[SOLVED] Portcls.sys BSOD

[TQWorld]

Hi folks,

This seems to just be getting worse. I had been holding off on doing any Windows updates due to potential issues with gaming. I decided a couple of weeks ago to just go ahead and get the updates and get current. Regretting that now. Ever since the updates, when playing media files (VLC, YoutTube) or even when I tried to drag and drop an image from Chrome to my desktop, I'm getting the BSOD and it indicates portcls.sys. I enabled small minidump and used BlueScreenView to read the dump.

Under Caused By Driver: portcls.sys
In the bottom panel, it highlights: ntoskml.exe and portcls.sys

Because on when it happens, I was really expecting to see something connected with an audio or video driver.

I did a rollback to the last version of Windows 10 but I don't think it took me back to before I ran all of the recent updates because it is still happening.

I uploaded a copy of the dump file to my Google Drive. I had to change the file extension to .txt before it would allow me to upload it. LINK

Any help would be appreciated.

 

[Colif]

Bluescreenview only rarely actually shows the cause. It showed you 2 parts of windows that crashed, but not what crashed them.
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

portcls.sys - Port/Miniport Devices system driver

the drivers named is what crashed. its not likely to be actual problem, it was just running at the time.
Drivers built into windows don't cause BSOD but can be victims of other drivers not doing what they should.

its not going to be windows to blame, its a 3rd party driver.

miniport drivers are used to do a common function and are paired to device drivers that do specific tasks associated with the device

In a driver pair, one driver handles general tasks that are common to a whole collection of devices, while the other driver handles tasks that are specific to an individual device. Microsoft provides the general driver, and typically an independent hardware vendor provides the specific driver.

https://docs.microsoft.com/en-us/wi...s/gettingstarted/minidrivers-and-driver-pairs

we need to figure out what the specific driver is. I will ask a friend to convert the dumps and see what they show.

 

[TQWorld]

Bluescreenview only rarely actually shows the cause. It showed you 2 parts of windows that crashed, but not what crashed them.
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

portcls.sys - Port/Miniport Devices system driver

the drivers named is what crashed. its not likely to be actual problem, it was just running at the time.
Drivers built into windows don't cause BSOD but can be victims of other drivers not doing what they should.

its not going to be windows to blame, its a 3rd party driver.

miniport drivers are used to do a common function and are paired to device drivers that do specific tasks associated with the device



https://docs.microsoft.com/en-us/wi...s/gettingstarted/minidrivers-and-driver-pairs

we need to figure out what the specific driver is. I will ask a friend to convert the dumps and see what they show.

Greatly appreciated, thanks!

 

[gardenman]

Hi, upload the actual minidump from the C:\Windows\minidump folder. You may need to copy them to a different folder before uploading or else you might have permission errors.

Also, do NOT open the file in Notepad and resave it. That destroys it.

 

[Colif]

I don't know, its an interesting result - you expect too much

i do try to look before showing you the links. '

1. Open Windows File Explore
   
2. Navigate to C:\Windows\Minidump
   
3. Copy the mini-dump files out onto your Desktop
   
4. Do not use Winzip, use the built in facility in Windows
   
5. Select those files on your Desktop, right click them and choose 'Send to' - Compressed (zipped) folder
   
6. Upload the zip file to the Cloud (OneDrive, DropBox . . . etc.)
   
7. Then post a link here to the zip file, so we can take a look for you . . .
   

 

[TQWorld]

I uploaded the original file. I just had to change the extension so Google Drive would allow it to be uploaded. Renaming the file extension to .dmp should allow it to be reviewed. That said, I went ahead and zipped and reuploaded HERE.

 

[gardenman]

I see. We do have people that open the files in notepad, re-save them, then try to upload them.

I ran the dump file through the debugger and got the following information: https://jsfiddle.net/nah3gc09/show This link is for anyone wanting to help. You do not have to view it. It is safe to "run the fiddle" as the page asks.

File information:	012922-15312-01.dmp (Jan 29 2022 - 02:03:35)
Bugcheck:	DRIVER_IRQL_NOT_LESS_OR_EQUAL (D1)
Driver warnings:	*** WARNING: Unable to verify timestamp for oculusvad.sys *** WARNING: Unable to verify timestamp for aswSnx.sys
Probably caused by:	portcls.sys (Process running at time of crash: audiodg.exe)
Uptime:	0 Day(s), 1 Hour(s), 16 Min(s), and 39 Sec(s)

Possible Motherboard page: https://www.asrock.com/mb/AMD/AB350 Pro4/index.asp
There are BIOS updates available for your system. Wait for additional information before deciding to update or not. Important: Verify that I have linked to the correct motherboard. Updating your BIOS can be risky. Never try it when you might lose power (lightning storms, recent power outages, etc).

This information can be used by others to help you. Someone else will post with more information. Please wait for additional answers. Good luck.

 

[TQWorld]

Hi and thank so much for the information. While you were expertly investigating the file, I tried a few things on my end like uninstalling the drivers for the Oculus Rift S and disconnecting it. As of yet, no crashing. In your experience, do you think, based on what you've shown, the oculus driver (oculusvad.sys) could have cause the issue with audiodg.exe, resulting in the BSOD?

 

[Colif]

Strange, that is the first time I seen a BSOD point at two drivers as cause.
It is blaming both part of Avast

Nov 29 2021

aswSnx.sys

Avast Antivirus http://www.avast.com/

as well as part of the Oculus driver pack

Apr 16 2020

oculusvad.sys

Oculus VAD driver

could be your reinstall of Oculus drivers fixed that...
If you have any more, maybe remove Avast as well.

Oddly the process running normally used to talk to sound drivers, so without the crash blaming the 2 drivers above, I would have looked at an audio source and not known Oculus VAD = Virtual Audio Driver... which explains it all.