Question PC is fine for 30 minute - a few hours intervals then gets BSOD with a reference by pointer error.

[Machu101]

So just live the title states, when I got home today it looked like my PC was frozen on a blue screen that stated "We found a problem with your PC and are restarting it" or something along those lines. So I force restarted it and now whenever it restarts it is fine for about 20-30 min before it says the same thing and restarts. Any one have any ideas on what the problem could be? So far I have run a memory test, ran a CHKDSK which took about 8 hours, ran a file scan on powershell, tried updating my realtek audio drivers, as well as running malware check but nothing seems to be working. Any help with this would be greatly apprecaited.

Edit: Here are my Minidump files. I have more if anyone needs some.
https://files.catbox.moe/bt0neu.zip

 

[Colif]

okay.

Hopefully dump shows a driver name.

 

[Machu101]

Another update. I opened up the most recent dump file and now its showing that vgk.sys as well as ntsokrnl.exe have both failed. VGK is a valorant file right...

 

[Colif]

yes, its the anti cheat

Jun 03 2022

vgk.sys

Vanguard Anti-Cheat driver

and if it wasn't needed for game to run, I would call it a virus. It has higher access to CPU than any other driver. It thinks it owns your PC.

UM, try reinstalling it?
ntoskrnl - windows kernel. it was victim, not cause.

 

[Machu101]

Yeah, I just uninstalled it as well as valorant since I dont really play it all that often. I'm wondering though, is that causing the Driver Verifier crash also causing the file ntsokrnl.exe to crash? Or do you think its two separate files crashing indepentently.

 

[Colif]

NTOSKRNL = windows kernel. It handles all driver requests, power management, and memory management. It sits between Hardware and Applications. It got blamed but its not the cause

it crashed because its involved in almost every action. So Driver caused it to crash. It is a very common victim. Rarely the cause.

you can run driver verifer again to see if it finds anything else. I just wish it wouldn't occasionally cause boot loops.
i have precautions for it - https://forums.tomshardware.com/threads/driver-verifier-instructions.3686888/

 

[Machu101]

Alright booted it up with driver verifier running, and it crashed again. I will see what caused this crash...

 

[Machu101]

Ok it looks like the cause was a dell Data Vault Control Device Driver. Should I just uninstall this?

 

[Colif]

Yes, it did cause 2 of the errors before. I suggested you remove it already.

 

[Machu101]

Yes, it did cause 2 of the errors before. I suggested you remove it already.

Apologies, would you have directions on how to properly uninstall it?

 

[Colif]

does it show in the Apps & Features menu as an application you can remove?

If not, you can use Autoruns to stop it loading with windows or remove it - https://docs.microsoft.com/en-us/sysinternals/downloads/autoruns

 

[Machu101]

I will try both of those methods, I just tried to manually uninstall the driver on device manager but whenever I try, I get another BSOD with a reference by pointer Error. Hopefully those two you recommended don't cause this.

 

[Colif]

Probably don't need much more evidence its cause of bsod if you get it twice trying to remove it. Could remove in safe mode. It won't be running in there.

 

[Machu101]

Yeah i got it twice while trying to remove it in safe mode with networking but it still crashed. For apps and features, I just see:

Dell InHome Service Agreement
Dell Support Assist
Dell SupportAssist OS Recovery Plugin
Dell Wireless Driver Installation

I dont think its any of these right?

 

[Colif]

take all the dell stuff off, all you have is a monitor. You probably don't need it all. or any of it really.

You don't need drivers for monitors really.

the driver could be part of one of those programs.

 

[Colif]

Go to C:\Program Files\Dell\DellDataVault and delete the Dell Data Vault and Dell Data Vault Wizard applications or move them someplace in case you want them back. Then go to task manager:services and stop them.

https://www.dell.com/community/Windows-General/How-do-you-uninstall-the-Data-Vault/td-p/4775645

 

[Machu101]

https://www.dell.com/community/Windows-General/How-do-you-uninstall-the-Data-Vault/td-p/4775645

Yep did this, however the drivers are still in device manager, I tried disabling them and rebooting but another BSOD. Also - I did reset Driver Verifier before booted up in normal mode, but I am getting another Driver_Verifier_Detected_Error.

 

[Colif]

use autoruns to stop them loading with windows. then it doesn't matter if they on there, if all the dell programs are gone.
just unticking them in autoruns stops them on the next restart.

dv could still be seeing same drivers if they still there.

or something else.

upload dumps if you can't see a driver name in them.

 

[Machu101]

use autoruns to stop them loading with windows. then it doesn't matter if they on there, if all the dell programs are gone.
just unticking them in autoruns stops them on the next restart.

dv could still be seeing same drivers if they still there.

Alright i’ll download Autorun on safe mode with networking. Stop the dell drivers then reset again and update you.

 

[Colif]

can' you run in normal mode without a BSOD now?

btw, I may not be here soon as I have had a headache all day and need to give eyes a rest.

 

[Machu101]

Nope can’t run in normal mode without BSOD about a Driver Verification Error

 

[Colif]

If your computer crashes every time it boots and you can’t disable Driver Verifier, try booting into Safe Mode, launching Driver Verifier, and telling it to delete existing settings. You should then be able to boot your PC normally.

Why You Shouldn't Use the Driver Verifier in Windows 10

Windows includes a "Driver Verifier" tool that can stress test your device drivers.

www.howtogeek.com

 

[Machu101]

Ok doing that now. I checked the lastest dump file and it said the Driver Verification Error BSOD was cause by something named phymem64.sys

 

[Machu101]

can' you run in normal mode without a BSOD now?

btw, I may not be here soon as I have had a headache all day and need to give eyes a rest.

get some rest, youve been a big help so far. At least I know its not my ram but a Driver.

 

[Colif]

Leawo iOS Data Recovery is a comprehensive data recovery tool for all iOS devices, including iPhone, iPad and iPod Touch. With it, you can easily recover 12 types of lost data from iTunes backup, like photos, videos, contacts, messages, voice memos, notes, etc.
http://www.herdprotect.com/phymem64.sys-86f63b14e5a7bdd1543b387b41b7b0f82041e180.aspx

driver not listed on any of dump listings as drivers running at time.

 

[Machu101]

Leawo iOS Data Recovery is a comprehensive data recovery tool for all iOS devices, including iPhone, iPad and iPod Touch. With it, you can easily recover 12 types of lost data from iTunes backup, like photos, videos, contacts, messages, voice memos, notes, etc.
http://www.herdprotect.com/phymem64.sys-86f63b14e5a7bdd1543b387b41b7b0f82041e180.aspx

driver not listed on any of dump listings as drivers running at time.

No, no driver was listed. However I followed youre instructions and I am not on normal windows bootup mode. I have Autoruns open but im not seeing the dell drivers anywhere on here even though I still see them on device manager.