BSOD when using music software and other unpredictable occasions

[twentydollarjim]

Hi guys,

I've had 2 distinct BSOD error messages so far -

IRQL_NOT_LESS_OR_EQUAL (which is the most common, at least once today)
page fault in nonpaged area (which has happened twice so far - both times yesterday)

I ran memtest86 today on boot and no errors were found.

All hardware in the system is brand new -

PC/Desktop
Custom Build
Windows 7 Ultimate x64
Intel Core i3-2120 CPU @ 3.30Ghz
GIGABYTE Socket 1155 GA-B75-D3V (rev. 1.0)
Corsair CMZ8GX3M4X1600C9 8GB (4x2GB) DDR3
Integrated Graphics Processor (removed by PCI graphics card which improved things slightly)
M-Audio Audiophile 2496 sound card
WD Caviar Green 1TB SATA III 6GB/s
550W POWER SUPPLY

Microsoft Security Essentials
Google Chrome

Any help would be greatly appreciated. I'm a music producer and the system keeps crashing when I'm working on projects which is pretty devastating.

.zip file attached

Many thanks!
Jim

 

[Vir Gnarus]

How long did you run Memtest? Make sure to run at least 7 consecutive passes, not just one. This means all tests done 7 times.

So you can invoke a system crash from running your music software consistently? Is there any particular activity in the software that has the highest chance of triggering it?

Anyways, I don't think these minidumps will be sufficient just by themselves. You'll want to turn on Driver Verifier checks and send us the crashdumps created by them. Make sure to read the whole article.

 

[twentydollarjim]

Hi there,

Thanks for that. I only ran it once! I'll run it again this evening.

No there doesn't appear to be any specific cause. I use Cubase 5 for music recording. Sometimes the crashes occur when I'm browsing YouTube, other times when Winamp is active. Could it be related to the sound card?

I'll turn on Driver Verifier and get back to you. Many thanks for your help so far!

 

[twentydollarjim]

Anyways, I don't think these minidumps will be sufficient just by themselves. You'll want to turn on Driver Verifier checks and send us the crashdumps created by them. Make sure to read the whole article.

I ran the Driver Verifier and followed the instructions. It attempted to boot after restart and resulted in a BSOD. I've included the new minidump in .zip format. Thanks!

 

[Vir Gnarus]

Hmm, while this crash did indeed catch some driver bugs, I'm not sure if they are related to your crashing. It is still recommended to snuff these bugs out first, then attempt Driver Verifier again.

The two suspect drivers are your Daemon Tools virtual device driver, and a Sonic/Roxio CD driver. These are conflicting with each other attempting to work on the same I/O. While it is highly recommended you update them (at least Daemon Tools), and perhaps that may resolve the problem, I think one of them has to go.

 

[twentydollarjim]

Hmm, while this crash did indeed catch some driver bugs, I'm not sure if they are related to your crashing. It is still recommended to snuff these bugs out first, then attempt Driver Verifier again.

The two suspect drivers are your Daemon Tools virtual device driver, and a Sonic/Roxio CD driver. These are conflicting with each other attempting to work on the same I/O. While it is highly recommended you update them (at least Daemon Tools), and perhaps that may resolve the problem, I think one of them has to go.

Thanks again for your help. I'll probably uninstall Daemon Tools. Would the Sonic/Roxio CD driver belong to Nero Burning Rom? That's the only burning software I have installed.

 

[Vir Gnarus]

Yes, the Sonic/Roxio CD driver is actually pretty commonly used by most CD-burning products out there.

 

[twentydollarjim]

Yes, the Sonic/Roxio CD driver is actually pretty commonly used by most CD-burning products out there.

Thanks again! I haven't had a crash since uninstalling Daemon Tools. I'll see how it goes!

 

[twentydollarjim]

I spoke too soon! Crashed once again during a Cubase 5 session. I then enabled Driver Verifier again and another BSOD appeared as the system powered down for the restarted. I've attached both dumps if you wouldn't mind having another look!

This time however my system is booting with Driver Verifier active so I'll have to see what happens.

Thanks again for all your help.

 

[twentydollarjim]

Still getting crashes. I'm now getting the IRQL message when viewing pictures when no sound is active. Shall I run driver verifier again?

 

[Vir Gnarus]

Sorry, MS Symbol Server was down for a while. I wasn't able to open the crashdumps properly. Regardless, it still doesn't look like they'll be of any help, so yeah, go ahead and turn on Driver Verifier again and see what we'll get from it.

 

[twentydollarjim]

Sorry, MS Symbol Server was down for a while. I wasn't able to open the crashdumps properly. Regardless, it still doesn't look like they'll be of any help, so yeah, go ahead and turn on Driver Verifier again and see what we'll get from it.

No worries, many thanks again for your help.

 

[twentydollarjim]

Sorry, MS Symbol Server was down for a while. I wasn't able to open the crashdumps properly. Regardless, it still doesn't look like they'll be of any help, so yeah, go ahead and turn on Driver Verifier again and see what we'll get from it.

Here's the latest crash - happened at 00:10 - had a few today but this is the first since I turned Verifier back on. Any help would be superb.

Thanks!

 

[Vir Gnarus]

Did you run Memtest at 7+ consecutive passes, btw?

I'm looking at the crashes, and I'm noticing a couple of patterns. One is that they seem to almost always involve memory/paging file activity, so we'll want to check both memory and drive. Do a CHKDSK (both options) followed by running a few Seatools tests - namely Short DST, SMART, and Short Generic, avoid all other tests. If you want, also provide us a snapshot of CrystalDiskInfo output.

You can also try recreating the paging file. You can do so by going into the paging file settings, which you can access by typing Advanced system settings in Windows start menu, then going to Performance Settings, then Advanced, then Change button for Virtual Memory. Once you're there, you can uncheck Automatically manage paging file size for all drives if checked, then select No paging file. It'll warn you, by accept the change anyways, then click OK then restart. Once you enter your system again, go back and revert the changes to how they were before. This will effectively recreate the paging file for your system.

That, or you can just load a livecd environment like PartedMagic from a disc and then go to your C: drive and delete the pagefile.sys file. Windows will recreate it at startup.

The other pattern I'm seeing is that both your Nvidia and Intel graphics drivers seem to always show up. While you did say you stopped usage of the onboard graphics by adding a video card, I'm still seeing the onboard graphics driver being loaded and showing up in the crash. Or am I reading things wrong and you removed the graphics card and it's still bugging out on the onboard?

Overall, this is most likely a hardware issue. Driver Verifier itself didn't catch anything suspect, so that means either the driver causing this problem isn't being loaded until later on in system usage (like when a service or application started running and loaded its own driver), and therefore wasn't added to the checklist for DV, or hardware is actually causing it and no manner of DV checks is going to catch any driver being the cause of it. Given the early hardware life, I will have to suspect the latter foremost.

 

[twentydollarjim]

I had memtest running for over 5 hours. I'm pretty sure it had passed 7 times as you had been pretty specific about it. Should I attempt to run it again?

I've run both chkdsk and the seatools tests and no errors have been found on the hard drive. I've attached a screenshot whilst running crystaldiskinfo as you requested.

Regarding the graphics cards, I re-installed windows yesterday in order to clear up all the clutter. Hardly got anything running now. There are no instances of the nvidia card running, just the onboard graphics. And, even in this stripped back state, I attempted to install a new version of Cubase that I've purchased and it bluescreened during installation.

Really frustrated now! How likely is it that the motherboard is the problem here?

I also flashed the bios up to the latest version.

 

[Vir Gnarus]

Usually I've found if there's indeed hardware problems, but diagnostic tests and all show up clean for everything, than yes, often the case is that the motherboard is the problem. There are also the chances that the PSU or the CPU are causing it, with the PSU especially being a prime suspect, just because the integrity of everything else in the system relies solely on the PSU running ok.

I noticed you did not specify make and model of your PSU in your PC specs. This is disconcerting to me, as it means most likely you consider the PSU a non-crucial item, which would've affected your decision on what PSU you purchased. PSUs are more than just the wattage output they churn out, and even whether they're modular or not. The quality of its internal parts and their setup is crucial in determining their overall stability and reliability. Hence why it's necessary to both go for quality brand names as well as avoiding their budget models. While even the best PSUs still have the potential to bug out, I - as well as other techs I know - are well aware of the disparity in reliability between budget models/brands and top-line items. Personally, I recommend approaching this article for more info on the subject as well as some recommended models.

Anyways, the problem here is that if indeed we're dealing with a PSU/CPU/Mobo issue, there's really no way to discern which of them's causing it outside of swapping hardware (or buying expensive diagnostic kits). Hence why I call em the Trio of Trouble. At least you have warranties for all three items. I recommend that you start with the Mobo, then the PSU, then the CPU, if you decide to go for a one-by-one approach (or replace all three, or at least the PSU/Mobo).

 

[twentydollarjim]

I did indeed think about the PSU and replaced it, resulting in the same problem. To be fair I didn't spend a great deal on it though, but I didn't think a high end PSU would be a neccessity considering I removed my graphics card and was only running an i3 - Ace Black PSU 12cm Red fan PSUACE500BR - Scan.co.uk

I've been building PCs for years and this is the first time I've ever had this problem so I'm not convinced it's a PSU issue.

I'm going to test out another motherboard tonight and see how I get on. Like you said I have warranties for all items so I should be able to get a refund on whatever turns out to be the faulty item!

Many thanks again for all of your help so far, I really appreciate it.

 

[Vir Gnarus]

Ok then. Mark this as solved if ever you discover what caused it.

 

[twentydollarjim]

Ok then. Mark this as solved if ever you discover what caused it.

Well I replaced the motherboard which didn't help. I decided to purchase a new PSU which also hasn't resolved the problem. The blue screens keep coming. That just leaves the CPU...

Is there anything else I can do to test this or is it a case now of contacting the supplier?

Again, many thanks in advance.

 

[Vir Gnarus]

Supplier? Did you custom build this system or did you have it built for you? In any case, looks like the next part up is the CPU. That or you've been replacing bad PSUs with other bad PSUs.