BSOD while playing certain games

writhziden said:

I would recommend installing the drivers without Catalyst and seeing if you still get crashes. Also, try different versions; 11.9 - 12.4 are available and should work with your card. Start to install one, let it extract, and then when it gives you the option to express install or custom install, quit the program. Then you can install the drivers without Catalyst. The steps to do so follow.

• You should already have the installer downloaded and installed the drivers/Catalyst software, so your drivers probably exist in C:\AMD\Support\xx-x_vista_win7_64_dd_ccc where the x's replace your version number of the driver software.
  
• Uninstall all AMD software related to your graphics card by uninstalling AMD Catalyst Install Manager in Start Menu -> Control Panel -> Uninstall a program
  
• Restart your computer.
  
• Re-install your drivers from the C:\AMD\Support\xx-x_vista_win7_64_dd_ccc folder using a similar method to that in OPTION TWO of Drivers - Install Vista Drivers on Windows 7

when I download and install 12.4 it gives me 12.1 and when I try to update it says I'm already running the latest version, do you think this is related to my crashing at all?

Possibly. Have you completely uninstalled and re-installed the graphics drivers for the system as per my previous post?

writhziden said:

Possibly. Have you completely uninstalled and re-installed the graphics drivers for the system as per my previous post?

yes and it's also the 5th time I've done it in the last 3 days. everything I do seems to work at first and then I eventually start getting BSOD again. another thing I noticed is that I constantly have 1.3 GB of RAM in use even when I manually terminate almost all processes.

For the RAM issue, and possibly for the BSOD issue, as well, try to Troubleshoot Application Conflicts by Performing a Clean Startup and see if you have a startup program or service that is conflicting.

Keep only your security software services, Microsoft services, and security software startup items checked.

writhziden said:

For the RAM issue, and possibly for the BSOD issue, as well, try to Troubleshoot Application Conflicts by Performing a Clean Startup and see if you have a startup program or service that is conflicting.

Keep only your security software services, Microsoft services, and security software startup items checked.

I tried it, it's not any application, process or service that's causing it. could RAM corruption or failure result in the BSODs I've been experiencing?

Yes. RAM incompatibility can too, or not having your RAM settings correctly configured. Before you remove any RAM:

• Download and install CPU-Z and Upload screenshots of the CPU, Mainboard, Memory, and SPD tabs. In the SPD tab, upload an image of each slot.
  
  Also, go into your BIOS and post all Voltages (CPU, RAM, NB, IMC, etc.) and all RAM settings (timings, frequency, etc.)
  
  Thanks to Dave76 for help learning RAM Stability

writhziden said:

Yes. RAM incompatibility can too, or not having your RAM settings correctly configured. Before you remove any RAM:

• Download and install CPU-Z and Upload screenshots of the CPU, Mainboard, Memory, and SPD tabs. In the SPD tab, upload an image of each slot.
  
  Also, go into your BIOS and post all Voltages (CPU, RAM, NB, IMC, etc.) and all RAM settings (timings, frequency, etc.)
  
  Thanks to Dave76 for help learning RAM Stability

this is all the information I could get from my BIOS:
Vcore Voltage - 1.34
3.3v Voltage - 3.34
5v Voltage - 4.94-4.97
12v Voltage - 11.96

CPU-Z Screenshots: Attachment 215799

I was going to try to find your motherboard manual to see if I could help with the voltages, but it will not open. Do you see any of the following voltages listed:

• VCCIO
• NB
• IMC
• VTT
• QPI

I do see one potential problem. You have two sets of RAM, and they are not the same voltages. This is known to cause conflicts...

writhziden said:

I was going to try to find your motherboard manual to see if I could help with the voltages, but it will not open. Do you see any of the following voltages listed:

• VCCIO
• NB
• IMC
• VTT
• QPI

I do see one potential problem. You have two sets of RAM, and they are not the same voltages. This is known to cause conflicts...

no, I listed all of the ones that came up. my BIOS is kind of weird though. so, if the ram thing was the problem, is there anything I can do to fix it?

You'd need to find two kits exactly the same. You probably cannot mix and match your modules like you have without problems. I'm betting if you remove one pair, the other pair will work in your system without issues.