Windows 7 BSOD every time Win7 shuts down

katelylately

New Member
running Win7 Pro 32-bit. Do regular updates. All of a sudden (no system changes made), system BSOD EVERY TIME I shut down. References smwdm.sys in the BSOD message. I have tried to uninstall the SoundMax driver, reinstall it, update it. Doesn't fix the problem. Assuming the SoundMax is the issue, as that is the name of the driver (smwdm.sys). Anyone else have this problem? Fix?
 
Please go to C:\Windows\Minidump folder to copy the files in there to any other folder on the pc. Then zip or rar them. Attached the compressed files to a post using the paperclip above where you type in advanced mode. I'll have a look at it for you with suggestions.

Also, motherboard model of the pc would be helpful. Is this onboard sound or a card?
 
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Onboard sound .... motherboard = ASUS P4C800 Deluxe....see attached .dmp file zipped up -- Much appreciated!
 

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  • 052010-29562-01.zip
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First thing I noticed is that you're running a very unusual version of Windows 7 and not the standard RTM that almost everyone does.

Here's your build string:

"Built by: 7600.16481.x86fre.win7_gdr.091207-1941"

Did you perhaps install some patches for the OS not from Microsoft themselves? The GDR stands for General Distribution Release.

I would run a scan with Malwarebytes to see if it finds anything and let it remove it/them if so.

Your FusionHDTV driver is very old for Win7, from 2007. You would do well to update this driver from the following link:

Code:
 zl88avs  zl88avs.sys  Tue Nov 27 00:23:09 2007
Link Removed due to 404 Error

Your video card driver is fairly old, so you can update that from the following link (be sure to choose the AGP hotfix driver offered):

Code:
atikmdag atikmdag.sys Fri Apr 24 06:50:20 2009
Drivers & Support | GAME.AMD.COM

I see you have AVG installed, which is notorious for causing bsod and slowing systems down. I very much recommend removing it with the special tool found at the following link, and then after, install the extremely stable MSE as a replacement. (I can assure you, you'll be happy with system improvement here.)

AV Uninstallers - Windows 7 Forums

This Acronis True Image driver is old and the software should either be updated or uninstalled for that reason:

Code:
snapman  snapman.sys  Thu Nov 02 11:56:57 2006
And now finally on to the SoundMax driver. Yeah, this is old and definitely casuing problems here:

Code:
smwdm    smwdm.sys    Mon Mar 28 10:19:36 2005
I can easily get you a proper driver for it, but I'll need some info. Please open the device manager and then expand the sound section. Right click on the Soundmax one and then choose properties. Go to details tab and change the dropdown to say hardware ids. Copy and paste the result to a new post and I'll be back with a great driver for you, since your motherboard manufacturer only supports up to XP for this model. I have other resources, heh heh.

There's a few things here to keep ya busy, but the machine will be awesome once you complete all of them. Good luck, let me know if you need anything else, and post that info for me as I said. :)
 
thanks so much for all the info. I will definitely do the updates / uninstalls you recommend. I obtained the version of the O/S from Microsoft's BizSpark downloads, being a member, so that's probably why it looks "odd". And - attached is a screen shot of the hardware Ids from the SoundMax Driver/Details page. Didn't know AVG had serious issues -- I will definitely stop recommending it. Appreciate your time greatly.
 

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You're welcome. Yeah, I'm actually very surprised that the 3/28/2005 is the latest that even Microsoft themselves have for the Soundmax driver. If you take care of the AVG and all the other drivers first, then use I.E. to download a fresh copy of the Soundmax driver and install from the following link , things should still go well.

Microsoft wouldn't list the driver if it were faulty. So my best guess at this point is AVG causing the issues and the Soundmax one is alright...

Here it is and good luck...keep us informed....

Microsoft Update Catalog
 
hey - ok, here's more info about my system that you might need to know: I have a second bootable drive (D:) running XP Pro. I change the boot drive manually from the BIOS depending on which OS I want to run. I've been to the Fusion site and can't find the AGP Hotfix you're recommending. I even Googled it and still can't find where that hot fix is. Any help? :) And re: the Snapman/Acronis True Image driver/software -- I can't find where that is. Searched Control Panel, the hard drive - don't see it. Not sure why/where it is showing up or how to remove it. Any suggestions? That's all for tonight .... appreciate your help as always.
 
You don't have to go into bios to dual boot like that. You can use EasyBCD to setup a boot screen to choose which you want to use when you power on the machine. Something cool to look at in the future I suppose.

Here is the latest AGP hotfix video card driver. Install this, as long as you have an AGP video card and are not using the onboard video of the motherboard. If you have a different AGP card then shown, then I suppose it's alright to leave the current driver.

Catalyst AGP Hotfix - Radeon HD 4000 Radeon HD 3000 and Radeon HD 2000 Series AGP products

Here is a reliable way to get rid of snapman.sys:

Wilders Security Forums - View Single Post - Removing snapman.sys

Very welcome.
 
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hey --I edited the registry per your instructs to remove the snapman files. Then I ran the AVG uninstaller you recommended, but when it automatically restarted my system, I had another BSOD - same one that I always get referencing the SoundMax driver .... so I shut off the computer and restarted it but got a different BSOD. This time the computer wouldn't boot (see attached .dmp file). I shut down and restarted again and tried to run the Windows Auto Repair, but it couldn't repair. I was able, though, at that point to shut down and reboot and Win7 came up. I did a System Restore to a week ago thinking that should solve things -- the computer boots just fine but IE refuses to launch - is non-responsive every time. I have GoogleChrome, so I'm just using that now, which is fine, but don't know why IE is acting up. I looked in Control Panel and still see AVG there ... and since I don't know if the uninstaller you recommended completely removed it or not, I tried to uninstall it from ControlPanel, but get the following error:

Installer initialization failed due to following error:
Error: Initialization of the language file "C:\Program Files\AVG\AVG9" failed.
Initialization of languages failed or files count is zero.

Additionally, when I launched Outlook after running that AVG uninstaller, I repeatedly got messages that the AVG exchange add-in was corrupt so it was being disabled - but since I received about 7 of those messages in a row, I finally went into Trust Center and removed it manually. I don't think AVG is completely uninstalled because of the above behaviors, but I don't - at this point - know how to uninstall it completely. I'm hesitant to run that uninstaller again because of the BSOD I got after it ran. Your thoughts ....?
 

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  • 062110-43015-01.zip
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The SoundMax driver caused the recent error as well.

Code:
PAGE_FAULT_IN_NONPAGED_AREA (50)
Invalid system memory was referenced.  This cannot be protected by try-except,
it must be protected by a Probe.  Typically the address is just plain bad or it
is pointing at freed memory.
Arguments:
Arg1: ffe17b80, memory referenced.
Arg2: 00000000, value 0 = read operation, 1 = write operation.
Arg3: 937044da, If non-zero, the instruction address which referenced the bad memory
    address.
Arg4: 00000000, (reserved)

Debugging Details:
------------------

Unable to load image \SystemRoot\system32\drivers\smwdm.sys, Win32 error 0n2
*** WARNING: Unable to verify timestamp for smwdm.sys
*** ERROR: Module load completed but symbols could not be loaded for smwdm.sys

Honestly, if this was my older motherboard and this was happening to me, I would simply go into the bios to disable the onboard sound.

You can purchase a cheap USB audio solution to use instead, since I don't really think there is any better/later driver alternative. Here's an example of one for reference:

Sabrent USB-SBCV External 2.1 Surround Sound Adapter - USB 2.0 at TigerDirect.com

As far as the AVG goes, you can boot to safe mode and use the special tool to remove it. If you'd like, disable the onboard sound in the bios before doing so. You can enable it again after removal if you wish. This way, you can be sure that the SoundMax driver will not be causing any crashes while making changes etc...
 
hey there ~ disabled the onboard sound and all is well, as you said. No more BSOD. Uninstalled AVG from Safe Mode. That is completely gone, too. Installed MSE and doing a scan as I type. We have a USB sound card - will check to make sure there are Win7 drivers for it (forgot the name of it at the moment but it's a few years old so not sure it'll do). And yeah, old motherboard .... spending our money updating the other 2 computers in the house doing TV capture - those need it more than my office computer :) Also the reason I didn't spent any money on Dual Boot software -- just thought I'd do it on the cheap - but thanks for the recommendation. Your help has been invaluable. I think I can take it from here. Thanks!
 
Sure, you're very welcome.

As for the dual boot software, EasyBCD, it's free. All it really does is provide an interface and makes it simple to setup a dual boot, instead of using Windows commands from the command prompt of which some I don't even recall the proper usage for off the top of my head.

Download EasyBCD 1.7.2 - NeoSmart Technologies
 
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