Blue screen help needed!!!!!!!!

Almost_Redundant

Hi. My computer has started to stop working and displays a blue screen with a load of text. The jist of it is as follows:

"A problem has been detected and windows has been shut down to prevent damage to your computer.

Technical information

STOP 0x00000008E (0xC00000005, 0XBF87B090, 0XBA5D1C80, 0X00000000)

WIN32K.sys - Address BF87B090 BASE AT BF800000, DATESTAMP 3b7de698

Beginning dump of physical memory."

Computer then sits counting up the physical memory dump.

This has happened twice now. Resetting the PC seems to provide a short term solution i.e it starts working again.

Any ideas whats wrong, and more importantly - what I can do about it.

Please try to keep it simple though!!

Many thanks in advance.

thomas01155

Have you installed any software or hardware recently

Almost_Redundant

No done absolutely nothing to the computer. Have latest free edition AVG anti-virus software running. Windows Firewall is enabled as well.

Ragtimeplayer

According to Google, a stop00008e error is related to Graphics drivers, normally Nvidia.

I would check that out and upgrade them to see if it makes a difference.

John_Gray

STOP 0x8E isn't always a video drivers problem; it could be a number of hardware or driver things, including bad RAM.

If you are not confident about removing/interchanging/replacing sticks of RAM inside your PC, ask someone who is. You need to make sure that you are earthed to the case by touching/holding the metal of the case. Before doing anything with the memory hold the case metal for about 30 seconds AFTER you have powered down the PC AND removed the power plug from the back of the system unit. Do this EACH TIME, without fail.

If you have two or more sticks of RAM, remove one and see whether you get the STOP 0x8E blue screens on powering up and restarting Windows. If you do, the stick you removed is probably bad. If you don't, replace it, and take out another stick. And so on. (Abbreviated significantly)

The PC may run like a sick pig because of the reduced amount of RAM, but you may be able to diagnose a bad stick of memory by this method.

If you always get the 0x8E errors, it's probably not a memory problem, annoyingly...

John

Almost_Redundant

Thanks for the replies. I do have a Nvida graphics card so will look at that along with its drivers. Built the pc myself about 5 years ago. So far now its happened twice. Will open it up when i get a chance and give it a good clean / check security of components. Fingers crossed. Interestingly both times it happened was a few minutes after i had logged onto the internet shortly after powering up the pc.