Vista - Please help analyze this blue screen!

the wharf rat wrote:
Thank you.
No Norton (Avast! and Defender, as mentioned), and I
used MS' memory checker. I also removed/swapped memory
and the problem recurred, so it's probably not a
physical memory issue.

I also did sfc /scannow (thanks Silvy) and Mr. Gates
reported that something had been corrupted but was now
fixed - it has not done bluescreen since, but it's often
gone longer than this.

Hank

Then take hope from sfc's repair. It sounds like the good advice paid off
for you.

"Hank" <noguru.delete@xxxxxx> wrote in message
news:g4g1mu$fqk$1@xxxxxx

Blue screens again, or still...

It appears to be a DRIVER issue, discovered but not
identified on startup. I found nothing that will help me
determine which driver is at fault, and you know how
many there are.

There has not been a blue screen from SAFE MODE, so the
problem is not one of the primary drivers, nor is it
hardware.

CHKDISK and SFC found nothing. A restore did not stop
the problem. Avast!, Defender, and Spybot all insist
that this laptop is as immaculate as Obama's conscience
(but I'm searching for updates).

The most recent code is: 0x000000C0 (0x00000006,
0x00000103, 0x8E2448B8, 0x00000000)

Blue screen can occur on start or during operations.
When it happens, the only possible recovery is a forced
shutdown (5 sec on the power button) and restart), and
then it's probable there will be another blue screen on
startup.

HELP NEEDED:

1. How can the problematic driver be identified?

2. How can I get past the blue screen without doing a
forced shutdown?

Thanks,

Hank

"Hank" <noguru.delete@xxxxxx> wrote in message
news:g4lcja$3sm$1@xxxxxx
Have you tried the driver verifier? I have only used it once so I need to
let others comment on it use and appropriateness to your issue, but as I
recall it can do a number of things including identify unsigned drivers,
etc. although its main usefulness appears to be in driver development and
not as a general user diagnostic tool.

http://www.microsoft.com/whdc/DevToo...averifier.mspx
http://msdn.microsoft.com/en-us/library/ms792872.aspx

Colin Barnhorst wrote:

Well! I thank you, Colin -- though my gratitude is
tempered by a bit of sarcasm.

Such tool suites as Verifier are accessible by commoners
like me but seem to be intended for developers - they
help with proactive conflict prevention during software
design. For people like me, they also provide myriad
ways and means by which problems might be defined,
characterized, and (finally) solved, all described and
tutored in typically Microsoft concise English. I'm in
my eighth decade and in good health, and *should* have
remaining time to meet this anticipated schedule:

PROBLEM #1
Collect appropriate MS documents/libraries -- 80 hours
Review MS libraries and select applicable -- 200 h
Study applicable documents -- 200 h
Compare findings to online (user) opinions -- 100 h
Converge on most suitable approaches -- 80 h
Develop understanding of each method -- 120 h
Select highest probability solution -- 10 h
Implement --- 30 m
Forget everything learned above --- 1 d

PROCEED TO PROBLEM #2

********************************
Alternatively, someone could write me a prescription
that solves this @%$%!! headache.

Hank