Bluescreen of Death

We have a few consistent bug checks:

KERNEL_MODE_EXCEPTION_NOT_HANDLED_M (1000008e)

This indicates that a kernel-mode program generated an exception which the error handler did not catch.

DRIVER_CORRUPTED_EXPOOL (c5)

This indicates that the system attempted to access invalid memory at a process IRQL that was too high.

DRIVER_IRQL_NOT_LESS_OR_EQUAL (d1)

This indicates that a kernel-mode driver attempted to access pageable memory at a process IRQL that was too high.

A driver tried to access an address that is pageable (or that is completely invalid) while the IRQL was too high. This bug check is usually caused by drivers that have used improper addresses.

If we take a look at the call stack:

STACK_TEXT: 
9079b7b8 81b52d9b 0000000a f4db8603 00000002 nt!KiBugCheck2
9079b7b8 8fa8698d 0000000a f4db8603 00000002 nt!KiTrap0E+0x1b3
WARNING: Stack unwind information not available. Following frames may be wrong.
9079b864 8fa7e34a 9079b3d0 86694c10 8fb49a51 nvlddmkm+0x6498d
9079b93c 8fae96bf 9079baf0 84eb9008 86694ba0 nvlddmkm+0x5c34a
9079b9a8 8fae933f 9079baf0 87152270 84eb9008 nvlddmkm+0xc76bf
9079ba44 8fa6279b 9079baf0 81fadbba 860ed000 nvlddmkm+0xc733f
9079ba60 8fb3538d 860b15a0 8fa62700 9079baf0 nvlddmkm+0x4079b
9079ba74 8d033bcd 860ed000 9079baf0 87190778 nvlddmkm+0x11338d
9079ba90 8d1765d3 0253ac10 9079baf0 87181000 dxgkrnl!ADAPTER_RENDER_DdiSubmitCommand+0x75
9079bb4c 8d1a4645 00000000 87190778 87181978 dxgmms1!VidSchiSendToExecutionQueue+0x93d
9079bbdc 8d1a34a7 87181978 00000000 00000000 dxgmms1!VidSchiSendToExecutionQueueWithWait+0x141
9079bd00 8d1a2c7f 848bb9f8 87fcea30 87190778 dxgmms1!VidSchiSubmitRenderCommand+0x781
9079bd18 8d1a2962 871967c0 00000000 8445b040 dxgmms1!VidSchiSubmitQueueCommand+0x57
9079bd34 81a6ab1b 87190778 0b8461b4 00000000 dxgmms1!VidSchiWorkerThread+0xa2
9079bd70 81b54579 8d1a28c0 87190778 00000000 nt!PspSystemThreadStartup+0x4a
00000000 00000000 00000000 00000000 00000000 nt!KiThreadStartup+0x19

We have various nvlddmkm.sys calls which is the nVidia video driver.

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1. Ensure you have the latest video card drivers via the manufacturers website. If you are already on the latest video card drivers, uninstall and install a version or a few versions behind the latest to ensure it's not a latest driver only issue. If you have already experimented with the latest video card driver and many previous versions, please give the beta driver for your card a try.

2. If you're still crashing after #1, please enable Driver Verifier:

Driver Verifier:

What is Driver Verifier?

Driver Verifier is included in Windows 8, 7, Windows Server 2008 R2, Windows Vista, Windows Server 2008, Windows 2000, Windows XP, and Windows Server 2003 to promote stability and reliability; you can use this tool to troubleshoot driver issues. Windows kernel-mode components can cause system corruption or system failures as a result of an improperly written driver, such as an earlier version of a Windows Driver Model (WDM) driver.

Essentially, if there's a 3rd party driver believed to be at issue, enabling Driver Verifier will help flush out the rogue driver if it detects a violation.

Before enabling Driver Verifier, it is recommended to create a System Restore Point:

Vista - START | type rstrui - create a restore point
Windows 7 - START | type create | select "Create a Restore Point"
Windows 8 - http://www.eightforums.com/tutorials/4690-restore-point-create-windows-8-a.html

How to enable Driver Verifier:

Start > type "verifier" without the quotes > Select the following options -

1. Select - "Create custom settings (for code developers)"
2. Select - "Select individual settings from a full list"
3. Check the following boxes -
- Special Pool
- Pool Tracking
- Force IRQL Checking
- Deadlock Detection
- Security Checks (Windows 7 & 8)
- DDI compliance checking (Windows 8)
- Miscellaneous Checks
4. Select  - "Select driver names from a list"
5. Click on the "Provider" tab. This will sort all of the drivers by the provider.
6. Check EVERY box that is [B]NOT[/B] provided by Microsoft / Microsoft Corporation.
7. Click on Finish.
8. Restart.

Important information regarding Driver Verifier:

- If Driver Verifier finds a violation, the system will BSOD.

- After enabling Driver Verifier and restarting the system, depending on the culprit, if for example the driver is on start-up, you may not be able to get back into normal Windows because Driver Verifier will flag it, and as stated above, that will cause / force a BSOD.

If this happens, do not panic, do the following:

- Boot into Safe Mode by repeatedly tapping the F8 key during boot-up.

- Once in Safe Mode - Start > Search > type "cmd" without the quotes.

- To turn off Driver Verifier, type in cmd "verifier /reset" without the quotes.
・    Restart and boot into normal Windows.

If your OS became corrupt or you cannot boot into Windows after disabling verifier via Safe Mode:

- Boot into Safe Mode by repeatedly tapping the F8 key during boot-up.

- Once in Safe Mode - Start > type "system restore" without the quotes.

- Choose the restore point you created earlier.

How long should I keep Driver Verifier enabled for?

It varies, many experts and analysts have different recommendations. Personally, I recommend keeping it enabled for at least 24 hours. If you don't BSOD by then, disable Driver Verifier.

My system BSOD'd, where can I find the crash dumps?

They will be located in %systemroot%\Minidump

Any other questions can most likely be answered by this article:
http://support.microsoft.com/kb/244617

Regards,

Patrick