[MrBlackCat]

I wonder how many viruses would exist if Windows wasn't the OS that survived, and the OS that HAD survived wasn't garbage...
I know for a fact that quite a few viruses are made to get back at Microsoft for their shortcomings. Just speculation of what might have been.

MrBlackCat

[Paul B]

I should make a Duke Map called Microsoft.map and have nothing but broken features in the map. Actually intend for the map to be broken and not functional but have hacks to bypass the shortcomings for the sake of progression.

[Kyanos]

 Paul B, on 09 December 2015 - 07:37 PM, said:

I should make a Duke Map called Microsoft.map and have nothing but broken features in the map. Actually intend for the map to be broken and not functional but have hacks to bypass the shortcomings for the sake of progression.

write instructions by a door lock on how to use the console to spawn a keycard.

[Forge]

then when the instructions are followed it will actually break something else important in the map

[Micky C]

Came to my computer this morning and found that Windows 10 had installed itself over my windows 7 OS. I 'reserved' an upgrade a while ago but never actually told it to do anything with it. I'm fairly confident I've eliminated most of the privacy concerns though.

 Paul B, on 09 December 2015 - 07:37 PM, said:

I should make a Duke Map called Microsoft.map and have nothing but broken features in the map. Actually intend for the map to be broken and not functional but have hacks to bypass the shortcomings for the sake of progression.

Zykov Eddy already made a map like this. Can't find it from a quick search. It was moderately recently though.

[MusicallyInspired]

I decided to upgrade because everyone in my house now has Windows 10 (my sisters and wife got new laptops) and were doing ok with it. I figured if I'm not happy I'll roll back after the 30 days.

Well, so far it's been a nightmare. I'm getting no shortage of BSODs and they're all different. So far I've gotten "IRQL_NOT_LESS_OR_EQUAL", "MEMORY_MANAGEMENT", "PAGE_FAULT_IN_NONPAGED_AREA", and others I think. I've had no problems at all in Windows 7, save once in a blue moon on booting up I'd get a blue screen. But restarting would fix it fine and there'd be no repercussions. I'm guessing this is a problem that's always been there but just not triggered for whatever reason and Windows 10 is exposing it for some reason. I've done some research and all of these errors COULD point to bad RAM, but both Windows Memory Diagnostic and Memtest86 and have come up empty. I've already updated all my drivers and I'm running out of ideas. I haven't tried removing RAM sticks and running on just one of each yet. I really hope that's not the problem because I just don't have the money to buy new RAM sticks and I can't be without my computer right now as I've got a lot of contracted work to finish. I could roll back, but I don't want to do that until I've exhausted all options.

Anyone have any further ideas that might help?

I hate Windows.

[Inspector Lagomorf]

I've had this exact same issue before, and unfortunately, the only thing that helped was a clean install. Usually this was due to a conflicting driver.

This is literally the worst fucking BSOD series you can get because no one on the Internet seems to know how to fix it.

[Hank]

@ MusicallyInspired I know it's not the answer you are looking for, but for my business machines one rule is "If it works don't fix it"
Our oldest comps still work well with XP, and work within the network even.

As for the memory issue, it's probably software that is not optimized, like older Maya or equivalent that prompts Windows 10 to lament ?!? Just guessing here.

I like 10, but not as much as I am willing to spend time on it updating my machines 'cause M$ says so.
The only thing I did for Windows 7 OS is; I downloaded the easy shut-it 10 M$adware from here
http://ultimateoutsider.com/downloads/
And yes, I hate the business model from MS as well. Offer but don't push it down my throat.

[Paul B]

 MusicallyInspired, on 14 January 2016 - 02:30 PM, said:

I decided to upgrade because everyone in my house now has Windows 10 (my sisters and wife got new laptops) and were doing ok with it. I figured if I'm not happy I'll roll back after the 30 days.

Well, so far it's been a nightmare. I'm getting no shortage of BSODs and they're all different. So far I've gotten "IRQL_NOT_LESS_OR_EQUAL", "MEMORY_MANAGEMENT", "PAGE_FAULT_IN_NONPAGED_AREA",
Anyone have any further ideas that might help?

I hate Windows.

I would suspect a hardware problem. Since you are experiencing random crashes in different areas my assumption would be to target Memory first. These errors could be more evident in Windows 10 because Windows 10 might be accessing these bad areas of memory where Windows 7 didn't allocate those particular bad areas of memory yet. Typically blue screens that are random in nature and in totally different areas point to a fault with the hardware. Hence the "PAGE_FAULT_IN_NONPAGED_AREA" I think you are on the right track by the process of elimination and using one memory stick at a time. Make sure you aren't over clocking the memory and you're not messing with memory timings or voltage keep things at their default values. Post back to keep us posted.

P.S Just because Microsoft's Memory Diagnostics program and Memtest 86 pass diagnostics doesn't always mean your memory is 100 percent ok. I've come across bad memory many times before where all diagnostics pass yet the system still craters with the bad memory installed. Windows OS is the ultimate hardware trouble shooter as it really puts the system through its paces.

Also something to keep in mind with memory, If your memory sticks aren't matched always put the slower memory first and the faster memory should clock down to match the slower memory performance. Depending on the type of memory not all memory likes to be mismatched. If you unfortunately have a mix of dual rank or single rank memory sticks. Make sure you install the dual rank (double sided memory modules) in the first memory banks followed by the single ranked memory sticks afterwards. The memory slots are typically numbered on the system board. 1,2,3,4. If they aren't refer to your user manual for the proper memory slot allocation and installation. Some times Bank 1 and 2 are separated and not grouped together for dual channel performance on some system boards.

[MusicallyInspired]

Thanks for the in-depth advice. I decided to throw in the towel and roll back to Windows 7 for now. Unfortunately, whatever Windows 10 stirred up it's not content to go back into dormancy now that everything is back to normal. I'm stuck in a perpetual boot loop of BSODs regarding page faults and no amount of RAM shuffling is working. In fact, if I use one stick at a time it's worse. So they're probably both bad. My computer will not boot up any longer now unless it's in safe mode so it's completely useless until I buy new RAM, which I haven't got a prayer in getting right now right after the holidays.

I hate Windows. I hate computers.

[Paul B]

 MusicallyInspired, on 14 January 2016 - 09:08 PM, said:

Thanks for the in-depth advice. I decided to throw in the towel and roll back to Windows 7 for now. Unfortunately, whatever Windows 10 stirred up it's not content to go back into dormancy now that everything is back to normal. I'm stuck in a perpetual boot loop of BSODs regarding page faults and no amount of RAM shuffling is working. In fact, if I use one stick at a time it's worse. So they're probably both bad. My computer will not boot up any longer now unless it's in safe mode so it's completely useless until I buy new RAM, which I haven't got a prayer in getting right now right after the holidays.

I hate Windows. I hate computers.

Okay, I've had a chance to think about your situation a little. While memory corruption may have occurred which could have corrupted the contents on your hard-drive this problem may also not be a result of bad memory. I've seen bad system board capacitors cause memory errors and corruption as well which can cause the system to become unstable and produce memory like errors (BSOD). Since you have the cover off your computer stick your nose back into your case and just inspect the tops of all your system board capacitors. Make sure they aren't swelling at the top or leaking. The capacitors are shaped like small cylinders and the top of these cylinder shaped pieces should have a flat top. They can leak from the bottom but i've only ever seen them swell or leak at the top. (Path of least resistance) If the system board caps aren't all flat on the top/bottom then you may have a failing system board which corrupted the memory or effects the system stability by not providing clean and stable power to the board components. Especially take not of the caps health around the memory banks.

See here for what I am talking about: Leaky caps

[Forge]

outside remote possibility:
windows 10 also does not play nice with some (onboard) ati cards and will go into perpetual boot loop.
no fix
except to get a dedicated &/or updated card, or disable the card drivers and let the default windows display adapter hobble your system with a locked in resolution. (all apps & games must match that resolution or they won't launch)

but right now, i think paul is on the right track with the symptoms your system is showing

[MusicallyInspired]

I run NVidia and an Intel processor so no ATI problems (I shed my flawed ATI dependence long ago).

I took a quick look inside my rig before I left for work this morning. I didn't have time to get a good look but all the capacitors around the RAM at least look fine. No leakage or bloating. I'll take a closer look when I get home.

[Inspector Lagomorf]

 Paul B, on 14 January 2016 - 10:05 PM, said:

Okay, I've had a chance to think about your situation a little. While memory corruption may have occurred which could have corrupted the contents on your hard-drive this problem may also not be a result of bad memory. I've seen bad system board capacitors cause memory errors and corruption as well which can cause the system to become unstable and produce memory like errors (BSOD). Since you have the cover off your computer stick your nose back into your case and just inspect the tops of all your system board capacitors. Make sure they aren't swelling at the top or leaking. The capacitors are shaped like small cylinders and the top of these cylinder shaped pieces should have a flat top. They can leak from the bottom but i've only ever seen them swell or leak at the top. (Path of least resistance) If the system board caps aren't all flat on the top/bottom then you may have a failing system board which corrupted the memory or effects the system stability by not providing clean and stable power to the board components. Especially take not of the caps health around the memory banks.

See here for what I am talking about: Leaky caps

This is such an extreme scenario when the issue could merely be faulty drivers. Most motherboards nowadays don't fail in the way you're describing.

[Forge]

most boards won't fail that way IF they are operated within manufacturer specs - but some companies have been known for cutting corners on their individual components
but i can see where a board issue should be causing problems with windows 7 as well.

 MusicallyInspired, on 14 January 2016 - 02:30 PM, said:

I've already updated all my drivers

maybe a list of the hardware could help narrow the issue down to possible conflicts and comparability problems

also i suppose we're all assuming you're running it bare-bones with no third party software that loads when the system boots.
I'm still of the opinion that it's the ram.


all this hassle might not even be worth the trouble at this time if you need the system up and running asap

[MusicallyInspired]

Here's the hardware I'm running on, minus the RAM sticks which I've since traded for 1600MHz 4GB x2 instead of 1333 MHz. I also have a Creative Audigy 2 ZS sound card installed for extra MIDI ports for music production. It's not new, I've been using it since before I built this rig.

In other news, I can't even startup into Safe Mode anymore. Keeps hanging on startup after loading CLASSPNP.SYS. Maybe it is an HDD issue...or maybe my RAM is just getting expontentially worse. Or not. I'm currently running off of a temporary Ubuntu instance from a flash drive with no issues at all so far. Of course, I don't have any drivers installed or anything, though it seems to recognize everything regardless. All the main stuff, anyway.

Before I abandoned Windows 10, I had turned off all startup programs that I could to see if any of them were causing issues (all but GeForce Experience). Still got BSODs. After I reverted to WIndows 7 that's when the nonstop BSODs started. It could potentially be an HDD issue I suppose with it moving stuff back and forth for the old operating system files, which would place the data on separate portions of the magnetic disk than where they were initially, correct? I just wish I knew exactly what was causing all this.

[Forge]

none of your hardware really jumps out as having compatability issues with window 10 (except maybe the built in audio on the board - but there's an updated driver for it on the manufacturer's website)


your bios has a memory test utility. it might be more accurate in determining if your memory is functional & compatible with your system than those other third party memory testing apps.

since you have a working linux option you should put the samsung Hutil on bootable media and check your hard drive

http://pcsupport.abo...msung-hutil.htm

(there are other options for free hdd scanning tools - i only listed the one that matched your manufacturer)


Can you access your hdd from your linux?
(i dual boot with win 10 & debian and can read-write to the windows 10 file system from linux)

if you can
rename c:\windows\system32\drivers\classpnp.sys
to
c:\windows\system32\drivers\classpnp.old


You should also check to see if switching around the sata/hard drive AHCI & IDE (compatibility) setting in the bios works


(i'm now starting to think you have a corrupt file system & not bad hardware)

[Duke of Hazzard]

What are you guys doing with your machines... I've got Windows 10 in all three, and the problems I had can be attributed to shitty app porting.

Nevertheless, the only demographic which absolutely needs Windows nowadays is gamers. This will hopefully change with Vulkan. I just wish AMD wasn't involved in that, I don't like AMD.

[MusicallyInspired]

I tried the BIOS memory test as well before. Nothing. I'll try that tool.

Also, Vulkan won't solve anything until developers start focusing on more Linux ports. It's a step, but that doesn't help me now. Also, I use Windows for Cakewalk Sonar which I've sunk a lot of money into and it doesn't work in WINE. I'm not about to switch things up now.

EDIT: Bah! The HUTIL ISO image is compressed in a RAR which Ubuntu live can't open by default. And I can't seem to install anything that would. Problems problems...

[Forge]

really?
debian works with rar files

how about zip format?
http://www.majorgeek...hutil%29,1.html


they migrated at some point from hutil to seagate tools

the iso for that can be found here:
http://www.seagate.c...loads/seatools/

[MusicallyInspired]

Agghh that ISO is not actually bootable. I can't put it on a flash drive. There's no end to this. If I still had safe mode I could do it fine.

[Forge]

here

Hutil
http://www.mediafire...lg/Hutil210.iso

as a side note, just 'cause i think it's worth mentioning - make sure you set the boot order in your bios to read your disk/thumb drive before it tries to load your hard drive.


last one worth mentioning that i know of, try this program:
(it's also available for multiple OSs - like linux & mac)

GSmartControl
http://pcsupport.abo...martcontrol.htm
homepage:
http://gsmartcontrol...forge.net/home/

[MusicallyInspired]

I've got the ISO, but it won't "burn" to a flash drive because it's not bootable. Program won't even try. I've tried creating it in Linux and on my wife's laptop. No go. I'll try that linux prog, but it seems in Ubuntu live there are a bunch of dependency/server issues that won't resolve and won't allow me to install new programs.

Right now I'm running chkdsk.exe in system recovery mode.

[CultureShock]

 MusicallyInspired, on 15 January 2016 - 04:40 PM, said:

Also, I use Windows for Cakewalk Sonar which I've sunk a lot of money into and it doesn't work in WINE. I'm not about to switch things up now.

https://appdb.winehq...rsion&iId=29630

Have you tried the tip in the comment at the bottom?

[MusicallyInspired]

I'm not even going to attempt it. WINE never works totally 100% so I'm not going to play around with it. I need it to be 100% not hacked together. Besides, that version is an old version.

[CultureShock]

 MusicallyInspired, on 16 January 2016 - 07:52 AM, said:

I'm not even going to attempt it. WINE never works totally 100% so I'm not going to play around with it. I need it to be 100% not hacked together. Besides, that version is an old version.

Oh,yeah. Sorry. Have you tried a VM? I have wondered about using a VM for Lightroom but I don't know about professional audio.

[MusicallyInspired]

Nah that wouldn't work satisfactorily. Another problem is that there are no Linux drivers for my audio interface (Tascam US-1800).

I found my Win7 install disc and decided to start from scratch. I formatted and reinstalled Win7. Everything was fine. I did get one BSOD when Windows was attempting to install drivers. I believe it snagged on the Audigy ZS. That might be the cause. I disabled the device after rebooting and haven't had another BSOD since. I'm immediately updating to Win10 with as clean a slate as possible and then we'll see what happens.

[Duke of Hazzard]

If I had seen this before I could unpack it for you and send you back the file repacked in an Ubuntu-friendly compression format.

[Forge]

 MusicallyInspired, on 16 January 2016 - 12:55 PM, said:

Nah that wouldn't work satisfactorily. Another problem is that there are no Linux drivers for my audio interface (Tascam US-1800).

I found my Win7 install disc and decided to start from scratch. I formatted and reinstalled Win7. Everything was fine. I did get one BSOD when Windows was attempting to install drivers. I believe it snagged on the Audigy ZS. That might be the cause. I disabled the device after rebooting and haven't had another BSOD since. I'm immediately updating to Win10 with as clean a slate as possible and then we'll see what happens.

now that you have win 7/10 up and running, you should still get a program that loads on boot disk/usb to do a HDD check outside of windows - just to make sure there are no bad sectors or other problems.

[MusicallyInspired]

Well not quite yet. Something forced my hard drive to not boot up. I was installing a bios update and left it to run. I came back to a blinking cursor on my screen. Restarting just took me to another cursor (after POST, so the bios is fine). Had to reinstall 7 AGAIN. Now I'm just trying to get enough updates for the Win10 icon to show up again. After the first couple rounds of updates it's taking forever to check for updates, though, without finding anything and without stopping. I'll leave it all night and see what happens.