Multiple, assorted BSODs in 2 days...

Roundhouse said:

Hi all,

I have been experiencing an assorted bunch of BSODs lately. I recently just upgraded my vcard to an nVidia one. I used to have an ATI gpu because I wanted an all AMD setup (790GX mobo + HD4830 gpu). Thinking that it might be a driver conflict prob, I removed the nvidia display drivers and also used DriverSweeper to clean what's left, but I am still experiencing BSODs.

I tried the windows memory diagnostic app. at first it saw errors on my RAM, so I tested both dual-channel pairs (I have 2 pairs btw, a 2GB and a 4GB) separately. The errors were gone. I even tried memtest86+ 4.10. When I tried memtest, I left it for 2 hours, all passed. I even looped test #5, it passed.

So here I am desperate for help...

Attached are al the dumps. The earliest one is when I still had my ATI HD4830 plugged in. Not sure about the 2 "not dated" ones. The others dated August 7th are already using the nVidia GTX460.

NOTE : I couldn't generate a report using perfmon /report as I am getting a "System cannot find the path specified" error. I am currently running on safe mode.

BSODs:
REFERENCE_BY_POINTER
PAGE_FAULT_IN_NON_PAGED_AREA
SYSTEM_SERVICE_EXCEPTION
IRQL_NOT_LESS_OR_EQUAL
"BAD_POOL" - forgot the error... but it was something about POOL or something

System specs:
- Windows 7 x64 Ultimate (Retail)
- AMD Phenom II 720 BE - 1 year 3 months old
- MSI 790GX-G65 - 7 months old
- 1x2 2GB GEIL DDR3 - 7 months old
- 2x2 4GB Team Elite DDR3 - 3 months old
- Inno3D GTX460 1GB - 5 days old
- Corsair HX520 PSU - 1 year 3 months old
- haven't overclocked any components

Roundhouse

These crashes have 4 apparent causes, that all seem to relate to memory. I see that you have run memtest but wonder if you ran the memory one stick at a time, and checked one mobo slot at a time.

I am assuming you are not overclocking, and not running a raid.

there are a few things you can do to find out the actual cause.

The results from the DMP files do not give a definitive answer. While we investigate further here are a few things that you can do>

1-Run a system file check to verify and repair you system files. You do this by typing cmd in search, then right click and run as admin. SFC/ SCANNOW

2-Download a 3rd party app called memtestx86, burn it so cd, and run memtest for 5-6 passes. (I know but try it one stick at a time)

3-Event viewer
There are several ways to find what the problem is. The best is to go into event viewer (type eventvwr in search). Go to the windows log>application tab.

You want to look for critical errors (they have red in the left column ).

When you find them you want to look for critical errors that say app hang, app crash, or anything that relates to the problem.

When you find them please note the event ID, and the source codes and tell us what they are.

4-Device manager
Please go to start>search>type device manager.
Are there any "unknown devices" with yellow triangles on them?
Is you driver there , listed, and working?

If your driver is missing, or there is a yellow triangle on it, you will need to update it.

5-Driver verifier
Beyond that, please run Verifier with these settings:

Using Driver Verifier is an iffy proposition. Most times it'll crash and it'll tell you what the driver is. But sometimes it'll crash and won't tell you the driver. Other times it'll crash before you can log in to Windows. If you can't get to Safe Mode, then you'll have to resort to offline editing of the registry to disable Driver Verifier.

So, I'd suggest that you first backup your stuff and then make sure you've got access to another computer so you can contact us if problems arise. Then make a System Restore point (so you can restore the system using the Vista/Win7 Startup Repair feature).

Then, here's the procedure:
- Go to Start and type in "verifier" (without the quotes) and press Enter
- Select "Create custom settings (for code developers)" and click "Next"
- Select "Select individual settings from a full list" and click "Next"
- Select everything EXCEPT FOR "Low Resource Simulation" and click "Next"
NOTE: You can use Low Resource Simulation if you'd like. From my limited experimentation it makes the BSOD's come faster.
- Select "Select driver names from a list" and click "Next"
Then select all drivers NOT provided by Microsoft and click "Next"
- Select "Finish" on the next page.

Reboot the system and wait for it to crash to the Blue Screen. Continue to use your system normally, and if you know what causes the crash, do that repeatedly. The objective here is to get the system to crash because Driver Verifier is stressing the drivers out. If it doesn't crash for you, then let it run for at least 36 hours of continuous operation (an estimate on my part).

Reboot into Windows (after the crash) and turn off Driver Verifier by going back in and selecting "Delete existing settings" on the first page, then locate and zip up the memory dump file and upload it with your next post.

If you can't get into Windows because it crashes too soon, try it in Safe Mode.
If you can't get into Safe Mode, try using System Restore from your installation DVD to set the system back to the previous restore point that you created.

If that doesn't work, post back and we'll have to see about fixing the registry entry off-line:

Code:

Delete these registry keys (works in XP, Vista, Win7):
        HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Control\Session Manager\Memory Management\VerifyDrivers
        HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Control\Session Manager\Memory Management\VerifyDriverLevel

More info on this at this link: Using Driver Verifier to identify issues with Windows drivers for advanced users

Let us know if you need assistance with this


Ken

Hi Ken,

Thanks for the reply.

Yes you are right, I tested all four sticks on all four slots. So I need to test each stick on its own on all 4 slots? or just on the DIMM 1 slot?

As for your instructions:

for #1, the scan returned no integrity violations
for #2, im currently working on it
- memtest86+ right?
- each stick on DIMM 1?
- what tests do i run? would looping just test #5 for 5-6 passes be alright?
for #3, i saw a couple of app hangs for explorer.exe (evet id 1002). But i think this was when i tried to boot normally but everything was black so I ended the explorer.exe process and ran a new one. so not much help on the event viewer.
for #4, i currently uninstalled the nVidia drivers and also am currently on safe mode and usually only lasts 15 seconds if i ran normally before i again see a BSOD. Is it ok for me to run the verifier while on safe mode?

If all the mem sticks have no errors, is it safe to say that the problem is software/driver related?

I was thinking, since my mobo has an ATI chipset and I now have an nVidia GPU, will installing the ATI southbridge drivers conflict with the nVidia GPU drivers?

Thanks for the reply man!

I'll try to do that once I get back home... Now that you mention it, while doing all these restarts/boot-ups in doing the memtest and all, i experienced a problem when, upon booting-up in safe mode, windows reported an error about a USB device. So I unplugged the WD External Drive, and then was able to boot-up safe mode.

The system file check which I ran yesterday showed no integrity violations.

I'll try to remove the installed DAEMON TOOLS LITE and also run the verifier. BTW, is it ok to run the verifier in safe mode or i should run it in a normal boot-up of windows?

Ok, I'll try to run the verifier on a normal boot.

I still have a question about ATI chipset - nVidia GPU compatibility. Will the ATI southbridge drivers interfere with the nVidia GPU drivers?