KB981833 - STOP: 0x0000006B on Dell systems

A very interesting case I worked on this week brought us on a new possible cause for blue-screens with STOP 0x6B, and I am now sharing this valuable information now :)

Symptom:

Your Windows 7 Dell Latitude E6510 systems are running in STOP 0x6B, although KB981833 is already installed.

Even if you delete the C:\Windows\system32\CodeIntegrity\bootcat.cache fie, the crashes persist.

Cause:

We found out that this is the result of some specific installation routines of an audio driver update with other system update components (not yet identified which exactly).

If a pack of several patches is installed, including Device IDT_92HDXXX-HD-AUDIO_A17_R278544.exe driver, the bootcat.cache might get corrupted (~11KB is size) and the systems run in STOP 0x6B.

If the pack is installed without the above mentioned driver, and the driver is installed only in the end, the system can be restarted successfully and the bootcat.cache file is updated accordingly.

Hint:

Should the system not boot after deleting the bootcat.cache file, try to copy the bootcat.cache file from an older backup image of the system. This might bring the system up.

If this article has helped, please add a comment.

Oni Sandru
Platforms Core Team