Windows 7: Irregular BSOD becoming very frequent

JamesH456 · 23 Nov 2013

Hi there, I'll keep this short and sweet

I started receiving BSODs on my Gigabyte p2542g (windows hp64bit) about 4 weeks ago which have gradually become more and more regular. They used to only occur under activity like gaming or similar. Now they occur randomly and at any time.

Possible cause - travelling with laptop in 'sleep' mode with HDD still running - making it faulty? This seems most likely.

Next step I would like is to post here all the necessary information files so you guys can get a better idea of why I'm getting these and what to do - my startup/recovery is set to write an event to the system log, with kernel mem dump on debugging with overwrite any existing file.

Okay so what info can I give you guys to allow for a better understanding?

Many, MANY thanks any help would be massively appreciated as this is my only PC and I use it for vital work

EDIT: attached BSOD posting instructions zip file

YoYo155 · 23 Nov 2013

Welcome to SF, JamesH456 :) .

Although AVAST and IRST are involved in some of the dumps others are not so straight-forward,
that combined with the fact your description of the problem describes the issue getting worst
over time has my gut feeling saying RAM issues, but we'll have to test and see.

First I would remove Avast and install MSE instead.

Clear up some space in you C:\ partition.

Code:

Drive    C:
Size    101.14 GB (108,599,963,648 bytes)
Free Space    7.59 GB (8,148,148,224 bytes)

Make sure the SSD's firmware is up to date using the OEM (manufacturer) software.

Crucial.com Product Downloads - Firmware Updates

Removing IRST:

Quote: Originally Posted by Arc

Get rid of intel rapid storage. First uninstall it from Control Panel > Programs and Features.
Then Uninstall the driver from device manager.

Right click on "my computer" icon and click "manage" on the context menu.
It will open the "computer management" window.
Select "Device Manager" in the left pane, It will list all the existing devices up.
Expand "IDE ATA/ATAPI controllers" by clicking on the triangle in front of it.
Select one Intel device item under it, right click, uninstall.
Continue the process for all Intel items under "IDE ATA/ATAPI controllers"
Now restart the computer. At restart, windows will auto configure the appropriate native system driver.

Testing the RAM:

Quote: Originally Posted by koolkat77

Test and Diagnose RAM Issues with Memtest86+:

RAM - Test with Memtest86+

Tip

Pay close attention to part 3 of the tutorial "If you have errors"
Test the RAM with Memtest86+ for at least 7-10 passes. It may take up to 22 passes to find problems. Make sure to run it once after the system has been on for a few hours and is warm, and then also run it again when the system has been off for a few hours and is cold.

When done with the testing procedure take a picture and upload it here.

If you're suspicious about the HDD's health:

Warning

The Following Method Should NOT Be Performed On An SSD!

Testing the HDD:

Perform a Disk Check | Disk Check- Scroll down to OPTION TWO of the tutorial and use the /R switch in the CHKDSK command | chkdsk C: /R.
Then Post the Disk Check results following | This Tutorial.
Once back in Windows, download Crystal Disk Info and post a screenshot (multiple shots if you have more than one drive).
Download SeaTools for DOS if you don't want to use a CD to test the HDD you can use YUMI – Multiboot USB Creator to create a bootable USB (instructions are found at the bottom of both pages).
If SeaTools for DOS is unable to recognize your HDD:
Visit HDDdiag and follow the instructions | Or follow the instructions below.

If SeaTools For DOS does not recognize the drive;
Boot into the BIOS using the *Fx key.
Look for an entry called SATA Mode (or something similar), it should be set to IDE / AHCI.
It's probably set to AHCI which is why SeaTools doesn't recognize them in the DOS environment.
Set it to IDE then save and exit usually by pressing the F10 key.
Now boot into SeaTools and it should detect the drives.
Start the Long Test and let it run.
Upon completion don't try to boot into Windows as it will only result in a BSOD, go back into the BIOS
and change the SATA setting back to what it was in the first place.

*Popular BIOS access keys.

Let us know the results.

JamesH456 · 23 Nov 2013

Hi there, I'm just stuck on upgrading the SSD firmware - how do I know which product on the "Choose a product" drop down menu is mine?

Okay I'll also just mention that sometimes it completely shuts down without warning or any kind of message, just powers off. In-fact in typing this message a moment ago the screen just froze. It's starting to seem more and more like a severe hardware issue. I'm wondering at what point I just look into warranty and getting it sent back to the manufacturer or something.

Though for now I will continue with your advice and see what happens

YoYo155 · 25 Nov 2013

Hi :).
I assume you don't have an m-Sata drive, meaning it is NOT connected to the motherboard directly
therefor being connected the regular way like any other HDD via SATA power.data cables, correct?
If so you have M4-CT128M4SSD3 or (see attached image).
Attachment 294955

Is this what you're experiencing? - Crucial M4 128 GB Random Freezes - Crucial Community

What is the make, model and age of your PSU?
Fill out this form and post back the result:

Power Supply Calculator

Test for thermals and stability:

Download HWinfo and post a Screenshot of the sensors window, one at idle and another while putting load on the PC using Prime95 for the CPU side and Furmark for the GPU.
- Before running Prime95 make sure to enable Round-off checking (see 1st post under the tutorial).

Post back with further information :) .

JamesH456 · 27 Mar 2014

Hi all. I followed the above steps, but in the end reformatting and de-dusting the fans and vents made the problem reduce to 1-2 BSODs per day which was manageable up until now.

It's back to up to 10+ BSODs per day, completely erratic. Often rebooting shortly after a BSOD will force several more, constantly rebooting 2-3 times until it stops.

I've attached another report.rar/zip under JamesH456-280314. The event ID for the blue screens is mostly 1a, but often will be 3b or 19 or sometimes just random. I see SYSTEMSERVICEEXCEPTION and BADPOOLHEADER a lot... I don't think the particulars matter though?

Would really appreciate some help to get to the bottom of this one. A little concerned the hardware is off seeing as reformatting only kept the problem minimized/at bay.

Thanks again!

JamesH456 · 28 Mar 2014

Anyone? On my 4th BSOD today already. Going to de-dust again soon.

Also considering reformatting again as that seemed to help somewhat. On that note can anyone tell me if it would be of benefit to purchase a fresh oem copy of windows to install rather than my laptop's partitioned ready-to-install one? I feel that a fresh copy of windows would reset the system moreso than the laptop's way of doing so as when I reformat with that it keeps all the data on the second hard drive.

Also I ran another memtest with 5 passes over a 9 hour period recently. And a chkdisk which doesn't seem to have any problems but I cannot fully interpret. CPU and GPU temps seem to be fine as well. Very confused!