Random BSOD 0x000000F4 (0x0000000000000003,

Hi,

First of all, please excuse my english, it is not my native language.

I've just bought a Dell XPS 15z (arrived two weeks ago), and i'm experiencing random crashes. Windows freezes, or becomes very unstable (excessive processing, mouse responding but not the applications nor the taskbar. the "start" menu becomes empty...). If i still can open the start menu, i try to reboot and windows crashes with error code 0x000000F4 (0x0000000000000003, etc...

These crashes are totally random (although much more frequents when playing videogames - like Skyrim) : i can stay 4-5 hours without any problem then start having bsod every 20 minutes for the next 2 hours!
It happens no matter what i was doing : working (Visual Studio, SQL Server, MS Office), surfing (IE9 / FF), or playing (Skyrim).

The first day when I received the computer, I installed the whole .Net stuff and had no problems. The next day I've installed SQL Server and had a crash during install. Reboot, Resume install, all good for the rest of the day.
Problems came the next day: i experienced 3 crashes, 2 during playing and one during surfing. I then decided to uninstall all the Dell apps that were pre-installed. Updated all my drivers (downloaded first from Dell website all the available drivers, then took a look at nvidia's and intel sites to check for newer versions). Still getting bsod...

The unfortunate thing is that the is no MEMORY.DMP or Minidump files, even if i have set windows to do so.

You will find here the zip of bsod posting instructions.

My config:

Dell XPS 15z
Windows 7 Professional x64
Intel 6 Series C200
Intel Core i7-2640M 2.80GHz
8GB DDR3
NVIDIA GeForce GT 525M 2GB
Samsung SSD PM830 2.5" 7 256Go


Thank you in advance for any help your could give me!

As you said there are no DMP files. Please configure your control panel to enable them.



We do need the DMP file as it contains the only record of the sequence of events leading up to the crash, what drivers were loaded, and what was responsible.

If you are overclocking STOP

You may be able to get the DMP files without crashing by booting into safe mode (F8) with networking.

To enable us to assist you with your computer's BSOD symptoms, upload the contents of your "\Windows\Minidump" folder.

The procedure:

* Copy the contents of \Windows\Minidump to another (temporary) location somewhere on your machine.
* Zip up the copy.
* Attach the ZIP archive to your post using the "paperclip" (file attachments) button.
*If the files are too large please upload them to a file sharing service like "Rapidshare" and put a link to them in your reply.

To ensure minidumps are enabled:

* Go to Start, in the Search Box type: sysdm.cpl, press Enter.
* Under the Advanced tab, click on the Startup and Recovery Settings... button.
* Ensure that Automatically restart is unchecked.
* Under the Write Debugging Information header select Small memory dump (256 kB) in the dropdown box (the 256kb varies).
* Ensure that the Small Dump Directory is listed as %systemroot%\Minidump.
* OK your way out.
* Reboot if changes have been made.

I've done that :

* Go to Start, in the Search Box type: sysdm.cpl, press Enter.
* Under the Advanced tab, click on the Startup and Recovery Settings... button.
* Ensure that Automatically restart is unchecked.
* Under the Write Debugging Information header select Small memory dump (256 kB) in the dropdown box (the 256kb varies).
* Ensure that the Small Dump Directory is listed as %systemroot%\Minidump.
* OK your way out.
* Reboot if changes have been made.

then

You may be able to get the DMP files without crashing by booting into safe mode (F8) with networking

still no minidump...

%systemroot% is c:\windows\

what am i missing?

d2od said:

I've done that :

* Go to Start, in the Search Box type: sysdm.cpl, press Enter.
* Under the Advanced tab, click on the Startup and Recovery Settings... button.
* Ensure that Automatically restart is unchecked.
* Under the Write Debugging Information header select Small memory dump (256 kB) in the dropdown box (the 256kb varies).
* Ensure that the Small Dump Directory is listed as %systemroot%\Minidump.
* OK your way out.
* Reboot if changes have been made.

then

You may be able to get the DMP files without crashing by booting into safe mode (F8) with networking

still no minidump...

%systemroot% is c:\windows\

what am i missing?

Some reasons DMP file wont be created.

Smaller page file than RAM'
PAge file on a different HD than OS
UAC disabled.

There might be something listed in event viewer.

To check for freezing/crashing you need to check several things.

Event viewer.

Type eventvwr in search and go to the windows log>application tab.
Look for errors. Errors have red in the left hand column.

Look for errors that say app hang, or app crash, or anything related to the problem.
When you find them either take a screenshot of them and upload them to us, or note the event ID and source codes and look them up in google. If you cant find them in google tell us what they are.

just over a month old, I am getting the same exact BSOD with the same Stop codes. There was no changes in hardware or software either. Just seemed to just start one day.
I was curious did you ever find a resolution or root cause?

Ray