Various BSOD messages, usually while playing games

Hi everyone, first time poster. Thank you for taking the time to read this.

For a long while now, possibly a year or so, I was getting random BSOD restarts with a wide variety of messages, including SYSTEM_SERVICE_EXCEPTION and IRQL_NOT_EQUAL_OR_LESS, usually while playing a game but not always. Normally I would let the computer restart and it would run just fine after that until I turned the computer off. Next boot would repeat the cycle, so it never bothered me beyond just being a nuisance.

Lately however it seems to be getting worse, occurring more often and not fixing itself after a restart. I've tried a variety of things, including driver updates (I always uninstall, reboot into safe mode, run driver sweeper, etc) and uninstalling programs that I believed were at fault, such as Catalyst Control Center which seemed to cause more issues. The only thing I haven't updated is my BIOS which probably needs to be done (My computer is almost 5 years old, only a few parts have been replaced), but I read a lot of threads elsewhere that said you should never flash your BIOS if your system is unstable. I'd rather have a computer that crashes than a brick.

Also on the BIOS, before I decided to stop I tried using MSI's Live Update 5 and flash it in Windows mode. It never finished because it would immediately crash to another BSOD, something about CORRUPT etc. I then tried using the USB method, but after rebooting it was looking for some form of command interface line. Again, decided not to continue.

Finally, I've run multiple virus/malware scans, such as AVAST and Malwarebytes. They've all come up clean.

I plan on running memtest tonight while I sleep, but if anyone happens to see anything obvious in the attached reports then I can work on those fixes sooner. Again, thank you for your assistance.

Hi and welcome to Seven Forums,

Please uninstall DAEMON Tools. This software uses a driver called sptd.sys which is a known BSOD cause in Windows 7. Uninstall the software using Add/Remove Programs. Once the program is uninstalled, run sptd.sys uninstaller to remove the driver from your system.
As an alternative, many people recommend the use of Total Mounter or Magic ISO


The BSOD dumps you gave me do not give a definitive cause for your BSOD's. Quite a few of them pointed at a system file which is very unlikely to cause a BSOD.

As a result I recommend you check your hardware for issues. Please run Memtest86+ to check your RAM. Let it run for 7-8 passes overnight as described in the tutorial. Pay particular attention to parts 2 and 3.
Also check your HDD for errors using Seatools. Download and create a bootable version of the Seatools for DOS program as described here.


In addition, some of your crashes were DirectX/graphics card related. DirectX comes installed with Windows, so this may indicate Windows corruption. It may also be that you have corrupted drivers or a graphics card hardware problem.
If you are overclocking any hardware, please stop.

Please run the sfc /scannow checker to check and repair important system files. Follow option two in this tutorial: SFC /SCANNOW Command - System File Checker If it reports that Windows Resource Protection did not find any integrity violations, tell me. If it attempts to repair files, attach the CBS.log file to your next post. It is located here C:\Windows\Logs\CBS\CBS.log.

Then work through this: Diagnosing basic problems with DirectX. Normally I would say to uninstall and reinstall your graphics card drivers but from you original post, I can see that you have already done so.

If you have any questions or if I have confused you in any way, please don't hesitate to ask!
Stephen

Thanks for the quick response. I have never overclocked, I've been tempted to try but until I find a real job that will give me a steady income I don't plan on doing anything that would destroy my hardware completely. I'll uninstall Daemon tools as recommended and then start your other possible fixes, though I won't be able to until later tonight. I'll get back to you ASAP. :)

NOTE: Some of my steps are similar to Stephen's.


Since you have older hardware, make sure your system is compatible with Windows 7: Windows 7 Compatibility: Software Programs & Hardware Devices: Find Updates, Drivers, & Downloads


Problematic Software:

Code:

Start Menu\Programs\Driver Genius Professional Edition	Public:Start Menu\Programs\Driver Genius Professional Edition	Public
Start Menu\Programs\RivaTuner v2.24 MSI Master Overclocking Arena 2009 edition	JGGiant-PC\JGGiant:Start Menu\Programs\RivaTuner v2.24 MSI Master Overclocking Arena 2009 edition	JGGiant-PC\JGGiant

• We do not recommend automated driver update software. It often finds drivers for devices similar to but not exactly the same as the hardware actually on the system. This can lead to conflicts and blue screen crashes. If you need help finding driver updates for a certain device, please start a thread in Drivers - Windows 7 Forums instead of using software. Driver updates are not always necessary and some updates can actually decrease system stability rather than increase it, so it is usually better not to update unless a device or its driver is causing problems with the system. If it ain't broke, don't fix it.
  
  
• Older versions of RivaTuner are known to cause problems with Windows 7. Install an updated version if you need the software for fan control. If you are using it for overclocking, please stop.

Also, when is the last time you cleaned the dust from the system?


Many of your crashes were DirectX/graphics card related. DirectX comes installed with Windows, so this may indicate Windows corruption. It may also be that you have corrupted drivers or a graphics card hardware problem. The sfc scan suggested by Stephen should track down any Windows corruption.


As Stephen mentioned: follow the steps for Diagnosing basic problems with DirectX. To re-install your display card drivers as outlined in the DirectX link, use the following steps.

1. Download the drivers you want for your display card(s)
2. Click Start Menu
3. Click Control Panel
4. Click Uninstall a program
5. For AMD:
   • Uninstall AMD Catalyst Install Manager if it is listed (this should remove all AMD graphics software and drivers)
   • If AMD Catalyst Install Manager is not listed, use the following method to uninstall the graphics drivers (this applies to onboard graphics, as well):
     1. Click Start Menu
     2. Right Click My Computer/Computer
     3. Click Manage
     4. Click Device Manager from the list on the left
     5. Expand Display adapters
     6. Do the following for each adapter (in case you have multiple display cards)
        
        • Right click the adapter
        • Click Uninstall (do not click OK in the dialog box that pops up after hitting Uninstall)
        • Put a tick in Delete driver software for this device (if this option is available, otherwise just hit OK) and hit OK
     
     Alternatively:
     
     1. Login as an adminstrative user
     2. Click Start Menu
     3. Click Control Panel
     4. Click Hardware and Sound
     5. Click Device Manager (the last link under Devices and Printers)
     6. Expand Display adapters
     7. Do the following for each adapter (in case you have multiple display cards)
        
        • Right click the adapter
        • Click Uninstall (do not click OK in the dialog box that pops up after hitting Uninstall)
        • Put a tick in Delete driver software for this device (if this option is available, otherwise just hit OK) and hit OK
6. Restart your computer after uninstalling drivers for all display cards
7. Install the driver you selected for the display cards once Windows starts

Remember to try multiple versions of the graphics drivers, download them fresh, and install the freshly downloaded drivers. For the ATI drivers, 11.9 - 12.4 should all be good drivers to test with.

I clean out the dust fairly often as I have both a dog and a cat that shed a lot. As for Rivatuner, yes I tried using it for fan control. No overclocking attempts were made with it, if I decide to ever try I'll do it through BIOS.

I've uninstalled Rivatuner and Daemon tools. It wouldn't surprise me if the latter were at least partially responsible for my issues, as it has usually been one of the first programs I install after a format of my HDD.

I also ran sfc scan, and it did not come up with any issues, same for the DirectX diagnostic tool. However, when running dxdiag I got a message saying that on previous attempts(?) it was not able to gather all of the system information and if I just wanted to bypass collecting that information. I said no.

I'll run memtest tonight and seatools in the morning if necessary.

Report back the results. If the system seems to have stabilised, it could have been daemon tools causing all the issues. If the BSOD's still carry on, we'll investigate further.

The issue with the windows version of Seatools is it only recognises and tests external HDD's. The bootable version can detect and test internal HDD's. Take a look at this to create a bootable USB stick from an .iso image. How to create bootable USB from an ISO image | Ideologics. Download the seatools iso from http://www.seagate.com/support/inter...ls-dos-master/ if you don't have it

Stephen

EDIT - Just looked at the latest dump and that's not very helpful. So, continue with the Seatools test so we can rule out hardware. We can then look at drivers once we've ruled hardware out

Just finished the Seatools test, everything passed. I ran the long test.