Re: Tutorial creating & using Hirens Boot CD & MemTest86 diagnostic stress testing tools for USB boot to Windows 10 PE & WinXPmini on BIOS & UEFI

On Fri, 11 Sep 2020 20:09:19 -0400, n/a wrote:

> Nice tutorial and now that you are loaded for bear and have all the tools - 
> did any of them provide a clue as to what is causing the BSOD's?

Well, to be frank, I've shot my wad on these classic bear-hunting rifles...
o F9 Build-in HP Diagnostic check === good
o Memtest86v4 RAM Memory check === good
o WD Diagnostic HDD check === good
o Windows Driver Verifier Manager check === good 
o USB Host Controller check === good 
o MalwareBytes check === good

Given that the Sieber USBTreeView Paul suggested indicated a bad mouse:
o <https://i.postimg.cc/rmCXCgN2/usbview02.jpg>
I recently replaced the mouse but there still was one BSOD afterward.

Yet, the BSODs kept coming & seem "maybe" related to "Windows Update"
(although I'm not sure how to interpret this "Hardware Error" output)
o Win+R > perfmon /rel
  <https://i.postimg.cc/HnnR8qdC/bsod106.jpg>
o [Control Panel\System & Security\Security & Maintenance\Reliability Monitor]
  <https://i.postimg.cc/q7ZQbgXy/bsod-bios05.jpg>

Sometimes, the POST never makes it to the checking-USB drives line
(which is a line missing from this screenshot just before the last line)
o <https://i.postimg.cc/zGpQ89NH/bsod11.jpg>

But most of the time it boots fine past that penultimate line:
o <https://i.postimg.cc/jdZ94dLY/bsod107.jpg>

The Memtest86v4 passes the 16GB of RAM no matter how long I run it:
o <https://i.postimg.cc/KY1Yk4WP/memtest02.jpg>

BTW, the Windows Driver Verifier Manager checks are enabled by:
o Win+R > verifier
  <https://i.postimg.cc/vTnqk9GC/bsod100.jpg>
   Configure that Windows Driver Verifier Manager
    o Create standard settings > Next
    o Automatically select all drivers installed on this computer > Finish
o Win+R > shutdown.exe /r /f /t 5 /c "Reboot in 5 seconds!"

I ran the driver verifier for an entire day while using the computer.
o The CPU took a huge hit; but every driver loaded tested out OK.

At Mike Easter's request, I booted to live Knoppix to describe hardware:
 <https://i.postimg.cc/BnMXSWXb/bsod105.jpg>
o inxi -Fx

For example inxi delineates mobo, graphics, audio, network, partitions:
<https://i.postimg.cc/g0mndzYf/bsod103.jpg
I should note I disabled the Nvidia GeForce 210 card in the BIOS:
<https://i.postimg.cc/MXJzD5Hh/bsod104.jpg

That "seems" to have helped, but a lot of things "seemed" to have
helped for a while, as just removing & replacing everything inside
that could be removed/replaced seems to have helped at times.

Luckily, I'm not out of .45-70 Government bear-hunting ammo just yet... 
where I'm dutifully following this "BSOD Analysis" tutorial:

o Windows BSOD analysis - A thorough usage guide 
<https://www.dedoimedo.com/computers/windows-bsod.html>

Which eventually pointed me to these freeware minidump-parsing tools:
o WhoCrashed
  <https://www.resplendence.com/downloads>
  <https://www.resplendence.com/download/whocrashedSetup.exe>
   Name: whocrashedSetup.exe
   Size: 9936128 bytes (9703 KiB)
   SHA256: 0A7E3A03256D3143118BE5389F0C5F7F405A40066D999E246C57280E9282AE14

o WhySoSlow
  <https://www.resplendence.com/downloads>
  <https://www.resplendence.com/download/WhySoSlowSetup.exe>
   Name: WhySoSlowSetup.exe
   Size: 3028336 bytes (2957 KiB)
   SHA256: B86CED75CFB352A464613DE922FA8B9D63FA4494EAA24509713C01B0615097B3

o BlueScreenView
  <http://www.nirsoft.net/utils/blue_screen_view.html>
  <http://www.nirsoft.net/utils/bluescreenview-x64.zip>
   Name: BlueScreenView.exe
   Size: 146528 bytes (143 KiB)
   SHA256: 09F3023554BE864F31D80F2E7E7C7E824D79A69DDF84F1F02A433E85E866282C

o AppCrashView
  <http://www.nirsoft.net/utils/app_crash_view.html>
  <http://www.nirsoft.net/utils/appcrashview.zip>
   Name: AppCrashView.exe
   Size: 51408 bytes (50 KiB)
   SHA256: A192607D63FFD9448CCAAEAB461D3E3FABFAB999B0FC14CD869CC8C501312839

o WhatIsHang
  <http://www.nirsoft.net/utils/what_is_hang.html>
  <http://www.nirsoft.net/utils/whatishang-x64.zip>
   Name: WhatIsHang.exe
   Size: 130144 bytes (127 KiB)
   SHA256: E2095DBE5FF7A1E7113ABDF8D26BD8532789CE5B725FBF5321225E743B8E29B0

o WinCrashReport
  <http://www.nirsoft.net/utils/application_crash_report.html>
  <http://www.nirsoft.net/utils/wincrashreport-x64.zip>
   Name: WinCrashReport.exe
   Size: 294096 bytes (287 KiB)
   SHA256: 6638857A3BF187626B5E4878E10479AE5E4107DC786744F32D1E659955524B24

o Windows Debugger (Windbg) 
  <https://docs.microsoft.com/en-us/windows-hardware/drivers/debugger/debugger-download-tools>
   Getting Started with WinDbg (User-Mode)
   <https://docs.microsoft.com/en-us/windows-hardware/drivers/debugger/getting-started-with-windbg>
   Getting Started with WinDbg (Kernel-Mode)
   <https://docs.microsoft.com/en-us/windows-hardware/drivers/debugger/getting-started-with-windbg--kernel-mode->

o Windows Symbol Packages (apparently no longer available offline):
  <https://docs.microsoft.com/en-us/windows-hardware/drivers/debugger/debugger-download-symbols>

o Official Microsoft Kernel Debugging Tutorial
  <https://docplayer.net/37532550-Kernel-debugging-with-windbg.html>
  Name: Kernel_Debugging_Tutorial.doc
  Size: 1196032 bytes (1168 KiB)
  SHA256: 5A4E442B965280C791AC0AEA9D91B001AFF620F6ECF67C87AB011C1BAC673156

If those 430-grain hard-cast bear bullets don't work, there's always these:

o How to stress-test your PC hardware
<https://www.pcworld.com/article/2028882/keep-it-stable-stupid-how-to-stress-test-your-pc-hardware.html>

o 18 Top Computer Stress Test Software To Test CPU, RAM And GPU
<https://www.softwaretestinghelp.com/computer-stress-test-software/>

o Huge List of Computer Stress Test Software
<https://www.trentonsystems.com/blog/list-of-computer-stress-test-software>

o Top 8 best tools to stress test and monitor your PC
<https://pcgamehaven.com/best-tools-stress-test-monitor-pc/>

o How To Stress Test Your Hardware and Keep Your PC Stable
<https://www.tested.com/tech/pcs/762-how-to-stress-test-your-hardware-and-keep-your-pc-stable/>

o Best Tools to Stress Test Your Computer
<https://www.addictivetips.com/hardware/cpu-ram-stress-test/>

o Stress Test Your Hardware to Troubleshoot Problems
<https://lifehacker.com/stress-test-your-hardware-to-troubleshoot-problems-and-5619416>

o The freeware stress test tool HeavyLoad 
<https://www.jam-software.com/heavyload>

o The 6 Best Free Programs for Stress Testing Your PC
<http://blog.logicalincrements.com/2015/12/the-best-programs-for-stress-testing-your-pc/>

o CPU Stress Test Online
<https://cpux.net/cpu-stress-test-online>

o How to Stress-Test CPUs and PCs
<https://www.tomshardware.com/reviews/stress-test-cpu-pc-guide,5461-13.html>

o 15 Best Tools to Stress Test Your PC
<https://www.gearprimer.com/technology/best-tools-stress-test-pc-cpu-ram-gpu/>

o 16 Best Tools To Stress Test Your PC
<https://www.rankred.com/best-tools-stress-test-pc-cpu-gpu-ram/>

o The 11 Best Tools to Stress Test Your PC 
<https://techguided.com/best-tools-to-stress-test-p-cpu-ram-gpu/>

o 8 Best Tools for Stress Testing your PC
<https://premiumbuilds.com/guides/best-tools-for-stress-testing-pc-cpu-gpu-ram/>

o Best Tools To Stress Test Your PC: RAM & CPU Stress Tests
<https://www.wepc.com/how-to/stress-test-cpu-ram/>
etc.

When hunting for bear, bring along plenty of high-grain ammo!
-- 
The great thing about identifying BSOD causes is there are so many of them.