Wireless Router causing crashes?

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I have recently been having alot to problems with my computer crashing repeatedly. I get a STOP 0x00000050 error. I have tried everything I can to fix it. It finally dawned on me that the problem got significantly worse after I installed a Belkin N Wireless router a few weeks ago. I plan to disconnect it to test my theory. But if I am right I’m not sure how to fix it. Do I just reset the unit and install again from scratch? I also run Zone Alarm Internet Security Suite Version 9.1.008.000 and I wonder if there is a compatability problem with it. Though I did try turning ZA off and it made no difference. The crashes seem to be random. I have updated drivers, scanned for viruses and spyware cleaned and defraged the registry, checked memory. From what I’ve read hardware issues are common with this error so this is my next try.

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Hi Melanie and welcome to the Lounge!

That specific STOP error generally means data the system requested was not found in memory, so it generated an exception error. The memory could be main memory, L2 cache memory, video memory or any other device that addresses memory on the computer. Software incompatibilities can also cause the error.

Can you provide the specs about your computer; OS (including service packs), laptop or desktop, connecting via wireless or Ethernet, cpu, video card, ram, etc.? The more details the better.

Have you checked the Event Viewer (hardware and software error logs) under Control Panel | Administrative Tools? Look for any red critical error markings to see if any service or process is identified with the error, and note the Event ID and post what you find back here.

You mentioned you have updated drivers. Are there any drivers you have not updated? I would update the video driver, and any others that have not been recently updated.

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Hi Gerald,

The computer is an HP Pavillion M8075 desktop with 3GB RAM and Intel Pentium (R) CPU3.2GHz. OS is Vista Home Premium SP2 32bit. We have an ADSL connection with Belkin N Wireless Router and Web Excel modem.

I have updated the Audio driver. I ran a Uniblue scan and it was the only one identified as out of date. I also updated the Graphics Driver as this is often mentioned as a cause of problems.

The events log shows many errors. Under IntelDH there were alot mentioning a CCU Engine failing to create Data Manager or Tray Icon, but the most recent of these is a month ago. There are no events under hardware. Windows logs shows 3 errors repeatedly. They are: The following boot-start or system start drivers failed to load i8042prt
HP CUE Device Discovery Service Hung on starting
The Parallel Port Driver Service failed to start due to… either it is disabled or it has no enabled devices associated
Under applications it has: The performance strings in the Performance registry value is corrupted when process Performance extension counter provider. The BaseIndex value from thePerformance registry is the first word DWORD in the data section, LastCounter value is the second DWORD in the data section, and LastHelp value is the third DWORD in the Data section.
: Unloading the performance counter strings for service WmiApRpl (WmiApRpl) failed. The first DWORD in the Data section contains the error code.

I’m afraid this is all as clear as mud to me. Hope it makes some sense to you 🙂

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Unloading the performance counter strings for service WmiApRpl (WmiApRpl) failed. The first DWORD in the Data section contains the error code.

Check out this thread , particularly the first answer posted by Arthur Xie. Follow his directions to see if the crashes stop. As he states in his instructions, if the problem persists after rebuilding the performance counter settings, then follow his instructions on clean booting. The WmiApRpl failing can cause crashes, but some startup apps can also be the crash source.

You may find the Intel Viiv in the msconfig startup (which relates to the IntelDH and CCU Engine).

You can click the Start menu button, and type services in the search box and click on services when it appears in the search listing and locate the HP CUE Device Discovery Service. Look to see if it is running or stopped, and whether it is set on Automatic, Manual, or Disabled. If it is disabled, you can attempt to start the service and note if you get an error message when you try. You can disable it if it is set to run on Automatic or Manual just as a test. This service may or may not be needed on your system. Make a note on what changes you make here so you can revert back to the way you found it if necessary.

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Thanks for all the tips Gerald.

I have reset the performance counter successfully, but crashed again straight after. Then found HP CUE. It was on auto update so I have disabled it. No crashes yet, but only time will tell. The Intel Viiv has been turned of in startup for the last month (same date the error messages stopped, so it is obviously a problem, just not the current problem!). I have been virtually running in Clean boot mode for the last month, but haven’t been game to touch any of the Microsoft services. That may be my next step, but I’ll wait to see how the other changes have affected things first.

Thanks again for your help. I’ll let you know how it goes.

Melanie

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Unfortunately, my computer is still crashing. I did discover that the I8042prt error related to mouse or keyboard drivers failing to load. I found this by checking the Event Viewer online help. I checked drivers for both and apparently all up to date??? Haven’t tried disabling Microsoft services yet.

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I did discover that the I8042prt error related to mouse or keyboard drivers failing to load.

I have experienced an issue previously where I had to add a registry key to enable Hotplugging for a USB keyboard.

Be sure to take the usual precautionary backup steps before changing registry items.

Locate this path,

Code:

HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINESystemCurrentControlSetServicesi8042prtParameters

Create a REG_DWORD of “Headless” with a value of “1”

Also to further troubleshoot the crash issue,

Is Vista creating Memory Dumps? If so they could be found at: %SystemRoot%MEMORY.DMP

%SystemRoot% is the path to your Windows directory i.e. C:Windows in most peoples case.

Now if you find that it is we can start debugging the memory dump for the cause of the crashes with Windows Debugging Tools WinDbg.exe

http://www.microsoft.com/whdc/Devtools/Debugging/default.mspx

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Hi Josh,

Unfortunately I am getting to the limits of my computer expertise. I found i8042prt under Regedit. I created a new registry item of “Headless” but not sure how to add value to it. When I tried it added another registry item. Is this the correct way to do this? The path listed was different to the one you had too.

At the Command Prompt it said the MEMORY.DMP was not recognised. However I found it in the Registry Editor?? It was listed under HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINESystemSet001|ControlCrashControl. So far I haven’t worked out how to open it.

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Hi Melanie,

No worries at all we can slow it down a little and hopefully it get it sorted out

I’ve attached the recorded steps of creating the registry entry I have mentioned above. Great feature of Windows 7.”Problem Steps Recorder”.

It is important that the entry be placed in the same location as in the steps if you cannot find that location then please post back.

We can worry about diagnosing memory dumps later on if this does not solve the issue

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Thanks Josh,

The attachment really made it easy to follow the steps. Fingers crossed this will do the trick. I’ll let you know how it goes.

Melanie

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Bad news. Still crashing, though I don’t think it is happening as much as it was before. I tried to create a minidump in System Advanced Settings, but when I went to look at it after a crash it said the file was empty. When I try %SystemRoot%minidump it says it is not recognised as an internal or external command. Am I looking in the wrong place?

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Sorry to hear the bad news Melanie though I do hope that our last step did have that positive effect of it seemingly not crashing as often.

Your settings should look the same for the “System Failure” section.

Open your start Menu and type %SystemRoot% and press enter, this will open up your Windows installation directory.

Scroll through the folders/files until you find the memory.dmp file (you should have one of these because of the STOP/crash errors you have) and Right click > SendTo > Compressed (zipped) folder

Then upload to the forum here if it is under 2 megabytes in size.

When I try %SystemRoot%minidump it says it is not recognised as an internal or external command. Am I looking in the wrong place?

Not at all, that means that there has not been a minidump folder created. Not a very intuitive way of saying it

Best of luck

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Hi Josh,

I got into Windows no problem, but can’t find MEMORY.DMP at all. I did change System Failure settings to minidump a couple of days ago. I found the minidump folder but it is empty even though the system has crashed a few times since. I changed it back today to Kernel Memory Dump, and still can’t find folder. I checked every folder that had been modified recently and did a search for any file with mem in it.

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can’t find MEMORY.DMP at all

This article is not directly listed for Vista operating system but some of the reasons why the memory dump isn’t created would still apply,

Windows does not save memory dump file after a crash

http://support.microsoft.com/kb/130536

I just noticed that in my screen capture,

It does not have the “Automatically Restart” option ticked.

Let us know if any of the reasons listed in the Microsoft article ring true for you.

If you would like to save and attach your “System” & “Application” event logs here we could look through those for ideas of what might be causing these BSOD crashes.

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Hi Josh,

I have added a folder to Windows named Memory.dmp thinking the computer couldn’t find where to put crash dump, but after several crashes the folder is still empty. I increased the pagefile size to 4500MB which is 1.5x my RAM as Microsoft suggests. Still crashing and still no dump file.

I saved the last 24 hours of errors in the event log but couldn’t upload the file type, so I have done a simple cut and paste of it. Some of these errors are new.

Error 22/04/2010 10:27:54 AM Service Control Manager Eventlog Provider 7026 None
Error 22/04/2010 10:27:54 AM Service Control Manager Eventlog Provider 7000 None
Error 22/04/2010 10:27:14 AM Eventlog 1101 Event processing
Error 22/04/2010 10:27:13 AM EventLog 6008 None
Error 22/04/2010 10:15:25 AM Application Error 1000 (100)
Error 22/04/2010 9:20:44 AM SharedAccess_NAT 31004 None
Error 22/04/2010 9:14:06 AM Application Error 1000 (100)
Error 22/04/2010 8:47:31 AM Service Control Manager Eventlog Provider 7026 None
Error 22/04/2010 8:47:31 AM Service Control Manager Eventlog Provider 7000 None
Error 22/04/2010 8:46:42 AM EventLog 6008 None
Error 22/04/2010 8:46:43 AM Eventlog 1101 Event processing
Error 21/04/2010 8:47:12 PM Service Control Manager Eventlog Provider 7026 None
Error 21/04/2010 8:47:12 PM Service Control Manager Eventlog Provider 7000 None
Error 21/04/2010 8:08:09 PM Application Error 1000 (100)
Error 21/04/2010 7:33:22 PM Service Control Manager Eventlog Provider 7026 None
Error 21/04/2010 7:33:22 PM Service Control Manager Eventlog Provider 7000 None
Error 21/04/2010 12:42:42 PM Service Control Manager Eventlog Provider 7026 None
Error 21/04/2010 12:42:42 PM Service Control Manager Eventlog Provider 7000 None
Error 21/04/2010 12:07:20 PM Service Control Manager Eventlog Provider 7026 None
Error 21/04/2010 12:07:20 PM Service Control Manager Eventlog Provider 7000 None
Error 21/04/2010 12:06:37 PM EventLog 6008 None
Error 21/04/2010 12:06:38 PM Eventlog 1101 Event processing
Error 21/04/2010 11:55:38 AM Service Control Manager Eventlog Provider 7026 None
Error 21/04/2010 11:55:38 AM Service Control Manager Eventlog Provider 7000 None
Error 21/04/2010 11:55:01 AM EventLog 6008 None
Error 21/04/2010 11:55:02 AM Eventlog 1101 Event processing
Error 21/04/2010 11:42:49 AM Service Control Manager Eventlog Provider 7026 None
Error 21/04/2010 11:42:49 AM Service Control Manager Eventlog Provider 7000 None
Error 21/04/2010 11:42:32 AM PrintSpooler 19 None
Error 21/04/2010 11:42:10 AM EventLog 6008 None
Error 21/04/2010 11:42:11 AM Eventlog 1101 Event processing
Error 21/04/2010 11:20:56 AM Service Control Manager Eventlog Provider 7026 None
Error 21/04/2010 11:20:56 AM Service Control Manager Eventlog Provider 7000 None

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Just get the Windows 7 upgrade and ditch the buggy Vista. I’m glad I did!

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Hi Josh,

I have added a folder to Windows named Memory.dmp thinking the computer couldn’t find where to put crash dump, but after several crashes the folder is still empty. I increased the pagefile size to 4500MB which is 1.5x my RAM as Microsoft suggests. Still crashing and still no dump file.

couldn’t upload the file type

Melanie,

Please have a quick read of this article it will show you how to zip (compress) the saved event log files (evtx file format) so they can be uploaded to the forum as an attachment for us to review. As mentioned previously I am interested in the Application & System logs.

http://windows.microsoft.com/en-AU/windows-vista/Compress-and-uncompress-files-zip-files

It is a little strange that windows is not creating the memory.dmp crash file. If you weren’t sure %SystemRoot% is a windows variable which equals the “Windows Directory” usually C:Windows.

Just get the Windows 7 upgrade and ditch the buggy Vista. I’m glad I did!

Changing to Windows 7 may be preferable for various reasons but an “upgrade” may bring along the same issue to the new operating system.

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This is a long shot but I had what seems to be a similar problem driving me crazy for 3 days.

You didn’t describe exactly how you crash or how you know its the router. But in my case within a few minutes of plugging in a D-link DR-655 router, the computer didn’t blue screen like yours, but simply shut down hard with no warning just shut down cold

I even replaced the D-link, did all sorts of things for days with only 3-4 minutes of time before shut down. It did not shut down in safe mode so I was thinking driver or software (virus?)related. But all clean running many anti-virus, Maleware which is also always running to protect.

Solution – don’t know why but I used a USB to Ethernet cable converter and low and behold when I hooked up the Router to a USB port, no more crashes and works perfectly for more than a month now at least the router.

Lately had another sudden shut down issue but turned out to be a bad USB hub unrelated to router.

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As an aside, get rid of the Belkin router!! Search the internet and you will see what I am talking about. I’ve had three – the original was replaced twice!
If there’s anything that was installed by Belkin, uninstall it.
One good thing came out of this – I spent a lot of time with Belkin India and learned a thing or two about shooting problems.
Nice, friendly and courteous Customer Support – too bad the router stinks.
Good luck.
jbs/

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To Josh,

I have attached the application and system logs for the last 24 hours.

To Dave,

I only suspected the router as I realised the crashes started about the same time it was installed, but crashes seem random. I tried to see if it would crash when someone connected wirelessly, but it made no difference and we have 2 laptops and a mobile phone connecting wirelessly and have had no problems with connecting or dropouts. I still haven’t tried disconnecting it yet as I’ve been chasing other options.

Melanie

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To Josh,

I have attached the application and system logs for the last 24 hours.

I checked out the files and the file extension for both files are .mta? I checked the file extension and its commonly associated with Microsoft Flight Simulator?

Could you save the Windows Event Log files as .evtx (Vista/7/Windows 2008) format? If you aren’t sure how post back so we pass some info your way.

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Hi Melanie,

The easiest way to confirm or rule out your new router as the problem is to swap it out for your old one, or just disconnect it and go straight through your DSL modem. If the crashes stop, then you have found the source, and can exchange the router for another.

Also, most routers come with network management software. Did you by any chance install and use Belkin’s network management software for your desktop and laptops? If so, I would uninstall it and use Vista’s built in network management software to handle network setup and configuration. I have found Windows to be better at doing the job than the software that came with my router.

Another possibility to check is to use hard drive diagnostic software to check the health of your drive. Check with your specific hard drive manufacturer for a download.

Yet another thing to try is to completely remove your existing page file, reboot, and create a new page file. The current one might be corrupted.

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Hi Melanie,

If you’re enjoying the learning curve here, by all means, keep going. If not, you may want to consider wiping and reloading your machine, so you can get on with things.

First, though, make sure you’ve checked all the hardware; test your CPU, RAM, and try taking the router out of the loop, as suggested (I’d uninstall the belkin software, too; I’ve had problems with almost every belkin device I’ve run into). There are lots of free tools for doing these things, e.g., Ultimate Boot CD. If you can’t swap out the power supply to check the output stability, you can do it with a cheap multi-meter. (However this is a very unlikely culprit; power supplies usually just fail completely.)

Good luck!

–Mark

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Do you use McAfee security software?

Millions of computers shut down and reboot repeatedly as faulty anti-virus program causes havoc around the globe –

“Antivirus vendor McAfee Inc. confirmed that yesterday a software update had caused its antivirus program for corporate customers to target a harmless file, leading PCs to repeadedly reboot themselves.” –

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sciencetech/article-1267950/McAfee-antivirus-program-fault-causes-millions-PCs-shut-down.html

I would try running the PC in Safe or from a Linux boot disc such as Ubuntu. You can download the free ISO file from http://www.ubuntu.com and then burn it to a CD/DVD disc.

If your PC’s BIOS setup program is set so that the CD/DVD drive is the first boot device, you can boot Ubuntu Linux from the disc. It will install the drivers for your equipment. You should be able to run Ubuntu. If Safe Mode or Ubuntu works then you have a problem with Windows not a hardware problem and vice versa.

BIOS Setup Program – http://www.pcbuyerbeware.co.uk/BIOS.htm

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It’s possible you have a driver problem.

For example, I had a Dell laptop that would crash when starting up at one guys apartment. I would bring it home and it worked fine. I was getting very frustrated. I took it outside into the apartment parking lot and it worked fine. I took it back into his apartment and it would crash every time.

Then I completely wiped the hard drive and re-installed Windows XP and all drivers and software. It worked fine at my house. Then I took it to the apartment and it would always blue screen crash during startup.

Eventually I discovered that there was a driver update for the Intel Wireless card that was known to cause this exact same problem with “some” WiFi Routers.

Check for Driver updates to your WiFi adapter and then I think you should try a different WiFi Router. Many places will allow you to return it after a few days, so you won’t be out the money for long.

John

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OK, Finally unplugged the router and wait for it …STILL crashing. I didn’t install the Belkin software. I deleted the page file and then recreated it and still no memory dumps. I am running Zone Alarm Security Suite.

I have tried to attach the logs again. Not sure what happened last time

I have been able to open them so I think it has worked.

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I have updated drivers, scanned for viruses and spyware cleaned and defraged the registry, checked memory.

From some of the events reported I would like to ask you what software you have used to check your PC with for spyware/malware. I can recommend Malwarebytes Anti-Malware and Super AntiSpyware as two good free products. Be sure to update them with the latest definitions.

Also Have you ran CHKDSK on the local hard drive?

Code:

chkdsk c: /f

How many user profiles do you have on the PC? Have you tried creating a new account on the PC and running that for a few hours to see if it crashes. This may indicate if there is a particular user software or corruption related to the profile causing the unexpected shutdowns.

As a side note I’d recommend upgrading to the latest version of Adobe Flash too as I noticed it crashed an IE session you had on the 26/04/10.

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Hi Josh,

I used Ad-Aware to check for Malware. After one crash yesterday the system went to CHKDSK when it restarted (first time this has happened). No problems found. There are 4 user profiles including the Administrator. I haven’t tried creating a new one so I will try today. I did have trouble with Flash Player a few weeks ago. I thought I’d deleted it, so I’ll have another look at that.

Melanie

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Hi again.

Created a new user account. Went really well yesterday. I left it running for a couple of hours and no crashes. Unfortunately, I have been using it again today and it has crashed twice. The stop error message is different though which is interesting. It is 0x00000007F, where it has been consistently 0x00000050. I deleted and reinstalled Adobe Flash. I’ve done this before. I’m thinking this newer version of Flash may be a problem, but is it THE problem? If I have to completely wipe Windows and reinstall how do I do that without a CD as computer came with Vista pre-installed and no hard copy.

Melanie

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Hi again.

The stop error message is different though which is interesting. It is 0x00000007F, where it has been consistently 0x00000050.

Melanie, concerning stop error 007f:

“This error message can occur if either of the following conditions exists:

* Your computer has hardware or software problems (hardware failure is the most common cause).
* You try to over clock the speed of your computer’s processor (for example, you set a 150 MhZ processor to run at 187 MhZ).

The above STOP error means a trap occurred in kernel mode and the trap is either one the kernel is not allowed to have or is always fatal. The most common causes of a STOP 0x7F are:

* Low-level hardware corruption, such as corrupt memory (RAM)
* Mismatched memory modules
* A malfunctioning motherboard ”

This information came from this Microsoft Knowledge Base article . The article goes on in more detail. Although the listed operating systems affected by this error tops out at Windows XP Pro, the information here still applies to Vista.

The one matter that stands out in the article is that the most common cause of this stop error is hardware failure in one of the three areas mentioned above. The interesting thing not stated here is that a failing power supply can be at the root of those hardware failures. It is widely believed that power supply problems normally mean a dead power supply. This is not the case. An intermittent crash problem can be caused by a power supply that intermittently supplies incorrect voltage to the hardware components. If voltages are not correct, memory will not function correctly, nor will the various systems on the motherboard, etc.
Testing the power supply output voltages might show it as the source of the symptoms, however due to the intermittent nature of the crashes, if the power supply is at fault, then most of the time it is outputting appropriate voltages. Thus, it is tricky to prove with certainty if the power supply is indeed at fault. One thing is a certainty, and that is if the power supply is the root of the problem, your system will continue to grow more unstable and in time will be dead. As the frequency of the crashes increase, so does the likelihood that testing the power supply will confirm defective output.

I would recommend you find a technician who can check your power supply. Maybe the first check will show inadequate voltages. If not, several checks can be made over a day or so. He might possess testing equipment to check for faults in your motherboard as well.

Hope this helps.

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Thanks Gerald,

I have got to the point where I’ve decided that there isn’t anymore I can do and that I need a professional to look at it. Your information confirms that this is the best way to go. Of course my husband has been saying for weeks, “just buy another computer”. Next he’ll be saying I told you so!!

Melanie

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Thanks Gerald,

I have got to the point where I’ve decided that there isn’t anymore I can do and that I need a professional to look at it. Your information confirms that this is the best way to go. Of course my husband has been saying for weeks, “just buy another computer”. Next he’ll be saying I told you so!!

Melanie

Your welcome, Melanie. Please post back to let us all know if you get your computer fixed or if your husband buys you a new one.

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Good post Gerald

I do agree that you’ve done quite a bit of testing and all points considered professional would be the best way to go when hardware is in question. Thanks for your perseverance with this and hope that you are in no way jaded but only wiser.

If it does come down to buying a new computer (retail or home built) for whatever reason definitely invest in a copy of Windows 7 do not stick with Vista. I generally don’t make those sort of comments but Vista is way behind and you don’t your experience in front of the PC to be a chore.

Please feel free to post back how you travel with this one

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The final chapter ( I hope).

The computer tech reformatted the computer. It crashed twice while he was trying to reinstall our data. So in the end we have a new hard drive. Cheaper than a new computer, but not as pretty 🙂 We have only had it back since yesterday, but it hasn’t crashed yet.

I also discovered that Zone Alarm was part of the problem as I uninstalled it before it went to the shop and we saw a dramatic improvement in crashing.

Thanks again for all your help. I hope I don’t have to bother you again for a long time!

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The final chapter ( I hope).

The computer tech reformatted the computer. It crashed twice while he was trying to reinstall our data. So in the end we have a new hard drive. Cheaper than a new computer, but not as pretty 🙂 We have only had it back since yesterday, but it hasn’t crashed yet.

I also discovered that Zone Alarm was part of the problem as I uninstalled it before it went to the shop and we saw a dramatic improvement in crashing.

Thanks again for all your help. I hope I don’t have to bother you again for a long time!

As is often the case, there can be several contributors to bad behavior on PCs. We are glad your system is back in good health now and very much appreciate your posting back so we all know the results.

I am sure we all hope you will be able to enjoy a long break without critical PC issues, but we will be here when you do. In the meantime, keep checking out the threads. Enjoy the Lounge!

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