BSODs since day one

[dugawug]

BSODs bringing me unending tears

i'm looking for help in getting rid of the BSOD on my system once and for all. it's been nearly 6 months and no matter what all i've tried, i still get the BSOD.

here's my system:

XP Pro SP2
Antec Sonata II case w/ 400W smartpower 2.0 450W p/s
Asus A8V Deluxe (BIOS 1016)
AMD 64 3500+ venice core (not overclocked)
Zalman copper heatsink/fan
2GB (2GBX1) Corsair XMS DDR Dual Channel RAM (in blue slots)
2 Barracuda 7200rpm SATA HD (hooked up to VIA SATA controller)
3dConnect Radeon 9550GE 128MB vid card (with latest ATI driver)
Plextor IDE DVD Burner
Floppy
Emu 1820m PCI soundcard
Powercore PCI audio effects/dsp unit

i have the latest drivers for everything. i have the BIOS settings mostly at default with some disabled devices (FW, Promise controller, etc.)

i lately get the Page Default Error while in Internet Explorer or a music application (Cubase SX). i've seen this error cause IE to erase it's history!

sometimes it instantly reboots although i have it checked to not!

when it doesn't, i usually see the STOP 0X...050 error.

removing the audio PCI cards makes it seem it's cured things, but i've found it just makes it take longer for the error to show.

i've long ago bought new RAM...that didn't fix it. i double checked my Corsair DDR last night with memtest and ran all night with 0 errors.

i've re-installed XP long ago...didn't help

seems certainly hardware related...not RAM...i can't tell...i'm at my wits end...any ideas?

 

[howard_hopkinso]

In your thread https://www.techspot.com/vb/topic34053-pg2.html&pp=20 it was suggested by cpc2004 that this may be caused by a faulty mobo. See reply #22.

However, whether it is indeed a faulty mobo, or caused by some other faulty hardware. It is a hardware problem.

Unfortunately minidumps wont tell us which hardware is bad.

You need to start swapping out parts in order to find out which piece of hardware is bad.

Try running your system with the bear minimum of components.

Mobo/cpu/1 stick of ram/hdd/video card/psu. That means completely uninstall, and disconnect anything else.

See if your system still crashes.

If it does then it has to be one of the above, that is the culprit.

You could of course take your computer to a pc repair shop, and have them look at it for you.

Good luck.

Regards Howard

 

[dugawug]

thanks Howard, i'm already in the phase of slowly removing piece by piece. i have several threads on this forum b/c over the months i've had several different BSOD errors. what i get now is different than before.
can i post a few of the recent minidumps to help see if there are any more clues?

like you suggest, it is most likely one of these vital components. i was just hoping these latest minidumps might give a clue to which.

 

[howard_hopkinso]

Yes by all means post your latest minidumps. Whether they will reveal anything new is debatable.

Regards Howard

 

[dugawug]

thanks Howard, i'll post them as soon as i get home.
you're probably right, it may not show much.
i have reinstalled XP since, and got rid of the dual boot.

two things i hope to see:

1. if the errors i get are of two different types, enough to suggest i possibly have more than one problem going on.

2. if the errors give the slightest indication of power supply or mobo fault...

i'll post again soon, thank you SO much!
i promise this will be my last thread about BSOD problems! :haha:

 

[dugawug]

Howard,
here they are...i've included three minidumps, each crash while running a different program than the others.

one thing i'd like to see is if the 3 errors are similar (and thus not showing that i have more than 1 problem)

also, just any indication of what hardware it could be...p/s, mobo, and ram are the most likely i guess, although i already bought new RAM.

thanks a million!!

 

[howard_hopkinso]

2 of your minidumps crash at ntkrnlpa.exe. This your Windows nt and kernel file. They both have a bugcheck of 0A.

0x0000000A: IRQL_NOT_LESS_OR_EQUAL

Typically due to a bad driver, or faulty or incompatible hardware or software. Use the General Troubleshooting of STOP Messages checklist above. Technically, this error condition means that a kernel-mode process or driver tried to access a memory location to which it did not have permission, or at a kernel Interrupt ReQuest Level (IRQL) that was too high. (A kernel-mode process can access only other processes that have an IRQL lower than, or equal to, its own.)

The other minidump crashes with pool corruption, and a bugcheck of 50.

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).

I don`t think these minidumps reveal anything new.

You need to keep on diagnosing for hardware problems.

Regards Howard

 

[dugawug]

thanks Howard....
in your experience, would seeing these two minidumps indicate two separate problems? it'll help my further troubleshooting.

 

[howard_hopkinso]

The clues are in the stop messages.

Taken together with your various other stop messages=A hardware problem.

Ram is still a possibility, although I think it may well be more serious than that.

As has been said before. Minidumps don`t usually say what hardware is faulty, unless of course the minidumps all crash with the same bugcheck. Since your`s don`t, it`s anyones guess as to what the problem may be.

I don`t know which hardware is faulty.


Regards Howard

 

[dugawug]

Howard,
i'm getting hot on the trail...
long story short, i'm noticing i don't get the BSOD when using one stick of RAM. either stick works, just so long as it is not 2 sticks!

i have tried using the black colored slots (for non dual channel) as well as the blue slots (dual channel) in my Asus A8V deluxe. i'm still testing, but it seems no matter what i do, if i use both sticks, i get the crash.

have you seen anything like this before?

update: i've labelled both sticks...having them arranged in the black slots first crashed...now that i've switched sticks around (staying in black slots), i'm not crashing!! ??? is this nuts or what?

btw, i have a very testing audio project running that uses loads of CPU that will generally trigger a BSOD within 10-20 minutes, so i have a good way to dependably trigger the BSOD. the crazy thing is, it seems particular to what stick of RAM is in which slot!!!??

 

[howard_hopkinso]

That is why I always say to test each stick individually first, and then together.

Maybe your ram isn`t compatible in some way when run together.

Carry on testing, and hopefully you can crack this once and for all.

Regards Howard

 

[dugawug]

thanks, i just edited my above post. it's crazy but it seems fine now in a very particular setup. i still have to give it time.
this RAM should be rock solid together, it is high quality Corsair XMS DDR Dual Channel. as far as i heard, dual channel RAM has been tested together to ensure optimal performance.

anyway, i'll post final results once i test all these configurations. i'm VERY suprised this seems to be the root of it. is this possibly a flaw in my mobo? i can't say i've heard of such a problem...

 

[howard_hopkinso]

I suppose it is possible that your mobo is very picky when it comes to ram.

If you look at your mobo manufacturers website. You should be able to find out what ram is recommended for your board.

Regards Howard

 

[dugawug]

but picky like this is unusual, no?
the RAM is on the Vendor approved list.

there's something very odd about this...not sure if it's the RAM or the slots on the mobo. if each stick works alone, i would guess the mobo...i'll do some more testing this weekend

 

[dugawug]

well, i take it back, now i've gotten crashes out of using both sticks of RAM in any configuration.

however, i seem to be able to run on one stick (and it doesn't matter which) without a crash...running now for 4 days so far. so it must be something about my motherboard not being able to handle having two sticks? this is really weird...

 

[howard_hopkinso]

Yes it is weird. Maybe you should contact your mobo maunfacturer, and tell them what problems you`re having. Hopefully they may have a solution for you.

Regards Howard

 

[dugawug]

well, i think i've finally nailed it...pardon my lack of patience but i must say...

it seems dual channel mode was killing it. i tried the RAM pairs any which way in the dual channel slots to find a crash. now i've got them configured in slots 2+3, single channel mode, and no crash yet.

time will tell still (gulp)...

but i REALLY think i've actually found the solution to nearly a year's headaches....

i think i need a beer now.... :slurp:

Howard, I wish I could buy you one!

 

[howard_hopkinso]

I`m pleased that you seem to have solved your problems.

I`m still not sure why running your system with dual channel ram would cause so many problems, but I guess it`s got to be something to do with ram compatibility, or your mobo.

Regards Howard