I've started having issues with the laptop showing the BSOD mid way through an imaging session - it happened twice on Friday night and again last night. When I fire it up during the day to process images there are no issues so I'm thinking it must be one of the apps I'm using at night that is causing it. I haven't changed anything recently so I'm not sure why I'm having an issue now.
Is there a way to diagnose what is causing the problem?
BSOD is the most mysterious Windows feature for anyone but Microsoft professional. It usually shows the cause of the problem - but unreadable to non-Microsoft enlightened mind is it.
In my practice BSOD means that there's something terminal in the system - on most occasions it was HDD. It can possibly be software-related, too. But a program that causes it damages the system to the level that it cannot straighten itself up.
In your situation I would run your Astro software in the daytime. If it still crashes the system - watch for a particular program to do it. Normally, it happens right on the start or after calling some of it's functions. If the system is able to withstand anything during the day but crashes at night - then HDD check is in order. Try to do it by instruments included in Windows. You can see the options by right-clicking the drive.
Peter
All my BSODs are related to plugging and unplugging USB connectors when something drops out for whatever reason. If you weren't fiddling with the USBs and didn't have a loose USB connection then I would suggest as Michael said, do a hard drive scan and if it persists reload the operating system.
Cheers
Stephen
Pete, if you go to control panel, find administrative tools and start the event viewer. Look for system events in the windows logs and see if you can find the crash. It will most likely have a red icon next to it. It should give you the hexidecimal error number for the crash which you can google, windows error 0x0004ef..... That might give you a clue.
The blue screen itself often tells you what is wrong in english but most machines are set to auto reboot after a crash so you miss it.
Peter, this points to a driver/hardware issue. Have you added or changed anything on your rig lately? Camera driver, extra devices for your mount or other? Hub?
I don't think I've changed anything recently apart from installing Gemini.net so not sure why this has started happening now as it was all happy when first installed.
I found the event log - I think the 0x000000a code refers to a memory issue?
Peter, this points to a driver/hardware issue. Have you added or changed anything on your rig lately? Camera driver, extra devices for your mount or other? Hub?
Peter, as Marc implies, apps can't cause a BSOD. (At least not in Windows NT/XP/2000/Vista/7/2008.) It has the be something like drivers, and USB is a common source. Jiggle a cable and many drivers can't cope. Error recovery and its consequences is often overlooked.
If you have auto-restart turned on you could turn it off and you can note down the error code and the module it is blaming. Then reboot and a Google search will usually turn up the culprit.
Rolling back or upgrading drivers is usually effective. Also check all your connectors are firm in their sockets. It might be as simple as replacing a dodgy cable.
I don't think I've changed anything recently apart from installing Gemini.net so not sure why this has started happening now as it was all happy when first installed.
That could be related. Which version? Is it for a G1 (think that is currently at revision 18) or a G2 (revision 30something)?
Does everything behave until you start using it? What ASCOM version do you have? V6SP1 is what you should be using.
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I found the event log - I think the 0x000000a code refers to a memory issue?
You'll probably need to include some of the other codes in the event when you search. There are zillions of reasons for Stop-a. Did Windows ask if you wanted to check the crash reason?
It won't hurt to run memtest for a few hours to check out the hardware.
Thanks for all the suggestions. I'll check out the cables however I have them pretty well anchored at each end so I'll be surprised if this is the issue. I think I'm using V18 of gemini.net with G1L4 and ascom V6 - not sure if I have SP1 but will check tonight.
The laptop is not set to auto restart so I'll note down the error messages next time and will have a look at memtest and whocrashed.
Gave WhoCrashed a try...interesting results. It is pointing to the Keyspan USB-Serial adaptors. I am using two since I got the G11, having used one for four years without an issue. Checking in Google it looks like others have had issues with this adaptor under certain circumstances.
Conclusion
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8 crash dumps have been found and analyzed. 2 third party drivers have been identified to be causing system crashes on your computer. It is strongly suggested that you check for updates for these drivers on their company websites. Click on the links below to search with Google for updates for these drivers:
If no updates for these drivers are available, try searching with Google on the names of these drivers in combination the errors that have been reported for these drivers and include the brand and model name of your computer as well in the query. This often yields interesting results from discussions from users who have been experiencing similar problems.
Gave WhoCrashed a try...interesting results. It is pointing to the Keyspan USB-Serial adaptors. I am using two since I got the G11, having used one for four years without an issue. Checking in Google it looks like others have had issues with this adaptor under certain circumstances.
It might be simplest to replace 2 single port adapters with one 4 port adapter and recover some of the difference by selling the others.
Unless the manufacturer supplies USB devices with different identifiers (I seem to recall MoonLite do for their focusers), putting more than one on a computer is just asking for trouble.
Is it worth trying a driver update for the Keyspan first? I've got the original V3.4 however it looks like they are up to V3.75?
It can't hurt, and it might work. There is a long entry in the FAQ about this. They reckon you can simultaneously connect up to 8x4 port and 8x1 port adapters but you need to read this entry:
If I use a single keyspan device to run the tak mount I get BSOD's as well. I replaced it with a cheapy to fix it. Here's a quote from chucks temma driver site, maybe your gemini is hitting the same issue.
Quote:
Users should avoid Keyspan USA-19HS serial adapters, BSOD crashes occur when used with the ASCOM Temma driver. The crash dump file points to the Keyspan driver, this issue was reported to Tripp Lite on 12/12/10. BSOD occur on from flaws in kernel level drivers, the ASCOM TEMMA driver is user level. A BSOD means you have a hardware fault or a buggy kernel mode driver (N.B. NOT the ASCOM driver). It is impossible for a user-mode application to directly cause a BSOD, and ASCOM is all user-mode code.
If I use a single keyspan device to run the tak mount I get BSOD's as well. I replaced it with a cheapy to fix it. Here's a quote from chucks temma driver site, maybe your gemini is hitting the same issue.
There's mail in one of the Yahoo threads saying the 4 port keyspan was OK with the temma driver. Then there is another one on CloudyNights that says the 4 port causes BSODs. Without knowing all the details of Windows versions, driver versions, etc it all comes down to trial and terror.
I've updated ASCOM to V6SP1 and also installed the new Keyspan drivers. I've now got it all running in the house (no guiding!) without any issues for the last hour with the QHY8 happily taking darks.
