Windows 7 Stumped on BSOD 0x0000007a / 0xc0000185 combo (ataport.sys) - happens almost daily

[eboe]

Hi guys, noob here, obviously, and am having problems with my aging Gateway FX P-7805u Laptop (AVG Free is my Anti-Virus, and I believe I just am using the default Windows Firewall)...

Ok, so starting 2/21/14, as you will see in the attached files, I started having frequent BSODs with mainly ataport.sys driver causes, with a couple of ntoskrnl.exe thrown in for fun. At first, I was concerned it might be linked to the Nvidia driver update I did on 02/21/14 to the latest version, so I did an uninstall, and a reinstall to the previous driver, but am still getting the BSODs. I have tried to do as much troubleshooting as I can from online resources and am at my wits' end. It's a laptop, so there is no cabling to replace for the drives ( a possible problem I read about with the ataport.sys atapi error) - I tried swapping the drive from one sata port to the other, with no resolution there either. Ran a few different SMART readers - Started with speedFan which I have installed, used crystal disk info, HD Tune, and Hard Disk Sentinel - all of them report the same minor issue, 1 Current pending sector. It has not changed since I became aware of it, so it does not appear to be a worsening problem. Tried running Western Digital's Data LifeGuard Diagnostics but I get the following error: "Quick Test on Drive 1 did not complete! Status Code = 07 (Failed read test element), Failure Checkpoint = 97 (Unknown Test) SMART self-test did not complete on drive 1!" - I am wondering if that is because of the pending sector, but I am concerned that it doesn't finish and then tell me about the pending sector. But every other piece of software seems to be able to tell me about it... Hmm.

Forgot to mention, ran a couple of passes of Memtest86 and all was clear.

Anyway, that's the extent of where I am at with this - am hoping to avoid having to reformat the drive or replacing the drive, am on AT&T and that 250gb cap goes quick when downloading MMOs.

Note: I am aware there is an updated BIOS but the consensus on discussion forums about this laptop is that the newest bios makes the video card run extremely hot while gaming, an obvious concern in a laptop.

Attachments follow:

 

[eboe]

Has happened 4 times today... grr.

 

[kemical]

Hi,
apologies for not answering sooner but I've had issues myself. I'm just re-installing the debugging software and will have a post for you within the hour.. Oh and going by what you outlined above, please run a chkdsk on the drive in question. This guide will show you how:
http://www.howtogeek.com/howto/windows-vista/guide-to-using-check-disk-in-windows-vista/

 

[kemical]

*******************************************************************************
*                                                                             *
*                        Bugcheck Analysis                                    *
*                                                                             *
*******************************************************************************

Use !analyze -v to get detailed debugging information.

BugCheck 7A, {fffff6fc40006f70, ffffffffc0000185, 918e8860, fffff88000dee93c}

*** WARNING: Unable to verify timestamp for sptd.sys
*** ERROR: Module load completed but symbols could not be loaded for sptd.sys
GetPointerFromAddress: unable to read from fffff8000370c278
*** WARNING: Unable to verify timestamp for win32k.sys
*** ERROR: Module load completed but symbols could not be loaded for win32k.sys
Probably caused by : memory_corruption

Followup: memory_corruption

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


ERROR_CODE: (NTSTATUS) 0xc0000185 - The I/O device reported an I/O error.

DISK_HARDWARE_ERROR: There was error with disk hardware

Hi,

this is the most common dump file out of the ones sent. It does say memory corruption as the probable cause but sptd.sys is better known as Deamon Tools and is well known among bsod debugger circles for being the cause of blue screens. Also win32k.sys usually appears when there is a hardware fault, mismatched drivers, old Bios and bad RAM. As you have already mentioned about the drive and what with the reported I/O error then that could be a possible reason for win32k.sys. If you run the chkdsk and it won't complete then that's a pretty sure sign that the drive is failing.
I noticed in your last two dumps that Windows service pack 1 seemed to be missing... Did you re-install?
Please remove AVG AV as it is known to cause issues at times and install MSE:
http://www.microsoft.com/en-gb/security/pc-security/mse.aspx

 

[eboe]

I am running Windows 7 Enterprise, and I know that the first time I tried to install SP1 it failed but then the second time it worked successfully, or so the installed updates logs tell me.

I have never had a problem with AVG over the years I have been using it, on multiple machines. I will have to check what drive emulation software I have running on there, I thought I just had Alcohol 120 but perhaps I have multiple different drive emulators on there, that might be what is causing the ATAPI errors.

Just got home so I am booting into safe mode to run the chkdsk right now. I want to think I ran one that was successful but I cannot say for sure. Will post results as soon as I have them. Thanks for the help.

 

[eboe]

OK, ran chkdsk, completed, 2 bad clusters were replaced, and now SMART results tell me that there are 2 current pending sectors.

I checked, I only have Alcohol 120% installed, no other emulation software... and I have had that or other softwares installed on many systems without this sort of problem. Is there not some way to minimize the chance of ATAPI conflicts with virtual drives? It seems like this issue would be something that would be handled by the software manufacturers. Needless to say, it seems strange that Disk Image mounting software would be the source of all of the problems, when many people have it installed with no issues. It is very useful with backups and such...

And safe mode confirmed that I have SP1 on here.

 

[kemical]

Yup Alcohol 120%/Deamon Tools are one and the same thing.. Uninstall to test. The reason why debuggers ask users to install MSE is because it's known to very stable and creates a known environment whilst the troubleshooting takes place.

It's obviously totally up to you whether you take my advice or not. You can always try somewhere like Sysnative forums, the home of debugging, for a second opinion:
http://www.sysnative.com/forums/forum.php?

Have the bsod's stopped?

 

[eboe]

Sorry, have been busy. And didn't want to jinx anything either but looking stable since uninstalling Alcohol. I wasn't trying to insult you, just wasn't sure how Alcohol would be the issue when I have it (or other similar mounting tools) installed on multiple PCs with no problems like this.

 

[kemical]

Hi Eboe,
no worries.. I just wanted to offer you a choice that's all. Glad to hear you might have solved the issue and I'm unsure too as to why that particular app seems to be so much trouble for some folk.