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BSOD 0x000000B8 HAL.DLL Repeadly happens only when I'm using Firefox v40.0.3

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  • Last reply by FredMcD

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I'm getting Blue Screens of Death everytime I use Firefox v40.0.3 and it ONLY occurs when I'm using Firefox. Code: 0x000000B8 Attempted Switch From DPC Faulting Driver ==> HAL.DLL Every BSoD has the same error data. Windows XP SP3 all latest drivers and running stable eccept for this problem. Intel Core 2 Duo 3.33GH 4 GB memory SATA 320GB WD drive nVidia Quadro FX580 latest drivers HP xw4600 Workstation I've tried everything I can think of, like turning Hardware Acceleration on/off Makes no difference what other programs I have running at the same time or what I'm doing. It ONLY occurs while I'm using Firefox. If Firefox is loaded in the background but I'm not actively using it, the BSoD does NOT occur.

I'm getting Blue Screens of Death everytime I use Firefox v40.0.3 and it ONLY occurs when I'm using Firefox. Code: 0x000000B8 Attempted Switch From DPC Faulting Driver ==> HAL.DLL Every BSoD has the same error data. Windows XP SP3 all latest drivers and running stable eccept for this problem. Intel Core 2 Duo 3.33GH 4 GB memory SATA 320GB WD drive nVidia Quadro FX580 latest drivers HP xw4600 Workstation I've tried everything I can think of, like turning Hardware Acceleration on/off Makes no difference what other programs I have running at the same time or what I'm doing. It ONLY occurs while I'm using Firefox. If Firefox is loaded in the background but I'm not actively using it, the BSoD does NOT occur.

Chosen solution

Solved Myself. The BSoD was caused by WiseTdiFw.sys file installed in the C:\Windows directory by Wise System Monitor v1.3.5.31. When this file was blocked from loading the BSoD stopped.

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All Replies (7)

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I've called the big guys to help you. Good luck.

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See:

Try to use "3-bar" menu button > Exit (Power button) (Windows: File > Exit; Mac: Firefox > Quit Firefox; Linux: File > Quit) to close Firefox if you are currently doing that by clicking the close X on the Firefox title bar.

In case you use "Clear history when Firefox closes" then try to disable this feature.

  • Tools > Options > Privacy > Firefox will: "Use custom settings for history": [ ] "Clear history when Firefox closes"

Boot the computer in Windows Safe Mode with network support (press F8 on the boot screen) to see if that helps.

Do a malware check with several malware scanning programs on the Windows computer.

Please scan with all programs because each program detects different malware. All these programs have free versions.

Make sure that you update each program to get the latest version of their databases before doing a scan.

You can also do a check for a rootkit infection with TDSSKiller.

See also:

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Thank you for the reply. I will try these suggestions out shortly and report back. I wanted to mention three things:

-1 I do get the BSOD with Firefox started/running but its in the background while I'm reading e-mails, etc.

-2 I tried using IE v8 (the last one MS offered for Win XP) extensively and it worked fine. No BSOD and this was for several hours.

-3 I have a near identically setup of XP on a second primary partition that I can set active on/off hidden not hidden. Firefox works fine on this second partition. And it obviously has the same hardware and all drivers are the same too.

I tried to upload a listing of the minidump file but it didn't work. So I'm pasting part of one here. Every BSOD dumpfile is the same except for the date/time.

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Dump File  : Mini090715-01.dmp Crash Time  : 9/7/2015 1:53:46 AM Bug Check String  : ATTEMPTED_SWITCH_FROM_DPC Bug Check Code  : 0x000000b8 Parameter 1  : 0x00000000 Parameter 2  : 0x00000000 Parameter 3  : 0x00000000 Parameter 4  : 0x00000000 Caused By Driver  : hal.dll Caused By Address : hal.dll+291a File Description  : Hardware Abstraction Layer DLL Product Name  : Microsoft® Windows® Operating System Company  : Microsoft Corporation File Version  : 5.1.2600.5512 (xpsp.080413-2111) Processor  : 32-bit Crash Address  : ntoskrnl.exe+22f0e Stack Address 1  : ntoskrnl.exe+6ec4b Stack Address 2  : hal.dll+291a Stack Address 3  : SYMTDI.SYS+1c1cc Computer Name  : Full Path  : C:\WINDOWS\Minidump\Mini090715-01.dmp Processors Count  : 2 Major Version  : 15 Minor Version  : 2600 Dump File Size  : 65,536 Dump File Time  : 9/7/2015 1:54:30 AM

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In stack:

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Filename  : afd.sys Address In Stack  : afd.sys+c27c From Address  : 0xb4568000 To Address  : 0xb4589d00 Size  : 0x00021d00 Time Stamp  : 0x4e4bc701 Time String  : 8/17/2011 9:49:53 AM Product Name  : Microsoft® Windows® Operating System File Description  : Ancillary Function Driver for WinSock File Version  : 5.1.2600.6142 (xpsp_sp3_gdr.110817-1643) Company  : Microsoft Corporation Full Path  : C:\WINDOWS\system32\drivers\afd.sys

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Filename  : b57xp32.sys Address In Stack  : b57xp32.sys+c94353cc From Address  : 0xb711c000 To Address  : 0xb7156000 Size  : 0x0003a000 Time Stamp  : 0x4bf616a7 Time String  : 5/21/2010 1:14:15 AM Product Name  : Broadcom NetXtreme Gigabit Ethernet Driver File Description  : Broadcom NetXtreme Gigabit Ethernet NDIS5.1 Driver. File Version  : 14.2.0.5 (cbuild.05202010-2212,b57nd5x-main-lhdepot1106.CL-113440) Company  : Broadcom Corporation Full Path  : C:\WINDOWS\system32\drivers\b57xp32.sys

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Filename  : hal.dll Address In Stack  : hal.dll+291a From Address  : 0x806e4000 To Address  : 0x80704d00 Size  : 0x00020d00 Time Stamp  : 0x4802517f Time String  : 4/13/2008 2:31:27 PM Product Name  : Microsoft® Windows® Operating System File Description  : Hardware Abstraction Layer DLL File Version  : 5.1.2600.5512 (xpsp.080413-2111) Company  : Microsoft Corporation Full Path  : C:\WINDOWS\system32\hal.dll

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Filename  : NDIS.sys Address In Stack  : NDIS.sys+c883c084 From Address  : 0xb7d15000 To Address  : 0xb7d41980 Size  : 0x0002c980 Time Stamp  : 0x48025d03 Time String  : 4/13/2008 3:20:35 PM Product Name  : Microsoft® Windows® Operating System File Description  : NDIS 5.1 wrapper driver File Version  : 5.1.2600.5512 (xpsp.080413-0852) Company  : Microsoft Corporation Full Path  : C:\WINDOWS\system32\drivers\NDIS.sys

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Filename  : ntoskrnl.exe Address In Stack  : ntoskrnl.exe+79c20 From Address  : 0x804d7000 To Address  : 0x806e4000 Size  : 0x0020d000 Time Stamp  : 0x4802516a Time String  : 4/13/2008 2:31:06 PM Product Name  : Microsoft® Windows® Operating System File Description  : NT Kernel & System File Version  : 5.1.2600.5512 (xpsp.080413-2111) Company  : Microsoft Corporation Full Path  : C:\WINDOWS\system32\ntoskrnl.exe

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Filename  : SYMTDI.SYS Address In Stack  : SYMTDI.SYS+1c1cc From Address  : 0xb45eb000 To Address  : 0xb462ada0 Size  : 0x0003fda0 Time Stamp  : 0x41f1eadc Time String  : 1/22/2005 1:55:40 AM Product Name  : Symantec Security Drivers File Description  : Network Dispatch Driver File Version  : 5.4.4.17 Company  : Symantec Corporation Full Path  : C:\WINDOWS\system32\drivers\SYMTDI.SYS

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Filename  : tcpip.sys Address In Stack  : tcpip.sys+cbf25d98 From Address  : 0xb462b000 To Address  : 0xb4683480 Size  : 0x00058480 Time Stamp  : 0x485b99ad Time String  : 6/20/2008 7:51:09 AM Product Name  : Microsoft® Windows® Operating System File Description  : TCP/IP Protocol Driver File Version  : 5.1.2600.5625 (xpsp_sp3_gdr.080620-1249) Company  : Microsoft Corporation Full Path  : C:\WINDOWS\system32\drivers\tcpip.sys

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Filename  : WiseTdiFw.sys Address In Stack  : WiseTdiFw.sys+1dce From Address  : 0xb8268000 To Address  : 0xb8276000 Size  : 0x0000e000 Time Stamp  : 0x55938781 Time String  : 7/1/2015 2:24:01 AM Product Name  : File Description  : File Version  : Company  : Full Path  :

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Modified by Nightbreaker

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I ran virus checks on the computer and it came up clean. I exited using the 3-bar route, still get the BSoD I started Firefox in Safe Mode, still get the BSoD I started the computer in safe mode with network access. Then I started Firefox but still get the same identical BSoD! I believe something is corrupted deep inside Firefox now. I'm going to try a Reset Start and if that doesn't work I'm going to scrape Firefox off my had drive completely and do a clean install. If that doesn't work I'm going to use the computer as a door stop since it must be possessed by some kind of entity.

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Download Firefox Full Version For All languages And Systems {web link} Save the file. Then;

Using your file browser, open the Programs Folder on your computer.

Windows: C:\Program Files C:\Program Files (x86) Mac: Open the "Applications" folder. Linux: Check your user manual.

• Linux: If you installed Firefox with the distro-based package manager, you should use the same way to uninstall it - see Install Firefox on Linux. If you downloaded and installed the binary package from the Firefox download page, simply remove the folder Firefox in your home directory.


Look for, and rename any Mozilla or Firefox folders by adding .old to them.

After rebooting the computer, run a registry scanner. Then run the installer. If all goes well, remove the OLD folders when you are done.

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Chosen Solution

Solved Myself. The BSoD was caused by WiseTdiFw.sys file installed in the C:\Windows directory by Wise System Monitor v1.3.5.31. When this file was blocked from loading the BSoD stopped.

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That was very good work. Well Done.