Trouble with nagging persistent BSOD

mikek82 · 05 Oct 2012

Hey koolkat. I appreciate your time and help here.
I've tried each stick by itself in each of all 4 of my RAM slots.As well as both together in each pair of slots.
This why i'm so stumped about these memory related crashes not appearing to be bad RAM.
Maybe my mobo is just flakey

Or the CPU maybe. I'll have to recheck it,but I noticed before my clean windows install while monitoring the voltages,that my CPU was running a 1.25v while idle,and thought it should closer to 1.5v?
I will reinstall the voltage and temp. monitoring utilities as well as stress test the video like you suggested and see what happens.

koolkat77 · 05 Oct 2012

Ah okay,

You can take these tests as well:

Hardware - Stress Test With Prime95
→ Hardware - Stress Test With Prime95

CPU - Stress Test Using IntelBurnTest
→ CPU - Stress Test Using IntelBurnTest

BTW, is the computer still under its warranty?

mikek82 · 05 Oct 2012

This is a barebones I bought from TigerDirect. All components were included,I just had to assemble it. Only hardware I added was a IDE hard drive I put in to backup files before I reinstalled windows recently. And thats well after all the bsod's,so I'm sure that it isn't the cause.

As far as a warranty,I was thinking about that as well. I'll have to look into it, either as a barebones package or the parts individually. It was built last June 2011,so i'm not sure if any warranties are still valid.

It's a nice day here today,so I got a couple outdoor errands to do quick. But I'll try all 4 test utilities you suggested, and get back on here afterwards this evening with any results.Thx.

mikek82 · 05 Oct 2012

Well no luck. Unable to complete Prime95 and IntelBurnTest due to the same bsod's.

Even crashed while trying in safe mode. Speccy crashes it sometimes too. Did complete a FurMark benchmarking though.Didn't try burn in option yet.
I'll note that many times after a crash,it will crash many times in a row just as windows is beginning to load up again. Eventually it will finally calm down,and I can use again until the next fail. Very frustrating. Maybe this paticular build is just not going to work reliably anymore.

Well koolkat, or if anyone has any other ideas,I surely appreciate it. I will post a new dump file after next crash and post my volts and temps too. I want to try making sure the SATA drive is ok too.Thx.

centaur78 · 05 Oct 2012

Mike

1. Disable your audio driver... VIA from the device manger... if you any software installed along with it .... uninstall it.

2. Also disable AMD fuel service. and reinstall your graphics driver to the latest from here.. please make sure you install only the drivers and not the whole suite..

Do these and let me know.

Dave76 · 05 Oct 2012

Most of the recent crashes are indicating hardware/RAM, but fairly inconclusive.

One crash did blame CCC, What driver version are you using?
If it's the current driver try an older one, also don't install CCC.

The last crash indicated avgui.exe, did you run the AVG uninstaller?
If not then run it: AVG Remover

Let's look at some of your settings, sometimes adjusting RAM settings will help cases like yours.

Since it's crashing in normal and safe mode, this indicates a hardware issue. Maybe adjusting some settings will help.

Can you download CPUZ and post a snip of the CPU, Mainboard, Memory, and SPD tabs.
For posting the information , enter 'Snipping tool' in the Start button > Search box, hit enter. Select the area you want to post and save to a convenient place.
How to Post a Screenshot in Seven Forums
Go to your BIOS and tell us what the CPU, RAM and the CPU integrated memory controller voltages are.

Use Core Temp , to check the CPU temps when at idle, under load and/or testing.
Let us know the minimum and maximum temps you get.

The PSU is also suspect in these type of crashes.
After a quick search, it's 50/50 good/bad, this is not a good indication for the quality, price at Newegg is $34, this doesn't give that warm feeling of comfort.
Any noise from the fans?
Do you have or can borrow another PSU to test with?
Test your current PSU with OCCT.
OCCT stability checking tool
Run the Power Supply test for at least 30 minutes, be sure to monitor your CPU and GPU temps.
Set the time before you start.
When its done, pass or fail, it will make some graphs. Post these here as they are useful for analyses.

Update your Marvell Controller from your motherboard support site: M4A79XTD EVO Driver - SATA

Update program or drivers.
VMNET.SYS Thu May 22 2008 - out of date - VMware Virtual Network Driver
vmnetadapter.sys Thu May 22 2008 - same as above
vmnetbridge.sys Thu May 22 2008 - same as above
vstor2-ws60.sys Tue Dec 02 2008 - same as above

mikek82 · 06 Oct 2012

Thanks guys for all your continued help and suggestions.
Dave:what is CCC? CCcleaner?I don't have that installed if thats whats you are reffering to.Did use before reinstalling windows though.I don't think I reinstalled then uninstalled it after.Heh,can't remember.
I did try testing PSU with OCCT a few times,but it crashed shortly after each try.
BIOS reported these voltages...VCore:1.35v;3.3v:3.29v;5v:4.99v;12v:12.20v Thats all it showed unless I missed the others elswhere. I included my recent dump and the cpu-z snips.

I was also wondering if my problem could be corrected with any BIOS changes?I don't quite understand many of the settings.
Attachment 235336
Attachment 235337
Attachment 235355

Dave76 · 07 Oct 2012

CCC is the ATI graphics card program, Catalyst Control Center.

Always post the snips for system info, CPUZ, HWinfo, by this method: How to Post a Screenshot in Seven Forums
This way we can all see the info without D/L'ing files.

Attachment 235418 Attachment 235419
Attachment 235420 Attachment 235421

If OCCT crashes during a test it is a failure. Did it generate any graphs? Post them if it did.
Can you get a PSU to test with?
If not, find a place with a good return policy.
Test your system with a different/new PSU.
A bad PSU can take out other components with it.
A good PSU is worth the investment.

The Corsair site recommends a different RAM for your AMD system, CMZ8GX3M2A1600C9.
Running Intel RAM in a AMD system is a known issue, sometimes they can be persuaded to run with some BIOS adjustments.

In your motherboard manual, M4A79XTD EVO page 3-12:
Advanced Menu > JumperFree Configuration >

VDDNB Over Voltage is the IMC (Integrated Memory Controller) voltage adjustment for RAM.
DRAM voltage is the RAM card voltage setting.

Post these in your next post.

Most important is the PSU issue.

mikek82 · 07 Oct 2012

Thanks Dave for the info. Sorry about the snips,I got it right for next time. I was unaware of the RAM issue,I'll replace when I can afford to. And I will get those voltages after this post. I'll keep in mind your thoughts about the quality of a PSU.

However, I may have gotten a little lucky and narrowed it down to 2 components. I disabled my onboard audio and installed an old soundblaster live card, as well as removing my SATA drive and put in an old 20gb IDE drive with a clean windows install. They are the only 2 things I have available to swap on this computer. Well so far,it hasn't crashed at all yet!! I still have many windows updates to install and I guess I didn't install the correct drivers for the SB Live card(still have no sound). But I will continue to update everything,paying attention to anything that may cause a crash, if it does happen. Then do some of the test utilities and report back later.

Thinking maybe it is my SATA drive? I did try ruling out the onboard audio before,but I don't think I did it properly at the time,and didn't try it with the SB live card in. So if things do hold up, I will put the SATA drive back in and clean install windows on it. I figure that will then tell me which of the two are at fault.Tell me what you think.Thx.

mikek82 · 07 Oct 2012

Well folks,I guess I finally figured it out. Pretty sure it turns out to be my SATA hard drive. With the older small 20gb hard drive running windows,I never had any crashes so far. Due to the small capacity,I was unable to get no more than a handful of windows updates at a time. So I got impatient and put the SATA drive back in and reinstalled windows again. Just barely got windows going on that drive again when it had a page fault bsod. And with the soundblaster still installed(although I couldn't seem to get the right drivers working),I figure that pretty much tells me its my SATA Drive.

I've since then removed the SB card and turned the onboard audio back on and got the drivers and sound working properly again. Still not one crash!Woohooo!

I will still do some stress testing to be certain,but feel pretty good that once I can put a new SATA drive in,I'll be good to go. I suspected everything being the cause except the hard drive for some odd reason. Sould have tried swapping it out earlier.

I spent countless hours researching and trying to fix it on my own,and was really getting discouraged before I came to these forums. So I really appreciate everyones advice helping me to solve my crash problems. Thanks again all!