BSOD happens random, 0x00000124

NT1 · 08 Apr 2013

Hi all!

I have seen this forum for quite a while, very usefull tips and help!
But now I have a problem I can't fix myself...

My PC specs:
Processor: AMD Phenom II x6 @3.2Ghz with stock cooler
Motherboard: Gigabyte GA-990XA-UD3 rev 1.0
Memory: Corsair Vengeance 4x4Gb @ 1333Mhz
Power: Coolermaster Silent Pro Gold 700W
HDD's: 1x 120Gb OCZ Vertex 3 SSD, 3x 2Tb WD, 1x 1Tb Seagate
Video: Asus HD6870 DirectCU
USB devices: Logitech G15, G500, M-Audio Fast Track Ultra (external soundcard), M-Audio Keystation Mini32.

This is the problem:
At random, my desktop gives me a BSOD with error code 0x00000124.
It doesn't matter if i'm making music, playing a game (GRID, Crysis 3), or if the system is idle.

What I tried:
The error means that there is an hardware error somewhere in my pc.

BIOS check
When the BSOD occurred i immediatly entered the BIOS and checked the temperature of all the components.
The proceessor stays idle at about 45 celsius, and the motherboard at 35 celsius. All the voltages were as they should be. I haven't overclocked anything, the system runs perfectly to my needs at the standard settings. I have updated the BIOS to the latest firmware and resetted everything to it's defaults. BSOD is still occuring with the same 124 code.

Memory check
So the first thing I did was running memtest and the Windows Diagnostic Tool.
Both gave me no errors or problems.
Although there were no error's, I took out all the modules and left 1 in. Still the same BSOD.
I switched the one that was in the mobo and put another one in it. Still the same BSOD.

HDD check
I have a total of 5 HDD's in my system, all SATA 600 drives.
1x 120Gb OCZ Vertex 3 SSD
3x 2Tb WD
1x 1Tb Seagate

I have disconnected all HDD's except the SSD. The error still occured. I installed Win7 Pro freshly on the SSD and on the 1Tb Seagate HDD. BSOD is still occuring.

Videocard
I removed my Asus HD6870 and wiped away all the dust that was in it. It wasn't much, I have this card for about 6 months now. I don't have another videocard so i couldn't test it out if this is the faulty hardware in my pc. I've runned gputemp (GPU Temp) and the temperature stays idle at 40 celsius, and suddenly, BAM, BSOD time! The exact same error as before...

Processor
I removed my stock cooler, wiped it clean, and took the processor out and checked all the pins, but there was no problem with it. After that, I wiped away all the cooler paste and applied new paste to it. Didn't solve anyhting.

Motherboard
I noticed there are 2 cooling ribs on my motherboard, just left and under the processor, wich were rather hot. The BIOS didn't show anything strange however. I can't say for sure what those are, but i think the North-bridge and South-bridge. In the manual it says AMD990X.
I removed the cooling rib of the AMD990X and noticed the cooling paste was very hard. So i removed it and applied some new cooling paste. Under the other cooling ribs were only some chips without cooling paste. Since there was no cooling paste i haven't applied any.

External devices
So maybe the external devices? I use alot of USB devices for making music, so maybe one of those is the problem. I've only connected my keyboard and mouse, and again the same BSOD. Grabbed another keyboard and mouse and still the same BSOD...

Software related?
Maybe software then? I don't think so. I've checked MSconfig and deselected all the programs that aren't required for Windows to run. Even so, the BSOD occurred a few seconds after applying these settings.

Windows log files
And almost at last, i've checked the Windows System log files.
There are some faults, but only 1 critical.
The faults consist of DCOM error 1084 ID 10005, Critical Kernel-power ID 41. Nothing else as far as i can see.
As far as i can see it doesn't show what hardware component is giving the trouble. And to be onest i have no idea what the DCOM error means...

Safe mode
At the moment i'm running in safe mode and i'm monitoring the pc the whole time. It hasn't crashed (yet).

I don't know what to test anymore, that's why i'm posting this thread.
I've run the SF tool to get all the info that's needed. I've attached these files to this post, so i hope they will help. At the moment i don't have a job, so i want to make sure what the faulty hardware is. I can't afford to go buy something just to test if something is broken.

So any help will be much appreciated!

Greetz,
Niels

Arc · 08 Apr 2013

Hello NT1.

A stop 0x124 may occur mainly due to hardware failure, but sometimes due to something else blocking hardware or hardware drivers; as it is BitDefender Antivirus in your case.

Code:

*******************************************************************************
*                                                                             *
*                        Bugcheck Analysis                                    *
*                                                                             *
*******************************************************************************

Use !analyze -v to get detailed debugging information.

BugCheck 124, {0, fffffa800e026028, b2164000, 175}

*** WARNING: Unable to verify timestamp for avc3.sys
*** ERROR: Module load completed but symbols could not be loaded for avc3.sys
Probably caused by : AuthenticAMD

Followup: MachineOwner
---------

Uninstall Bitdefender using Bitdefender Uninstall Tool. Use Microsoft Security Essentials as your antivirus with windows inbuilt firewall, and free MBAM as the on demand scanner.
Download, install and update those, and then run full system scans with both of them, one by one.

Let us know the results.

NT1 · 08 Apr 2013

Hello Arc,

Thanks for your quick reply

I've uninstalled BitDefender, and installed the MSE pack.
After that i still get the BSOD.

I've attached a new log file made with the SF tool.

p.s. Could you tell me how you've found that bugcheck analysis? Or a link where it is explained?

Arc · 08 Apr 2013

For the detailed explanation on how I've found the bugcheck analysis, have a look here:
Debugging A BSOD - My way
If any explanation is needed on any point, feel free to ask questions.

Daemon Tools, Alcohol 120% and Power Archiver Pro uses SCSI Pass Through Direct (SPTD), which is a well known BSOD causer. Uninstall Daemon Tools at first. Then download SPTD standalone installer from Disk-Tools.com, and execute the downloaded file as guided below :

Double click to open it.
Click this button only:
If it is grayed out, as in the picture, there is no more SPTD in your system, and you just close the window.

The BOSD is a stop 0x124, still. See it, and observe the little change with the previous one ....

Code:

*******************************************************************************
*                                                                             *
*                        Bugcheck Analysis                                    *
*                                                                             *
*******************************************************************************

Use !analyze -v to get detailed debugging information.

BugCheck 124, {0, fffffa800dee3028, b2164000, 175}

Probably caused by : AuthenticAMD

Followup: MachineOwner
---------

Now, we should check some hardware components.

Test your RAM modules for possible errors.
How to Test and Diagnose RAM Issues with Memtest86+
Run memtest for at least 8 passes, preferably overnight.

Stress test the Graphics Card using Furmark.
Video Card - Stress Test with Furmark

Stress test the CPU.
Hardware - Stress Test With Prime95

If there is any firmware update available for the OCZ-VERTEX3 SSD, Get it. OCZ Firmware Updates and Toolbox. The Desktop Executable Version will work good.

Is the computer hot? Report us the heat of the computer after a couple of hours of your normal usage. Upload a screenshot of the summery tab of Speccy.

How old the build is? Can you Dismantle the PC and clean the dust inside, specially the air vents and the fan grills?

Check if the PSU is supplying adequate power there.
eXtreme Power Supply Calculator

And, do you have UEFI enabled in BIOS, or it is in legacy mode?

NT1 · 08 Apr 2013

Hi Arc,

Just did a few tests and here are the results:

RAM test:
I did this one 2 days ago with memtest and the Windows Memory Diagnostics and both of them were OK.
Also switched a few modules but the memory is all ok.

GPU test:
Went well enough, i closed the test when the temperature went to 93 degrees Celsius. Didn't want the videocard to overheat

CPU Test:
This went awfull. After a short time, something between 15-30 seconds the screen freezes and the pc restarts, and the blue screen was back. I did the test 4 times. First time the temperature went to 47 degrees Celsius, 2nd time 57, 3rd time 60, and the 4th time 62. So i think there is a problem with the processor.

Now I was thinking, i can manually exclude a core in the BIOS. But Prime95 doesn't show if there is 1 core or more that causes the system to crash. The logfile doesn't show much.
Here is the log:

V24OptionsConverted=1
WGUID_version=2
StressTester=1
UsePrimenet=0
ErrorCheck=1
MinTortureFFT=8
MaxTortureFFT=32
TortureMem=8
TortureTime=15

[PrimeNet]
Debug=0

PSU test
I checked everything in it and it says i'm at 561W. I have a 700W PSU so I think it's good enough.

The computer doesn't get hot. At idle the CPU is around 35 degrees Celsius.
I added a snapshot from Speccy.

Earlier this day i cleaned my whole pc. I took everything out and cleaned it and reconnected everything. I also fitted the processor with new cooling paste.

To answer your last question; i have no idea. I checked the BIOS, but it didn't say anything about UEFI or legacy. It's all very basic the way i see it. I've added a screenshot of a BIOS that's the same is mine, but it isn't my BIOS screenshot.

Arc · 08 Apr 2013

About the BIOS, if you have no idea, you can do one more thing .... Disk Management - Post a Screen Capture Image. It will give the necessary idea.

If the GPU goes to 93 degrees in stress, that is definitely under question. During gameplay etc, the computer will be supposed to be crashed by the GPU heat. How old it is?

At the same time, if the processor cannot take the stress, it is also another suspect.

In such a situation, it is best to replace those hardware parts and observe the situation.

Sorry if I am sounding a bit defensive .... but it is difficult to give a verdict that a hardware part is failing in a remote assistance. I can help you in the process, you have to take the final decision

I can say that had I been in your place, I would have tried to replace those hardware elements those are not performing properly under stress, at least as a test.

NT1 · 08 Apr 2013

I've made a snapshot of the drive management.
Little note: "In Orde" means "Healthy". I use a Dutch version of Windows 7 :)
The drives look OK.

A few weeks ago when Crysis 3 came out i bought it to test my videocard and it gave no problems.
Couldn't run it on Ultra, but medium looked fine too :)
The videocard is bought about 9 months ago, but i don't game that much. My motherboard doesn't have HDMI or DVI out, so i cant use my PC without it.

The video test went on for about 15 minutes, after that i closed the test but i have the feeling that the processor is the culprit.

I'm going to try switch of 1 core at a time and test further with Prime95.
If the system fails with every core, I think im going to buy another CPU.
But that may take a while

But thank you very, very much for your help! Without it I wouldn't know where to look

And it is indeed quite hard to fix someone's PC remotely.
I will let you know if find out anything new.

NT1 · 19 Apr 2013

It took some time but I finally bought another CPU.
It's a AMD FX 8350 8-core processor.
I placed it in the motherboard and all my problems are over!
I've runned Prime95 and after an hour i stopped the process since i wanted to use my pc again

Thanks Arc for your great help!

Arc · 20 Apr 2013

Good to know that all your problems are over. :)

For any further issue, let us know.