Windows 8.1 DPC_WATCHDOG_VIOLATION on startup.

DoctorNick · Jul 18, 2014

So yesterday when I started up my PC, it wouldn't do anything after the windows 8 logo on boot, so I restarted and everything was fine! Great, right? Not really, another restart later and it did the same thing, I decided to wait and see if it was just being slow, and then I got a BSOD with the DPC_WATCHDOG_VIOLATION. It told me it would restart in a couple of minutes, but after 30 minutes of looking at the same screen at 100% I restarted again, this time to be greeted with the startup repair screen. Did startup repair and it worked fine, with the loss of some minor files, nothing too hard to re-install. Today it took me around 8 restarts to get my pc to let me log in and not get the watchdog violation BSOD. Im not sure if these matter but I did just get a new keyboard which needed software, installed War Thunder and Skyrim on my PC and also installed AMD Gaming evolved (AKA: Raptr) and Curse Voice.

My DxDiag is here: https://www.dropbox.com/s/ma2t750ft9l8t09/DxDiag.txt

and the minidumps are in a .zip here: https://www.dropbox.com/s/kv1jfp2j6b87k4j/dumps.rar

please help!

Pinhedd · Jul 18, 2014

A watchdog timer is a hardware timer used to ensure that a device responds to an operation within a normal amount of time. If the timer expires before the device responds the device may have malfunctioned, been disconnected, or lost power. If this occurs to a device which is critical to kernel operation such as the system boot disk the kernel may enter an inconsistent state which can only be addressed by rebooting after presenting a BSoD.

To address this you should examine your system for faulty or failing hardware, possibly your motherboard or hard disk drive.

DoctorNick · Jul 18, 2014

Pinhedd :

Well there was one time on startup where I was on the boot screen before the windows logo and it said "WAITING FOR ME: 10" and counted down to 0 and then restarted. Could it have said MB and meant my motherboard?

Pinhedd · Jul 18, 2014

Nope. The motherboard is not a singular component, it is a combination of many essential components including the chipset, add-in controllers, system monitoring devices, connectivity controllers, etc... It will never be identified as a single device.

johnbl · Jul 18, 2014

Your system was up for about 1/2 minute before crashing.

-I would start by setting the BIOS back to the default and reconfig.
make sure you don't have any automatic overclocking set.

-one of the crash dumps indicated the Steelseries HID driver so you might remove the software/hardware
but I suspect it is not really the cause of your problem (unless the driver is corrupted)

-I would run memtest86.exe to confirm that you don't have a basic failure in one of your RAM modules. incorrect memory timing set in BIOS or a bad memory stick.

-if you can boot into windows you will want to run the system file checker
run cmd.exe as an admin (windows key + x + A key)
then type:
sfc.exe /scannnow

this will attempt to repair any corrupted windows core files from a hidden backup copy.

==================================
DPC_WATCHDOG_VIOLATION (133)
The DPC watchdog detected a prolonged run time at an IRQL of DISPATCH_LEVEL
or above.

driver was
\SystemRoot\System32\drivers\SAlpham64.sys Timestamp: Tue May 27 09:46:34 2014
from SteelSeries Corporation. SteelSeries HID Driver.

old driver:
igdkmd64.sys SystemRoot\system32\DRIVERS\igdkmd64.sys Wed Dec 12 16:42:26 2012

second bugcheck was the same error, different stack
debugger command would not work on the memory dump.

Pinhedd · Jul 18, 2014

johnbl :

Looks like your keyboard is causing the problem

johnbl · Jul 18, 2014

you might also want to update \SystemRoot\System32\drivers\rzudd.sys Thu Nov 14 22:34:51 2013
http://drivers.razersupport.com/index.php?_m=downloads&_a=view&_m=downloads&_a=view
I recall a Issue where the older driver was corrupting memory of other drivers on windows 8.x

Pinhedd :

DoctorNick · Jul 19, 2014

Pinhedd :

johnbl :

Just started PC up without keyboard and it works fine, Ill update the Razer driver and see if that fixes it!

EDIT: No, sadly didn't fix it, im going to try and see if they will send me a new keyboard, maybe its an issue with just this keyboard.

DoctorNick · Jul 21, 2014

I think I have fixed the issue, their support ended up asking me (with a robo response) to return the faulty keyboard, which as we know is not the issue, its their windows 8.1 driver. Running in compatibility mode for Windows 7 seems to have fixed the error entirely. Ill do a couple more restarts to hopefully end this. Thank you guys for all your help!

DoctorNick · Jul 21, 2014

Yeah that didn't work

Looks like im sending this back, doubt it will fix the issue but its worth a try, thanks again for all the help.

Pinhedd · Jul 21, 2014

DoctorNick :

You're most welcome.

Unlike applications, drivers have to be written to properly handle failure cases. It seems to me that Razer's drivers are not.

DoctorNick · Jul 21, 2014

Their support is ridiculous, multiple robot responses. Turns out my keyboard is 100% not the problem, its that driver listed earlier, but they insist on me returning the keyboard, which is a waste of my time. Why did I have to buy windows 8.1

Pinhedd · Jul 21, 2014

DoctorNick :

It's not Microsoft's fault. When playing in kernel land, play responsibly. There's a reason why I use Logitech over Razer, their support is top of the line.

DoctorNick · Jul 21, 2014

Pinhedd :

I mean Steelseries' support, I've never had a problem with Microsoft or Razer support (thankfully haven't had to use Razer support yet) But yeah if they cant resolve their own driver issue I will most likely return and get a Logitech keyboard, Any recommendations? I have 100$ to spend, maybe 20$-30$ more

Pinhedd · Jul 21, 2014

DoctorNick :

Um yeah, that's what I meant. Johnbl mentioned a case where Razer drivers were corrupting other drivers, so it's either Razor or Steelseries that's causing the mess.

Drivers are tricky to write so I may be being a bit unfair though.

As far as Logitech Keyboards go though, I have a Logitech G19 which is like a baby to me. I can proudly say "My keyboard has a monitor on it, your argument is invalid". At around $180 it's a bit pricey though.

I also have a Logitech G400 mouse which is the battleship of mice. If you're in the market for a mouse, check out the G400S (rebranded G400).

I also have a Logitech K400 which is a wireless keyboard + trackpad combo that is incredibly useful for multimedia PCs and testbenches. It's very affordable and has Logitech's standard rugged build.

If your budget is around $130 you may appreciate the G510S. It replaces the G19's full colour LCD with a monochrome one and a slightly different layout but it's still a very nice gaming keyboard. Many multimedia applications have support for the display.

Logitech's best selling point is their best-in-the-industry customer service. They're at or near the top of a very short list of companies that I firmly believe actually stand by their products.

DoctorNick · Jul 28, 2014

Solved problem by plugging keyboard into my front USB (NON USB 3.0) slots. I'm thinking there's an incompatibility with my mobo and the steeelseries engine. Thanks for all your help again!

Pinhedd · Jul 28, 2014

DoctorNick :

Sounds like a definite possibility. Hope that it keeps working well!

Windows 8.1 DPC_WATCHDOG_VIOLATION on startup.

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