Solved BSOD Error - Viahduaa.sys Error

Discussion in 'Win 7/Vista BSOD' started by Whalebat, Feb 28, 2011.


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  1. Whalebat Bronze Member

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    Hello

    I have been seeking a reliable resource to find a solution for an intermittent BSOD stop error I keep getting.

    On my travels I came across this excellent website.

    My System
    Asus M2N68 Motherboard
    AMD Athlon 64 Dual Core Processor 5200+
    2.70 GHz 4GB of RAM installed (3GB displayed in my computer properties)
    XP Pro Version 2002 SP3
    Nvidia GeForce 9400GT Graphics Card.

    WinDbg Analysis of Error Mini Dump Report
    Attachment

    Observations
    Although I have the report, I don't fully understand it.
    I have not made any changes to my system recently.
    I built the system about 2 years ago, working fine since then till now :(
    The BSOD problem first showed it's face a month ago.
    I find that when it does occur the computer always works fine when rebooted.

    Question
    If anyone can give me some advice how to isolate the problem and find a solution it would be much appreciated.

    Thanks

    Whalebat

    Attached Files:

  2. Hengis PCHF Manager

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  3. Whalebat Bronze Member

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    Hello Hengis

    Thanks for the quick reply.

    That is the minidump file report attached in my previous post ..... viewed and analysed in MS tool Windbg.... and saved as a text file.

    I have attached ZIp File of All minidump files this time..... (copies not originals).
    I had to remove a few to bring the attachment below its maximum allowable limit.

    Don't hesitate to request further information.

    Please advise further

    Thanks again

    Whalebat

    Attached Files:

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  5. Hengis PCHF Manager

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    Thank you, a BSOD analyst should be along to take a look...
  6. madmonkey Site Manager

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    Have confirmed that Viahduaa.sys is the cause of your stop errors, have you tried to update this driver at all?

    The original driver (VIA HD Audio) can be downloaded from: ASUSTeK Computer Inc. - Motherboards - ASUS M2N68 - which contains the latest (Aug 2009) version of the driver.
  7. Whalebat Bronze Member

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    Hello Mad Monkey

    Thank you for the reply and link to the driver.
    Your help with this matter is very much appreciated.

    I have successfully installed the VIA HD Audio Driver.
    See Attached screen print images.

    I did not understand what viahduaa.sys driver belonged too.
    I thought it was the Via Ethernet Adaptor!
    So have been updating the wrong driver!!

    I have a few further questions I would appreciate if you could spare some time answering them to help my understanding.

    Question 1
    How did you determine from the Windbg Analysis that it was the VIA HD Audio Driver?

    Question 2
    Using Debugging Tools For XP (x860)
    Is there a way for me to now test that the viahduaa.sys BSOD Stop Error has been resolved?

    Question 3
    Would you be able to point me in the direction of a tutorial so I can get a better undestanding of how to use Windbg to troubleshoot issues and resolve them?

    Question 4
    Will I now delete all my minidumps so I have a clear file from today's date?

    Question 5
    Any further advice you consider relevant and happy to share would be really good.

    Many thanks again

    Have a great day

    Whalebat

    Attached Files:

  8. madmonkey Site Manager

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    Hi Whalebat,

    Those are no small questions really.. stop error analysis can go pretty deep depending on the type of stop error, which can be detected by software (Windows Kernel) or by hardware in the form of an MCE (Machine Check Exception) reported by the CPU. See also: Machine Check Exception - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

    I see you were already familiar with the "lmvm" command within the debugger, which is just one such command you can use to find information about a particular driver. You would normally be able to get more information than this from drivers which have been digitally signed by Microsoft, and for that reason will also have it's own symbol. Symbols are used to debug drivers, so for example, say if I was do the same thing with my audio driver "hdaudio.sys", I see much more detailed info:

    Code:
    fffff880`0f06f000 fffff880`0f0cb000   HdAudio  \SystemRoot\system32\drivers\HdAudio.sys
        Symbol file: HdAudio.sys
        Mapped memory image file: C:\Program Files\Debugging Tools for Windows (x64)\sym\HdAudio.sys\4A5BCC235c000\HdAudio.sys
        Image name: HdAudio.sys
        Timestamp:        Tue Jul 14 01:06:59 2009 (4A5BCC23)
        CheckSum:         0005D09C
        ImageSize:        0005C000
        File version:     6.1.7600.16385
        Product version:  6.1.7600.16385
        File flags:       0 (Mask 3F)
        File OS:          40004 NT Win32
        File type:        3.9 Driver
        File date:        00000000.00000000
        Translations:     0409.04b0
        CompanyName:      Microsoft Corporation
        ProductName:      Microsoft® Windows® Operating System
        InternalName:     HDAudio.sys
        OriginalFilename: HDAudio.sys
        ProductVersion:   6.1.7600.16385
        FileVersion:      6.1.7600.16385 (win7_rtm.090713-1255)
        FileDescription:  High Definition Audio Function Driver
        LegalCopyright:   © Microsoft Corporation. All rights reserved.
    
    Your logs were very easy. If you see all of your logs showing "Probably caused by" one particular driver (in this case viahduaa.sys), then you can bet that this driver was cause. The fact that it was unsigned also means that it hasn't gone through Microsoft Logo Program, which is designed to ensure drivers are properly tested. Drivers need to be tested because they run in what is known as "Kernel Mode", which gives them privileged access to hardware resources. Your day to day "User Mode" software, such as Microsoft Word doesn't have direct access to hardware, and therefore should never cause this kind of problem.

    See also: Windows Programming/User Mode vs Kernel Mode - Wikibooks, open books for an open world

    Other logs are not quite so easy, and often require further digging to get to the root of the problem. It does help if you have C++ programming experience. Other times, especially when hardware is suspected, further investigation is required outside of Windows Debug, such as using the Event Logs, Performance Monitor and Data Collectors, System Information reports, as well as using 3rd party tools such as Memory Diagnostics (common), HDD Diagnostics, CPU-Z, Speedfan and perhaps even Stress tests.. it really depending on what problems are suspected.

    In terms of testing, usually time will tell. However, the driver can be tested using Verifier. To use driver verifier:

    - First make sure you can access Safe Mode (with Networking preferably), by tapping [F8] during startup. If verifier detects a problem, you may not be able to start in normal mode.
    - Go to Start and in the search bar type in verifier
    - At the start of wizard, click Next.
    - Click Automatically select all drivers installed on this computer (or use it to simply verify the Viahduaa driver) followed by Finish, and then restart the PC.

    If you receive any BSOD's during the course of using verifier, the logs will contain the results of any driver problems. To turn off driver verifier, simply go back to the verifier wizard again in Safe Mode, and select Delete existing settings.

    See also: Using Driver Verifier to identify issues with Windows drivers for advanced users

    You can delete previous logs either by simply deleting them out of the \windows\minidump folder, or you can run the Disk Cleanup tool (My Computer, right click on your local disk and go to Properites and you'll find the Disk Cleanup tool here).

    There are several articles which can help you diagnose problems based on error code:
    - Bug Check Codes (Windows Driver Kit)
    - Troubleshooting Windows STOP Messages
    - Windows XP Stop Errors

    Eventually, the following threads will also help:
    - Ntdebugging Blog - Site Home - MSDN Blogs
    - Memory Dump, Software Trace, Debugging and Malware Analysis Portal | Patterns for Structural and Behavioral Analysis of Software

    Several books which you may also be interested in:
    - Welcome to Advanced Windows Debugging, windows debugging portal,ntsd,cdb,windbg,kernel mode debugging, user mode debugging,windows debugging,Debugging Tools for Windows,application verifier, appverifier,app verifier, umdh, leakdiag, debugdiag, gflags
    - X64 Windows Debugging by Dmitry Vostokov - Reviews, Description & more - ISBN#9781906717568 - BetterWorldBooks.com
    (^ who also owns the dumpanalysis web site).

    Full training in this thread is a little out of the scope here, but if your interested in helping others in this area, please let me know via PM.
  9. Whalebat Bronze Member

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    Mad Monkey

    Thank you for the very informative response to my questions.
    I will investigate the links and books for sure :)

    Thanks for the Driver solution for my BSOD problem too

    If I have any further problems in the future I know where to come...........

    PC Help Forum

    Much appreciated

    Whalebat

    [IMG]
  10. madmonkey Site Manager

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    heeeehehehe, thanks for the picture Whalebat.. will treasure it forever.

    Will mark this one as solved.. thanks again for the update. :)
  11. madmonkey Site Manager

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    This thread is now marked as Solved and has been closed. [IMG]

    If the problem re-occurs, please start a new thread. If for any reason it has any bearing on your original thread then please state this and a member of staff will supply the link to the original post.
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BSOD Error - Viahduaa.sys Error

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