Daily BSOD (DPC_WATCHDOG_VIOLATION): ntoskrnl.exe? nvstor.sys?

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  1. Posts : 14,901
    Windows 10 Pro
       #21

    As it appears Dell doesn't provide driver updates for the Nvidia sata drivers there is not much I can suggest, I don't assume that Windows has ever updated sata drivers for your laptop?
    Windows Update History - View in Windows 10 - Windows 10 Forums
      My Computers


  2. Posts : 20
    Windows 10 Pro x64
    Thread Starter
       #22

    Windows Update History does not show any updates to the SATA drives for my desktop.

    In Device Manager, I have the following under Storage controllers:
    -Microsoft Storage Spaces Controller
    -NVIDIA nForce Serial ATA Controller
    -NVIDIA nForce Serial ATA Controller

    Under Properties for each, Driver Files shows:
    -C:\Windows\system32\DRIVERS\spaceport.sys
    -C:\Windows\system32\DRIVERS\nvstor.sys
    -C:\Windows\system32\DRIVERS\nvstor.sys

    I tried updating the drivers on all 3 (searching online) but get "Windows has determined the driver software for your device is up to date."

    Is there anything else I can try? Disable/Re-enable? Uninstall? Look for third party driver updates? I'm an amateur with all this so any suggestions at all are appreciated.

    I did notice in Device Manager an "Other devices" that says "Unknown device" and has a yellow triangle caution icon over it. Properties says "the drivers for this device are not installed" but I can't figure out what it is and cannot update drivers. I disabled it and nothing happened. Could this be related to the BSODs?
      My Computer


  3. Posts : 20
    Windows 10 Pro x64
    Thread Starter
       #23

    I also noticed in Device Manager that the NVIDIA nForce Serial ATA Controllers both show the following under "Events":

    8/5/2016 Device migrated
    8/5/2016 Device configured (nvraid.inf)
    8/5/2016 Device started (nvstor)

    And 8/5/2016 is *roughly* when these BSODs started. Again, I have no idea if I'm on to something here, but seems possible!

    If it'd help for me to paste the full Event details for each of the above 3 events (from Event Viewer), just let me know.
      My Computer


  4. Posts : 14,901
    Windows 10 Pro
       #24

    You could try to uninstall the Nvidia serial ata controllers, reboot and let Windows reinstall. Much more than that you can't do, (and it is not recommended to install the driver outside of Windows Update, Windows device manager and Dell, because most then end up using programs that mostly screw up their systems more (driver update programs).)

    I did notice in Device Manager an "Other devices" that says "Unknown device" and has a yellow triangle caution icon over it. Properties says "the drivers for this device are not installed" but I can't figure out what it is and cannot update drivers. I disabled it and nothing happened. Could this be related to the BSODs?
    Such devices are not critical to the system, because they usually are peripheral for which no driver could install at the time. Due to this Windows can't recognize what category it belongs to and puts it in 'other devices' category.
    You can safely uninstall this device.

    I also noticed in Device Manager that the NVIDIA nForce Serial ATA Controllers both show the following under "Events":

    8/5/2016 Device migrated
    8/5/2016 Device configured (nvraid.inf)
    8/5/2016 Device started (nvstor)

    And 8/5/2016 is *roughly* when these BSODs started. Again, I have no idea if I'm on to something here, but seems possible!
    I have the same events with my Intel controller, if you look at some other devices you may notice that this happens to them too (not all though).
      My Computers


  5. Posts : 72
    Windows 10 Home x64 v1511, many others virtualized
       #25
      My Computer


  6. Posts : 20
    Windows 10 Pro x64
    Thread Starter
       #26

    valihrach said:
    Hi valihrach - thanks! In that post, you say:

    NVidia nForce SATA controller driver (nvstor.sys or nvraid.sys) can be replaced by Standard Dual-channel IDE controller driver (atapi.sys) included in Windows.

    How do I do this? I want to make sure I follow accurate steps. Do I uninstall the
    NVIDIA nForce Serial ATA Controller in Device Manager, and then just reboot and let Windows do its thing? Or do I need to manually replace it with the Standard Dual-channel IDE controller driver (atapi.sys)? If so, how?

    Thanks for the help!


      My Computer


  7. Posts : 72
    Windows 10 Home x64 v1511, many others virtualized
       #27

    I haven't English system at hand, please be informed that all messages are translated.

    Before modifying your system, make system image using Macrium Reflect or at least create system restore checkpoint.

    Run Device Manager, then locate two instances of NVIDIA nForce Serial ATA Controller - either under IDE ATA Controllers or under SCSI & RAID Controllers nodes.

    For one of them, rightclick and select Properties, click Driver tab, click Update Driver button. Select Find Driver Manually, click Select from List, (maybe uncheck Show Compatible - I don't remember), select Standard IDE/ATA Controllers, select Standard Dual Channel PCI IDE Controller, resume wizard without restart.

    Repeat for second NVIDIA controller, this time with restart.

    After restart, you should have 3 instances of PCI IDE Controller and 6 ATA Channels. This is because (I suppose) you have one real PATA controller and two NVIDIA SATA but with same driver; all of them are dualchannel.
      My Computer


  8. Posts : 20
    Windows 10 Pro x64
    Thread Starter
       #28

    I followed these steps exactly, and after restart indeed I have 3 instances of PCI IDE Controller and 6 ATA Channels. Let's hope this stops the BSODs!

    I'll report back - thanks!
      My Computer


  9. Posts : 20
    Windows 10 Pro x64
    Thread Starter
       #29

    So far so good. I haven't gotten a BSOD since replacing the NVidia nForce SATA controller drivers with the Standard Dual-channel IDE controller drivers. I'm cautiously optimistic.

    Question: Does this replacement mean I should no longer allow NVidia GeForce Experience to check for updates, or update GeForce drivers? I'm not sure if doing so would replace the Standard Dual-channel IDE drivers with the old nForce SATA drivers.

    If I need to ignore NVidia GeForce Experience's driver update prompts from now on, forever, please let me know! Thanks!
      My Computer


  10. Posts : 72
    Windows 10 Home x64 v1511, many others virtualized
       #30

    Glad to hear your system is more stable at least.

    GeForce Experience updates only drivers of GeForce graphic card. Nvidia SATA drivers are related to Nforce motherboard chipset, so they shouldn't be updated using GeForce Experience. Nvidia gives no support/drivers to these old chipsets.

    So you can use GeForce Experience to keep your graphics drivers up to date, but many people prefer to use older but stable drivers, for example v314.22 although they are not primarily designated for Windows 10. Of course, they lack support for the latest DirectX standard.
      My Computer


 

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