wtf...windows started rebooting spontaneously

[apu95]

this started happening yesterday, while i was talkin on msn with my gf. i dont know what couldve caused it because i havent installed any new hardware. i was using the pc as normal (music, msn, browsing web) when it suddenly rebooted. like i had hit the actual reset button...i thought "wtf!!" and when windows loaded up it gave me the message that it had recovered from a serious error.
it said it couldve been caused by a device driver... !!! i havent installed drivers lately, except ATI's Cats, but that I did like a month ago...

here are the pics of what i got, just in case...

i doubt its cuz of the cats...theyve been working well for a while now...

thanks,
Apu

 

[Xie]

It can be any number of drivers really .. or not driver related at all (good old windows ). Anyways 1st think I would do is right click on my computer -> properties -> advanced tab -> startup/recovery and uncheck "automatically restart". Then if this happens again note down all the important details (driver mentioned, ect) and post it.

 

[Tweakfiend]

Usual reason ..... Driver error ,overclock problem , or likely in this case Trojan etc , M.O.

 

[Xie]

Usual reason ..... Driver error ,overclock problem , or likely in this case Trojan etc , M.O.

Well without further info it could be anything from overheating to virus/trojan to power spike/sag to anything really.

 

[apu95]

ok, i think im able to recreate the rebooting...whenever i double click on a torrent file for it to download, a bit afterwards the pc reboots. i got the BSOD and heres the message
---------------------------------------------
A problem has been detected and Windows has been shut down to prevent damage to your computer.

DRIVER_IRQL_NOT_LESS_OR_EQUAL

If this is the first time you've seen this stop error screen, restart your computer. If this screen appears again, follow these steps:

Check to make sure any new hardware or software is properly installed. If this is a new installation, ask your hardware or software manufacturer for any Windows Updates you might need.

If problems continue, disable or remove any newly installed hardware or software. Disable BIOS memory caching or shadowing.

If you need to use Safe Mode to remove or disable components, restart your computer, press F8 to select Advanced Startup options, and then select Safe Mode.

Technical Information:

***STOP: 0x000000D1 (0x00000016, 0x00000002, 0x00000000, 0xAABEDB3D)

*** vsdatant.sys - Address AABEDB3D base at AABD5000, Datestamp 41522180
-----------------------------------------------
so yeah, thats it...
i googled vsdatant.sys and apparently its a zonealarm file...which strikes me as strange, cuz i didnt a search for that file on my system and there is no file with that name...

any ideas?

thanks,
Apu

 

[LordOfLA]

search for files containing text "vsdatant.sys" and see what turns up. Post back with anything you find.

 

[LordOfLA]

alternativley unintsall zonealarm if you use it. you dont need it. It doesnt protect you from anything.

 

[j79zlr]

alternativley unintsall zonealarm if you use it. you dont need it. It doesnt protect you from anything.

Uh, what are you talking about?

 

[apu95]

ok, correction, i DO have vsdatant.sys in my windows\system32 folder (i forgot to tell it to check system folders and stuff).
as for zonealarm...do you know what it does?? its one of the best (if not THE best) software firewalls out there. if theres a program that wants to access the internet, zonealarm lets me know (VERY useful if u install an obscure program which may send information about you without your consent). so yeah, its VERY good for something

 

[ElementalDragon]

ya. i had that same problem when i was using Norton System Works 2004. for some reason my computer would always blue screen and show random files as the result, even files that seemed rather odd to be giving the error such as tcpip.sys and stuff like that. then one file came up that was for a part of Norton that i had never even run a single time. so..... needless to say AVG for me.

 

[apu95]

yeah, i should switch from norton to AVG as well...its supposed to take less resources than norton too, right?
i might try it...gonna have to find a decent norton remover tho, cuz afaik norton products are a pain to remove completely.

anyways, back to the problem...i just tried it again, and yeah, everytime i run the torrent, the system crashes, blaming the vsdatant file...im kinda surprised it started to do this now, since ive been using bittorrent and zonealarm together for more than a year now.

 

[LordOfLA]

I know what zonealarm is. I also know it does not protect you from what you want to be protected against.

It is well known for false positives. It is well known that it is easy for malicious applications to send traffic past it that it wont alert you to. It is well known that it is the worst firewall to use on windows.

If you really think you MUST have a software firewall on windows, there are far better alternatives out there, eg: kerio personal firewall & outpost.

For better security you will probably do better to get some kind of router on your broadband connection and use it to NAT your pc.

If you share the connection across a LAN that way no-one will need a firewall as its dont mostly in by the process of NAT itself.

 

[American Zombie]

Something is hosed in ZA so uninstall then reinstall but before reinstalling and after uninstalling do the following:

Click on Start, then Search or Find, and select Files.
Make sure that the location box is set to search your local hard drive and you tick the boxes under more advanced options that says search hidden files and folders.

Type the following exactly as shown and delete any folders found.
zonelabs
"zone labs"
"Internet logs"

Type the following exactly as shown (including .* where appropriate) and
delete any files found in C:\Windows or any of it's subfolders. Don't forget
the C:\Documents and Settings\username\Local Settings\Temp and C:\Windows\Temp folders.

vsconfig.xml
vsdata.dll
vsdata95.vxd
vsdatant.sys
vsmon.*
vsmonapi.dll
vsnetutils.dll
vspubapi.dll
zaplus.*
zapro.*
zlparser.dll
zonealarm.exe
zoneband.dll
vsutil.dll - Important ----> Right click and select Properties then Version to be sure this is a ZA file.
Do NOT delete this file unless it is a Zone Labs file!

Type the following exactly as shown and delete any files found in any folder with the word "Programs" in the path.
zapro
zonealarm
"zonealarm pro"

Empty your recycle bin.
Restart your computer.

If you received an error message on deleting the files, or if the original
programs remain in the Programs list, restarting your computer in Safe
Mode will allow you to delete the files properly.

After you get done with this then reinstall Zonealarm if you want.

 

[soldier1st]

avg=crap
norton 2002 better than 2003 or 2004 version o norton
uses less than avg n doesen't screw your system up

 

[ElementalDragon]

have you ever used AVG? i just looked at what the memory usage was for AVG, and the only 2 files that started with avg took up a total of about 6-7MB of memory. i highly doubt Norton would take up less (unless you're talking about just plain old Antivirus 2002, which i still doubt it takes up less). and i'm hoping you're talkin about Norton 2004 screwin your system up, because when i used 2003, i never had a problem, and i never had a problem with AVG, and it seems to catch more than Norton ever did for me.

 

[apu95]

thanks for the replies guys....American Zombie, i tried what u said but it didnt work. i uninstalled, erased, rebooted and then reinstalled but the component keeps crashing whenever i run a torrent (i tried a torrent using bittornado as well as the normal bittorrent client).
any other suggestions? i'd hate to have to reinstall windows just to be able to make torrents work...

thanks again,
Apu

 

[apu95]

update on the problem:
i decided to try the torrent without zonealarm running. i shut down ZA completely, and made the torrent run. it probably lasted 3 min and the system crashed again, giving me the same message.
to add to the problem, some web pages wont load properly if i have zonealarm turned on (the gamefaqs.com message boards, for example).
im starting the get sick of ZA...Zone Labs screwed up majorly this time. anyone know of a good replacement for it?

 

[Mainframeguy]

SOooooo .... if you turn off ZA you NEVER get this problem? This thread already has two alternatives mentioned in it - Outpost is a software one and I could add BlackIce to that.... But the best alternative is probably a secure router as Lord said - i would go with that and while you are at it you could go wi-fi if you wanted to too....

It is possible this does not fix the problem though - IMHO there is a chance some of your RAM might be failing....

 

[apu95]

ok, i just uninstalled ZA completely, erased everything that's related to it and ran the torrent again. it works great....been running it for 15 min now and nothing happens, so im sure ZA is to blame for now. as for your suggestions Mainframeguy, ill check into Outpost and BlackIce, but as far as i know, ZA is by far still the best one.
i do have a secure router and wifi actually, thats what ive been running for the past year and a half or so. the reason i want ZA is because it asks me if i want to give permission to access the internet to certain programs. ive found some windows components (spoolsv.exe for example) that have tried to access the 'net, and i deny their access.

as for the ram, i considered that too, but i crossed it out now since the pc doesnt crash anymore if ZA is completely removed from the system.

i just posted the error message in the ZA official forum and a guy told me to download and install the latest beta....im still not sure about that, what do u guys think?

thx!
Apu

 

[falconguard]

Try Sygate it's free and gives you information out if you are worried about trojans.