The Stop 0×3F message indicates one or more of the following problems:

• The System Table Entries (STE) are depleted or fragmented because the system is performing a high number of input/output (I/O) actions.
• A faulty driver is not managing memory properly.
• Software, such as a backup program, is improperly allocating a large amount of kernel memory.

Resolving the Problem

Before you can fix this problem you need to figure out what caused it. Did you recently install new software or hardware? This will help out a lot when troubleshooting the problem.

1. Stop 0×3F messages can occur after you install faulty drivers or system services. If a driver is named in the message, try rolling it back to a previous version ^[1] or uninstalling it. If a service is named in the message try to disable it ^[2]. You might need to start Windows Vista in Safe Mode ^[3] to disable the service.
2. The system might not actually be out of PTEs, but a contiguous block of sufficient size may not be available to satisfy the driver or application. Check for updated drivers or software.