Hi I recently am getting some BSODs.. I have 3 minidumps, one from 28nd of Sept, one from 2nd of Oct, last one from 3rd of Oct..

I am out of ideas.

2 minidumps crash at your video card drivers and have bugchecks of 50 and D1.

1 minidump crashes with a unknown image and a bugcheck of 9C.

Here are the meanings of your bugcheck codes.

0x00000050: PAGE_FAULT_IN_NONPAGED_AREA

Requested data was not in memory. An invalid system memory address was referenced. Defective memory (including main memory, L2 RAM cache, video RAM) or incompatible software (including remote control and antivirus software) might cause this Stop message, as may other hardware problems (e.g., incorrect SCSI termination or a flawed PCI card).

0x000000D1: DRIVER_IRQL_NOT_LESS_OR_EQUAL

The system attempted to access pageable memory using a kernel process IRQL that was too high. The most typical cause is a bad device driver (one that uses improper addresses). It can also be caused by caused by faulty or mismatched RAM, or a damaged pagefile.

0x0000009C: MACHINE_CHECK_EXCEPTION

This is a hardware issue: an unrecoverable hardware error has occurred. The parameters have different meanings depending on what type of CPU you have but, while diagnostic, rarely lead to a clear solution. Most commonly it results from overheating, from failed hardware (RAM, CPU, hardware bus, power supply, etc.), or from pushing hardware beyond its capabilities (e.g., overclocking a CPU).

As you can see from the above the bugcheck of 9C is by far the most serious and indicates some kind of hardware failure.

Make sure nothing is overclocked and check your temperatures for overheating. Update your video card drivers or if you`re already using the latest drivers, roll back to a previous version.

Go HERE and follow the instructions for testing you ram/page file/hard drive etc.

Make sure your psu is putting out enough power for your system. Pay particular attention to how many amps your psu gives on the 12volt rail. You can find this info on the psu label.

Let us know the results please.

Regards Howard

Thanks for your analysis!

Well, the last BSOD occurred while I was running two heavy applications:
3dsmax and World Community Grid (Proteine-folding, fight cancer/aids with cpu)

So at that point it said good bye

I have done the dust-spraying.. and I've just defragged and set a new pagefile. My last pagefile was actually set to the same size as my ram, 2048mb, not 1.5x but 1x.. what are the possible repercussions from that?

I have run memtestx86 previously though I don't think the test got finished entirely.. how long does it take? Last time I let it run for quite a while, and I don't think that it found any a problems then.. of course, if I know how long the test takes, I will try again and finish the test.

I have a A64 4800 X2 - The highest my CPU temp reaches is around 56 celsius, when rendering dual-threaded in 3dsmax. The system temp reaches 50 celsius at most.. Idle CPU-temp is 45 celsius. I use the boxed HSF included with the cpu..

I do hear some odd fan-noises sometimes.. I looked inside today when I dustsprayed, and I found no debris and little dust.. I think it's the northbridge fan, it starts up as a noisy bugger.. but then the noise evens out.

I wonder if it could be the ram which is getting hot.

btw. I'm not overclocking anything.

The size of your page file isn`t the problem.

Memtest will take quite a long time to run through seven passes. Typically a few hours. You may be as well letting it run overnight.

Your temps seem fine, so I don`t think it`s an overheating problem.

I need your psu specs, including the amps on the 12volt rail.

If you download the free Everest programme frorm HERE, you`ll be able to monitor you temps and psu voltages. You should do this when the pc is idel and also under load.

Please post any further minidumps.

Regards Howard

Ok, whenever I see a new BSOD, I will post it!

Here are my PSU's specs, it's the "Chill Innovation" CP-450A3 (450W)


Got Everest installed.

Idle Temps:
Motherboard = 49°C
CPU = 45°C
GPU = 55°C
GPU environment = 50°C

Idle Voltages:
CPU-core = 1.35V
Idle +3.3V = 3.33V
Idle +5V = 5.08V
Idle +12V = 12.10V
GPU vcc = 3.31V

I will now reboot to set up the new pagefile..
Then I'll post ACTIVE temps and voltages, under heavy stress of vray rendering processes.

Max load temps achieved during 100% load on each CPU-thread.
Max temps reached after around 15 minutes of continous rendering.

Motherboard = 51°C
CPU = 58-59°C
GPU = 58°C
GPU env = 53°C

Voltages are all the same as they were in idle.

I'll run MEMTESTx86 tonight when I go to bed..

I think we can defintely rule out overheating as the cause. Also, your psu looks fine.

See how the ram and hard drive tests go.

Regards Howard

Woah just as I wrote that, another BSOD came!
No pressure on the cpu.

I only had 3dsmax up, but it wasn't rendering.

I'll do the memtest when I go to bed, and the harddrive test I could do now..

Minidump!

Your minidump crashes at your video card drivers and a bugcheck of D1.

Have you tried updating or rolling back your video card drivers?

I`ve taken a closer look at your minidumps and found that all the dumps that crashed with you video card drivers, all have 3dsmax.exe as the owning process.

I believe 3dsmax.exe is related to the Autodesk software. Try temporarily uninstalling the software and see what happens.

Regards Howard

Ok, I ran chkdsk /f /r (remember that from good ole DOS)

It ran through, said there were no errors..
Then it freezes at "Starting up Windows"
I reboot, it goes through the chkdsk again - I try to cancel it but it ignores my keyboard-command. I checked BIOS, and BIOS has my USB devices enabled - legacy kb and mouse.

Then I try F8 and chose "Try last known working..."

It starts up, thankfully it bypasses the chkdsk, but then it gives me BSOD as SOON as I logged into windows.

Soo... I got two more minidumps..

Thank god for Safe mode with networking btw!

Right'o I'll try uninstalling the video-drivers, get newest ones..
I also could install SP3 for 3dsmax 8, since I have procrastinated that one.

Btw, this has happened in other applications too.. not just 3dsmax. Some games.. like Broken Sword 4 and Age of Pirates.

Both your minidumps crash at ntkrpamp.exe. This is the Windows nt & kernel system file. They have a bugcheck of D1.

I`m becoming more and more convinced you have a hardware problem of some kind. Possibly ram.

Regards Howard

Hardware? Ominous...

As I said, I'll do a ram test before going to bed.

After uninstalling the NVIDIA drivers, I get this message when booting:

The system has recovered from a serious error.

BCCode : 100000d1 BCP1 : 00000081 BCP2 : 00000002 BCP3 : 00000000
BCP4 : 8A77ECA0 OSVer : 5_1_2600 SP : 2_0 Product : 256_1


C:\DOCUME~1\Tordivel\LOCALS~1\Temp\WERb2dd.dir00\Mini100306-03.dmp
C:\DOCUME~1\Tordivel\LOCALS~1\Temp\WERb2dd.dir00\sysdata.xml

I can see that this is one of the minidumps I've already suffered and uploaded here. Why is it referring to an old minidump? Is this just a rehash/reminder of the previous BSOD?

I'll upload the XML-file in case it's helpful to look in.

http://www.omnicogni.com/dump/sysdata.rar

I think it`s probably time to start disconnecting anything not required to run your system. Just leave one stick of ram/cpu/psu/mobo/video card/hard drive. See if your system becomes stable. If it does, start adding one device at a time and testing the system, untill it fails, the last device you added will be the culprit.

If with the minimum of devices you still have problems, then the culprit probably lies within one of those.

Check you mobo for bulging or leaking capacitors. See HERE for more info.

You really need to run Memtest86+ as soon as possible.

You should also try moving your ram to a different dim slot.

Regards Howard

I installed the latest NVIDIA Forceware and nforce4 drivers. So far so good, the "system has recovered from blabla" message doesn't pop up anymore.

I remember once before I had a BSOD, I came here for help then too. Then it was the other minidump-genius (other than yourself) CPC2004, and he found out that it was the NVIDIA LAN driver, so I disabled and uninstalled its drivers.
Did wonders..

I just noticed that I had it enabled again in BIOS. I'll disable it in the BIOS.. I must have used it before I got my wireless up and running..
We'll see how it behaves now...
Do youknow any good "heavy" programs to stress every aspect of the system simultaneously?
Something like 3dmark?

I won't be doing any memtest until I go to bed..

3dmark is one. prime95 is another.

Regards Howard

Hey Howard Hopkinson

I started the Memtestx86 today, bootable CDrom.

My RAM is Corsair 2 x 1024MB PC3200C2PRO.
It's still running, after 7 hours.. It's on Pass 12 now!
How many passes must I go through?

12 passes is more than enough.

Please be aware that some faulty ram can pass memtest.

Are you still getting bosd`s?

Regards Howard

No, after I did some Software-stuff (uninstalled video-drivers, reboot, installed latest) it hasn't gone BSOD on me yet. But I haven't been using the computer much today, been at work, and it's been memtesting all day long.

The memtest is still running. It's run for 10 hours straight, and it's on Pass 17.
When does it end?

Memtest will only end when you tell it to. press ctrl alt delete.

Regards Howard

Ok. Well, it's the 5th-6th of October now. So far so good.
Though sometimes it feels like the computer "hangs" for a second.
Mostly when I download heavy. We'll see how it goes..