system failures: source system error, ID 1003, stop c0000135

[Superhuman]

I've been getting restarts/BSoDs/system failures on an inconsistent basis for about 3 months.  It's been gradually worsening; first was only restarts when shutting down, then BSoDs too, then most recently sudden BSoDs while still using the computer.  Also messages about recovering from a serious error upon booting back up, from the start.  Because of the intermittent nature of the problems, and not being sure about when or if I should use a system restore point, I didn't do anything yet.  Now my oldest restore point is after I had installed what I'm pretty sure is the software that the problems started from (Networx, which comes with known-to-them crappy drivers).  I had uninstalled this software about 2 months ago, and had manually confirmed that at least one of its drivers was no longer on my system.  At first things seemed better, eventually however the intermittent problems continued, and are worsening.

I've looked through the Device Manager info for any indications of problem drivers.  I've used the System Information tool (msinfo32) to examine possible problem devices, and startup programs.   And turned off the system failure restart option.

I'm going to use Check Disk to check the HD, and possibly Driver Verifier to look for driver problems.  Also, I'll see if a safe mode boot allows a problem-free restart or shut down (but, of course, no problem happens a lot of times already).  And perhaps try a clean boot, though I'm not sure what this proves, unless it's the same thing as with safe mode.

I have the Event Viewer logs and 64KB memory dump files for the last 3 occurrences, plus BSoD screen photos for the 4th to 2nd last.  I'm not sure how to upload these attachments at the moment.  I have a plan of action in mind listed below, but first here are the Event Viewer logs, most recent first:

Event Type:   Error
Event Source:   System Error
Event Category:   (102)
Event ID:   1003
Date:      6/28/2015
Time:      6:11:45 PM
User:      N/A
Computer:   THE-CONTINUUM
Description:
Error code c0000135, parameter1 e1c33110, parameter2 e1a23f48, parameter3 00000000, parameter4 00000000.

For more information, see Help and Support Center at http://go.microsoft.com/fwlink/events.asp.
Data:
0000: 53 79 73 74 65 6d 20 45   System E
0008: 72 72 6f 72 20 20 45 72   rror  Er
0010: 72 6f 72 20 63 6f 64 65   ror code
0018: 20 63 30 30 30 30 31 33    c000013
0020: 35 20 20 50 61 72 61 6d   5  Param
0028: 65 74 65 72 73 20 65 31   eters e1
0030: 63 33 33 31 31 30 2c 20   c33110,
0038: 65 31 61 32 33 66 34 38   e1a23f48
0040: 2c 20 30 30 30 30 30 30   , 000000
0048: 30 30 2c 20 30 30 30 30   00, 0000
0050: 30 30 30 30               0000   


----------------------------------------------


Event Type:   Error
Event Source:   System Error
Event Category:   (102)
Event ID:   1003
Date:      6/27/2015
Time:      2:08:36 PM
User:      N/A
Computer:   THE-CONTINUUM
Description:
Error code c0000135, parameter1 e1fab0c0, parameter2 e17c8ee0, parameter3 00000000, parameter4 00000000.

For more information, see Help and Support Center at http://go.microsoft.com/fwlink/events.asp.
Data:
0000: 53 79 73 74 65 6d 20 45   System E
0008: 72 72 6f 72 20 20 45 72   rror  Er
0010: 72 6f 72 20 63 6f 64 65   ror code
0018: 20 63 30 30 30 30 31 33    c000013
0020: 35 20 20 50 61 72 61 6d   5  Param
0028: 65 74 65 72 73 20 65 31   eters e1
0030: 66 61 62 30 63 30 2c 20   fab0c0,
0038: 65 31 37 63 38 65 65 30   e17c8ee0
0040: 2c 20 30 30 30 30 30 30   , 000000
0048: 30 30 2c 20 30 30 30 30   00, 0000
0050: 30 30 30 30               0000   


----------------------------------------------


Event Type:   Error
Event Source:   System Error
Event Category:   (102)
Event ID:   1003
Date:      5/27/2015
Time:      2:15:54 PM
User:      N/A
Computer:   THE-CONTINUUM
Description:
Error code c000021a, parameter1 e1817420, parameter2 c0000005, parameter3 7c9101b3, parameter4 0069f36c.

For more information, see Help and Support Center at http://go.microsoft.com/fwlink/events.asp.
Data:
0000: 53 79 73 74 65 6d 20 45   System E
0008: 72 72 6f 72 20 20 45 72   rror  Er
0010: 72 6f 72 20 63 6f 64 65   ror code
0018: 20 63 30 30 30 30 32 31    c000021
0020: 61 20 20 50 61 72 61 6d   a  Param
0028: 65 74 65 72 73 20 65 31   eters e1
0030: 38 31 37 34 32 30 2c 20   817420,
0038: 63 30 30 30 30 30 30 35   c0000005
0040: 2c 20 37 63 39 31 30 31   , 7c9101
0048: 62 33 2c 20 30 30 36 39   b3, 0069
0050: 66 33 36 63               f36c   

I've done exhaustive research online into it, have got some general ideas how to resolve it, but not sure exactly.  I've been going largely by https://support2.microsoft.com/default.aspx?scid=kb;EN-US;Q308029 for a plan of action.  (I don't have the Windows XP CD-ROM.)  I'll list my prospective plans, and please tell me if they're the way to go:

1. IF I can actually find out which file/driver/service is causing the problem, it sounds like System Configuration Utility (msconfig.exe) would be how to disable it.  Or possibly just delete it, depending.  That's a big "if", it sounds like a real challenge to find the problem file or driver.  But I'd rather repair the registry than try to replace it, if possible.

2. There is a better driver package that can be used with Networx that I downloaded.  I wonder if reinstalling Network and/or just the alternate drivers could possibly overwrite the problematic ones it left behind, and fix the system instability?  Or maybe this is just wishful thinking it could be so easy to fix? 

3. I've considered using the oldest system restore point, but that is about 2 weeks after the problem software was installed.  I do also have a backup from 11 months ago with NT Backup (and the C:\WINDOWS\repair hive files seem to be of about the same date interestingly), so I could restore an undamaged registry from that.  But, I'm not sure if that is going to cause all files newer than my backup to disappear, or for that matter if a restore point might do the same.

[Geek-9pm]

In general, errors that are not consistent suggest hardware failures.
You should run hardware diagnostics of older equipment on a regular schedule.

Also, service  of such older equipment requires a backup plan. How to backup XP and other versions of Windows has been well documented elsewhere. Suitable hardware is required. Either you make backups on removable media, or you use another hard drive.

Memory tests are readily available. Memtest86 is often recommended. But even a good live Linux CD may have a memory test that will do the job. Have a Linux live CD should be part of your toolkit.
See here: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_live_CDs

My recommendation is to shift your attention to hardware diagnostics. The error messages have limited value when hardware is unstable. So you first have to know the hardware is in good shape. Especially older Hard Drives.
Free Hard Drive Testing

Also, booting in safe mode reduces some kinds of problems.  When testing, save mode is a good idea to reduce strange errors.

Let us know how you do.   

[Superhuman]

Thanks for the good advise.  I've been working on this as much as I could the last month.  Quite a waste of a summer spent indoors so much .  But I've checked all the hardware now.

My first backup was on a flash drive, but that quickly became too small .  Thereafter I've been doing backups of my system on an external hard drive.  I originally wanted to on CDs, but it was going to take too many of them, and tricky to find the right software (I know of one now).  I've been using the crappy NT Backup, but I've found good options now, including something like Clonezilla for next time.

I already had the Legacy OS live CD, though not specifically designed for recovery or diagnostics.  Also already got Slax live CD for recovery purposes, but it turned out to not be able to boot properly.  I now got the Ultimate Boot CD, which is awesome for diagnostics/benchmarking, has backup imaging, and everything recovery-wise (except the included Parted Magic version has a serious USB bug).

I got MemTest86, ran it for 3 passes (2 thorough passes), and got no errors.  It's on UBCD too.  I was going to use GSmartControl on Parted Magic, and noticed UBCD had Drive Fitness Test for my particular drive.  It does a very thorough test for that specific brand HDD, so I ran the random read thorough test, and the results were no errors/problems.  MemTest86 tests the CPU implicitly also, but I also ran a CPU stress test from UBCD for a short while, which would at least be long enough to generate errors on a flaky system.  Got no errors.  I'll run a lengthy CPU stress test later, but there's not likely to be a problem there.  It looks like all the hardware is good.

Every time I've shut down or rebooted from safe mode there was no system failure, except just after I installed a crap browser (SlimBrowser) that caused some further and more serious system instabilities (intermittent touchpad failure, system screeching to a halt).  I had to manually uninstall it, and used Last Known Good Config.  Then there weren't any more of those extra problems.  The intermittent system failures continue with the regular XP boots, primarily only when shutting down.

One of the stop errors has a repeating message referring to LIBEAY32.dll being missing (sounds like something to do with cryptography).  Is there any way I can use that to track down the problem?

I'm including the Event Viewer logs and BSOD screenshots attached.  But it's not looking promising so far to identify what exactly the problem with Windoze is.  I'm shortly going to be installing good OS's on flash drive and HD, like I'd intended to originally.  Then if Winblows fails on me, well I've got better OS's now anyway.  (The only thing is certain types of software may only be available for Win.)

But as for restoring XP to relatively problem free, what would I have to do?  Would uninstalling every last piece of software since the problems started originally (4+ months ago), and replacing the registry with the only backup I have before the trouble started (from a year ago) do it?


[attachment deleted by admin to conserve space]

[Superhuman]

I completely forgot to mention a strange behavior that I think started around the same time as these system failures.  That being the graphics on the screen seemingly randomly flash and/or reload, it being particularly noticeable whenever the desktop screen is displayed.  Today it was doing that really frequently on the desktop-- generally it's only once every several minutes, half hour, or so.  Does this sound indicative of anything, or familiar?

As a sidenote, the Parted Magic I mentioned that's included on the Ultimate Boot CD, I tried it today and it turns out that it fails to load properly.  It gets loads of errors, continues but then eventually stops, causes the caps lock and one other LED on the keyboard to continuously flash on and off, and then is completely unresponsive to any command I know.  It requires cutting the power holding down the power button.  I know it's a viable download because I used a checksum confirmation before burning.  From what I've experienced and read about, there seem to be a lot of those defective/incompatible boot CDs out there (it's not UBCD, it's the Parted Magic version on it).  I guess that'd be one good reason to have tried the free version before throwing money away buying it. 

[Superhuman]

Parted Magic I mentioned that's included on the Ultimate Boot CD, I tried it today and it turns out that it fails to load properly.  It requires cutting the power holding down the power button.  I know it's a viable download because I used a checksum confirmation before burning.  From what I've experienced and read about, there seem to be a lot of those defective/incompatible boot CDs out there (it's not UBCD, it's the Parted Magic version on it).

Update: from what I found out now, there was a possibility my floppy setting in BIOS was causing a problem with Parted Magic, so I switched it back on.  It now booted properly (though very slowly-- it seems to load a massive amount of stuff).  I'm not sure if the problem was because of the BIOS setting, or because my CD drive is now starting to fail (as it is).

[Geek-9pm]

because my CD drive is now starting to fail (as it is).

Yes.
You can buy a new CD-ROM drive for about $20 or less.

[Superhuman]

Sounds like you have done a lot of work on the old machine.
Trying to know all the possible issues is much too hard for most of us.  A professional Engineer work long hours each day for weeks to resolve just one issue in a complex system.
One problem is how thing interact. Both in software and hardware this is hard to catch. For laymen, the best we can do is the process of elimination.

Also, you may have to flash the BIOS. The risk is that the system may fail all the way. Or it may recover. No way to know until  you do it.
How you get it fixed. 

Yeah, I tried to make progress by finding out about things and working on things, with limited results.  The "old" machine is the only modern one I have at the moment  .

Wow, no doubt!  I have been finding a lot of dead leads/total lack of leads of where/what next to try.  I'm used to much simpler and older computers that don't have anywhere near this level of software problems (Amiga 500 & 1200 line).  A lot more reliable, and less sophisticated, indeed.  Linux is supposed to be similar to AmigaDOS (as I've seen myself recently), and that's what I'm going to switch to as soon as I get an opportunity.  Perhaps it's also more reliable/less convoluted of a system.

Exactly for that reason in your statement that non-pros can only use process of elimination, I had noted when my original problems started, it's probably best not to install several programs at once... in fact just one at a time.

So, by "flash the BIOS" I think you mean erase it and reload the contents anew, if that is right?  I was wondering why UBCD has BIOS erasing/fixing utilities.  If a BIOS flash causes it to fail all the way, does that mean the system is useless with any OS, and irreparable unless the CMOS can be replaced?

[Geek-9pm]

Spice does not allow a full disclosure of all the things that can go wrong. BIIOSA fails in three ways. Maybe four.
1. The BIOS firmware may not support features needed is some new software.
2. The BIOS chip itself as lost a few bits, causing unexpected behavior.
3. The BIOS chip may fail completely, not able to recovery itself.

The forth reason might be an unexpected power surge or a bad solder joint or some other thing. Maybe even a solar flare.

If the BIOS can be flashed again, it should work better than before. Or not at all.

When that old computer was made there was little thought about making it last for many years. And that still is the general policy of modem industry.

This article was done three years ago. It still represents the attitude of industry leaders. They want to yo buy a new PC every three years.
Introducing Apple’s Beautiful New $3000 Disposable Computer

Apple’s gorgeous new MacBook Pro with Retina display made its debut at WWDC on Monday. The “Retina display” is what makes this new laptop so noteworthy. Apple’s standard 15” MacBook Pro has a resolution of 1440 by 900.  The new Retina model ...   A few years from now, these displays will be the norm.  Right now, it’s only available on the Mac.

So they will have something else later on.  

[Superhuman]

NEWSFLASH: I found out not only was it Networx that caused the problems on my system, as I suspected, but somewhere around 6 months later AVG detected the original version I installed (networx_setup_5.3.3.0.exe) was infected with WebFilter.Q.  VirusTotal confirms some further detections of it.  So it isn't just a poorly designed program, or the driver package that came with it, as I had thought.  It's spyware!  I checked for any software to repair it, but couldn't find anything. 

Spice does not allow a full disclosure of all the things that can go wrong.

Spice? 

When that old computer was made there was little thought about making it last for many years. And that still is the general policy of modem industry.

Yeah well I've had my used system for 4 3/4 years now, and it still works.  I've only had to replace the CD writer.  The LCD and battery basically wore out so I also use an external monitor (and external keyboard and mouse, using it as a desktop).  As long as it's a quality brand (Dell), you replace mechanical drives that wear out, solid state components will likely keep going for a very long time, then it can keep lasting for many years.  Even NASA Mars probes were only designed to last a limited time, that experience incredibly harsh physical conditions, but have lasted many times longer.  So it's not asking so much for a terrestrial computer kept indoors to last similarly.

[Salmon Trout]

I found out not only was it Networx

This is almost certainly a false positive. I have been using Networx for years, and every so often you hear about antivirus products flagging it up. The problem is that Networx includes a third-party filter component to allow the user to (optionally) filter out local (LAN) traffic. This same filter is used by malware writers, so some antivirus products pick it up.