With the advent of the Windows 10 operating system software, every computer user who switched to a new version of Microsoft's product left behind a “piece of himself”, abandoning the familiar and beloved “blue screen of death” (it’s a critical error, it’s also called “BSOD "). Agree that in previous versions of Windows, the output of information about the appearance of a critical error was much more motivating, since the bright blue background and many different characters really inspired users with shock and awe, fully fulfilling the working/popular nickname “blue screen of death”.
Similar situations disappeared with the advent of Windows 10, because instead of the usual BSOD design, users are shown information on a calm blue background, with a big sad emoticon and with minimal information.
But the criticality from this did not become less significant. Finding the causes of the error has remained the key to solving it. And within the framework of this article, one of the problems of the new operating system, which has been assigned the stop code "Memory_Management" or "0x0000001A", is subject to analysis.
Reasons
The appearance of a critical error is always the result of some long-term or short-term point impact on the operating system.
That is why determining the cause is the dominant task that is posed for each user who encounters a critical error.
While the majority of BSOD representatives neutralize all user attempts to log into the system, then Memory_Management manifests itself very rarely in this way, which at the same time facilitates and complicates the solution of the task. And that's why.
Considering the current practice and recommendations of Microsoft, five main reasons should be identified that can lead (and lead to what is seen in practice) to the occurrence of the error in question, namely: (special attention should be paid to points "1" and "2")
- The operating system has a driver for some software that is unstable;
- Computer hard drive crashes or contains errors / bad sectors;
- The correct operation of the operating system was influenced by virus software;
- The error is the result of a conflict resulting from software incompatibility, or as a result of their incorrect installation
It is worth noting that the above reasons apply to other similar errors, united by a single reason:
- «video memory management internal»;
- «attempted write to readonly»;
- «attempted execute of noexecute».
Solution
If you are one of those who, faced with the "Memory_Management" error, can boot to the desktop, at least in safe mode, then before you begin to perform the above options, you should spend time creating a recovery point.
You can do this as follows:
- Open "This computer" and right-click on an empty spot in the window that opens, click on "Properties";
- Next, open the "System Protection" section;
- If the “Create” button is inactive for you, then click on the “Configure” button;
- Check the box “Enable system protection” and use the slider to measure the maximum amount of free space that you will provide to the recovery system to store the files it needs;
- Returning to the previous window, click on the "Create" button;
- Enter the name of the recovery point to be created;
- Wait until a window appears indicating that the restore point has been successfully created and close the "System Properties" window by clicking on the "OK" button.
We wrote more about how to create a recovery point in the article: How to create a Windows 10 Image
Now having this recovery point should proceed to confirm the presence of the above reasons.
As has been said many times, drivers along with dynamic link library (.dll) files are most prone to various crashes.
Therefore, the first thing you should pay attention to is checking the correctness of the used driver software for the operating system.
To do this, do the following:
- Press the key combination “WIN + R” and execute the command “verifier”;
- You will see the window of the standard utility “Driver Verifiier Manager”;
- A list of diagnostic parameters opens, among which you need to find and tick:
- Special Pool
- Pool tracking
- Force IRQL checking
- Deadlock detection
- Security checks
- DDI Compliance Checking
- In the next step, check "Select driver name from a list" and wait for the download of information to complete;
- Sort the results by the column “Supplier” and tick off all options that are not supplied by Microsoft;
- Click on the “Finish” button and restart the computer to initiate the created scan.
Please note that this check will be started automatically until it is turned off. But if as a result of the check errors that prevent entry are found, the system can issue a “BSOD” and go into a cyclic reboot, which will continue indefinitely.
If in your case the situation develops in this way, then during the next start of Windows, constantly press the F8 key and then:
- Select the "Diagnostics" section;
- Next, “Advanced Options” - “Startup Repair” - “Restart”;
- Check the option "Safe mode with command line support";
- Wait until the command line console appears and execute two commands in turn:
- “Verifier/reset” - to disable automatic driver diagnostics;
- "Shutdown -r -t 0" - to initiate a restart of the computer.
An alternative is to use a previously created recovery point to roll back the system configuration before activating driver checks.
The to-do list does not end there. The disconnected diagnostic utility upon the fact of its work created a specific file, which is located in the folder “C:\windows\minidump”. It contains a direct indication of drivers that have any errors in their structure.
You can open a file with a similar format using the operating system using the official "Debugging Tools for Windows" utility, which is available for download on the official Microsoft website, but the information displayed will be difficult to read.
Therefore, the best option would be to use third-party specialized software, for example, BlueScreenView. The program recognizes the memory dump file and displays the information in the most understandable way, highlighting the failed driver in pink.
It remains only to remove the problem driver and carry out its manual update/installation by downloading from the official website of the developers.
RAM Check
It should be noted right away that testing the correctness of the working memory takes a long time, during which it is not always possible to ensure uninterrupted diagnostics.
Therefore, if you are not ready to spend 3-4 hours (on average) to check the RAM, go immediately to the next step. For testing, you can use both standard tools and specialized software.
To start:
- Press the key combination “WIN + S” and execute the command “mdsched.exe”;
- The "Windows Memory Diagnostic" window will open in front of you, where you need to click on the "Restart now and check for problems (recommended)" button;
- After clicking on the button, the window closes, save all open documents and restart the computer. The diagnostic utility will automatically start scanning when the operating system starts.
In addition to this test, you can use "Memtest86" program, which has long been recognized as a leader in this category of software.
After downloading and writing the program to bootable media, do the following:
- Boot from the created media by setting its priority boot in the BIOS or using “Bootmenu”;
- After activating the program, Memtest86 will begin an automatic scan of RAM, and you will not need to do anything.
The check is cyclical and will continue until you finish it yourself. But it must be borne in mind that a full check of even one RAM bar can take about 5-7 hours, so the best option would be to leave a computer with the program turned on for the night.
All errors found in the memory will be highlighted in bright red, leaving no chance to miss them.
The further procedure depends on the number and content of errors, for example, removing RAM strips and cleaning contacts, or the actual replacement of RAM.
HDD Check
Checking the correct operation of the hard disk is carried out in a similar two-stage way.
First step:
- Press the key combination “WIN + S” and enter “cmd.exe”;
- Right-click on the result and click "Run as administrator";
- In the command prompt that opens, enter the command “chkdsk C: /f /r”, where “C:” is the letter of the volume, “/f” is the command to use the utility to check the volume for errors and fix them automatically, “/r” - This is a check and repair of bad sectors.
The verification time will depend on the volume of the disk and its speed. Upon completion of the audit, you will be presented with a report on the presence or absence of problems, as well as instructions on how to proceed.
As a third-party software, you should choose the Victoria utility, which is available for free download at http://hdd.by/victoria/.
Scan your hard drive or solid state drive and decrypt the information. Unfortunately, it is impossible to identify specific recommendations at this stage, since it is individual, and it is from the results of the implementation of SMART that further actions will be determined. For example, Victoria’s overall “Bad” impression suggests that it’s time to think about buying a new HDD or SSD.
Virus Scan and Software Incompatibility
As already mentioned at the beginning of this article, the error in question may be the result of the activity of virus software, or a conflict between installed applications.
Therefore, conduct a full scan of Windows with any available antivirus utilities, and compare the general picture of your recent actions with the operating system. For example, when and how the download/installation of the application/utility/game/update was carried out.
Thus, you can determine the very “causal relationship”. And everything that could theoretically interfere with the correct operation of Windows should be removed.
Conclusion
As a final recommendation, if the above steps did not solve the current problem, you should check for “BIOS” updates. In some cases, installing the latest BIOS firmware returned the operating system to this and similar errors.