br>
BAD_POOL_HEADER<br>
This is, perhaps, the most obscure error message. In most cases, if you receive this error, it’s related to the most recent change you’ve made on your system. Try undoing the change to get rid of the error. <br>
NTFS_FILE_SYSTEM<br>
An NTFS_FILE_SYSTEM error indicates hard disk corruption. If your system is bootable, run CHKDSK /F on all of your partitions immediately. If your system isn’t bootable, try installing a new copy of Windows NT in a different directory. You can use that copy to run the CHKDSK program. When you’re done with the second copy, you can edit your BOOT.INI file to make your computer start your original copy of Windows NT.<br>
KERNEL_DATA_INPAGE_ERROR<br>
This error indicates that Windows NT wasn’t able to read a page of kernel data from the page file. Bad memory, a bad processor, incorrectly terminated SCSI devices, or a corrupt PAGEFILE.SYS file may cause this situation. The first step in correcting such an error is to recreate the PAGEFILE.SYS file and see if you can bring your system back online.<br>
NMI_HARDWARE_FAILURE<br>
This is a generic error message in which the hardware abstraction layer can’t report on the true cause of the error. In such a situation, Microsoft recommends calling the hardware vendor. This error can sometimes be caused by mixing parity and non-parity SIMMs, or by bad SIMMs.<br>
<p> Jeff<br><a href=mailto: masterracker@hotmail.com> masterracker@hotmail.com</a><br><a href= > </a><br>