Solved BSOD after 5 minutes of play in BC2

[jman76]

Battlefield Bad Company 2 seems to be the only program that causes my pc to blue screen. Originally, I had thought it was my brand new GTX 480, so I swapped it out with my old GTX 295. For about a week, things seemed fine, then just this morning after not even 5 minutes of gameplay (online gameplay) I got the lovely bsod 0x124 error. I don't have my cpu overclocked, unless you call Intel's Turbo Mode overclocking. Listed below is the latest minidump in text format:


Loading Dump File [C:\Windows\Minidump\072311-18080-01.dmp]
Mini Kernel Dump File: Only registers and stack trace are available
WARNING: Whitespace at end of path element
Symbol search path is: SRV*C:\Program Files\Debugging Tools for Windows (x64)\localsymbols symbols*http://msdl.microsoft.com/download/symbols
Executable search path is:
Windows 7 Kernel Version 7601 (Service Pack 1) MP (8 procs) Free x64
Product: WinNt, suite: TerminalServer SingleUserTS
Built by: 7601.17592.amd64fre.win7sp1_gdr.110408-1631
Machine Name:
Kernel base = 0xfffff800`0301a000 PsLoadedModuleList = 0xfffff800`0325f650
Debug session time: Sat Jul 23 12:53:23.644 2011 (UTC - 4:00)
System Uptime: 0 days 0:21:16.392
Loading Kernel Symbols
...............................................................
................................................................
.............................................
Loading User Symbols
Loading unloaded module list
.....
*******************************************************************************
* *
* Bugcheck Analysis *
* *
*******************************************************************************
Use !analyze -v to get detailed debugging information.
BugCheck 124, {0, fffffa8008417028, bf800000, 200001}
Probably caused by : hardware
Followup: MachineOwner
---------
0: kd> !analyze -v
*******************************************************************************
* *
* Bugcheck Analysis *
* *
*******************************************************************************
WHEA_UNCORRECTABLE_ERROR (124)
A fatal hardware error has occurred. Parameter 1 identifies the type of error
source that reported the error. Parameter 2 holds the address of the
WHEA_ERROR_RECORD structure that describes the error conditon.
Arguments:
Arg1: 0000000000000000, Machine Check Exception
Arg2: fffffa8008417028, Address of the WHEA_ERROR_RECORD structure.
Arg3: 00000000bf800000, High order 32-bits of the MCi_STATUS value.
Arg4: 0000000000200001, Low order 32-bits of the MCi_STATUS value.
Debugging Details:
------------------

BUGCHECK_STR: 0x124_GenuineIntel
CUSTOMER_CRASH_COUNT: 1
DEFAULT_BUCKET_ID: VISTA_DRIVER_FAULT
PROCESS_NAME: PnkBstrB.exe
CURRENT_IRQL: f
STACK_TEXT:
fffff800`00ba8a98 fffff800`03615a3b : 00000000`00000124 00000000`00000000 fffffa80`08417028 00000000`bf800000 : nt!KeBugCheckEx
fffff800`00ba8aa0 fffff800`031a7563 : 00000000`00000001 fffffa80`0841ea60 00000000`00000000 fffffa80`0841eab0 : hal!HalBugCheckSystem+0x1e3
fffff800`00ba8ae0 fffff800`03615700 : 00000000`00000728 fffffa80`0841ea60 fffff800`00ba8e70 fffff800`00ba8e00 : nt!WheaReportHwError+0x263
fffff800`00ba8b40 fffff800`03615052 : fffffa80`0841ea60 fffff800`00ba8e70 fffffa80`0841ea60 00000000`00000000 : hal!HalpMcaReportError+0x4c
fffff800`00ba8c90 fffff800`03614f0d : 00000000`00000008 00000000`00000001 fffff800`00ba8ef0 00000000`00000000 : hal!HalpMceHandler+0x9e
fffff800`00ba8cd0 fffff800`03608e88 : 00000000`00000002 00000000`00001000 00000000`00000000 00000000`00000000 : hal!HalpMceHandlerWithRendezvous+0x55
fffff800`00ba8d00 fffff800`030985ec : 00000000`00000000 00000000`00000000 00000000`00000000 00000000`00000000 : hal!HalHandleMcheck+0x40
fffff800`00ba8d30 fffff800`03098453 : 00000000`00000000 00000000`00000000 00000000`00000000 00000000`00000000 : nt!KxMcheckAbort+0x6c
fffff800`00ba8e70 fffff800`03090764 : 00000000`00000000 00000000`00000000 00000000`00000000 00000000`00000000 : nt!KiMcheckAbort+0x153
fffff880`0adf8638 00000000`00000000 : 00000000`00000000 00000000`00000000 00000000`00000000 00000000`00000000 : nt!memcpy+0xb4

STACK_COMMAND: kb
FOLLOWUP_NAME: MachineOwner
MODULE_NAME: hardware
IMAGE_NAME: hardware
DEBUG_FLR_IMAGE_TIMESTAMP: 0
FAILURE_BUCKET_ID: X64_0x124_GenuineIntel_PROCESSOR_MAE
BUCKET_ID: X64_0x124_GenuineIntel_PROCESSOR_MAE
Followup: MachineOwner
---------


My systems specs are as follows:
Intel i7 2600K cpu
Corsair H60 cooler
8GB (4 x2GB sticks) of Kingston Hyper X DDR3 1600 memory
Antec 1200 Watt Psu
Gigabyte GA-Z68XP-UD3P
PNY GTX 295
Seagate MomentuxXT 500GB hdd
Soundblaster X-Fi Titanium soundcard
Windows 7 Pro X64bit running SP1

 

[yowanvista]

Looks like there is a hardware problem with your CPU, its most probably defective
http://www.sevenforums.com/crash-lockup-debug-how/35349-stop-0x124-what-means-what-try.html

Run Prime 95 to test your CPU. Carefully the instructions in this tutorial: CPU - Stress Test with Prime95. Run 3 separate tests, one on each of the settings (Blend, Small FFTs, Large FFTs). Post back with your results.

 

[jman76]

Thanks for the reply yowanvista. Im getting ready to run prime95 (x64 version). Out of curiosity, would a bad motherboard driver also cause this same 0x124 error? Did you notice anything unusual in the minidump i posted?

 

[yowanvista]

Thanks for the reply yowanvista. Im getting ready to run prime95 (x64 version). Out of curiosity, would a bad motherboard driver also cause this same 0x124 error? Did you notice anything unusual in the minidump i posted?

Driver don't cause hardware errors. Since 0x124 is a general hardware error we cannot directly identify the cause(s) so testing each hardware is the only way

 

[jman76]

I ran prime95 for 7.5 hrs yesterday with no errors, however in reading info online, I know that occasionally prime95 gives a bad cpu a clean bill of health. I find it odd though, that only one program seems to be the program in use (BFBC2) when the 0x124 error occurs. No other program or game causes it to happen. I'll try running a couple more tests and then put in for a cpu replacement through newegg. Once I install the replacement, Ill post with the results.

 

[jman76]

Update:

While talking it over with a friend of mine who also has a Sandy Bridge (i5 2500K) he told me he had heard of some kind of compatibility issue with Gigabyte's EasyTune6 and the latest version of Punkbuster. After doing some research sure enough, there were several forums of users that have been reporting the same thing. It is also not isolated to Gigabyte mobo OC software. MSI, and Asus users have also reported similar issues. This explains why I only received the bsod in BC2, and not in any other game or application.

I then uninstalled Easytune6 and all other overclocking and power monitoring software from my pc, and sure enough the bsod's stopped. Being thorough, I deciced to do a complete reinstall of Win 7 Pro on a newly formatted hdd, without EasyTune6 or Smart6 PC Management software, just to be sure. Its now been nearly a week, and I haven't had any bsods (so far...) At this point I'll mark this topic resolved, however if the crashes occur again, I'm deffinetly taking advantage of my 2yr Newegg warranty on my cpu.