Windows 7 BSODs, all different errors, cannot track down problem

S

Steve S

Posts: 48   +0
Hey guys, new to Techspot and I've got some BSOD issues on my computer I built that is running Windows 7 64bit.

I have received around a dozen BSODs over the last month, sometimes multiple in one day, sometimes it will go a week without a hitch. I have yet to see the same error twice, so I don't think there is a point in listing them. Here is the minidump file (it was too big to attach):

http://www.mediafire.com/?3w6423cyk1u9bbc

Some other information:
-BSODs started after installing 4 more gb of RAM into system, for a total of 8. However removing the new RAM or rearranging the modules didn't help. System still BSODs now with RAM that has been tested good with Memtest86.
-BSODs most often occur while the system is under load, but have occured while I am checking email, etc
-Most recent BSOD was "System_Service_Exception" with error 0x0000003B
-Specs:

SAMSUNG Spinpoint F3 HD103SJ 1TB 7200 RPM SATA 3.0Gb/s 3.5" Internal Hard Drive
ASUS M4A87TD EVO AM3 AMD 870 SATA 6Gb/s USB 3.0 ATX AMD Motherboard
CORSAIR Enthusiast Series CMPSU-650TX 650W
AMD Phenom II X4 925 Deneb 2.8GHz Socket AM3 95W Quad-Core Processor HDX925WFGIBOX
G.SKILL Ripjaws Series 4GB (2 x 2GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1600 (PC3 12800)
EDIMAX EW-7128G PCI Wireless Card
SAPPHIRE 100283-3L Radeon HD 5770 1GB 128-bit GDDR5


Please help, and thank you in advance
 
It is very difficult to reach any conclusion from just one dump file. But, as you have listed, this one indicates a service exception which may well be caused by defective memory. You cannot rely on Memtest to find minor faults. I would start by having a very close look at the RAM you have added and make sure it matches the existing RAM, frequency is not so important as the system will run it all to match the lowest frequency stick. But, if the voltage ratings do not match you will have problems. You should also check in you Bios that the correct voltage is set.

The best possible test for RAM is to run the PC on one stick at a time to isolate the faulty stick.

Your system is probably set to save full memory dumps so follow this guide to change the settings. You should then be able to zip up at least 6 minidumps in one go in order to attach any future minidumps that are saved.


Click on Start > Control Panel > System > Advanced System Settings (left pane) > Advanced tab > Settings button for Startup and Recovery. In the System Failure box make these settings.

Check > Write an event to the system log.

Check > Automatically restart.

Select > 'Small Memory Dump' in the Write debugging information box.

Small Dump Directory should read %SystemRoot%\Minidump.

Check at the bottom of the box that "Overwrite any existing file" is not checked. If it is you will have to go back to the "Write debugging indformation" box, change "Small memory dump" to "Complete memory dump" then you can uncheck the "Overwrite any existing file" box. Then go back and reset "complete memory dump" back to "Small memory dump". Heaven knows why microsoft designed it that way.

Hit OK, OK again and close the System box.
Click to expand...
 
Thanks for the help, I'll make sure to get any future dumps. Also, I have 4 modules of the same RAM. No matter what configuration I do (using different slots, using only 1 module at a time, etc) I still get BSODS. One interesting thing is though, when I did memtest I got 400,000 errors. I then switched the modules to the lower speed DIMM slots and didn't get any errors. So I guess my higher-speed DIMM slots are bad?
 
I would have a close look in the motherboard manual and see what Dimms it says you can use in the different slots, it could well be that the alternative slots are only designed for certain Dimm speeds so if you use the wrong ones they become incompatible. It certainly sounds like that is the case from the Memtest results.

Obviously if you do find you are using the correct speed Dimms and they comply with the motherboard specs then you may well be correct in saying the slots are bad.
 
Some updates:

-Verified that my mobo supports my RAM
-Crashed 3 more times since last post, 1 had a "Memory_Management" BSOD, and 2 were just straight crashes, no BSOD
-Since then, I verified 2 working DIMM slots, and 2 working modules with Memtest (ran 7+ passes to verify each). So let's assume at this point that it is NOT the memory causing the issues
-I still cannot upload any minidumps because techspot only allows 200KB attachments? What am I doing wrong here
 
There is a Zip option that you can use. It will compress the files so that you can Zip up to 5-6 minidump files per Zip file. Mark56 will be able to read them for you.

Also, as a side note and if you haven't already done so, find the voltage specs of your RAM and compare it to the voltage setting in your BIOS. Do they match?
 
Please also make quite sure you have followed the settings guide I posted in post 2 and that in the "Write Debuggung Information" box it is set to "Small Memory Dump" and not "Complete Memory Dump"
 
-BSODs started after installing 4 more gb of RAM into system

hrm.... out of curiosity, is the power supply on your rig new as well? adding the extra modules may have been just enough to bump it over it's limit and mess some things up. Corsair usually make good ones - perhaps you got a dud?

The fact you're getting a few misc BSOD's, like the Memory_Management and the System_Service_Exception, as well as the random freezes, always makes me think power supply, or things not being seated properly.

Always worth a try to borrow a friend's PSU to test if none of the other suggestions work.... although Route44's suggestion looks like a likely culprit.

"Also, as a side note and if you haven't already done so, find the voltage specs of your RAM and compare it to the voltage setting in your BIOS. Do they match?"
 
The voltage settings on my BIOS are correct, I have checked

The power supply is not the problem because while at one point I had added an extra 2 modules, I am currently running only 2 modules (a configuration that was stable for months) and still experiencing BSODs.

I tried compressing the dumps into a zip (and yes, they are minidumps not complete dumps), but the file size is still well over 200KB. Strange.


I will be going on vacation now for a week or so. I will have my laptop to respond, but won't be able to try anything on the BSODing computer (which is at home). Thank you very much for all your help so far!
 
This is a problem with windows 7 64bit that I have seen before. All the guides state that the small dump file should be 128Kb on a 64bit system but I have seen a few systems that show 256Kb which I suspect is what you see in the settings. I just did another search for an answer to this problem but can't find anything. But fear not we can do this the hard way.

Follow this guide and you can do the debug yourself and then send in the log file that it produces. Obviously you can't do this untill your return so, have a nice time and please post back when you can start again.

http://www.windowsbbs.com/general-discussions/33471-dump-data-collection-tool-instructions.html
 
The power supply is not the problem because while at one point I had added an extra 2 modules, I am currently running only 2 modules (a configuration that was stable for months) and still experiencing BSODs.

Makes sense. The only other thing I can think off is the problems all over the internet with similar descriptions for USB audio - Have you recently added a USB headphone to the rig or updated any drivers for it? There's been some issues with x64 w7, "selected" HD audio drivers, and USB audio drivers - might be worth a look into.

If not.... i'm out! :) Have a great vacation!



edited: Apparently it's not just NVIDEA HD Drivers that are doing it.
 
That is one of many possibilities ndallen09. If it is any driver causing the problem the debug logs will show it. 64bit Systems are still at the forefront of driver issues, I see a lot of them when debugging crash dumps, they often get corrupted and just need to be reinstalled.

Just need to see the debug logs and the resolution should not be far away.
 
Alright I ran the debugging tool you provided, Mark56, but I am having trouble finding the .txt file it is supposed to produce. It is not in the suggest place (C:\debuglog.txt) and searching provides no results. Will continue working on this
 
I debug loads of logs and they never get saved, never found out why.

Try this software http://www.howtogeek.com/howto/6292/how-to-troubleshoot-the-blue-screen-of-death/ the results don't give a lot of information but you can analyze all the .dmp files in one go. You should at least be able to see if there is any consistancy in the results.

Report back on what you find or better still open the BSV window full screen with all the results in it and take a screen shot and attach to your next post. Try and scroll the screen to the right so it shows the list of suspect drivers and the bug check code which is on the left side.
 
Here is the BSV screenshot. The dates on them are wrong, because I had moved the files around so it thinks they are from more recent dates. You can probably ignore the ones from 4.20 and before though
 

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The dates are fine, they are in the name of each .dmp file so unless you have changed them they are correct.

These dumps do suggest a driver fault so the next move will be to run driver verifier. Follow these instruction.

For windows XP - Click on Start and then Run. Type verifier into the box and hit the Enter key.
For Vista and Windows 7 - Click on Start and type verifier into the search box then click on verifier in the list that pops up.

Driver Verifier Manager will open.

Select the first choice "Create Standard Settings" and click on the "Next" button.

Now select "Automatically select all drivers installed on this computer" and click on the "Finish" button.

A box will appear asking you to restart the PC for the changes to take effect. Click on "OK" and reboot the PC.

To stop Auto reboot so you can read the error message do this for Windows XP:
Click the Start button, right-click My Computer, click Properties, click the Advanced tab, and then click Settings under Startup and Recovery.
Under System Failure, uncheck the "Automatically restart" check box.

And do this in Windows 7 and Vista:
Click Start, select 'Control Panel' select 'System' in the left pane select 'Advanced System Settings' in the box select the 'Advanced' tab then under 'Startup and Recovery' select 'Settings.' In the box under 'System Failure' uncheck 'Automatically Restart'.

If the PC reboots normally then there is no problem with any of the drivers. If you get a blue screen straight away it will name the faulty driver. If you are absolutely certain that the named driver is OK then make a note of it.

You will then have to go back into the Verifier and instead of selecting all drivers select "Select drivers from a list". Click on "Next" and the list of drivers will appear. Select them all apart from the one you know to be OK. Click on "Finish" and reboot.

Once you have identified the faulty driver or confirmed that there are none go back to the first page of the Driver Verifier Manager and select "Delete Existing Settings" and click on "Finish"
Click to expand...

You can use Safe mode to go back in and change the settings if it won't boot without causing an instant BSOD. The verifier will slow down the machine as it checks all the drivers.
 
Well I ran it for about 1.5 hours. It kept messing with my internet every few minutes, so I got tired of it :) No problems/crashes though. No BSODs for over a week now though - will post again if any complications come up. Thank you very much for your help
 
Your welcome.

As Verifier has not caused a BSOD you can be sure all your drivers are ok and go back into it and switch it off, just follow the last line in the instructions.
 
Darn. Turned on computer this morning, ran fine for 3-5 minutes, then black screen and restart. No blue screen or new minidump. Weird thing is, when I did check the minidump folder, there was a file in there from 3am this morning when I wasn't even on my computer? Maybe the times got messed up, I've attached the BSV.
 

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Just when you thought it was all ok, most frustrating.

That .dmp file showing 3AM is very odd, is your PC's clock keeping time? if not your CMOS battery may be flat. You had better check that before further diagnostics. If the battery has gone flat it will be dropping all the Bios settings back to default. Test the battery with a volt meter, it needs to be close to 3V, if below that change it. Even if the battery is ok confirm that the RAM voltage settings are still as they should be.

Under the circumstances, I would go right back to the beginning of this problem which only started when you fitted new RAM sticks. I would have a close look with a strong magnifying glass to make sure there are no damaged contacts in the RAM slots or any dirt stuck in the slots and give them a thorough blow out with a can of compressed air.
 
Well, assuming you are referring to the clock on the taskbar, it has never been wrong. I am leaving for the night in a bit, but I will check the RAM slots later tonight or tomorrow morning. Thanks again
 
And more! 2 Crashes within 5 minutes. 1 just gave the black screen, no restart. The other gave a BSOD (interestingly, part of the bsod screen was cutoff and it had a greenish tint). In other news, I have been getting a message about 1/3 the time I boot my computer up saying "a new cpu has been installed, press 1 to load default values, press 2 to...." and so on. The plot thickens
 

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The error relating to the CPU sounds like a motherboard failure or a corrupt Bios which the Bios update may have fixed. Did you do the checks on the RAM slots I suggested?
 
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