Oh NOOOO! B.S.O.D. !!!

[Viperboy]

OK guys, I'm stuck! Please help.

I'm running a games/research/homework type PC and have M$ Windoze XP.

I started up an old favourite of mine (The Sims) and it started to load as normal, but about halfway thru, the screen went blank and I got a dreadded BSOD.

I was just wondering if anyone could tell me what the data that I got means. On the BSOD there was:

*whole stack of info-type stuff*

*** STOP: 0x000007F (0x00000000, 0x00000000, 0x00000000, 0x00000000)


Then it had:

memory dump: 1..2...3...4 (counting from one up 'till about 27 by the time I wrote all the info down)

I then rebooted my machine and started the game which proceeded to run as normal.

What's up with this?!

Thanks,
VB

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Life is merely a prelude to the inevitable....
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[SirSub]

0x0000007F UNEXPECTED_KERNEL_MODE_TRAP This means a trap occurred in privileged processor mode, and it is a trap the kernel is not allowed to have or catch. May indicate a computer RAM problem (mismatched SIMMs), a BIOS problem, or corrupted file system drivers. The first number in the bug check is the number of the trap. Consult an Intel x86 Family manual for the trap codes.

See if this MSKB article has anything to do with your problem:

http://support.microsoft.com/search/...;en-us;Q137539


Some more articles:

http://www.ntbrad.com/bsod.htm

http://www.microsoft.com/WINDOWS2000...d_exe_jadf.htm

http://msdn.microsoft.com/library/de...codes_0ug7.asp

http://www-tus.csx.cam.ac.uk/techlin.../NT/sld068.htm

http://www.computing.net/windowsnt/w...rum/16296.html

Found that here: http://www.experts-exchange.com/Hard..._20297350.html

The guy seemed to have a similar problem with you, might wanna check it out.

[slarty]

In my experience the two most likely explanations are broken (usually video) drivers and faulty RAM.

Check the RAM first, it is the easiest to test, get memtest86 or another good memory checker and leave it running for a few hours. If any errors come up at all, then your memory is broken, get some new stuff.

If the memory test gives you a blank, check if you are using any 3rd party drivers (particularly video ones). If you are, find out if there are Microsoft drivers instead, which tend to be more reliable (although less fast and compatible). Otherwise, get the newest official 3rd party driver FOR YOUR OS. Don't try to install a driver intended for a different version of Windows (even though it might work)

Failing that, it could be just about anything. Are you able to reproduce the problem? As it is a game I would think video and/or sound drivers would be my first suspect.

PS: Don't panic!

[Viperboy]

Thanks, Slarty. I'll give the memory test a go.

The only thing that has confused the hell out of me is that it doesn't happen very often at all. I run the game a fair bit and it has happened about, ohhh, 3 or 4 times. I've had the game for about a year or thereabouts.

I'll take a few deep breaths and delve into it. Better fixed than not, eh?