My computer repeatedly and quickly gives me a blue screen

[WorldWalker128]

As stated in the title, my computer recently has been giving me the blue error screen that Windows normally gives and then shortly after restarts. It says that the computer is being shut down to prevent lost files but instead of actually shutting down it instead restarts. If I leave it at the log-in screen nothing usually happens. It is not until I actually try to log in that I get the screen at a time rate ranging of one minute to five minutes depending on whether I'm running it in normal mode or in Safe Mode.
I tried following the blue scrren (and my best friends who helped me build the machine)'s advice of uninstalling my anti-virus and that accomplished nothing other than me no longer having Avast! anti-virus installed.
The first time it occurred my younger sibling was playing a large Starcraft 2 custom map that after about ten minutes of gameplay starts to eat up alot of processing power because of all the units running around on it. He claims that he ONLY played that game and did not go to any websites (not sure that I believe him) and that when it happened after it restarted he shut it down.
I also keep getting messages stating that the computer was not shut down properly even when I actually stated it up and then shut it down in proper manner shut to see if it would take notice of this action.
I tried scheduling a hard drive scan while in safe mode, and after that was done I restarted the machine. it scanned for about two seconds, then claimed that it was done and proceeded to boot up. I might not have even half of my hard drive used up yet and a decent-speed machine, but there is NO WAY that's normal.

I've owned this machine for less than a year, it was custom-built (I don't remember all the part types as they were purchased and assembled last summer)
I do confess that at times I've visited websites that I probably would have been better off not going to (I'm sure I don't need to elaborate, *Cough cough*), but I've got both firewall and (before I uninstalled it) an Anti-virus program that has a good reputation, and then ones that had bad ratings from previous visitors I avoided.

I tried inquiring as to why this might be to my father, as he's an IT guy for his company, but he gave me a look like I'd just told him I had grown a tail, so I don't think he's even heard of this issue before, and I've had 'fun' inquiring to tech support phone lines in the past and I don't speak Indian or any of the eastern-nation languages. Can you guys/gals help me?

 

[Arc]

Hi, we need some information.

Click on the button below ....



It will download the DM log collector. Right click on the application and run as administrator. It will generate a .zip file on your desktop. Upload the .zip.
http://www.sevenforums.com/tutorials/9733-screenshots-files-upload-post-seven-forums.html

 

[andrew129260]

This is my friend, I referred him here as he keeps having bsods.

His pc keeps restarting when the bluescreens occur which are frequent he told me, so He might have to go into safe mode with networking and transfer the downloaded file to his pc.

@

​

WorldWalker128

Please use the following tutorial to get your full specs:

http://www.sevenforums.com/tutorials/306654-speccy-advanced-system-information-tool.html

 

[Arc]

This is my friend, I referred him here as he keeps having bsods.

Wow.
We all will try to assist your friend the best, Andrew.

 

[WorldWalker128]

This is my friend, I referred him here as he keeps having bsods.

His pc keeps restarting when the bluescreens occur which are frequent he told me, so He might have to go into safe mode with networking and transfer the downloaded file to his pc.

@ WorldWalker128

Please use the following tutorial to get your full specs:

http://www.sevenforums.com/tutorials/306654-speccy-advanced-system-information-tool.html

When I put it in safe mode the program kept telling me that I needed to run it as an administrator in order to run the program. So I right clicked and did as it said and got the same message over and over. I did that only thing I could and risked logging in normally, but just as the program started to run I got a blue screen again.
I've chatted with a few people at work about this issue over the last 2 days and got two recommendations:
1. Format my drive and start over. This doesn't seem practical to me, and given that its been a few months since I copied data from the other computer I'd rather not do that.
2. Do a System Restore to its previous state. I only did one a few weeks ago and saved it as you recommended to my external hard drive. If you agree that this is more practical then just tell me what to do.


Though if you guys know how to get that program to run in safe mode I'd prefer that.

 

[derekimo]

Hi, we need some information.

Click on the button below ....



It will download the DM log collector. Right click on the application and run as administrator. It will generate a .zip file on your desktop. Upload the .zip.
http://www.sevenforums.com/tutorials/9733-screenshots-files-upload-post-seven-forums.html

Can you run this tool above? This information is more important than your specs at the moment.

Alternatively, we have another tool for system specs you can try,

http://www.sevenforums.com/tutorials/180324-system-info-see-your-system-specs.html

 

[WorldWalker128]

Hi, we need some information.

Click on the button below ....



It will download the DM log collector. Right click on the application and run as administrator. It will generate a .zip file on your desktop. Upload the .zip.
http://www.sevenforums.com/tutorials/9733-screenshots-files-upload-post-seven-forums.html

Can you run this tool above? This information is more important than your specs at the moment.

Alternatively, we have another tool for system specs you can try,

http://www.sevenforums.com/tutorials/180324-system-info-see-your-system-specs.html

As stated in a previous post while in Safe Mode my computer is refusing to let me run that program. It continuously gives me the message that I need to run it in Administrator mode for it to function, and to right-click the program to do so. When I do, it gives me the exact same message and nothing is accomplished. See below:

 

[derekimo]

I see, you were quoting the post with Speccy so I figured that was what you were talking about.

Let's see if you can get to the dump files, they will be in C:\Windows\MiniDump folder.

If you can get them and zip them up, and attach using the paperclip, it will at least give us some info.

 

[Arc]

Go to the Blue Screen of Death (BSOD) Posting Instructions.

Follow the option two there. Upload the files in your next post.

 

[WorldWalker128]

I see, you were quoting the post with Speccy so I figured that was what you were talking about.

Let's see if you can get to the dump files, they will be in C:\Windows\MiniDump folder.

If you can get them and zip them up, and attach using the paperclip, it will at least give us some info.

View attachment 316266
I hope I did this right.

 

[andrew129260]

It looks like you did it right buddy, as long as that is from your machine and not the computer your using now to post. Be patient man, we will get everything figured out.

Quick question, the game your bro was playing, did he install that and play it or had you already had that game before and it was not an issue when you had it installed before?

Edit, I think I might remember his specs.

I know its a a8 or a10 for the cpu. He has 4GB of ram, and a 500GB hard drive. It is windows 7 home premium x64 oem legit from newegg. His Ram I had tested before with windows memory diagnostic before I gave him the pc and everything was working great for several months before this incident.

Looks like he filled in his specs completely. Awesome job man. That will def help in troubleshooting.

 

[WorldWalker128]

I installed that game shortly after I got it (the computer) home. I've been playing it on and off for several months now with no issues until now. The only thing that comes to mind that might have played a part in this is that discussion we had about Moonbase Alpha about four or so months ago, but I still doubt that the computer restarting was due to overheating due to the game's poor graphic details and very little action going on and still think it was just a regular 'ol random glitch because I've not had an issue like that since. It might have just been one of those random updates for Avast! that tell you the system needs to restart and automatically does so. I had it set not to pester me when I'm playing a game so it doesn't minimize my screen mid-game. I know it's a long-shot but with all the fans you helped me install I doubt that it simply over-heated.

 

[Arc]

Hi.

The oldest crash dump points to some issues with Avast, but not very strongly.

All the others are indicating to memory corruption; which may be either the physical memory failure or any driver passing a bad information to the memory.

Test your RAM modules for possible errors.
How to Test and Diagnose RAM Issues with Memtest86+
Run memtest for at least 8 passes, preferably overnight.

If it start showing errors/red lines, stop testing. A single error is enough to determine that something is going bad there.
If it does not show any error, enable Driver Verifier to monitor the drivers.
Driver Verifier - Enable and Disable
Run Driver Verifier for 24 hours or the occurrence of the next crash, whichever is earlier.

   Information

Why Driver Verifier:
It puts a stress on the drivers, ans so it makes the unstable drivers crash. Hopefully the driver that crashes is recorded in the memory dump.

How Can we know that DV is enabled:
It will make the system bit of slow, laggy.

   Warning

Before enabling DV, make it sure that you have earlier System restore points made in your computer. You can check it easily by using CCleaner looking at Tools > System Restore.

If there is no points, make a System Restore Point manually before enabling DV.

   Tip

• If you fail to get on the Desktop because of DV, Boot into Advanced Boot Options > Safe mode. Disable DV there. Now boot normally again, and try following the instruction of enabling DV again.
• If you cannot boot in Safe mode too, do a System Restore to a point you made earlier.

Let us know the results, with the subsequent crash dumps, if any. But, this time post the entire data generated by the tool, not the crash dumps only.

 

[WorldWalker128]

Hi.

The oldest crash dump points to some issues with Avast, but not very strongly.

All the others are indicating to memory corruption; which may be either the physical memory failure or any driver passing a bad information to the memory.

Test your RAM modules for possible errors.
How to Test and Diagnose RAM Issues with Memtest86+
Run memtest for at least 8 passes, preferably overnight.

If it start showing errors/red lines, stop testing. A single error is enough to determine that something is going bad there.
If it does not show any error, enable Driver Verifier to monitor the drivers.
Driver Verifier - Enable and Disable
Run Driver Verifier for 24 hours or the occurrence of the next crash, whichever is earlier.

   Information

Why Driver Verifier:
It puts a stress on the drivers, ans so it makes the unstable drivers crash. Hopefully the driver that crashes is recorded in the memory dump.

How Can we know that DV is enabled:
It will make the system bit of slow, laggy.

   Warning

Before enabling DV, make it sure that you have earlier System restore points made in your computer. You can check it easily by using CCleaner looking at Tools > System Restore.

If there is no points, make a System Restore Point manually before enabling DV.

   Tip

• If you fail to get on the Desktop because of DV, Boot into Advanced Boot Options > Safe mode. Disable DV there. Now boot normally again, and try following the instruction of enabling DV again.
• If you cannot boot in Safe mode too, do a System Restore to a point you made earlier.

Let us know the results, with the subsequent crash dumps, if any. But, this time post the entire data generated by the tool, not the crash dumps only.

I'll be doing as you suggest (in order) in just a moment, but I have a question: When I go to the screen that allows me to boot my computer in safe mode, one of the options that comes up says 'Repair Computer'. Would that option be of any benefit to me, or is it about as helpful as 'Windows Help'.

 

[Arc]

When I go to the screen that allows me to boot my computer in safe mode, one of the options that comes up says 'Repair Computer'. Would that option be of any benefit to me, or is it about as helpful as 'Windows Help'.

This one?

View attachment 316383

This is very helpful in some cases; specially when a computer is not booting up properly. But in your case this option will not be of any help.

In your case, it is to determine what is causing the memory problem, and to take the proper action to rectify it.

 

[WorldWalker128]

When I go to the screen that allows me to boot my computer in safe mode, one of the options that comes up says 'Repair Computer'. Would that option be of any benefit to me, or is it about as helpful as 'Windows Help'.

This one?

View attachment 316383

This is very helpful in some cases; specially when a computer is not booting up properly. But in your case this option will not be of any help.

In your case, it is to determine what is causing the memory problem, and to take the proper action to rectify it.

Thank you.
To getting the USB RAM test to run, I'm a little stuck. While I've managed to bring the BIOS screen up (as the page instructed) I'm not sure which option is the correct one as several of them have USB as part of the name. Some of them I think are irrelevant as they seem to be talking about CDs that are also somehow USB (which makes no sense to me). I've narrowed it down to 3 I think it might be:
1. UEFI USB Hard Disk (I'm assuming that's Hard drive and is not the correct option)
2. USB Hard Disk (Might be an external Hard Drive)
3. UEFI USB key

None of them simply say USB on them, and I have no idea what UEFI stands for.

also, also- after getting another blue screen after misunderstanding the instructions and going to regular boot the computer informed me that Windows Explorer had stopped working and a minute and a half later I caught before the computer restarted again that the error was caused by Memory_Management. Does that help any?

 

[Arc]

If you want to know about UEFI, go through it ..... Unified Extensible Firmware Interface - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia ... it will give you a basic idea.

In short, it is the new form of BIOS, and in an UEFI environment, things are dislpayed in this way ... with prefixes .... either UEFI or Legacy.

You opt for the third option .... UEFI USB key.

As I told you already, we are searching for the reason behind the memory corruption that is visible as the probable cause of the BSOD. And these two steps (Memtest86+ and Driver Verifier) will help us to do it.

 

[andrew129260]

Hey arc, I spoke with him on the phone and got it working. Right away it found memory errors and stated to get new ram.

He only has 1 stick of ram, so that has to be the culprit.

He wants gaming ram, so I suggested this:

CORSAIR Vengeance 8GB (2 x 4GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1600 (PC3 12800) Desktop Memory Model CMZ8GX3M2A1600C9 - Newegg.com

He is buying that new ram and will get it installed. We will then test it. He will mark this thread solved if he no longer has bsods. Thank you so much. I was going to have him do a ram test but I just didn't have time to help him with this until today. In all honestly I thought it was something with the game and I didn't think it would be his ram from the information I got from him at the time.

We shall report back!

 

[Thedoctor44]

Andrew, I would suggest him to test the RAM again in a different DIMM slot as there is always a slight chance that the DIMM slot is faulty and not the RAM.
It is most likely the RAM but I always find it better to be safe than sorry

 

[andrew129260]

Why didn't I think of that?


Thank you doctor