BSOD Question

Hi

Anyone have views on the following series of events? :

A quick summary :

Recently purchased a new PC, Mesh Athlon 64 3000+, XP home+SP2.Configured Internet Options for dial-up (using XP firewall) to test my connectivity(Mesh and Windows homepage for safety!).Succesfully connected to net,immediately disconnecting with a view to installing a suite of security apps.
Disabled Windows XP Firewall,installed ZoneAlarm6 free version,SpybotSD free (+teatimer resident), Boclean,Ad-Aware free,SpywareBlaster and KAV5 trial version (NAV 2005 on my old PC but trying KAV out).
Again attempted to connect to net via dial-up with my new armoury at standby and BAM!!...BSOD, with bunch of text and a stop error code :

0x0000008E (0xC0000005, 0xFF8FD02A,0xED807458,Ox00000000)....and memory dump.

Concluded (rightly or wrongly) that this was due to a conflict/incompatability problem with my newly installed security set-up, not understanding the meaning of the error stop codes.
Decided to uninstall KAV5, re-boot and try net connection.Success !! (Rebooted and net connected 3 more times to be absolutely sure).

This question(s) I ask are: do I conclude that KAV5 trial was the culprit re: conflicts with other apps ?Do I need to try other options/scenarios ?. Am I barking up the wrong tree and the error codes do not point to a conflict problem but some other problem ?

I would really appreciate some help/advice here as I could be on the wrong track/expand nugatory effort.

Cheers

 

I would agree that KAV5 is likely the problem, especially since after removal everything now seems fine. The initial number in the sequence is called the "Bug Check" code. You can find more information about this particular code on MSDN. The 0x8E code refers to an unhandled kernel mode exception, and more specifically in this case a memory access violation in kernel mode code. So, a kernel mode driver was causing some sort of memory error or conflict. Given that removal of KAV5 seems to have solved your problem, then that would apparently confirm that it was a KAV5 driver issue.

 

Hi,

This behavior may occur if one of the following conditions is true:
• One or more of the random access memory (RAM) modules that are installed on your computer are faulty.
• The RAM configuration is incompatible with Windows XP.

RESOLUTION
To troubleshoot this behavior, follow these steps:
1. Remove some of the memory modules that are installed on the computer. Leave at least the RAM that is required for the computer to start and run Windows XP.

The recommended RAM to run Windows XP is 128 megabytes (MB). The minimum is 64 MB, and the maximum is 4 gigabytes.

For example, if two 256-MB memory modules are installed on your computer, remove one of the memory modules.
2. Restart your computer, and then run the Setup program:
a. Insert the Windows XP Setup CD-ROM in the CD-ROM drive, start the computer, and then click OK to select the first option screen to install a copy of Windows XP.
b. Click Accept, and then follow the instructions on the screen to complete the Windows XP installation.
3. If you again receive the error message that is mentioned in the "Symptoms" section, go to step 4.
4. Remove a different memory module, or install the RAM in a different memory slot.
5. Restart your computer, and then rerun Setup.

You may have to restart your computer several times to identify the specific memory modules that are not working correctly.

From: http://support.microsoft.com/default.aspx?scid=kb;EN-US;Q315335

The point is, this problem could recur in the future with other applications when in fact, the cause/s are not the applications but rather, defective/incompatible RAM modules.

 

Shrek, that knowledge base article is largely concerned with the specific case of the 0x8E bug check, or stop, code appearing during the initial installation and setup of Windows XP itself. It is just an article responding to one possible occurrence of the more generalized 0x8E unhandled kernel exception condition (the link I provided outlines the more general case). Moreover, the original post states that XP worked fine prior to the installation of some security utilities. I wouldn't jump to a bad RAM conclusion in this case given that everything seemed to work fine both prior to and after removal of the KAV5 code.

 

Thanks to Alec & Shrek for taking the time out to look at this...it's been really helpful and given me a better understanding of the problem.
Will now try out other AV's (NOD32, Bitdefender etc) and may even continue with NAV2005 which I am familiar with but was a real resource hog on my old computer. Would anyone in the Wilder's community have an opinion on my continued use of NAV2005 bearing in mind my new PC runs like a ferrari against my old pedestrian PC (P111,733MHZ,128MB Ram)....??.

Thanks...

 

If you are running ZA you MUST ensure that you install KAV with its Network Attack feature disabled. This latter is intended for those without a FW and will BSOD you every time you connect to the net if you already have a software FW.

One way out is to install KAV with ZA shutdown, and then disable the Network attack feature in KAV before enabling ZA. The other way is to install KAV with the feature already switched off. See here:-

http://forum.kaspersky.com/index.php?showtopic=897

 

TopperID....you are truly a 'TOP' guy....followed your advice, re-installed Kasperkey5, followed all your instructions to the letter and BINGO !!!....NO BSOD...successful net connection, and getting to grips with KAV5 !!!

Special thanks to you personally and this great forum who have come to my rescue many times...long may you reign supreme !!!