Blue Screen Windows 7 - 003R Driver Crashing Possibly

[blizzard]

Alright.

I have been losing my mind trying to figure out my recent computer problems. For the last week I have been getting BSOD with BAD_POOL_CALLER

Here is the Blue Screen code:

Problem signature:
Problem Event Name: BlueScreen
OS Version: 6.1.7600.2.0.0.256.48
Locale ID: 1033

Additional information about the problem:
BCCode: c2
BCP1: 0000000000000007
BCP2: 0000000000001097
BCP3: 00000000040B00B8
BCP4: FFFFFA8020E04B90
OS Version: 6_1_7600
Service Pack: 0_0
Product: 256_1

I ran memtest the other day and had a few errors. Thinking that this was very likely a RAM error due to the BSOD and the error when running memtest, I took my computer to my local shop where I had purchased all the components. Sure enough, I had a faulty stick of RAM. They swapped out all my RAM for new stuff.

Machine was running great for the last day and a half. Then tonight I get another BSOD. Same error code as before. Since the latest crash, I can open Pro Tools 11 but loading most of my sessions will cause PT to totally freeze. Thought it might be a corrupt session that made it freeze so I created a new session and imported session data from "corrupt" session. Still freezes PT.

This is what I have tried:

I deleted all prefs/database using TRASHER.
All Windows 7 tweaks as per Avid. (first thing after fresh OS install).
Run PT as Admin.

Thought for sure that the new RAM had fixed everything. What else should I try?

Super frustrated. Spending way too much time dealing with computers instead of actually working!

Thanks for any help you can offer.

[blizzard]

SiSoftware Sandra

ID
Host Name : althor
Workgroup : WORKGROUP

Computer
Model : OEM System Product Name
Serial Number : System Ser**********
Chassis : Desktop
Mainboard : ASUS P9X79
Serial Number : 1311186********
BIOS : AMI (OEM) 4608 12/24/2013
Total Memory : 32GB DIMM DDR3

Processors
Processor : Intel(R) Core(TM) i7-4820K CPU @ 3.70GHz (4C 8T 3.7GHz, 3.7GHz IMC, 4x 256kB L2, 10MB L3)
Socket/Slot : FC LGA2011

Chipset
Memory Controller : ASUS Core (Ivy Bridge-E) DMI2 100MHz
Memory Controller : ASUS Core (Ivy Bridge-E) Integrated Memory Controller 0 Target Address/Thermal Registers 100MHz, 4x 8GB DIMM DDR3 1.6GHz 256-bit

Memory Module(s)
Memory Module : Crucial CMZ32GX3M4X1600C1 8GB DIMM DDR3 PC3-12800U DDR3-1600
Memory Module : Crucial CMZ32GX3M4X1600C1 8GB DIMM DDR3 PC3-12800U DDR3-1600
Memory Module : Crucial CMZ32GX3M4X1600C1 8GB DIMM DDR3 PC3-12800U DDR3-1600
Memory Module : Crucial CMZ32GX3M4X1600C1 8GB DIMM DDR3 PC3-12800U DDR3-1600

Video System
Monitor/Panel : Samsung SyncMaster
(1680x1050, 22.0")
Monitor/Panel : Samsung SyncMaster
(1920x1080, 21.5")
Monitor/Panel : Samsung SyncMaster
(1920x1080, 21.5")
Video Adapter : NVIDIA GeForce GTX 660 (5CU 960SP SM5.0 1GHz/1.24GHz, 384kB L2, 2GB 6GHz 192-bit, PCIe 2.00 x16)
Video Adapter : NVIDIA GeForce GTX 660 (5CU 960SP SM5.0 1GHz/1.24GHz, 384kB L2, 2GB 6GHz 192-bit, PCIe 2.00 x16)
Video Adapter : NVIDIA GeForce GTX 660 (5CU 960SP SM5.0 1GHz/1.24GHz, 384kB L2, 2GB 6GHz 192-bit, PCIe 2.00 x16)

Graphics Processor
CUDA GP Processor : NVIDIA GeForce GTX 660 (960SP 5C 1GHz/1.24GHz, 384kB L2, 2GB 6GHz 192-bit)
OpenCL GP Processor : NVIDIA GeForce GTX 660 (960SP 5C 1GHz/1.24GHz, 384kB L2, 2GB 6GHz 192-bit)
Compute Shader Processor : NVIDIA GeForce GTX 660 (960SP 5C 1GHz/1.24GHz, 384kB L2, 2GB 6GHz 192-bit)

Storage Devices
Samsung SSD 840 EVO 250GB (250GB, SATA600, SSD) : 233GB (F:)
Samsung SSD 840 EVO 250GB (250GB, SATA600, SSD) : 233GB (E:)
WDC WD1001FALS-00E8B0 (1TB, SATA300, 3.5", 7200rpm, 32MB Cache) : 932GB (G:)
KINGSTON SV300S37A120G (120GB, SATA300/600, SSD) : 112GB (C:)
WDC WD5001AALS-00L3B2 (500.1GB, SATA300, 3.5", 7200rpm, 32MB Cache) : 466GB (H:)
ASUS DRW-24F1ST a (SATA, DVD+-RW, CD-RW) : N/A (D:)

Logical Storage Devices
SAMPLES 2 (F:) : 233GB (NTFS) @ Samsung SSD 840 EVO 250GB (250GB, SATA600, SSD)
SAMPLES 1 (E:) : 233GB (NTFS) @ Samsung SSD 840 EVO 250GB (250GB, SATA600, SSD)
SAMPLES 3 (G:) : 932GB (NTFS) @ WDC WD1001FALS-00E8B0 (1TB, SATA300, 3.5", 7200rpm, 32MB Cache)
Hard Disk (C:) : 112GB (NTFS) @ KINGSTON SV300S37A120G (120GB, SATA300/600, SSD)
PROJECTS (H:) : 466GB (NTFS) @ WDC WD5001AALS-00L3B2 (500.1GB, SATA300, 3.5", 7200rpm, 32MB Cache)
Optical Drive (D:) : N/A @ ASUS DRW-24F1ST a (SATA, DVD+-RW, CD-RW)

Peripherals
LPC Hub Controller 1 : ASUS Patsburg LPC Controller
Audio Device : ASUS Patsburg High Definition Audio Controller
Audio Codec : Realtek Semi High Definition Audio
Audio Device : ASUS GK106 HDMI Audio Controller
Audio Codec : nVidia GeForce 6800 [NV40.1]
Serial Port(s) : 1
Disk Controller : ASUS Patsburg 6 Port SATA AHCI Controller
Disk Controller : ASUS Asmedia 106x SATA Controller
USB Controller 1 : ASUS Patsburg USB2 Enhanced Host Controller #2
USB Controller 2 : ASUS Patsburg USB2 Enhanced Host Controller #1
USB Controller 3 : ASUS ASMedia XHCI Controller
USB Controller 4 : ASUS ASMedia XHCI Controller
FireWire/1394 Controller 1 : ASUS VT6315 Series Firewire Controller
FireWire/1394 Controller 2 : Adaptec FW322/323 IEEE1394 OHCI FireWire Controller
SMBus/i2c Controller 1 : Intel ICH SMBus
SMBus/i2c Controller 2 : Intel SNB/IVB/HSW-E XMB Ch 0 SMBus
SMBus/i2c Controller 3 : Intel SNB/IVB/HSW-E XMB Ch 1 SMBus

Printers and Faxes
Printer : Microsoft XPS Document Writer (600x600, Colour)
Fax : Microsoft Shared Fax Driver (200x200)
Printer : HP Deskjet 5400 Series (600x600, USB, Colour)

Network Services
Network Adapter : Intel(R) 82579V Gigabit Network Connection (Ethernet)
Network Adapter : Intel(R) Gigabit CT Desktop Adapter (Ethernet, 1Gbps)

Operating System
Windows System : Microsoft Windows 7 Ultimate 6.01.7600
Platform Compliance : x64

Windows Experience Index
Current System : 7.3

[blizzard]

I was just able to open the same session in PT10 without any freezing. Everything seemed fine, though a little video stuttering with the video playing.

Go and try it again in PT11.3.0 and boom, it freezes.

Also I didn't clarify earlier, I'm using Pro Tools 11.3.0 and 10.3.9

[blizzard]

Apologies for replying to my own thread over and over, but it helps to have a running list of everything in one spot!

Going over the service log from my local shop, they ran memtest for five hours with no problems. They also ran Linpack Benchmark and Heaven Benchmark (for GPU) for two hours with no errors.

Also, if it helps in diagnosing the problem here, it seems like Pro Tools 11 keeps freezing up at the same point when loading a session. (Not all sessions seem to be causing the problem) it is always on an inactive audio track. Going to keep testing other sessions and see if there is a pattern to what will freeze and what won't.

[mjslakeridge]

At what point in loading up a session with PT11 is it freezing up? You may have a corrupt plug-in. Try moving all of your plug-ins to the unused plug-in folder and then load up the problem session. If it loads up properly, then you will have to add plug-ins one (or a few) at a time to see which one is the problem. Kind of cumbersome, but troubleshooting is a process of elimination.

[blizzard]

Interesting. Out of all the problems I've had with PT over the years (many) I have not yet encountered a corrupt plugin. I removed them all and the sessions loaded up fine! Going to try and find the offender now...

[mesaone]

Do you have processor scheduling set to "background services"? You should.
It's buried in system settings.

Control panel > system > advanced system settings > advanced tab > performance section > click "settings" > advanced tab > adjust for best performance of background services

But that's just something simple to try out. It might be in your best interest to try the semi-nuclear option: completely remove and reseat all PCIe cards and RAM, then do a disk check. Then defrag, then reinstall VMR.

If that still doesn't fix it, then you can try an elevated command prompt and enter sfc /scannow . Replacing HAL.dll might be necessary, but that's an easy task if you have your Windows install disk on hand - just use recovery console.

[guitardom]

If you are sure at this point VMR is the culprit, I would remove it completely, Clean the junk and registry with something such as CCLeaner. restart the machine, Re download the plugin. Be sure to right click it when installing and select "Run as Administrator" and give that a go. I would also be sure my graphics card drivers are up to date.

[blizzard]

Originally Posted by albee1952

You might also consider shutting down and opening the case, and reseating every card and each stick of RAM, as well as all power connections

Originally Posted by mesaone

Do you have processor scheduling set to "background services"?

But that's just something simple to try out. It might be in your best interest to try the semi-nuclear option: completely remove and reseat all PCIe cards and RAM, then do a disk check. Then defrag, then reinstall VMR.

If that still doesn't fix it, then you can try an elevated command prompt and enter sfc /scannow . Replacing HAL.dll might be necessary, but that's an easy task if you have your Windows install disk on hand - just use recovery console.

Originally Posted by guitardom

If you are sure at this point VMR is the culprit, I would remove it completely, Clean the junk and registry with something such as CCLeaner. restart the machine, Re download the plugin. Be sure to right click it when installing and select "Run as Administrator" and give that a go. I would also be sure my graphics card drivers are up to date.

Okay some more to add. After all of your suggestions everything was running quite smoothly so I left it alone and got some work done. But then late last night I had some more problems. Not a BSOD but a ProTools crash:

Problem signature:
Problem Event Name: APPCRASH
Application Name: ProTools.exe
Application Version: 11.3.0.327
Application Timestamp: 54929f89
Fault Module Name: StackHash_7113
Fault Module Version: 6.1.7600.16915
Fault Module Timestamp: 4ec4b137
Exception Code: c0000374
Exception Offset: 00000000000c6ae2
OS Version: 6.1.7600.2.0.0.256.48
Locale ID: 1033
Additional Information 1: 7113
Additional Information 2: 71138bde9dfc5993b75fa989722596da
Additional Information 3: 44dd
Additional Information 4: 44dd29dd3c46af7e878bc687c2eb5446

This was right after I had a Native Instruments plugin (hosted within VEPRO) encounter a fatal error. Shortly after, Pro Tools crashed. When trying to reboot after the crash, it took longer than usual. I have a SSD for system and it is usually very quick to boot. Once into Windows I could only see the desktop and none of my icons or toolbar. Couldn't ctrl+alt+del into task manager...nothing. So I shut down the machine did the following:

1) Opened case and checked all RAM, PCI, and power connections.
2) Restarted machine and Windows booted normally
3) Ran dskchk - everything normal
4) ran CCleaner and fixed all found problems, including removing anything from Slate Digital
5) Redownloaded Slate VMR and installed. (realized now that I did not Run as Admin when reinstalling)
6) Fired up Pro Tools and had the same freezing as before. So I moved VMR to unused plugs and everything ran fine.

So...I figured the Pro Tools crash was possibly related to something physical being loose in the machine because after I checked my connections it was running fine, apart from the VMR error. But to be honest, I can live without VMR for now...

So fast forward to this morning. I left my machine running but not PT. Fired up PT, opened a session and got this horrible distortion when playing back. I was getting this distortion before BSOD's last week. I thought to myself "here goes...gonna crash". So I shut down PT and BSOD.

Seems to be the hal again. Here is the analysis from WhoCrashed:

On Sat 2/14/2015 6:08:20 PM GMT your computer crashed
crash dump file: C:\Windows\Minidump\021415-13962-01.dmp
This was probably caused by the following module: hal.dll (hal+0x2BC60)
Bugcheck code: 0xC2 (0x7, 0x1097, 0x40B0008, 0xFFFFFA801F77B390)
Error: BAD_POOL_CALLER
file path: C:\Windows\system32\hal.dll
product: Microsoft® Windows® Operating System
company: Microsoft Corporation
description: Hardware Abstraction Layer DLL

I ran the sfc /scannow and it did not show any problems. And yes I am running processor scheduling set to "background services". All AVID recommendations as per here http://avid.force.com/pkb/articles/e...oting/en349411

Any other ideas? Should I try and fix the hal?

[blizzard]

I should add that yesterday after finding out that the Avid driver crashed, I uninstalled and reinstalled the Avid 003 driver but used an earlier version 9.0.7 instead of 9.0.8.

After that things ran fine (until the BSOD this morning of course).