Stop 0x000000EA or THREAD_STUCK_IN_DEVICE_DRIVER

A device driver problem is causing the system to pause indefinitely. Typically, this problem is caused by a display driver waiting for the video hardware to enter an idle state. This might indicate a hardware problem with the video adapter or a faulty video driver.

Interpreting the Message

This Stop message has four parameters:

1. Pointer to the thread object that is caught in an infinite loop.
2. Pointer to a DEFERRED_WATCHDOG object, useful when using a kernel debugger to find out more information about this problem.
3. Pointer to graphics device interface (GDI) supplied context.
4. Additional debugging information.

Resolving the Problem

The following suggestion is specific to Stop 0xEA errors. For additional troubleshooting suggestions that apply to all Stop errors, see "Stop Message Checklist" later in this appendix.

• Stop 0xD1 messages can occur after installing faulty drivers (especially video drivers) or system services. If a driver is listed by name, disable, remove, or roll back that driver to confirm that this resolves the error. If so, contact the manufacturer about a possible update. Using updated software is especially important for backup programs, multimedia applications, antivirus scanners, DVD playback, and CD mastering tools.

For more information about Stop 0xEA messages, see the Microsoft Knowledge Base link on the Web Resources page at http://www.microsoft.com/windows/reskits/webresources. Search using keywords winnt, 0x000000EA, and 0xEA.