BSOD DPC_WATCHDOG_VIOLATION + BUGCODE_NDIS_DRIVER

Good evening everyone,

after trying to fix my problem for quite a while I pretty much gave up and now I am hoping you guys can help me :-)
First of all, I don't know much about PC-Hardware and programming and how to fix things like BSOD, so while trying to fix it myself I came over quite alot of things I still don't understand.

My problem is as follows:
I am using a Wifi-Adapter to have an internet connection from my PC to my Wifi Router. One day my Computer gave me the first BSOD with the error description DPC_WATCHDOG_VIOLATION. After using WinDbg and loading the crashdump file (and googling alot to find out what the program is telling me) I found out the problem is with the network driver.
I haven't changed any hardware of my PC in the last few years, so a new hardware should not be the problem.
I can not recall if there was anything that I installed that caused the error.

What I've tried:
- Delete the network driver inside the Device-Manager and restart the PC
- Delete the driver and install it again from the CD which came with the adapter
- Delete the driver and install the latest one from the manufacturer's homepage
- Try to update the driver through the Device-Manager and through Windows-Update
- Flashing my BIOS to the latest version
- Updating my Motherboard-driver to the latest version

- Downloading and installing all available Windows-Updates
- Buying a new (and better) Wifi-Adapter -> Gave me the BSOD error BUGCODE_NDIS_DRIVER
This second BSOD error usually happens directly when I insert the Adapter into the PC. If I have the adapter inside when I start the PC it works for a random amount of time until it crashes again with the same error (sometimes it even crashes right after starting).
The second BSOD only seems to occur with the new adapter and I don't get the first one anymore...

 

I have attached the Sysnative File.

This is the Link to my Specs: http://speccy.piriform.com/results/dNLdoaD3iuWkYOvKhleYf5J

If you need anything else, please let me know.

 

I appreciate any help, thank you so much :-)

 

Best Regards

Marc

 

PS: I cannot seem to attach the file, it says Error This upload failed... I chose the .zip file in the Documents folder...

Maybe this Dropbox-Links works? https://www.dropbox.com/scl/fi/zp80empu1rkwrbcm26wmf/SysnativeFileCollectionApp.zip?rlkey=ct37f2umjd7iryjds1zgw4xrj&dl=0

Edited by Ollowain1, 30 March 2024 - 09:44 AM.

Hi, Welcome to BC.

 

fyi : when submitting needed information to a English only Help Forum you need to switch your language to English and if needed download the MS Language Pack.

Reason your info has to be translated.   The Dump Files will be harder to figure out than Speccy and if need other stuff will not work out as it is a tremendous amount to translate for Volunteers.

 

Speccy shows :

Of the five dumps that were uploaded, four of them are corrupted with a length of zero bytes. That's not usual and the probable causes of this are either a RAM problem or a system drive problem. Memory dumps are written in the first instance to the paging file, which in your case is (correctly) on the system drive. The one dump that is readable is a 0x7C and the BSOD is almost certainly down to the rtwlanu6.sys driver...

0: kd> knL
 # Child-SP          RetAddr               Call Site
00 ffffcc8f`a57ea3c8 fffff806`14718e48     nt!KeBugCheckEx
01 ffffcc8f`a57ea3d0 fffff806`355a4a20     ndis!NdisWaitEvent+0x1fe88
02 ffffcc8f`a57ea410 ffffcc8f`a57ea4d9     rtwlanu6+0x194a20
03 ffffcc8f`a57ea418 fffff806`355683f5     0xffffcc8f`a57ea4d9
04 ffffcc8f`a57ea420 00000000`00000000     rtwlanu6+0x1583f5

That's the driver for your Realtek 8812BU Wireless LAN 802.11ac USB attached network adapter. From what you're describing however there's more going on here than just a bad driver or flaky network adapter. Those zero-byte dumps also indicate that there is something not well here and it may be that the apparent network adapter issue is a symptom of something bigger.

 

The first thing I'd like you to do is to download the SanDisk SSD Dashboard. This is actually part of the Western Digital dashboard, you can download it from https://support-en.wd.com/app/products/downloads/softwaredownloads - scroll down to the Western Digital Dashboard, you'll see there that this is for SanDisk SSDs. I'd like you to use that tool to do the following...

• Display the SMART data - post a screenshot of that display
• Check for a firmware update for the drive - install it if there is one
• Perform a full diagnostic test on the drive.

Then I think we really should test your RAM because flaky RAM can cause all manner of problems - including zero-byte dumps...

 

• Download Memtest86 (free), use the imageUSB.exe tool extracted from the download to make a bootable USB drive containing Memtest86 (1GB is plenty big enough). Do this on a different PC if you can, because you can't fully trust yours at the moment.
• Then boot that USB drive on your PC, Memtest86 will start running as soon as it boots.
• If no errors have been found after the four iterations of the 13 different tests that the free version does, then restart Memtest86 and do another four iterations. Even a single bit error is a failure.

 

Let us know how all that goes.
 

Edited by ubuysa, 31 March 2024 - 07:20 AM.

Thank you both for the replies!
I will try those suggestions tomorrow.

@Pkshadow: The Realtek driver is the one from the old Adapter. I used the old one to write the forum post since it would crash a lot with the new one. The older one is a little less unreliable ;-)
As for disabling in BIOS: I didn't do anything in the BIOS yet except for flashing it to the newest version.
For the next steps I will also take care of the correct language, thank you for the reminder.

I will keep you updated!
Happy Easter 🐣

Confused :

 

The Realtek driver is the one from the old Adapter. I used the old one to write the forum post since it would crash a lot with the new one. The older one is a little less unreliable ;-)
As for disabling in BIOS: I didn't do anything in the BIOS yet except for flashing it to the newest version.

If going to be using the new one then should be using it and uninstall the Realtek Drivers.  Would think the Realtek is the chip on the Motherboard, If so you need to go into Bios and Disable the Realtek so there is no conflicts.

Edited by Pkshadow, 31 March 2024 - 06:29 PM.

Okay, so after many hours and many Bluescreens I finally did pretty much everything you asked for.

 

- I changed the language to English.

- Here the new Speccy (with the new adapter inserted to the PC) http://speccy.piriform.com/results/aleSzs3vugIxgo5XRCoHnNG

- I also made a new Sysnative file (this time I could actually attach it).

- I uninstalled the Realtek driver (from the old adapter). I could not find anything useful inside the BIOS. But maybe I was not looking good enough, it is quite complicated, especially if not in my main language. But I did look for it for like 15 minutes and clicked on pretty much every menu.

- I also attached the SMART data for the SSD. If it does not work reading it, try this Dropbox link https://www.dropbox.com/scl/fi/ti68zdvtzc6gqq19cqdw6/SMART-data.jpg?rlkey=zcbm91m4farzzxirgqtb5hv3m&dl=0

- There was no firmware update available for the SSD.

- I tried doing the extended diagnostic test, but it was stuck at 10% for atleast 45 minutes, so I will do that overnight. I did the short one, which could not find anything bad.

- I did the RAM test with the USB boot for both of my RAM sticks each (so 13 tests x 4 each). Took a bit longer than 2h each and had no errors. If you want I can do another run in the next few days.

 

What I also found out is that usually if it crashes, it crashes 3 times in a row. After the 3rd time a kind of fixing screen opens (blue background) and I click on restart, then the PC usually works for a random amount of time. If it crashes after a while, I get the DPC_WATCHDOG_VIOLATION, if it crashes immediately after arriving at the dektop, I get the BUGCODE_NDIS_DRIVER.

Not sure if the WATCHDOG one is always after a while, but I will keep an eye on that... atleast it never occurs right after starting.

 

I have not uninstalled AVG yet. I am using this program for as long as I use computers so I would find it surprising if that causes the issue, but I will try that next if you like.

 

Let me know if there is anything else I can do.

 

PS Writing with an American keyboard is quite difficult to get used to since Y and Z are swapped and all the punctuation is somewhere else   Next thing I should do is change the keyboard.

Did you remove AVG as requested ?

 

You are not using your Motherboard Support Page for drivers or you would have found your Manual in many languages : https://www.gigabyte.com/Motherboard/Z390-GAMING-X-rev-10/support#support-manual

I just uninstalled it using the Clear Tool in Windows Safe Mode.

The extended SSD Check found no errors either.

I don't quite understand the part about the Motherboard Manual. I did use that Support Page to get the latest BIOS and chip set driver to update/flash.
I didn't look at the manual though.
I do understand English, but my native language is German, which there is no manual for.

I will use the PC later today or tomorrow to see if it still crashes.

Edited by Ollowain1, 02 April 2024 - 12:46 AM.

Did not look at the manual page all the way.

 

Great for updating those things :=}

 

For Defender there is this : https://www.majorgeeks.com/files/details/configuredefender.html  brings out hidden menu.

 

Firewall does the same : Review sorta : https://www.makeuseof.com/windows-firewall-control-guide/ link to download is on page.

 

for Browsers : https://www.malwarebytes.com/browserguard

 

And info should have : https://www.howtogeek.com/230158/how-to-run-malwarebytes-alongside-another-antivirus/

Okay, so even after uninstalling AVG completely it still crashes.

I did download the two programs and the Browser Extension, but what am I supposed to do with them? Do I have to change any settings?

And does that mean I won't need any other Antivirus as long as I have these programs?

While writing this message (on my phone) my PC crashed another 3 times in a row...

Edited by Ollowain1, 03 April 2024 - 12:03 PM.

Windows 10 / 11 comes with Windows Defender.  It is ranked in the top 10.  It is a A/V and Firewall.  The 2 below enhance the usage of it and bring out the hidden menus.  It is not feature full. But uninstalling any 3rd party especially Avast will help as it can interfere or be the cause of the issue.  Do not reinstall at this time.

 

For Defender there is this : https://www.majorgeeks.com/files/details/configuredefender.html  brings out hidden menu.

 

Defender Firewall does the same : Review sorta : https://www.makeuseof.com/windows-firewall-control-guide/ link to download is on page.

 

The BSOD Expert @ubuysa will need to look at your files in Post # 6

Those more recent dumps are the key, although you're still seeing zero bytes dump files, which is not good.

 

The common denominator across all  three dumps (that have a non-zero length) is AVG. There are AVG drivers called in every one of those dumps and that means that AVG must be the number one suspect as the cause of all these BSODs. I strongly suggest that you remove AVG by following the official instructions at https://support.avg.com/kA60N0000004aGy?name=uninstall-avg-software-clear-remover&language=en_US.

 

See how things are with AVG removed.

Edited by ubuysa, 04 April 2024 - 06:16 AM.

I did use the Uninstall tool from AVG to delete it 2 days ago (in Windows Safe Mode). Maybe there is something left somewhere, I will take a look on Saturday and let you know how that went.

I really appreciate your help!

See if Geek or Revo Uninstaller can find AVG.

 

You may need to go into the Registry.  Search your C: Programs, Program Files, Program Files(86) your C:Users folder and sub folders for left overs.

The AVG drivers were all installed in the most recent of those dumps (dated 1st April 2024 at 11:22:41.772 (UTC)...

fffff800`82e60000 fffff800`82e69000   avgArDisk avgArDisk.sys Fri Mar  1 15:35:57 2024 (65E1D9BD)
fffff800`85100000 fffff800`8516d000   avgArPot avgArPot.sys Fri Mar  1 15:35:58 2024 (65E1D9BE)
fffff800`85090000 fffff800`850f2000   avgbidsdriver avgbidsdriver.sys Fri Mar  1 15:36:36 2024 (65E1D9E4)
fffff800`82e10000 fffff800`82e5b000   avgbidsh avgbidsh.sys Fri Mar  1 15:36:38 2024 (65E1D9E6)
fffff800`82df0000 fffff800`82e08000   avgbuniv avgbuniv.sys Fri Mar  1 15:36:37 2024 (65E1D9E5)
fffff800`81c20000 fffff800`81c2a000   avgElam  avgElam.sys  Fri Dec 22 17:08:18 2023 (6585A662)
fffff800`83770000 fffff800`8377a000   avgKbd   avgKbd.sys   Fri Mar  1 15:35:57 2024 (65E1D9BD)
fffff800`836e0000 fffff800`83728000   avgMonFlt avgMonFlt.sys Fri Mar  1 15:36:00 2024 (65E1D9C0)
fffff800`84cb0000 fffff800`84d42000   avgNetHub avgNetHub.sys Fri Mar  1 15:36:02 2024 (65E1D9C2)
fffff800`84b50000 fffff800`84b6b000   avgRdr2  avgRdr2.sys  Fri Mar  1 15:35:58 2024 (65E1D9BE)
fffff800`82b10000 fffff800`82b23000   avgRvrt  avgRvrt.sys  Fri Mar  1 15:35:58 2024 (65E1D9BE)
fffff800`83540000 fffff800`83629000   avgSnx   avgSnx.sys   Fri Mar  1 15:36:03 2024 (65E1D9C3)
fffff800`83480000 fffff800`83530000   avgSP    avgSP.sys    Fri Mar  1 15:36:10 2024 (65E1D9CA)
fffff800`82ac0000 fffff800`82b0d000   avgVmm   avgVmm.sys   Fri Mar  1 15:35:58 2024 (65E1D9BE)

Edited by ubuysa, 05 April 2024 - 02:20 AM.