Windows 7: Frequent BSOD at random times

Hi,

I've been having BSOD problems for quite a while now. At first they occurred only while playing Battlefield 3, and people seemed to have problems with Punkbuster and Origin causing the blue screens. So I assumed it had something to do with that, and didn't do anything about it.

However, I then started to have blue screens when neither Battlefield 3 nor Origin were running, so I ran Driver Verifier and fixed a driver or two which were causing blue screens. After doing so the computer would load without error while running the verifier.

It was fine for a while, but recently it's been throwing blue screens at me at random times, sometimes up to 4-5 times a day. I believe the usual error/stop code was system_service_exception along with 0x0000001e. I'm running the verifier as I type this so the drivers seem to still be okay. I also ran Memtest86+ for 5 hours while I was sleeping and it finished without error.



I'm pretty sure it isn't overheating causing any problems as I've had blue screen while browsing the net. GPU and CPU were at around 50c and 45c respectively.

I've attached the zip of the SF Diagnostic Tool folder and wrote down the computer specifications.
Any help would be appreciated.
Thanks.

Hello xzv0.

You have supplied three crash dumps. out of which two are Stop 0x3B.
According to Carrona.org, STOP 0x0000003B: SYSTEM_SERVICE_EXCEPTION
Usual causes: System service, Device driver, graphics driver, memory

And, both of them results it:
The Display driver is new, but not the latest one. Apply the latest version of nVidia display driver.
You may download it directly, from our forum link Latest NVIDIA ForceWare Video Drivers Windows 7; or you may opt for the Option 2 of Drivers- Download NVIDIA Drivers for “Automatically find drivers for my NVIDIA products” (it requires java installed).


Get rid of all Overclocks, too. If possible, dont use MSI AfterBurner.

The other one shows Stop 0xA.
According to Carrona.org, STOP 0x0000000A: IRQL_NOT_LESS_OR_EQUAL
Usual causes: Kernel mode driver, System Service, BIOS, Windows, Virus scanner, Backup tool, compatibility

But it does not reveal any probable cause. But, one thing is noticeable.
As you are getting BSODs, better you uninstall them all. Using multiple AV programs are not very safe, too. Use Microsoft Security Essentials as your antivirus with windows inbuilt firewall, and free MBAM as the on demand scanner.

Download and install those, and then run full system scans with both of them, one by one.

Let us know the results.

Hi Arc,

I've now downloaded the latest NVIDIA driver, installed MSE plus MBAM, and uninstalled Avast AV and AVG PC Tuneup.
Ran the full system scans and only 1 item was found (Adware detected by MSE).

I have 2 questions though. 1, Would it be okay keeping Comodo, seeing as how I only have the firewall component and not the Anti Virus? And 2, Is there any specific reason to avoid MSI AfterBurner? I haven't done any overclocking to the GPU, by the way.

xzv0, I am not against Comodo. But, as you are getting crashes, it is better to keep it as simple as possible. Comody merely gives any better protection than the inbuilt windows firewall, and there is a lot of happy users of the inbuilt one, like me.

Not only MSI afterburner, it is better to not keep the bloatware programs. They cause various problems. And, if you dont overclock, then this program is of no use. Isn't it?

Let us know how the computer is performing now.

I use Core Temp and AfterBurner to monitor the temperatures in order to avoid overheating and run the GPU fan at a faster speed to keep the temps down. I did just get another blue screen though, so I'll go ahead and try that.

Attached the minidumps

Edit: It seems I have a year old version of AfterBurner (2.1.0, latest is 2.3.0). Could this possibly be the reason?

COMODO Firewall Pro Sandbox Driver
So now we have a sound ground to uninstall comodo firewll, right?

Let us know the results.

Waiting for another graphics related BSOD dump from your part

I guess so! Is the Windows firewall secure enough for online banking, though?

A firewall is only one component of secure online banking. Windows Firewall is as good as Comodo when used with other security measures when banking online.

I deal with some (but not all) of my banking online, as well as household bills (gas, electric, etc.), and have never had any problems with the Windows Firewall. Just make sure that you type your bank's website address into the browser (never follow any links or save it to your Favorites (in case the associated URL becomes compromised)), and also check to see that the initial http changes to https either on the same page or new tab/window when you click the login button.

Thanks for the replies.
It does change to https, so it should be all good.

I'll return with results regarding the BSODs