Windows 7: BSOD while idling or playing

I have a custom built rig that I made maybe 4 or so years ago that is now having issues with BSOD. Now for some background:

3 days ago, my computer decided to start locking up on the Welcome screen (Windows 7 64 bit retail). I tried using a windows repair and it detected nothing wrong. So I decided to reformat and be done with it. Threw in Windows disk and bam, straight to desktop....wait what, BIOS was borked and ignoring set boot order. Took out CMOS battery, shorted the jumpers to kill remaining power, replaced battery with new one. Reinstalled without a hitch.

Now last night, after working fine in the afternoon, the computer decided that it would now give me a BSOD (STOP: 0x000000F4 a process or thread crucial to system operation has unexpectedly exited or terminated). I replaced the SATA cable (connection was warped on wire) and ran a checkdisk on the SSD, same issue. I unplugged everything except OS drive, video card, and 1 stick of RAM. Rebooted and crashes with same BSOD. Tried other RAM stick in a slot I never used, same response.



This error is not creating dump files, the BSOD says both "Collecting data for crash dump..." and "Initializing disk for crash dump..." but nothing else saying dump was successful.

What else could the problem be? I can only think its maybe the SSD (doubtful) or the motherboard.

It is most likely software. If you can boot into it check for DMP files first if not give us the event viewer logs


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.
Please attach the DMP files to your next post not to post one.

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. If empty (or non existent) please look in the following folders. C:\windows (the dmp should be called memory.dmp), and C:\windows\LiveKernelReports\Watchdog.

The procedure:

Quote:

* 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:

Quote:

* 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.

Please provide us with your Event Viewer administrative logs by following these steps:


Click Start Menu
Type eventvwr into Search programs and files (do not hit enter)
Right click eventvwr.exe and click Run as administrator
Expand Custom Views
Click Administrative Events
Right click Administrative Events
Save all Events in Custom View As...
Save them in a folder where you will remember which folder and save as Errors.evtx
Go to where you saved Errors.evtx
Right click Errors.evtx -> send to -> compressed (zipped) folder
Upload the .zip file here.

Just delete this, you say it's software, I'm just going to nuke the install and do it again.

Good luck

If anyone stumbles across this, the problem was my SSD. When I went to reinstall it decided to disappear on me.

Thanks for letting us know

That is a known issue with SSDs that has a solution (in most cases).


Try doing a power cycle of the SSD. The following steps should be carried out and take ~1 hour to complete.

1. Power off the system.
2. Remove all power supplies (ac adapter then battery for laptop, ac adapter for desktop)
3. Hold down the power button for 30 seconds to close the circuit and drain all components of power.
4. Reconnect all power supplies (battery then ac adapter for laptop, ac adapter for desktop)
5. Turn on the system and enter the BIOS (see your manual for the steps to enter the BIOS)
6. Let the computer remain in the BIOS for 20 minutes.
7. Follow steps 1-3 and physically remove the SSD from the system by disconnecting the cables for a desktop or disconnecting the drive from the junction for a laptop.
8. Leave the drive disconnected for 30 seconds to let all power drain from it.
9. Replace the drive connection(s) and then do steps 4-8 again.
10. Repeat steps 1-4.
11. Start your computer normally and run Windows.

The above steps were a result of: Why did my SSD "disappear" from my system? - Crucial Community

While that may not be your drive, a power cycle should be the same on all SSD drives. See how the system responds after the SSD power cycle.