Windows 7: BSOD involving dxgmms1.sys and ntoskrnl.exe

So, I was having BSOD's with my old system as it was set up and wanted to start fresh as I had not re-installed my OS in a while. I bought a new SSD and installed my OS on it, and formatted my old drive to use as space to install programs. However the BSOD's have started again, the first was right after my computer installed Direct X through League of Legends, the second happened while I was downloading some files and watching Youtube, and the third happened when I tried to open Skype when I logged into my computer.

The first error: System Thread Exception Not Handled 0x1000007e dxgmms1.sys
The second: Page Fault in Nonpaged Area 0x00000050 msachi.sys, ntoskrnl.exe, PCIIDEX.SYS
The third: System Service Exception 0x0000003b ntoskrnl.exe

I thought I had solved the first problem by running a memory test which tested my hard drives for bad data, and apparently fixed them so if we could focus on the second and third error...



I am extremely frustrated as I was unable to fix it on my old machine so I assumed starting fresh would rid me of these issues; I am assuming it is hardware at this point, so any advice?

System Specs:

OS: Windows 7 Professional x64 (Retail)
Date Installed: Jan 18th, 2012
CPU: AMD Phenom II X4
RAM: 4 x 4 GB DDR3 Corsair XMS3
Motherboard: Gigabyte GA-MA770T-UD3P rev 1.0
Graphics: Radeon HD 6850

These crashes were caused by memory corruption (probably a driver). Please run these two tests to verify your memory and find which driver is causing the problem.

If you are overclocking anything reset to default before running these tests.
In other words STOP!!!


1-Memtest.

Quote:

*Download a copy of Memtest86 and burn the ISO to a CD using Iso Recorder or another ISO burning program. Memtest86+ - Advanced Memory Diagnostic Tool

*Boot from the CD, and leave it running for at least 5 or 6 passes.

Just remember, any time Memtest reports errors, it can be either bad RAM or a bad motherboard slot.

Test the sticks individually, and if you find a good one, test it in all slots.

Any errors are indicative of a memory problem.

If a known good stick fails in a motherboard slot it is probably the slot.

RAM - Test with Memtest86+



2-Driver verifier

Quote:

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.

I'd suggest that you first backup your data 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/Windows 7 Startup Repair feature).

In Windows 7 you can make a Startup Repair disk by going to Start....All Programs...Maintenance...Create a System Repair Disc - with Windows Vista you'll have to use your installation disk or the "Repair your computer" option at the top of the Safe Mode menu .

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"
- 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).

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.

Driver Verifier - Enable and Disable


Further Reading
Using Driver Verifier to identify issues with Windows drivers for advanced users

I ran the MemTest, and the computer showed no errors. However, when I had the driver verifier activated, my computer would blue screen right before windows would hit the log in screen, giving the error Stop 0x000000c9 caused by dtsoftbus01.sys. I am going to do a system restore to a previous point and see what happens from there.

Edit [Jan 19, 12:31]: I tried to do a system restore as was suggested via the process for the driver verifier, and got an unspecified error (0x8000ffff). I tried the windows memory diagnostic (which didn't find anything), and then tried to start up windows. It started, even though it wan't before. I am going to check for an new errors and see what I can find.

Edit [Jan 19, 15:29]: So Windows seemed to be working properly; so I thought things were not too terrible. I went ahead and installed some games I had been meaning to play with the hopes that either A) the system was now working and everything was good or B) me playing games would cause my system to fail. However, I had also turned of page filing, which I did not realize would not allow my system to keep dump files. My system crashed again, but this time there was no blue screen it just restarted, this was after I re-installed the drivers for the Xbox 360 controller as given by Microsoft. Should I get a new driver for that purpose and see if I still crash or is it possible that I need to RMA my graphics card as that is the only piece of hardware is new and when it was installed that is when I started having these crashes (they even have continued onto the new system) or could it be that my old hard drive is failing (which I am using to store programs) and it has bad sectors or something of the like?

Edit [Jan 19, 16:40]: I re-installed my old graphics card, and that did not help at all, i still had a BSOD. So, I am thinking now that it was my old hard drive; is there any utility out there that you guys would suggest for testing if a hard drive is failing? I am going to see if I can find something, and if you guys can get back to me I would be much obliged.

Edit [Jan 19, 20:26]: So, with all that was happening, one of my friends suggested that i just boot just my SSD (Main Drive), it tried to boot, but then crashed as windows booted; here is the error:

Root cause found:
Unknown Bugcheck: Bugcheck f4. Parameters = 0x3, 0xfffffa8000de3cb30, 0xfffffa800de3ce10, 0xfffff80002f838b0.
Repair Action: System Files integrity check and repair
Result: Failed. Error code = 0x4005
Time taken = 1638ms

dtsoftbus01.sys Virtual Bus Driver from DT Soft Ltd is a known cause of BSOD's. I would use their removal tool to remove it at least to test.

For HD tool, go to the mfr and use theirs.

Even getting rid of that my PC was still crashing; however, I was enlightened to the fact that my power supply might be the issue. My system is rated to need 500W of power and I have a 500W power supply. However I am aware of the fact that my power supply not only does not provide that kind of power, but also after two years of almost constant use, it is well below that limit. I am going to get a better power supply and see what happens I am looking at borrowing a 750W; your thoughts?

Anything is possible, but this feels like software.

It turns out that it was my power supply. Once I installed a bigger one, my system ran fine and has been doing so since my last post. Thanks for all of the help Zig.