Resolved Bsod machine_check_exception

Hi. I've suddenly had 3 of these BSODs in 2 days out of the blue. They each gave me advice (in Italian) on how to deal with it, and then quoted the following error code (same each time):

MACHINE_CHECK_EXCEPTION

STOP: 0 x 0000009C
(0 x 00000004, 0 x 80546F70, 0 x B2000000, 0 x 00070F0F)

I can't find any reference to cache or shadowing in the BIOS options, so I couldn't follow that advice.

I haven't installed any new hardware recently, but I did install both Adobe Flash Player 11 ActiveX and Adobe Reader v. 11 shortly before these crashes happened, because I got pop-ups offering the updates. So I uninstalled Flash Player completely, and tried to repair Reader v. 11. It went through the whole dog&pony show - download, install, finish - but after that the only application visible in my C:\Programs\Adobe folder was Reader 9.5.0 (Italiano).

I've also run a full Chkdsk on reboot and Windows Defender Offline from a CD-ROM.

At this point I'm stuck. Grateful for any advice on how to proceed.

 

Hi Arie and thanks for reply.

I followed your instructions step by step up to here:

Locate and select cdb.exe (by default in C:\Program Files\Debugging Tools for Windows (x86)\ )

But the next step is:

Click the Browse button next to "Dump file to be analyzed" and browse to your dump file

I have no idea where the Dump file is located, and a search on "*.dmp" produced no result. And the folder C:\Windows\Minidump is there, but empty.

What next?

 

As I wrote :

I've checked that error reporting is is enabled. That the folder C:\Windows\Minidump is there (but empty), \Memdump is not there. That the pagefile is large enough (3GB). And nothing is listed in the event logs.

Surfing around the KB, I noticed that error code 0x0000009C seems to be generated by an Intel app, but my processor is AMD Athlon.

Now waiting for lightning to strike again...

 

Lightning struck again late last night, when I was just about to sign off and go to bed. I was too tired to do anything more, so I left it to this morning.

Once again, no minidump in that folder in C:\Windows. In fact, no *.dmp file anywhere on C:\.

I've re-checked all your instructions for enabling the error reporting, and everything seems to be set right.

It occurs to me that a few weeks ago I disabled all Services I didn't need, which brought a small but perceptible improvement in performance. Is it possible that one of these services is needed for error reporting? I did try not to disable anything I didn't understand, but at this point that's the only idea I have.

 

And again, and again. I can now keep the machine "alive" for about an hour at a time (right in the middle of a lengthy translation promised for this week!). Saving after every sentence. Working in provisional mode.

 

I'm surprised. I've read on many reputable sites that unneeded services are resource hoggers, and it made sense to me to disable services like card reader when I don't have a card reader installed. I seemed to notice an improvement in performance and boot-up time after disabling a bunch of services, but maybe I was seeing what I expected to see.

That's the conclusion I was reaching, too. The box is 9 years old. I've gone out and bought a new one, and if my local workshop can fix the old one for a few euros, it'll be a useful 2nd machine.

But I'm still surprised I can't find any *.dmp file anywhere.

Thanks for advice.

 

Yeah, I take your point about "parroting "! I've also seen some weird advice over the years, but this one did seem convincing at first glance. In fact both the services you mentioned were (and still are) on "automatic ". But I'll leave things as they are in future.

Meanwhile (just to spite me?), it's started working fine again, now that I've bought a new box. While the new box has gone into permanent "Preparing Automatic Repair" status on boot-up. Aaaaargh! It's as well I'm retired and have time to play with this stuff...

Anyway, many thanks again for generous advice all along. I'll consider this thread closed.

 

For the record (and for anyone whose search pulls up this thread), Arie was right. My local tech service found a faulty graphics card and substituted it for a 2nd hand one, and it's now working fine. Total outlay:€50 including labour. So now I'm struggling with a brand new Windows 8 machine, while my wife is delighted to have the XP box!