BSOD On Start of Windows Installer on New PC

[Squeeza]

Bug Description

Tried to install Mixxx v2.5 and v2.4.2 on brand new PC. Three attempts, each attempt terminated with a Blue Screen Of Death. Same error each time: KERNEL_MODE_HEAP_CORRUPTION.
Looked online for advice, saw something that recommended running a chkdsk /f, so did that, then tried two more installation attempts, same result - BSOD.

PC spec is as follows: AMD Ryzen 5 9600X processor, 64GB Corsair VENGEANCE DDR5 4800MHz memory, 16GB GIGABYTE RADEON™ RX 7600 XT GAMING graphics card, 512GB SOLIDIGM P44 PRO GEN 4 M.2 NVMe PCIe SSD hard drive, ASUS® ROG STRIX B650E-I GAMING WIFI motherboard, Windows 11 Professional operating system.

Any ideas?

Version

2.5, 2.4.2

OS

Windows 11 Professional

[JoergAtGithub]

Mixxx is a userspace application, that has no direct access to the Kernels heap memory. But the device drivers of your new hardware have, check to deinstall them one by one.
Another reason could be a hardware defect. Such memory defects appear often, if a RAM module is installed without wearing proper ESD gear.

[Squeeza]

The PC manufacturer sent me a link to some memory testing software, that went through multiple iterations of testing over a four hour period, then announced it has passed the memory test, so they are confident it is not the memory at fault, and are pointing the finger at you. You in turn, are pointing the finger at them. And I'm in the middle...

I will send them the first line of your response, but do you have anything else to add, that I might forward to them, as to why it isn't Mixxx causing the issue? Would love to get this issue resolved and get back to DJing again.

[daschuer]

I can confirm that Mixxx itself cannot be blamed.
However it may help to localize the error. Maybe it uses the broken driver code or the broken hardware.

Is it crashing during install?

If the installation runs through, please send the mixxx.log you find after restarting the computer.
https://github.com/mixxxdj/mixxx/wiki/Finding-the-mixxx.log-file

Does it crash on every single start or only accasionally?

[Squeeza]

It crashes almost instantly that I try to install it, usually at the space where it says it is calculating space requirements for install. I've run the memory test, I've gone to Device Manager to make sure all of the drivers for components are not marked with exclamation marks/are up to date, I saw that the AMD Adrenalin software and the Armoury Crate software both indicated they had updates, so downloaded and installed those, and tried again - same problem, blue screen.
I'm preparing a mail to the PC company with the application and system logs from Event Viewer, to see if they can recommend any further action. If you have any further ideas, I would be grateful to hear them.

[JoergAtGithub]

Does this happen before or after you enter your Administrator credentials?

[Squeeza]

Hi Joerg,

Not sure what you mean by that. I log into the machine (enter the password), then navigate to the Downloads directory, and click on the executable.

I have an update - I got another BSOD error, with a different message: SYSTEM SERVICE EXCEPTION. I looked it up online, and the advice online recommended I ran:

1. DISM /online /cleanup-image /restorehealth
2. SFC /scannow
   ... and to repeat the 2nd step until it gave a clean bill of health. Both processes ran (the first one I left running for over an hour). The second one reported 2 corrupted files, that it said it had fixed, and a further run of SFC gave an all clear message. Then I tried Mixxx again... BSOD.
   A friend suggested I try another DJ package just to see if anything would install, so I found something, and it installed, and plays music. However, the UI is completely different from Mixxx, I have 4 years worth of playlists in Mixxx, and I am mostly familiar with the UI, not looking to start from scratch again.

[Squeeza]

...and I'll also add that on the most recent attempt to install Mixxx, it got further than checking available disk space, it got to the point of trying to install the files, before the BSOD arrived.

[JoergAtGithub]

The Mixxx .msi Installer for Windows asks for Administrator credentials, to elevate access rights during the installation. If you didn't reach this point, it runs with normal user rights, and can't corrupt the kernels heap memory therefore.

I recommend to return this computer, as long as you've waranty!

[Squeeza]

Ah yes, it does reach that point, sorry!

[JoergAtGithub]

Than it's a different story, because after entering valid Adminstrator credentials, the installer has elevated access rights, which allow to corrupt things.

[Squeeza]

According to the CBS log file in C:\Windows\CBS, the most recent corrupt files to be detected are these:

2025-01-25 15:18:24, Info DEPLOY [Pnp] Corrupt file: C:\WINDOWS\System32\drivers\BthA2dp.sys
2025-01-25 15:18:24, Info DEPLOY [Pnp] Corrupt file: C:\WINDOWS\System32\drivers\BthHfEnum.sys

both of which the log says it repaired.

EDIT: Further research led me to a Microsoft Support article, that reveals these two files are either the Bluetooth device drivers, or something to do with them (see here: [https://answers.microsoft.com/en-us/windows/forum/all/bluetooth-device-group-btha2dpsys-bthhfenumsys-and/2c57a49f-10fb-4672-91d7-5f786d4b0233]).

Mind you, there are other 'corrupt' files listed in the log file, 'corrupted payload' for HTML files... doesn't sound encouraging...

[Swiftb0y]

Hey there. I'm sorry to tell you that the issue is really outside of mixxx. If you have bought your PC from a system integrator, contact their support. If you've built it yourself, you're likely out of luck. Try reseating all of your components (taking the components out of their slots and ensuring the slots are clean and properly inserting them back in). If that doesn't fix it, all you can do then is try (temporarily) replacing the memory, the SSD, and ensure none of your components have any overclock (that includes AMD PGO and EXPO).