Major PC issues, possibly XNormal related?

Tom Ellis · Feb 2010

Hey everyone,

I'm experiencing a serious problem with my computer and wondering if it's related to XNormal, and also curious as to whether anyone else has had similar?

Firstly, I'm running Win7 64 on a Mac Pro, although I think that's irrelevant since the Mac side is running fine, as was the Windows partition until last night.

I was getting an untitled 'Expired' warning when starting Max last night and realized it was the XNormal plugin after I was prompted to update when running the XNormal software.

I installed the latest beta from the website and continued working, shut down my computer and then this morning, booted up Windows and got a BSOD saying 'PFN_LIST_ERROR'. Countless restarts and disk repair attempts later and I could get no further than the login screen without getting the blue screen and error.

So I spent the entire day formatting and reinstalling all my software, and all was ok again. I'd had to restart multiple times after installing some programs and everything appeared to be running smooth. I then installed the latest XNormal, rebooted and got the same BSOD with the PFN List error again.

Now I don't know enough about PC's to know if this is totally unrelated, but I can't think what else it could be. It can't be a hardware issue since my Mac partition runs perfectly.

So before I reinstall everything again, has anyone got any tips, advice or suggestions?

Assistance would be much appreciated!

Many thanks

r_fletch_r · Feb 2010

thats really strange, Xnormal shouldnt be able to do that at all. That sort of thing is usually caused by bad drivers or system updates. It could be a recent microsoft update

Tom Ellis · Feb 2010

Just to add to this, I've just read over on Ars Technica that some people are getting similar problems with a 'Page Fault in Non Paged Area' Blue Screen after a security patch released on the 9th.

Does Win7 apply patches over the air automatically? I didn't manually accept any updates but if it does it in the background then I guess it may be linked. Also, for those with more knowledge on the subject, are 'Page Fault in Non Paged' and PFN List errors related?

Thanks

r_fletch_r · Feb 2010

I dont have windows 7 but for vista and XP it could be set to automatically do this. perhaps its default now.

I've had to revert a few times when window update made shit of my system

Tom Ellis · Feb 2010

Thanks for the reply.

It looks like this may well be the cause then, a lot of people are reporting similar problems in various MS forums.

Shame on me for thinking it could be XNormal.

Is there a way to stop auto updates?

r_fletch_r · Feb 2010

in xp and vista they can be found in the control panel under automatic updates. Dont totally disable windows updates though, just make sure you are aware when they are coming in. I usually let it download them and then install then it prompts me to install them. This way if i have a problem (which thankfullly is rare) I can just hop into safe mode and do a system restore. (takes about 5 minutes and everything is going again) Then its to google to see which one is causing problems. deselect it and install the rest.

If you dont know about system restore then definitely google it. it makes system snapshots before you install stuff so you can restore you comp if it causes problems. G

Tom Ellis · Feb 2010

Many thanks r_fletch_r,

I've done a fresh install and switched off auto update and all seems to be working perfectly. I've set it to notify me of updates and hopefully I'll be warned beforehand next time!

Thanks again.

Tom Ellis · Feb 2010

Right, I've just had to reformat/reinstall again and I'm 99% sure this is XNormal related, however odd that seems.

I went through the laborious process of restarting my PC after every driver/software installation and it was all fine until I installed XNormal.

After rebooting after the XNormal installation I got the BSOD stating 'PFN_LIST' errors.

Fortunately, I could run auto repair and restored the system. The only change I could see was that XNormal had been removed and all that was left was the empty XNormal folders. All other software / drivers I had installed were left intact, and the system is now running fine.

It seems strange that it could be caused by XNormal and obviously it may well be something else, but I'm sure it's linked.

r_fletch_r · Feb 2010

Get onto the author. from what i've read he's a very helpfull guy

Shogun3d · Feb 2010

http://eat3d.com/forum/questions-and-feedback/expired-1-error

The expired error is a licensing issue that's being worked on.

Tom Ellis · Feb 2010

Thanks for the replies,

I've contacted the author of XNormal, I feel kinda rude suggesting it's a software problem but I honestly can't figure out what else it could be.

The weird thing is that apparently a PFN LIST CORRUPT blue screen suggests a RAM issue, or a Disk issue where bad memory pointers are causing problems. But as I said earlier, my Mac partition runs just fine, as does Windows until I install XNormal.

One thing I did notice is that the latest release of XNormal asks to install Xvid and H264 codecs which may or may not be another part of the problem.

It might remain a mystery for the time being as I certainly don't fancy installing my OS and software for the 4th time in two days.

If anyone has similar issues, or knows a bit more about PFN LIST errors it'd be good to hear your thoughts.

Many thanks

jogshy · Feb 2010

Pls, do a test for me:

1. Enter Safe Mode.

2. Execute regedit.exe

3. Locate a key called
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Control\GraphicsDrivers

4. Delete this value if it's present
TdrLevel

5. Exit regedit.exe
6. Reboot and enter Windows normally.

See if this solves your problem.

Tom Ellis · Feb 2010

Thanks for the reply,

I am unable to boot at all with the latest XNormal release, both safe mode and normal boots result in the blue screen error 'PFN_LIST_CORRUPT'.

The only option I have when this happens is to boot from the Win7 CD and restore Windows to an earlier date, when XNormal is not installed.

Sorry it's a pain!

AlexMarik · Feb 2010

I have this problem too, yesterday i've installed the new beta xNormal release, and windows don't work anymore.

I did what Santiago says, deleting the registry key with regedit, and windows ressurrect.

Now, there a final question left. Ther older version of xNormal will work fine on windows 7?

Thank's Santiago, i'm your fan!!

jogshy · Feb 2010

Well... if it was due to the that thing it's solved now in the xn 3.17 beta 3b that I'm just uploading now.

If the problem was due to a recent Windows update ( like this recent one http://www.theinquirer.net/inquirer/news/1591682/windows-update-causes-blue-screen-death ) or something similar I'm sure the windows restore will work.

Tom Ellis · Feb 2010

Ok I will try it... fingers crossed!

Tom Ellis · Feb 2010

Ok just got all my software and OS reinstalled again, attempted multiple boots into both Mac and Windows OS and all is working perfect BEFORE installing XNormal which I will leave out until you upload the new version.

I've just made a basic mesh in Max/ZBrush, textured it in PS and viewed it in Marmoset and UDK just to clarify all parts of my workflow are ok and everything is fine.

So upon installation of the new XNormal release we will hopefully be able to better pinpoint the cause!

Any ETA on the new beta?

Many thanks

jogshy · Feb 2010

Beta 3b uploaded now.

Pls try it.

Before installing it make a backup of important files if you need... just in case the fix fails

After installing it, pls reboot the computer to be sure the old files and the registry settings are updated correctly.

thx

Tom Ellis · Feb 2010

Installing now!

Will post results shortly.

Many thanks

Tom Ellis · Feb 2010

FIXED!!!!

Just got it installed, ran it, and booted into both Windows and Mac OS and no problems at all!

Really appreciate you taking the time to do this, hopefully it gives you an idea of the problem!

Thanks again.

jogshy · Feb 2010

Yep, was the TdrLevel.
Thanks.

Major PC issues, possibly XNormal related?

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