BSOD relating to ntoskrnl.exe

NegativeOne · 22 May 2017

I am also experiencing BSOD relating to ntoskrnl.exe (according to Blue Screen Viewer and Who Crashed, as well as info on the BSOD itself). I read the rules and will post in this thread with hopes that someone can provide a successful solution.

Background: For about a year, I was having BSOD seemingly randomly. I later found that I would have a BSOD when playing WoW and watching a video stream (Netflix, youtube, twitch.tv). If I wasn't watching a video on my second monitor, I wouldn't have any issues. Even when not playing a game, BSOD would happen while watching video streams. Fed up with not knowing a solution, I did a vanilla reinstall of the Windows OS. Things seemed to work well, video streams don't seem to be problematic and could play WoW while watching whatever. I've since quit playing WoW and began playing DotA 2 and GTA V through Steam, and am now having BSOD due to "ntoskrnl.exe" or "hal.dll". The errors occur mid-game, and I can usually get by for an hour or 2 before the system crashes. I've read that it's usually hardware related, but I want to pin down which component it might be, and get suggestions/solutions from someone much more experienced than myself.

My Specs (Custom Build):
ASUS motherboard (don't have model ID off-hand, but can probably get it)
Intel i7-4790K CPU @ 4.00GHz
NVIDIA 770 GTX
32GB RAM
Windows 7 Professional 64-bit

If there are any other specifications needed I'll do my best to identify them and post. I went to Microsoft tech support and the agent took remote control of my PC to try to fix the issue. All we did was reinstall the GFX driver, but the BSOD issues persist. Any help is much appreciated.

**axe0** · 23 May 2017

Read the following carefully.
If you have any question, first read the related tutorial.
If the tutorial and instructions don't answer your question please do not hesitate to ask.

STOP 0x124 Troubleshooting

Read carefully before proceeding.

Warning

If you're overclocking your system, revert back to stock clocks now.

Note

Test the system once the overclock is removed before continuing with the steps outlined below.

Part One: CPU Stress Test
Part Two: MemTest86+ RAM Diagnostic
Part Three: Hard Drive Diagnostics
Part Four: GPU Stress Test

ONE

CPU TEST

Run Prime95 and/or IntelBurnTest to stress test your CPU. Prime95 - Stress Test Your CPU - Windows 10 Forums & CPU - Stress Test Using IntelBurnTest - Windows 7 Help Forums

Warning

Your CPU temperatures will rise quickly while under this stress test. Keep a keen eye on them and abort the test if overheating occurs.

Make a photo of the result and post it.

TWO

RAM TEST

Run MemTest86+ to analyse your RAM. MemTest86+ - Test RAM - Windows 7 Help Forums

Note

MemTest86+ needs to be run for at least 8 complete passes for conclusive results. Set it running before you go to bed and leave it overnight. We're looking for zero errors here. Even a single error will indicate RAM failure.

Make a photo of the result and post it please.

Addition:
If errors show up you can stop the test, remove all sticks but 1 and test this single stick in each slot for 8 passes or until errors show, switch sticks and repeat.
If errors show up and you see them a lot later, no problem, the errors don't affect the test.

Diagnostics Test

HDD TEST

Note

Please run HDTune first, in the order posted!

Run HDTune to

check the health,
scan for errors, no quick scan but full scan
run a benchmark.

It may take some time, but please take the time you need to perform it properly.
When above is done please make screenshots of the following

the health,
the error scan,
the benchmark incl. following
- transfer rate,
- access time,
- burst rate,
- cpu usage.

Run SeaTools DOS to check the integrity of your HDD. SeaTools for DOS and Windows - How to Use - Windows 7 Help Forums
Run the long test.

Note

Do not run SeaTools on an SSD as the results will be invalid.

Make a photo of the result and post it.

Run chkdsk
Disk Check - Windows 7 Help Forums
Use option TWO with parameter /r
Upload the chkdsk log :arrow: Check Disk (chkdsk) - Read Event Viewer Log - Windows 7 Help Forums

FOUR

GPU TEST

Run Furmark to stress test your GPU. FurMark - GPU Stress Test - Windows 7 Help Forums

Note

Run Furmark for around 30 minutes.

Warning

Your GPU temperatures will rise quickly while Furmark is running. Keep a keen eye on them and abort the test if overheating occurs.

Make a photo of the result and post it.

Please fill in your system specs

Please follow this tutorial and download the tool. The tool will give you detailed information about your system specs, please fill in your system specs more completely including PSU, cooling and other used stuff like mouse, keyboard, monitor, case, etc.
The PSU, cooling and other stuff are NOT mentioned in the tool.

In the left corner below in your post you find 'My System Specs'. After clicking it you can find a link a little below that says 'Update your System Spec', click on this link to get to the page where you can fill in your system specs.

NegativeOne · 31 May 2017

Here's an update on what I've done so far. I started with the CPU stress test, and things seemed on par to my knowledge of the hardware and no output of errors in the programs provided (I have screenshots I can post if needed). I then moved onto RAM testing. I have 32 GB of RAM, and I encountered an error almost immediately. Abiding by the guide, I stopped the testing and began checking each 1x8GB stick individually for 8 passes. This took quite some time. No errors on any of them. I then began pairing in different RAM slots, thinking perhaps a bad RAM port is causing the issues. No errors on 8 passes for each. I then did combinations of 3, and again, 8 passes no errors. Finally I had all RAM in, and did the final test for 6 passes and no issues. I've run the games that have been BSODing and haven't had the issue come back up. I want to give it until this coming Monday before claiming it solved just in case, but I think the issue may have been caused to a loose or interfered connection. Thanks for the help, and I'll be back for one *hopefully* final update.

**axe0** · 31 May 2017

Glad to hear this :)

NegativeOne · 01 Jun 2017

So the problem persists. I've done most of the remaining tests and will post screenshots I have. Big post incoming.

UPDATED SPECS:

CPU: Intel(R) Core(TM) i7-4790K CPU @ 4.00GHz
MOTHERBOARD: ASUSTeK COMPUTER INC. MAXIMUS VII GENE
BIOS: BIOS Date: 06/03/14 15:04:36 Ver: 06.09
TOTAL MEMORY: 32.00 GB
USABLE: 31.94 GB
HHD: (1) Crucial_CT256MX1 SCSI Disk Device (2) ST32000641AS SCSI Disk Device
SOUND CARD: (1) NVIDIA High Definition Audio (2) Realtek High Definition Audio (3) USB Audio Device
GRAPHICS CARD: NVIDIA GeForce GTX 770
OS: Microsoft Windows 7 Professional 64-bit 7601 Multiprocessor Free Service Pack 1
DISPLAY: (1) S23C570 1920x1080 (2) HP2009 Wide LCD Mon. 1600x900
KEYBOARD: Razer BlackWidow Ultimate 2013
MOUSE: SteelSeries Sensei [RAW]

Specs for components I might need to get more information on:

PSU: Kingwin Lazer LZ-1000 1000W
COOLING: Corsair liquid cooling

CPU TEST:
Idle: Attachment 399162
Testing: Attachment 399163
Main and #2 thread(?): Attachment 399164
#1 and #3 thread: Attachment 399165
#4 and #5 thread: Attachment 399166
#6 and #7 thread: Attachment 399167
#8 thread: Attachment 399168

RAM TEST:

I didn't know how to get a screenshot of the info. As mentioned before, I tested all 32GB, and had an error almost immediately. I took all but one 8GB RAM and tested each stick individually. I had no errors on individual tests, so I started pairing in different slots, each for 8 passes. After dual pairs came back clean, I did tests on 3 and eventually 4x8GB RAM for 6-8 passes on each test. I didn't write down the information from the initial test. I'll be doing more RAM tests this weekend while I'm at work and will post any results. If there is a way to get any kind of log information from those tests, I don't know how to do it.

DIAGNOSTICS TEST:

HDD Health: Attachment 399170
HDD Error Scan: Attachment 399171
HDD Benchmark: Attachment 399172

SSD Health: Attachment 399173
SSD Error Scan: Attachment 399174
SSD Benchmark: Attachment 399175

SeaTools: I have not run this yet

HDD CheckDisk: Attachment 399169
SSD CheckDisk: There was no readout for this. I had to schedule a check on restart as my OS is on my SSD, and nothing came up when PC booted.

FURMARK TESTS:

Part 1: Attachment 399177
Part 2: Attachment 399176

As I said, I'll try to fill in the blanks as able, but I'm hoping this information can lead you to something. All the tests seemed fine to me, but I'm certainly not the most knowledgeable on hardware matters, and am at the end of my wits with this BSOD. Thanks for all and any help.

I don't know if this will help but this is the information given by WhoCrashed:

On Wed 5/31/2017 1:25:31 PM your computer crashed
crash dump file: C:\Windows\Minidump\053117-8065-01.dmp
This was probably caused by the following module: ntoskrnl.exe (nt+0x6F4C0)
Bugcheck code: 0x124 (0x0, 0xFFFFFA801951E028, 0xBE000000, 0x100110A)
Error: WHEA_UNCORRECTABLE_ERROR
file path: C:\Windows\system32\ntoskrnl.exe
product: Microsoft® Windows® Operating System
company: Microsoft Corporation
description: NT Kernel & System
Bug check description: This bug check indicates that a fatal hardware error has occurred. This bug check uses the error data that is provided by the Windows Hardware Error Architecture (WHEA).
This is likely to be caused by a hardware problem. This problem might also be caused because of overheating (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.

**axe0** · 02 Jun 2017

Whocrashed, bluescreenview and other 'reports' don't provide any useful data.

Blue Screen of Death (BSOD) Posting Instructions - Windows 7 Help Forums

NegativeOne · 03 Jun 2017

Had a different BSOD just last night. In the middle of a game, screen froze for about 10 seconds then went blue with this information from WhoCrashed (the only thing I have to make sense of this BS), maybe this will help narrow down the problem(s):

On Fri 6/2/2017 5:48:24 PM your computer crashed
crash dump file: C:\Windows\Minidump\060217-6333-01.dmp
This was probably caused by the following module: ntoskrnl.exe (nt+0x6F4C0)
Bugcheck code: 0x101 (0x19, 0x0, 0xFFFFF880009B3180, 0x4)
Error: CLOCK_WATCHDOG_TIMEOUT
file path: C:\Windows\system32\ntoskrnl.exe
product: Microsoft® Windows® Operating System
company: Microsoft Corporation
description: NT Kernel & System
Bug check description: This indicates that an expected clock interrupt on a secondary processor, in a multi-processor system, was not received within the allocated interval.
This appears to be a typical software driver bug and is not likely to be caused by a hardware problem. This problem might also be caused because of overheating (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.

I'll reattach this as well:

Attachment 399201

**axe0** · 03 Jun 2017

Due to the nature of the 0x101 it can be connected to the 0x124.

A 0x101 basically means that a core of the processor hung so it cannot respond anymore.
Because this core doesn't respond anymore, its data is not being saved into the dumps we normally use but instead the data from another core who does respond to this issue is saved. For this reason most analysts normally request a kernel dump (C:\Windows\Memory.dmp) which contains the data from the hung processor, so they can investigate why it hung.

I'm not requesting a kernel dump, because I don't have the knowledge to properly debug a 0x101 kernel dump.
Instead I would suggest to check for BIOS updates and driver updates from ASUS (or reinstall them) and check Nvidia for driver updates.
I would also suggest to check all, yes really all, programs for software updates.

The dump mentions a driver from CPUID before it crashes, but since this information is from a different core I cannot say with certainty if suggesting to remove/update CPUID software will resolve the problem, that is why I go to my default route.

Code:

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

Use !analyze -v to get detailed debugging information.

BugCheck 101, {19, 0, fffff880009b3180, 4}

*** WARNING: Unable to verify timestamp for cpuz143_x64.sys
*** ERROR: Module load completed but symbols could not be loaded for cpuz143_x64.sys
Probably caused by : Unknown_Image ( ANALYSIS_INCONCLUSIVE )

Followup:     MachineOwner

NegativeOne · 10 Jun 2017

So after you mentioned that 101 and 124 were linked in some way, I did some looking into it. I found a post here that was a similar issue. I went into BIOS and found "Turbo Mode" and disabled it. I've been playing my games pretty regularly over the past week with no issues. I'm gonna give it another week before determining the issue solved, and I'll certainly look into the updates in your previous post. Thanks for all the help thus far.

NegativeOne · 16 Jun 2017

Yes, disabling the "Turbo Mode" seems to have done the trick. No issues since. Thanks again and I've marked this as solved.