From Western Digital you want:

Data Lifeguard Diagnostic for DOS (Floppy)

Scroll down that page for instructions.

MemTest is a more comprehensive RAM diagnostic:

http://www.memtest86.com/

Both these tools run off of a bootable floppy that you will create.

Okay, I ran the hard drive diagnostic. I ran the quick test initially, it said the test completed with a read element failure. It said to run the full test to repair it. I did so, and it came back with : Errors Found: The drive has been repaired. Code 0223.

So could this have been the problem and hopefully it is fixed now?

Hopefully!

Let us know if your problems persist.

Spoke too soon it seems. IE crashed, then got a blue screen error. caused the following error which I put into the debugger.



Opened log file 'c:\debuglog.txt'

Microsoft (R) Windows Debugger Version 6.5.0003.7
Copyright (c) Microsoft Corporation. All rights reserved.


Loading Dump File [C:\WINDOWS\Minidump\Mini121505-01.dmp]
Mini Kernel Dump File: Only registers and stack trace are available

Symbol search path is: SRV*c:\symbols*http://msdl.microsoft.com/download/symbols
Executable search path is: C:\WINDOWS;C:\WINDOWS\system32;C:\WINDOWS\system32 \drivers
Windows XP Kernel Version 2600 (Service Pack 2) UP Free x86 compatible
Product: WinNt, suite: TerminalServer SingleUserTS Personal
Built by: 2600.xpsp_sp2_gdr.050301-1519
Kernel base = 0x804d7000 PsLoadedModuleList = 0x8055a420
Debug session time: Thu Dec 15 08:35:34.812 2005 (GMT-6)
System Uptime: 0 days 0:32:48.378
Loading Kernel Symbols
.................................................. .................................................. ............................
Loading unloaded module list
.............
Loading User Symbols
************************************************** *****************************
* *
* Bugcheck Analysis *
* *
************************************************** *****************************

Use !analyze -v to get detailed debugging information.

BugCheck 10000050, {fffffff4, 1, bf804aef, 0}


Could not read faulting driver name
Probably caused by : win32k.sys ( win32k!SEMOBJ::SEMOBJ+b )

Followup: MachineOwner
---------

kd> !analyze -v;r;kv;lmtn;.logclose;q
************************************************** *****************************
* *
* Bugcheck Analysis *
* *
************************************************** *****************************

PAGE_FAULT_IN_NONPAGED_AREA (50)
Invalid system memory was referenced. This cannot be protected by try-except,
it must be protected by a Probe. Typically the address is just plain bad or it
is pointing at freed memory.
Arguments:
Arg1: fffffff4, memory referenced.
Arg2: 00000001, value 0 = read operation, 1 = write operation.
Arg3: bf804aef, If non-zero, the instruction address which referenced the bad memory
address.
Arg4: 00000000, (reserved)

Debugging Details:
------------------


Could not read faulting driver name

WRITE_ADDRESS: fffffff4

FAULTING_IP:
win32k!SEMOBJ::SEMOBJ+b
bf804aef 890e mov [esi],ecx

MM_INTERNAL_CODE: 0

CUSTOMER_CRASH_COUNT: 1

DEFAULT_BUCKET_ID: DRIVER_FAULT

BUGCHECK_STR: 0x50

LAST_CONTROL_TRANSFER: from bf814f8a to bf804aef

STACK_TEXT:
b861b74c bf814f8a 86427968 e2a5b568 b861b85c win32k!SEMOBJ::SEMOBJ+0xb
b861b770 bf808959 00000000 00000000 e2a5b568 win32k!CreateXlateObject+0x3d
b861b7ac bf80beba 00000000 00000000 00000001 win32k!EXLATEOBJ::bInitXlateObj+0xe3
b861b850 804de7ec e2908e80 00000000 e2a5b568 win32k!NtGdiBitBlt+0x451
b861b850 7c90eb94 e2908e80 00000000 e2a5b568 nt!KiFastCallEntry+0xf8
WARNING: Frame IP not in any known module. Following frames may be wrong.
00137ddc 00000000 00000000 00000000 00000000 0x7c90eb94


FOLLOWUP_IP:
win32k!SEMOBJ::SEMOBJ+b
bf804aef 890e mov [esi],ecx

SYMBOL_STACK_INDEX: 0

FOLLOWUP_NAME: MachineOwner

SYMBOL_NAME: win32k!SEMOBJ::SEMOBJ+b

MODULE_NAME: win32k

IMAGE_NAME: win32k.sys

DEBUG_FLR_IMAGE_TIMESTAMP: 43446a58

STACK_COMMAND: kb

FAILURE_BUCKET_ID: 0x50_W_win32k!SEMOBJ::SEMOBJ+b

BUCKET_ID: 0x50_W_win32k!SEMOBJ::SEMOBJ+b

Followup: MachineOwner
---------

eax=e2978228 ebx=b861b85c ecx=86427968 edx=e2978228 esi=fffffff4 edi=e2a5b568
eip=bf804aef esp=b861b748 ebp=b861b74c iopl=0 nv up ei ng nz na po nc
cs=0008 ss=0010 ds=0023 es=0023 fs=0030 gs=0000 efl=00010286
win32k!SEMOBJ::SEMOBJ+0xb:
bf804aef 890e mov [esi],ecx ds:0023:fffffff4=????????
ChildEBP RetAddr Args to Child
b861b74c bf814f8a 86427968 e2a5b568 b861b85c win32k!SEMOBJ::SEMOBJ+0xb (FPO: [Non-Fpo])
b861b770 bf808959 00000000 00000000 e2a5b568 win32k!CreateXlateObject+0x3d (FPO: [Non-Fpo])
b861b7ac bf80beba 00000000 00000000 00000001 win32k!EXLATEOBJ::bInitXlateObj+0xe3 (FPO: [Non-Fpo])
b861b850 804de7ec e2908e80 00000000 e2a5b568 win32k!NtGdiBitBlt+0x451 (FPO: [Non-Fpo])
b861b850 7c90eb94 e2908e80 00000000 e2a5b568 nt!KiFastCallEntry+0xf8 (FPO: [0,0] TrapFrame @ b861b884)
WARNING: Frame IP not in any known module. Following frames may be wrong.
00137ddc 00000000 00000000 00000000 00000000 0x7c90eb94
start end module name
804d7000 806eb100 nt ntoskrnl.exe Tue Mar 01 18:59:37 2005 (42250FF9)
806ec000 8070c380 hal halaacpi.dll Wed Aug 04 00:59:05 2004 (41107B29)
b7a48000 b7a71f00 kmixer kmixer.sys Wed Aug 04 01:07:46 2004 (41107D32)
b7ddd000 b7e1d100 HTTP HTTP.sys Fri Oct 08 18:48:20 2004 (41672744)
b801e000 b806f300 srv srv.sys Mon May 09 19:17:49 2005 (427FFDAD)
b8070000 b8097f00 secdrv secdrv.sys Tue Aug 31 08:42:55 2004 (4134805F)
b8349000 b835d400 wdmaud wdmaud.sys Wed Aug 04 01:15:03 2004 (41107EE7)
b8447000 b8473400 mrxdav mrxdav.sys Wed Aug 04 01:00:49 2004 (41107B91)
b8554000 b855c920 driverx driverx.sys Mon Mar 26 16:36:41 2001 (3ABFC479)
b861c000 b862ad80 sysaudio sysaudio.sys Wed Aug 04 01:15:54 2004 (41107F1A)
ba8bd000 ba8d4480 dump_atapi dump_atapi.sys Wed Aug 04 00:59:41 2004 (41107B4D)
ba9f8000 baa66400 mrxsmb mrxsmb.sys Tue Jan 18 22:26:50 2005 (41EDE18A)
baa67000 baa91a00 rdbss rdbss.sys Wed Oct 27 20:13:57 2004 (418047D5)
baa92000 baa95280 ndisuio ndisuio.sys Wed Aug 04 01:03:10 2004 (41107C1E)
baaba000 baadbd00 afd afd.sys Wed Aug 04 01:14:13 2004 (41107EB5)
baadc000 baafcf00 ipnat ipnat.sys Wed Sep 29 17:28:36 2004 (415B3714)
baafd000 bab24c00 netbt netbt.sys Wed Aug 04 01:14:36 2004 (41107ECC)
bab25000 bab7cd80 tcpip tcpip.sys Wed May 25 14:04:00 2005 (4294CC20)
bab7d000 bab8f400 ipsec ipsec.sys Wed Aug 04 01:14:27 2004 (41107EC3)
bafec000 bafeef80 mouhid mouhid.sys Fri Aug 17 15:47:57 2001 (3B7D82FD)
baff8000 baffa580 hidusb hidusb.sys Fri Aug 17 16:02:16 2001 (3B7D8658)
bf800000 bf9c1180 win32k win32k.sys Wed Oct 05 19:05:44 2005 (43446A58)
bf9c2000 bf9d3580 dxg dxg.sys Wed Aug 04 01:00:51 2004 (41107B93)
bf9d4000 bfa14000 ati2dvag ati2dvag.dll Fri Oct 28 22:12:48 2005 (4362E8B0)
bfa14000 bfa4e000 ati2cqag ati2cqag.dll Fri Oct 28 21:16:00 2005 (4362DB60)
bfa4e000 bfa84000 atikvmag atikvmag.dll Fri Oct 28 21:40:31 2005 (4362E11F)
bfa84000 bfce45a0 ati3duag ati3duag.dll Fri Oct 28 21:58:47 2005 (4362E567)
bfce5000 bfd783a0 ativvaxx ativvaxx.dll Fri Oct 28 21:52:57 2005 (4362E409)
f6caa000 f6cdd200 update update.sys Wed Aug 04 00:58:32 2004 (41107B08)
f6d7e000 f6d8ee00 psched psched.sys Wed Aug 04 01:04:16 2004 (41107C60)
f6d8f000 f6da5680 ndiswan ndiswan.sys Wed Aug 04 01:14:30 2004 (41107EC6)
f6da6000 f6e385a0 Intels51 Intels51.sys Fri May 10 14:58:59 2002 (3CDC2683)
f6e39000 f6e5be80 USBPORT USBPORT.SYS Wed Aug 04 01:08:34 2004 (41107D62)
f6e5c000 f6e7f980 portcls portcls.sys Wed Aug 04 01:15:47 2004 (41107F13)
f6e80000 f7220d00 ALCXWDM ALCXWDM.SYS Tue Nov 22 00:44:17 2005 (4382BE41)
f7221000 f7243680 ks ks.sys Wed Aug 04 01:15:20 2004 (41107EF8)
f7244000 f7257900 parport parport.sys Wed Aug 04 00:59:04 2004 (41107B28)
f7258000 f726b780 VIDEOPRT VIDEOPRT.SYS Wed Aug 04 01:07:04 2004 (41107D08)
f727c000 f727ff00 MODEMCSA MODEMCSA.sys Fri Aug 17 15:57:37 2001 (3B7D8541)
f7294000 f73f4000 ati2mtag ati2mtag.sys Fri Oct 28 22:12:31 2005 (4362E89F)
f7414000 f742e580 Mup Mup.sys Wed Aug 04 01:15:20 2004 (41107EF8)
f742f000 f7441000 sfdrv01 sfdrv01.sys Wed Aug 10 07:44:03 2005 (42F9F693)
f7441000 f7455000 sfvfs02 sfvfs02.sys Thu Sep 29 12:01:50 2005 (433C1DFE)
f7455000 f7481a80 NDIS NDIS.sys Wed Aug 04 01:14:27 2004 (41107EC3)
f7482000 f750e480 Ntfs Ntfs.sys Wed Aug 04 01:15:06 2004 (41107EEA)
f750f000 f7525780 KSecDD KSecDD.sys Wed Aug 04 00:59:45 2004 (41107B51)
f7526000 f7537f00 sr sr.sys Wed Aug 04 01:06:22 2004 (41107CDE)
f7538000 f7556780 fltmgr fltmgr.sys Wed Aug 04 01:01:17 2004 (41107BAD)
f7557000 f756e480 atapi atapi.sys Wed Aug 04 00:59:41 2004 (41107B4D)
f756f000 f758d880 ftdisk ftdisk.sys Fri Aug 17 15:52:41 2001 (3B7D8419)
f758e000 f759ea80 pci pci.sys Wed Aug 04 01:07:45 2004 (41107D31)
f759f000 f75ccd80 ACPI ACPI.sys Wed Aug 04 01:07:35 2004 (41107D27)
f75ee000 f75f6c00 isapnp isapnp.sys Fri Aug 17 15:58:01 2001 (3B7D8559)
f75fe000 f7608500 MountMgr MountMgr.sys Wed Aug 04 00:58:29 2004 (41107B05)
f760e000 f761ac80 VolSnap VolSnap.sys Wed Aug 04 01:00:14 2004 (41107B6E)
f761e000 f7626e00 disk disk.sys Wed Aug 04 00:59:53 2004 (41107B59)
f762e000 f763a200 CLASSPNP CLASSPNP.SYS Wed Aug 04 01:14:26 2004 (41107EC2)
f763e000 f7649f80 sisidex sisidex.sys Thu Oct 17 02:14:44 2002 (3DAE6364)
f766e000 f7676d00 intelppm intelppm.sys Wed Aug 04 00:59:19 2004 (41107B37)
f767e000 f768ae00 i8042prt i8042prt.sys Wed Aug 04 01:14:36 2004 (41107ECC)
f768e000 f769dd80 serial serial.sys Wed Aug 04 01:15:51 2004 (41107F17)
f769e000 f76aa180 cdrom cdrom.sys Wed Aug 04 00:59:52 2004 (41107B58)
f76ae000 f76bc080 redbook redbook.sys Wed Aug 04 00:59:34 2004 (41107B46)
f76be000 f76c8380 imapi imapi.sys Wed Aug 04 01:00:12 2004 (41107B6C)
f76ce000 f76dcb80 drmk drmk.sys Wed Aug 04 01:07:54 2004 (41107D3A)
f76de000 f76e8280 bcm4sbxp bcm4sbxp.sys Thu Aug 22 13:47:37 2002 (3D6531C9)
f76ee000 f76fa880 rasl2tp rasl2tp.sys Wed Aug 04 01:14:21 2004 (41107EBD)
f76fe000 f7708200 raspppoe raspppoe.sys Wed Aug 04 01:05:06 2004 (41107C92)
f770e000 f7719d00 raspptp raspptp.sys Wed Aug 04 01:14:26 2004 (41107EC2)
f771e000 f7726900 msgpc msgpc.sys Wed Aug 04 01:04:11 2004 (41107C5B)
f772e000 f7737f00 termdd termdd.sys Wed Aug 04 00:58:52 2004 (41107B1C)
f773e000 f7748c20 WmXlCore WmXlCore.sys Wed Apr 14 13:08:37 2004 (407D7E25)
f774e000 f7757480 NDProxy NDProxy.SYS Fri Aug 17 15:55:30 2001 (3B7D84C2)
f778e000 f779c100 usbhub usbhub.sys Wed Aug 04 01:08:40 2004 (41107D68)
f779e000 f77a6700 wanarp wanarp.sys Wed Aug 04 01:04:57 2004 (41107C89)
f77ae000 f77b6700 netbios netbios.sys Wed Aug 04 01:03:19 2004 (41107C27)
f77ce000 f77d6d80 HIDCLASS HIDCLASS.SYS Wed Aug 04 01:08:18 2004 (41107D52)
f77de000 f77e6880 Fips Fips.SYS Fri Aug 17 20:31:49 2001 (3B7DC585)
f785e000 f786d900 Cdfs Cdfs.SYS Wed Aug 04 01:14:09 2004 (41107EB1)
f786e000 f7874200 PCIIDEX PCIIDEX.SYS Wed Aug 04 00:59:40 2004 (41107B4C)
f7876000 f787a900 PartMgr PartMgr.sys Fri Aug 17 20:32:23 2001 (3B7DC5A7)
f787e000 f7882bc0 PxHelp20 PxHelp20.sys Tue Oct 28 12:25:49 2003 (3F9EB4AD)
f7886000 f788d280 SISAGPX SISAGPX.sys Thu Sep 26 01:41:56 2002 (3D92AC34)
f788e000 f7896000 sfhlp02 sfhlp02.sys Mon May 16 08:20:39 2005 (42889E27)
f78a6000 f78aa580 ptilink ptilink.sys Fri Aug 17 15:49:53 2001 (3B7D8371)
f78b6000 f78ba080 raspti raspti.sys Fri Aug 17 15:55:32 2001 (3B7D84C4)
f78ce000 f78d3a00 mouclass mouclass.sys Wed Aug 04 00:58:32 2004 (41107B08)
f78d6000 f78dc000 kbdclass kbdclass.sys Wed Aug 04 00:58:32 2004 (41107B08)
f78e6000 f78e7000 fdc fdc.sys unavailable (00000000)
f792e000 f7935000 GEARAspiWDM GEARAspiWDM.sys Tue Feb 01 23:19:49 2005 (420062F5)
f7936000 f793b000 flpydisk flpydisk.sys Wed Aug 04 00:59:24 2004 (41107B3C)
f794e000 f7952280 usbohci usbohci.sys Wed Aug 04 01:08:34 2004 (41107D62)
f796e000 f7974180 HIDPARSE HIDPARSE.SYS Wed Aug 04 01:08:15 2004 (41107D4F)
f797e000 f7984800 usbehci usbehci.sys Wed Aug 04 01:08:34 2004 (41107D62)
f7986000 f798d580 Modem Modem.SYS Wed Aug 04 01:08:04 2004 (41107D44)
f798e000 f7993200 vga vga.sys Wed Aug 04 01:07:06 2004 (41107D0A)
f799e000 f79a2a80 Msfs Msfs.SYS Wed Aug 04 01:00:37 2004 (41107B85)
f79ae000 f79b5880 Npfs Npfs.SYS Wed Aug 04 01:00:38 2004 (41107B86)
f79be000 f79c2500 watchdog watchdog.sys Wed Aug 04 01:07:32 2004 (41107D24)
f79d6000 f79da880 TDI TDI.SYS Wed Aug 04 01:07:47 2004 (41107D33)
f79ee000 f79f4000 npptNT2 npptNT2.sys Thu Jan 06 00:43:06 2005 (41DCDDFA)
f79fe000 f7a01000 BOOTVID BOOTVID.dll Fri Aug 17 15:49:09 2001 (3B7D8345)
f7a02000 f7a04500 sisperf sisperf.sys Tue Aug 20 04:19:07 2002 (3D62098B)
f7a7e000 f7a81c80 serenum serenum.sys Wed Aug 04 00:59:06 2004 (41107B2A)
f7a8a000 f7a8c680 pfc pfc.sys Fri Sep 27 17:35:16 2002 (3D94DD24)
f7a8e000 f7a90900 Dxapi Dxapi.sys Fri Aug 17 15:53:19 2001 (3B7D843F)
f7aaa000 f7aac280 rasacd rasacd.sys Fri Aug 17 15:55:39 2001 (3B7D84CB)
f7ab6000 f7ab8580 ndistapi ndistapi.sys Fri Aug 17 15:55:29 2001 (3B7D84C1)
f7ad2000 f7ad5c80 mssmbios mssmbios.sys Wed Aug 04 01:07:47 2004 (41107D33)
f7ada000 f7adc7a0 WmBEnum WmBEnum.sys Wed Apr 14 13:08:42 2004 (407D7E2A)
f7aee000 f7aefb80 kdcom kdcom.dll Fri Aug 17 15:49:10 2001 (3B7D8346)
f7af0000 f7af1100 WMILIB WMILIB.SYS Fri Aug 17 16:07:23 2001 (3B7D878B)
f7af8000 f7af9100 swenum swenum.sys Wed Aug 04 00:58:41 2004 (41107B11)
f7b00000 f7b01280 USBD USBD.SYS Fri Aug 17 16:02:58 2001 (3B7D8682)
f7b04000 f7b05f00 Fs_Rec Fs_Rec.SYS Fri Aug 17 15:49:37 2001 (3B7D8361)
f7b08000 f7b09080 Beep Beep.SYS Fri Aug 17 15:47:33 2001 (3B7D82E5)
f7b0c000 f7b0d080 mnmdd mnmdd.SYS Fri Aug 17 15:57:28 2001 (3B7D8538)
f7b10000 f7b11080 RDPCDD RDPCDD.sys Fri Aug 17 15:46:56 2001 (3B7D82C0)
f7b18000 f7b19100 dump_WMILIB dump_WMILIB.SYS Fri Aug 17 16:07:23 2001 (3B7D878B)
f7b7c000 f7b7da80 ParVdm ParVdm.SYS Fri Aug 17 15:49:49 2001 (3B7D836D)
f7b84000 f7b85d80 enodpl enodpl.sys Sun Mar 02 10:44:25 2003 (3E6234E9)
f7ba0000 f7ba1280 tandpl tandpl.sys Fri Apr 18 17:27:16 2003 (3EA07BC4)
f7bb6000 f7bb6d00 pciide pciide.sys Fri Aug 17 15:51:49 2001 (3B7D83E5)
f7bb7000 f7bb8000 siside siside.sys Tue Mar 25 03:50:44 2003 (3E802674)
f7c5e000 f7c5ec00 audstub audstub.sys Fri Aug 17 15:59:40 2001 (3B7D85BC)
f7c77000 f7c77d00 dxgthk dxgthk.sys Fri Aug 17 15:53:12 2001 (3B7D8438)
f7c9f000 f7c9fb80 Null Null.SYS Fri Aug 17 15:47:39 2001 (3B7D82EB)
f7cd2000 f7cd2be0 mbmiodrvr mbmiodrvr.sys Wed Jul 10 19:57:39 2002 (3D2CD803)
f7cdb000 f7cdb860 BANTExt BANTExt.sys Wed May 27 21:43:29 1998 (356CCF51)

Unloaded modules:
b7a48000 b7a72000 kmixer.sys
Timestamp: unavailable (00000000)
Checksum: 00000000
b8252000 b827c000 kmixer.sys
Timestamp: unavailable (00000000)
Checksum: 00000000
f7c31000 f7c32000 drmkaud.sys
Timestamp: unavailable (00000000)
Checksum: 00000000
f7bd5000 f7bd6000 winio.sys
Timestamp: unavailable (00000000)
Checksum: 00000000
b8544000 b8551000 DMusic.sys
Timestamp: unavailable (00000000)
Checksum: 00000000
b82d7000 b82fa000 aec.sys
Timestamp: unavailable (00000000)
Checksum: 00000000
b85fc000 b860a000 swmidi.sys
Timestamp: unavailable (00000000)
Checksum: 00000000
f7b80000 f7b82000 splitter.sys
Timestamp: unavailable (00000000)
Checksum: 00000000
baa9e000 baaa1000 Mkemusb.sys
Timestamp: unavailable (00000000)
Checksum: 00000000
f77be000 f77c7000 processr.sys
Timestamp: unavailable (00000000)
Checksum: 00000000
f7aa2000 f7aa6000 kbdhid.sys
Timestamp: unavailable (00000000)
Checksum: 00000000
f795e000 f7963000 Cdaudio.SYS
Timestamp: unavailable (00000000)
Checksum: 00000000
f7a92000 f7a95000 Sfloppy.SYS
Timestamp: unavailable (00000000)
Checksum: 00000000
Closing open log file c:\debuglog.txt

The repeated win32k.sys crashes point to RAM.

See if removing one stick makes any difference.

Did you try MemTest?

Okay, I ran memtest86, and I got 18 errors, all kinds of numbers that I didnt bother writing down. So this means the problem is most likely RAM? I will try removing one stick, is there one that I should try to remove first? Should I remove my newer one first or the original? Keep in mind I have had the newer one in for well over 6 months now with no problems.

I would try removing the newer first. Also perhaps just reseating might help. Also perhaps changing slots. Are there more than 2 slots?

Most logs that I read that repeatedly point out win32k.sys are triggered by memory issues.

Possible graphics memory as well.

Experimenting with the RAM is the easiest first test. Just to see if it makes a difference.

yes, there are more than two slots. That would really be a bummer if one of my sticks was shot, so maybe I could do something like move stick 1 into slot 2 and stick 2 into slot 3 and see if that makes any difference? Just for the record, the crashes dont seem to be happening very often.

I think moving the RAM would be a good test. Slot 1 might be necessary. You can try 1 & 3 & also switching the sticks as well as running one at a time etc.

Well I first tried moving my newer stick to slot 3, that did not stop the problems. I took it out all together and it seems like im not having any problems now. I would hate to think that that stick has went bad so quickly, Ive only had it about 6 months, and it had worked fine up until a few weeks ago. Is there any steps I could do to try to get that RAM working properly, or is it basically garbage now?