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Aurora 16X (AC16251) BSODs and kernel pool corrupted (0x1E / 0x3B / 0x7E, 0xC0000005) during idle/background activity on Core Ultra 9 275HX
Title
Recurring kernel pool corruption (0x1E / 0x3B / 0x7E, 0xC0000005) during idle/background activity on Intel Core Ultra 9 275HX (Alienware 16X Aurora)
Recurring AV_nt!ExpPoolTrackerChargeEntry (0xC0000005) kernel pool corruption during S0 Low Power Idle on Core Ultra 9 275HX
Description
I am reporting a recurring Windows kernel crash that appears to involve kernel memory corruption during idle or background activity. Have experienced over 10 crashes over the last two weeks. This is most likely happening on more laptops out there than people think. Most will just come back and see their computers restarted and think I must have had a windows update. Those that see the issue have no idea how to report it, and most of the time the crashes won't complete so Microsoft won't get a report because the bug is in the kernel itself. It is also plaguing other systems as well. See microsoft forum:
System
- Alienware 16X Aurora AC16251
- Intel Core Ultra 9 275HX
- 32 GB DDR5-5600
- BIOS 2.4.0
- Windows 11 Build 26100/26200 family
- Modern Standby (S0 Low Power Idle only)
Symptoms
The system is generally stable during heavy workloads such as gaming.
The crashes occur primarily while:
- Idle
- Downloading games
- Background activity
- Unattended
Multiple bugchecks have occurred including:
- 0x1E KMODE_EXCEPTION_NOT_HANDLED
- 0x3B SYSTEM_SERVICE_EXCEPTION
- 0x7E SYSTEM_THREAD_EXCEPTION_NOT_HANDLED
All observed crashes involve:
Exception code:
0xC0000005 (Access Violation)
Kernel memory dump findings
A kernel memory dump (MEMORY.DMP) was captured and analyzed with WinDbg.
The crash occurs in:
nt!ExpPoolTrackerChargeEntry
Failure bucket:
AV_nt!ExpPoolTrackerChargeEntry
The fault occurs while Windows is executing:
ExAllocatePool2
during a normal registry open operation:
NtOpenKeyEx
The crashing process is:
sihost.exe
No third-party driver appears on the immediate crash stack.
This suggests the kernel pool may have been corrupted before the allocation attempt rather than Windows itself causing the corruption.
The dump also contains:
- BlackBoxBSD
- BlackBoxNTFS
- BlackBoxPNP
- BlackBoxWinlogon
for additional investigation.
Troubleshooting already performed
- Updated BIOS to 2.4.0
- Disabled Intel NPU
- Reinstalled Intel NPU driver
- Uninstalled McAfee
- Uninstalled Dell SupportAssist
- Disabled sleep
- Disabled display sleep
- Collected SleepStudy report
- Collected numerous minidumps
- Collected a kernel memory dump
The crashes continue after:
- Intel NPU disabled
- McAfee removed
- Dell SupportAssist removed
Additional observations
Earlier dumps frequently included Intel platform components such as:
- intelpep.sys
- Intel Platform Monitoring Technology (IntelPMT)
- Intel Innovation Platform Framework (IPF)
However, the latest kernel dump does not identify a specific third-party driver on the faulting stack.
The system has not produced WHEA hardware errors or Machine Check Exceptions.
Request
Please investigate whether this is a kernel memory corruption issue involving:
- kernel pool allocation (ExpPoolTrackerChargeEntry / ExAllocatePool2)
- Modern Standby (S0 Low Power Idle)
- Intel Core Ultra platform power management
- Intel platform drivers
- ACPI / platform firmware interactions
The attached kernel memory dump contains the information required for pool analysis, BlackBox logs, and driver investigation.
I tried to collect additional ETW/WPR traces but each time the system restarts more than once and I can't complete the trace.
I will put one drive link to the full kernel memory dump as it is too large to upload.
I have submitted these also through microsoft feedback. Nothing has been done. Dell needs to get this to the Microsoft engineers.
16
0
Posted August 11th, 2026 16:51
Hi All,
We have a new update. This issue is still under investigation with Microsoft and Intel. Users with an Alienware AA16250, AA18250, AC16250, or AC16251 should contact Support via the Get Help Now button. Inform the agent to view Dell Knowledge Article 000492904 to identify the issue and to aid with providing a workaround. If the issue remains unresolved after they assist with the workaround, then Support will provide the appropriate next steps.
(edited)
DELL-Daniel V
#IWork4Dell
Digital Support Forum LiaisonNew to Community? Check our FAQ!
11
0
Posted June 29th, 2026 18:59
Have you upgraded the memory yourself? If so, exact make/model DIMMs you used.
Are you running Dell/Alienware Support Assist?
Do you have any strange/un-common USB-devices connected?
Dell Rockstar
Microsoft Windows and Apple iOS Developer (Retired)
- Like many of you, I can appreciate a good game-engine.
- I answer questions here, but I'm not a Dell employee.
- Consider giving posts you like a "thumbs-up"
- Posting models-numbers and software versions speeds trouble-shooting.
- Click "Mark as Accepted Answer" on any post that answers your question best.5
0
Posted June 29th, 2026 19:10
Contact Dell GHN (Get Help Now) chat technical support Monday through Friday. Click the blue "Get Help Now" on the right to start a private live chat session. Share the private Service Tag with them so that they can verify the ownership and warranty status. This will also generate a unique Technical Support case for your unique Service Tag. If already out of warranty, click here for the Dell out of warranty offerings.
I noticed you checked out a few other threads with similar reports, but some of them are different models. We would be unable to escalate this issue unless multiple users are reporting the same problem in this thread. I would recommend contacting Support to get a case created and look into the issue on your system.
DELL-Daniel V
#IWork4Dell
Digital Support Forum LiaisonNew to Community? Check our FAQ!
7
1
Posted June 29th, 2026 19:19
I don't think these are related. My laptop shuts off with no error messages. When I boot into diagnostics it says Fan Error - The motherboard fan failed to respond correctly. This has happened for 2 years now. I have had a repairman come to the house once, sent it into Dell twice and now just dropped it off at a third party repair shop. They claim they have replaced the motherboard and all fans before but it works for a day or two and then same errors over and over.
7
0
Posted June 29th, 2026 19:22
@DELL-Daniel V it is under warranty for a few more months. My complaint is that this same issue has happened for several years with multiple repairs that do not work. What happens now is what I need help with. What happens when you can't fix a problem?
6
2
Posted June 30th, 2026 00:01
Same issue on new alienware 16x aurora ac16251 ... crash with hash 6f13343d-8edf-14f9-0269-6df067c74f57. nt!ExpPoolTrackerChargeEntry. Was having 2-3 crashes a day then after removing all "bloatware" and disabling as much background and telemetry apps as possible I have mitigated the issue. I was good for 2 days then same crash on svchost...that was 2 days ago Minidumps
(edited)
2
1
Posted June 30th, 2026 00:14
-No RAM has been changed. Stock
-Dell Support Assist was uninstalled halfway through troubleshooting.
-No usb devices are plugged in
I was searching similar issues through threads. This issue is confirmed over different computers if you check the Microsoft link I posted.
-Alienware 18 (model AA18250)-user with exact model as me
-Dell Pro Max 16 Plus MB16250
WinDbg output is the key here.
What it nails down:
- FAILURE_BUCKET_ID: AV_nt!ExpPoolTrackerChargeEntry — the crash is literally inside the kernel's pool-allocation accounting code, not in any driver.
- PROCESS_NAME: sihost.exe (Shell Infrastructure Host) — a completely unrelated, innocuous core Windows process. It just happened to be the next thing that tried to allocate kernel pool memory (opening a registry key) when the corrupted accounting structure got touched.
- The faulting instruction (lock xadd qword ptr [r14+r8], rbp) is an atomic increment into a pool-tracking table using a pointer (r14/r8) that's invalid — and the access violation address sits right at the guard page of sihost.exe's own freshly-expanded kernel stack, which is essentially a random landing spot. That's the signature of corrupted bookkeeping data being touched well after the actual damage occurred.
Same hash as me.
2
0
Posted June 30th, 2026 00:26
@bryan0087 ,
-No RAM has been changed. Stock
-Dell Support Assist was uninstalled halfway through troubleshooting.
-No usb devices are plugged in
OK, good.
Try to get 2 perfect long passes ( 0 errors) with www.memtest86.com . If you can, and ePSA also passes perfectly, then try clean-installing Windows-11:
Dell Rockstar
Microsoft Windows and Apple iOS Developer (Retired)
- Like many of you, I can appreciate a good game-engine.
- I answer questions here, but I'm not a Dell employee.
- Consider giving posts you like a "thumbs-up"
- Posting models-numbers and software versions speeds trouble-shooting.
- Click "Mark as Accepted Answer" on any post that answers your question best.12
2
Posted June 30th, 2026 08:12
confirming on dell pro max 16 plus mb16250 — same hash 6f13343d-8edf-14f9-0269-6df067c74f57, same AV_nt!ExpPoolTrackerChargeEntry, same +0x40 lock xadd qword ptr [r14+r8],rbp. mine is core ultra 9 285hx (different sku from your 275hx, same arrow lake-hx platform).
9 crashes since may 15. stop codes i've personally hit: 0x1E, 0x3B, 0x7E — different exception handlers catching the same fault, exactly like the alienware 18 user (TPGIV) writeup on reddit. today's was on the kernel's own Registry system thread doing CmpReorganizeHive (background registry hive maintenance) — no user code, no third-party driver, no app of any kind on the stack. windows crashing itself during routine work.
different OEMs, different sub-models, but all dell/alienware here are in scope. same exact kernel bug on intel arrow lake-hx + windows 11 25H2. it's not five different motherboards going bad simultaneously — this needs to go to microsoft, not back through retail support. tesla1856 — memtest86 already done by multiple people in this cluster, all clean. this guy ran a linux live USB on the same hardware doing 30min full stress, zero crashes, zero MCE. it's a kernel race, not memory.
attaching mem dumps here as well if anyone has the patience to inspect them mem
I also submitted a feedback to windows feedback hub but i feel like that app is just a suggestions box that no one reads.
(edited)
bryan0087
1 Rookie
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16 Posts
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76 Points
0
0
Posted September 20th, 2026 04:21
Alright guys, I believe the actual issue is intel Turbo boost. The last time I posted I had a restart maybe once a week. Two weeks ago i disabled turbo boost. Last week I reinstalled dell support assist and alienware command center. I turned back on overclocking in alienware command center. I installed new bios, gpu, and other recent drivers. I am pretty much back to everything that normally comes with the computer.
I tried getting processor power management to appear in the advanced power settings but for some reason it wouldn't work, and it also doesn't appear in bios. This workaround will hopefully work for everyone. Let me know if it does please.
Open cmd as administrator. Run:
powercfg -attributes SUB_PROCESSOR PERFBOOSTMODE -ATTRIB_HIDE
(It didn't work for me but it's supposed to make the option show in advanced power settings. You don't have to do this but if you want to check, press Win+R, enter powercfg.cpl and click change plan settings. Expand processor power management. You should see processor performance boost mode. If it appears set on battery and plugged in to both disabled. If it doesn't appear do next steps to set it directly.)
To set it directly, run:
powercfg /setacvalueindex SCHEME_CURRENT SUB_PROCESSOR PERFBOOSTMODE 0
powercfg /setdcvalueindex SCHEME_CURRENT SUB_PROCESSOR PERFBOOSTMODE 0
powercfg /S SCHEME_CURRENT
Then verify it by running:
powercfg /q SCHEME_CURRENT SUB_PROCESSOR PERFBOOSTMODE
You should see all zeros like this:
Current AC Power Setting Index: 0x00000000
Current DC Power Setting Index: 0x00000000
This tells windows to not call for intel turbo boost. If you want to turn it back on then you run:
powercfg /setacvalueindex SCHEME_CURRENT SUB_PROCESSOR PERFBOOSTMODE 1
powercfg /setdcvalueindex SCHEME_CURRENT SUB_PROCESSOR PERFBOOSTMODE 1
powercfg /S SCHEME_CURRENT
Telling windows to not call for Intel turbo boost has 100% fixed my issue. I have not had a restart for the last two weeks. I'm going to give it another week or so and then try re-enabling turbo boost.
@DELL-Daniel V I don't know if this will help the engineers get closer to identifying the issue or not, but it seems like the interaction between the processor, windows, and Intel Turbo boost is the culprit.