Vista 0x00000124 BSOD help needed

[jiannis]

Hi, I have been running my pc with an overclocked q6600 for almost a year with dual boot xp and vista ultimate installation. A week ago, vista bluescreens started appearing very often with the stop code 0x124. I clean installed vista and the bluescreens persisted, even before installing any device drivers (having the basic drivers of windows). That's when I got my processor to default speed. I didn't have any bsods anymore but anytime I try to overclock my pc the bluescreens return. But xp is running fine without problems even with overclocked cpu and as I said I have been running Vista for almost a year with this cpu clock without problems. I have not installed any new hardware or driver the last too months. Microsoft error reporting shows me it is a hardware problem but I don't believe it is because xp is running fine. I've tested my RAMs too and they are fine. Cpu passes all tests (prime 95 in xp) too, I have proper cooling and temperatures are fine. Could somebody check my attached minidumps and see if he can help me finding out what the BSOD's cause is? Thanks in advance!

EDIT - Here are my computer specs:
Mobo:Gigabyte X38-DQ6 with onboard audio
CPU:Intel Q6600 G0 stepping
Graphics card:MSI NVIDIA 8800 GTS 320 MB OC
RAM:2x Kingston KHX8500D2/1G
HDD:WD5000AAKS

 

[ccfc1986]

Hey - a couple of things that i can suggest having the same problem myself. I would say you should figure out the manufacturer of your hard drive - and download a diganostic utility for that hard drive. Test it to make sure it passes all tests etc (for example - mine failed the SMART test - although in the end this wasnt my real problem - it still told me a future problem will/can occur - ie a hard drive failure).
Secondly, something that helped for me - i had my system overclocked also - and i changed my BIOS to run everything and default settings. This may have stopped my problems - (as you may know the stop error can be caused by a number of hardware problems) ... but make sure you run everything stock, see how that goes...
If that helps, as it very likely could, start to OC (if you REALLY want/need to be OC'ed) one component at a time, i realize this will limit your OC ability, but it could help you figure out which component, when OC'ed, is giving you your problem, if it seems an OC;ed system is indeed the culprit of the BSOD problems.

Another thing i did was change my PCI slot for my sound card - and also reinstalled the drivers for it. All in all, so far so good in terms of me stopping all my BSOD ... i can guarentee anything i say here will work for you, but i just wanted to let you know what worked for me so far, touch wood.

Good luck and if you need any help or have any questions feel free to PM me.

EDIT - Also, it may help others who read this if you post your system specs ... there may be a piece of hardware which is known to have issues with something else in your rig or with Vista in general.... just an idea....

 

[jiannis]

ccfc 1986 thanks for your advice! I'v tried what you said with no luck- my hdd passes quick test, I've reset CMOS, and my sound card is onboard so I can't remove it-. When I try to overclock my cpu without overclocking the ram too, the same problem happens.
Could somebody please analyze my minidumps and tell me what the bsod's cause could be cause I've tried amost everything and the problem persists?

 

[ccfc1986]

After running windg with the minidump file you posted, i got the following. Albeit im no expert whatsoever in terms of handling minidump files and debugging them, i was able to get this much information for you - which - maybe with extensive google searching, might find you a solution to your problem. Or, better yet, someone on here will read this and know what the heck is going on with your system. When i have more time ill do some reasearch on google myself for you, as for now ill leave it to you and the other members of the forum.


WHEA_UNCORRECTABLE_ERROR (124)
A fatal hardware error has occurred. Parameter 1 identifies the type of error
source that reported the error. Parameter 2 holds the address of the
WHEA_ERROR_RECORD structure that describes the error conditon.
Arguments:
Arg1: 00000000, MCA_ASSERT
Arg2: 86da3020, Address of WHEA_ERROR_RECORD structure
Arg3: b2000040, High 32 bits of MCi_STATUS MSR for the MCA bank that had
the error
Arg4: 00000800, Low 32 bits of MCi_STATUS MSR for the MCA bank that had
the error

Debugging Details:
------------------


WHEA_ERROR_RECORD: !errrec ffffffff86da3020

BUGCHECK_STR: 0x124_GenuineIntel

CUSTOMER_CRASH_COUNT: 1

DEFAULT_BUCKET_ID: VISTA_DRIVER_FAULT

PROCESS_NAME: explorer.exe

CURRENT_IRQL: 1b

STACK_TEXT:
81d35f38 81c168b5 00000124 00000000 86da3020 nt!KeBugCheckEx+0x1e
81d35f8c 81d039a8 86da3020 84e4d6e0 84e4d6e0 hal!HalBugCheckSystem+0xe1
81d35fb8 81c167c9 84e4d6e0 00000000 81d35ff4 nt!WheaReportHwError+0x1d0
81d35fc8 81c16ea7 00000003 84e4d6e0 00000000 hal!HalpReportMachineCheck+0x31
81d35ff4 81c1299f 80152000 00000000 00000000 hal!HalpMcaExceptionHandler+0xf7
81d35ff4 00000000 80152000 00000000 00000000 hal!HalpMcaExceptionHandlerWrapper+0x77


STACK_COMMAND: kb

FOLLOWUP_NAME: MachineOwner

MODULE_NAME: hardware

IMAGE_NAME: hardware

DEBUG_FLR_IMAGE_TIMESTAMP: 0

FAILURE_BUCKET_ID: 0x124_GenuineIntel

BUCKET_ID: 0x124_GenuineIntel

Followup: MachineOwner

My assumption, being a newbie to minidumps myself, would be you have an issue with your hardware, more than likely your CPU as this might be saying:
BUGCHECK_STR: 0x124_GenuineIntel

Have you tried downloading the drivers for your processor for windows? Are you running a dual core, if so, Vista requires a driver in some cases - also, make sure you run everything stock as mentioned above, i realize it happens if its stock or not, but running stock will help eliminate OC as a cause for the problems.

EDIT - After 30 mins of searching i found this:
http://support.microsoft.com/?kbid=936357

Download whatever one pertains to you, run everything stock, and see if that helps. I found this in a thread here:
http://forums.microsoft.com/technet/showpost.aspx?pageindex=6&siteid=17&postid=1785914&sb=0&d=1&at=7&ft=11&tf=0&pageid=5

Take a look through that 2nd link there - you might be able to find something that helps you if you are still stuck! Once again, good luck!


Good luck and keep us updated as always

 

[jiannis]

Ccfc 1986 thank you for your help and your time!
My pc has already installed the intel update through automatic updates. Reading through the forum topic you linked to I tried several things. After updating my bios this 0x124 BSOD has not appeared again although I overclocked my cpu. I am not sure it has been eliminated but I am 80% sure.

Unfortunately now I have another BSOD that had appeared before the bios update too 2 times (even without oc). It has the code D1 and points to a file named "ntkrnlpa.exe". It appears at random times shortly after pressing the "Restart" or "Shut Down" button. Does somebody know what this file is and what this BSOD's cause could be? (I've googled and found other people having this ntkrnlpa.exe BSOD but there are no solutions). I attach one minidump. Thanks in advance!