Erratic BSOD's after a few minutes, RAM prob working

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  1. Posts : 8
    Windows 7 Professional x64
       #1

    Erratic BSOD's after a few minutes, RAM prob working


    Hi all!

    About three months ago my computer (2 yrs, custom, NOT overclocked afaik) would get BSOD's at mostly random points (once a day or so), which was unacceptable. By using memtest and Windows' own memtest I isolated the fault to a single of my 4 GB Corsair Vengeance RAM's. I took it out, and my computer worked fine for a while, so I decided 12 GB was enough.

    But lately the problem has returned. Now I get BSOD's after every half hour or so of usage. Usually, Windows will do something strange first, such as stop responding, GUI elements freezing, explorer crashing, applications crashing to desktop... and then moments later, a BSOD and a restart.

    So I took out all the RAM and returned to my supplier for reparations (including the one I took out earlier). I also bought another, new Corsair Vengeance 4GB while it was being fixed. I put it in and - still getting BSOD's! So the memory is probably not at fault.

    What could be causing this? I've run chkdsk on all my discs and they seem to work fine (one fixed some unallocated areas). I've run memtest and it seems to work fine. Could it be the motherboard, or any of my harddrives - can the harddrives cause a BSOD? The CPU/fans? Is it a Windows problem? (My paging file never gets used, as I don't run out of memory). Any tips on things I can do to test and isolate the error would be hugely appreciated! (I have a Ubuntu Live CD to do tests on if needed)

    (I've read the tutorial on dumps, so next time one happens I can post it here - what type of dump should I provide?)

    Note some oddities:
    • My user directory is installed on E:/, my 2 TB drive, instead of the 64 GB SSD where I keep Windows. I did this through a tricky installation process. This has never been a problem before though.
    • My third drive has some backups and system images if they can be useful.
    • One BSOD happened just *after* a file was fully saved, and when I opened it again, it was full of null bytes.
      My Computer


  2. Posts : 71,977
    64-bit Windows 11 Pro for Workstations
       #2

    Hello Bombax, and welcome to Seven Forums.

    Please read the instructions here: Blue Screen of Death (BSOD) Posting Instructions, and post back with the needed information. One of our BSOD experts should be by afterwards to further help. :)
      My Computer


  3. Posts : 8
    Windows 7 Professional x64
    Thread Starter
       #3

    Thank you, Brink! I have uploaded the .zip in this reply.
      My Computer


  4. Arc
    Posts : 35,373
    Microsoft Windows 10 Pro Insider Preview 64-bit
       #4

    You uploaded the SF Diag tool only, not its output.
      My Computer


  5. Posts : 8
    Windows 7 Professional x64
    Thread Starter
       #5

    Incredibly clumsy of me Here is the correct zip.

    EDIT: I analyzed the dump output with the program "WhoCrashed", which gives the following report:

    "Bug check description: This indicates that a process or thread crucial to system operation has unexpectedly exited or been terminated.
    This appears to be a typical software driver bug and is not likely to be caused by a hardware problem. This problem might be caused by a thermal issue.
    The crash took place in the Windows kernel. Possibly this problem is caused by another driver that cannot be identified at this time. "

    "This was probably caused by the following module: ntoskrnl.exe (nt+0x75BC0)
    Bugcheck code: 0xF4 (0x3, 0xFFFFFA800B524490, 0xFFFFFA800B524770, 0xFFFFF8000D9CE7B0)
    Error: CRITICAL_OBJECT_TERMINATION"

    Sounds like a software problem. I have some old images. Should I revert? Or is a complete reinstallation recommended? Any other advice from analysis of the dump files is welcome.
      My Computer


  6. Arc
    Posts : 35,373
    Microsoft Windows 10 Pro Insider Preview 64-bit
       #6

    A Stop 0xF4 is a storage related bugcheck.

    Make it sure that your Crucial M4 CT064M4SSD2 2.5" 64GB SATA III SSD is running with the latest firmware. One update is available there, Firmware Update 070H, dated 04/02/2013.
    Crucial.com Product Downloads - Firmware Updates

    Also, post teh screenshots of all your SSD/HDDs using CrystalDiskInfo - Software - Crystal Dew World.
      My Computer


  7. Posts : 8
    Windows 7 Professional x64
    Thread Starter
       #7

    Thank you Arc! I downloaded a firmware updater, but when I ran it and Windows restarted, it said "Windows could not restart because of the following file: ***.mrb" (I think). It let me continue by pressing Enter and I could eventually start Windows again. Because the procedure looked nothing like in the firmware installation instructions I can only assume the update failed.

    Here are the screenshots:



      My Computer


  8. Arc
    Posts : 35,373
    Microsoft Windows 10 Pro Insider Preview 64-bit
       #8

    All the disks are looking fine :)

    Now make it sure that the SSD firmware is properly updated. It may work as a guide: .......



    If all is OK, then wait and observe the situation. Let us know how it is going.
      My Computer


  9. Posts : 8
    Windows 7 Professional x64
    Thread Starter
       #9

    Thanks again! I'm afraid that after I ran the update software (whether it worked or not), my computer later got a BSOD. Nevertheless, here are the hardware ID's:



    Thanks for the help :)

    EDIT: Can't believe I missed this:



    I'll run it with /F, and try updating the firmware again.
      My Computer


  10. Arc
    Posts : 35,373
    Microsoft Windows 10 Pro Insider Preview 64-bit
       #10

    If possible, run the updater again.
      My Computer


 
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