SUPPORT: Stop 0x50 Error PAGE_FAULT_IN_NONPAGED_AREA
Apply this information only if Windows XP is generating Bugcheck or Stop 0x50 errors.
About Stop 0x50
This is a rather nasty error that could be caused by just about anything, including busted audio drivers, incompatible video drivers, bad or corrupt hard disk, and faulty hardware such as bad RAM. The error may be triggered by an event such as plugging in a USB device, but the problem is, the fault may not lie with the device that was actually plugged in. Worse still, other errors can mask this one. The point is, the crash may be a symptom of some other problem, or another crash might prevent you from seeing this one. A case in point from my own experience:
Windows Server 2003 does not support the features of the Microsoft Office Keyboard but I ignored these warnings and installed the USB device anyway. Everything was fine for several weeks, excpet that I did not have access to all the features. After installing a USB camera, my machine began to experience Stop 0x00000077 (KERNEL_STACK_INPAGE_ERROR) and Stop 0x0000008E (KERNEL_MODE_EXCEPTION_NOT_HANDLED) errors. I was also seeing screen corruption on rare occasions. By now I was starting to resign myself to the possibility that my 128MB nVidia Ti4200 had died in its pants.
Of course, I uninstalled the camera but the problem persisted. It was only after disabling a number of startup items with msconfig that the machine fell over with a Stop 0x00000050 (PAGE_FAULT_IN_NONPAGED_AREA). It was at that point I started to see myself having to invest in another gigabyte of 333MHz DDRAM. I was not impressed.
It was mid-way through the cursing and swearing that I recalled the warning I had ignored. I fossicked through my parts boxes and found a USB to PS/2 adapter, and switched the keyboard from the USB to the PS/2 socket. Everything has been running without a problem since.
Things to do
Use Troubleshooting Tools
If the crash is associated with plugging in some hardware, use device manager to remove the device drivers. Use msconfig to disable any services associated with the hardware and any other startup services that are not essential. Visit the manufacturer’s website and try to locate up to date drivers.
Perform a Soak Test
If XP still blows up, run some tests by downloading the trail version of SiSoft Sandra from the web and put the machine through its paces. Sandra is not designed for fault finding, but it does put a heavy load on the machine, so there is a chance that the problem may manifest itself when Sandra is running its benchmarks. You are looking for crashes during CPU, video, RAM, sound and disk tests.
Check the RAM
Most often, x50 is associated with dud RAM. That includes main memory, video and CPU cache memory. If you have more than one stick of RAM, start ripping the sticks out one at a time. If you only have one stick, you will need to find someone who can help you out with a spare stick that fits your machine.
Get Desperate
Disable all BIOS caching and speed-up options.
Disable power management.
If you are overclocking, don't.
Antivirus software can cause this error. Disable any antivirus software you have.
Run Chkdsk /f to check for disk errors because corrupt disk volumes can cause this, too.
Check Event Viewer to see if there are any additional errors or warnings that might provide a clue.
Revision Date: 28 Nov 2003