Solved BSOD - Crashes randomly about once per day.. details inside

[ladieu]

Dell Desktop Computer
date of purchase Jan 2011
Windows 7 Home premium Service Pack 1 64 bit OEM (original install)
Model: Studio XPS 7100
5.9 windows rating
Processor: AMD Phenom II X6 1045T Processor 2.7 GHz
8 GB of ram
AMD Radeon HD 6670 (brand new)

Tech guy at work suspected the video card. We replaced it with a new one and it still BSOD'ed

Initially when I am about to BSOD my display's will turn off. This is why we replaced the video card. Sometimes they come back on and I can proceed as normal, however when the audio cuts out I know it will then BSOD.

Once the audio cuts out or freezes on a note the BSOD will occur in about 10-seconds.

Thanks in advance dear gurus for all your help and consideration.

-Nick

 

[writhziden]

Security Software: ??? Make sure to install security software. I recommend either of these:

• Microsoft Security Essentials - Free Antivirus for Windows coupled with Malwarebytes. Do not start the free trial of Malwarebytes. Just use the standalone version, update it, and scan your computer once a week with Malwarebytes and with Microsoft Security Essentials.
  
  
• http://www.sevenforums.com/system-s...-system-security-combination.html#post1732627

After installing your security software, update it, and then run full scans today with each program. Report back the results of the scans.


Crashes are DirectX/graphics card related. DirectX comes installed with Windows, so this may indicate Windows corruption. It may also be that you have corrupted drivers or a graphics card hardware problem.

• If you are overclocking any hardware, please stop.
  
  
• Check Windows for corruption. Run http://www.sevenforums.com/tutorials/1538-sfc-scannow-command-system-file-checker.html up to three times to fix all errors with a restart in between each. Post back if it continues to show errors after a fourth run or if the first run comes back with no integrity violations. Use OPTION THREE of http://www.sevenforums.com/tutorials/1538-sfc-scannow-command-system-file-checker.html to provide us with the sfcdetails.txt file if errors occur.

Follow the steps for Diagnosing basic problems with DirectX. To re-install your display card drivers as outlined in the DirectX link, use the following steps.

1. Download the drivers you want for your display card(s)
2. Click Start Menu
3. Click Control Panel
4. Click Uninstall a program
5. For AMD:
   • Uninstall AMD Catalyst Install Manager if it is listed (this should remove all AMD graphics software and drivers)
   • If AMD Catalyst Install Manager is not listed, use the following method to uninstall the graphics drivers (this applies to onboard graphics, as well):
     1. Click Start Menu
     2. Right Click My Computer/Computer
     3. Click Manage
     4. Click Device Manager from the list on the left
     5. Expand Display adapters
     6. Do the following for each adapter (in case you have multiple display cards)
        • Right click the adapter
        • Click Uninstall (do not click OK in the dialog box that pops up after hitting Uninstall)
        • Put a tick in Delete driver software for this device (if this option is available, otherwise just hit OK) and hit OK
        
        Alternatively:
        1. Login as an adminstrative user
        2. Click Start Menu
        3. Click Control Panel
        4. Click Hardware and Sound
        5. Click Device Manager (the last link under Devices and Printers)
        6. Expand Display adapters
        7. Do the following for each adapter (in case you have multiple display cards)
           • Right click the adapter
           • Click Uninstall (do not click OK in the dialog box that pops up after hitting Uninstall)
           • Put a tick in Delete driver software for this device (if this option is available, otherwise just hit OK) and hit OK
6. Restart your computer after uninstalling drivers for all display cards
7. Install the driver you selected for the display cards once Windows starts

Remember to try multiple versions of the graphics drivers, download them fresh, and install the freshly downloaded drivers.




The crashes are also 0x116 TDR Error crashes:

• 
  

  These are all stop 0x116 VIDEO_TDR_FAILURE conditions.
  
  It's not a true crash, in the sense that the bluescreen was initiated only because the combination of video driver and video hardware was being unresponsive, and not because of any synchronous processing exception.
  
  Since Vista, the "Timeout Detection and Recovery" (TDR) components of the OS video subsystem have been capable of doing some truly impressive things to try to recover from issues which would have caused earlier OSs like XP to crash. As a last resort, the TDR subsystem sends the video driver a "please restart yourself now!" command and waits a few seconds. If there's no response, the OS concludes that the video driver/hardware combo has truly collapsed in a heap, and it fires off that stop 0x116 BSOD.
  
  If playing with video driver versions hasn't helped, make sure the box is not overheating. Try removing a side panel and aiming a big mains fan straight at the motherboard and GPU. Run it like that for a few hours or days - long enough to ascertain whether cooler temperatures make a difference. If so, it might be as simple as dust buildup and subsequently inadequate cooling.

  
  The above quote was taken from http://www.sevenforums.com/crashes-debugging/25912-bsod.html#post280172, which is linked to in usasma's thread about this error. Closely follow the first three posts of usasma's thread outlining http://www.sevenforums.com/crash-lo...op-0x116-video_tdr_error-troubleshooting.html and proceed through each step. Let us know if you need further help.

 

[ladieu]

Hey thanks everyone for the tips. My sysadmin at work finally figured it out. We turned off hardware acceleration for flash and now all is well! What a stupid thing.

I appreciate all the tips and suggestions however.

 

[ladieu]

Here is the solution for future reference:


- disable flash video hardware acceleration and also hardware acceleration in main browser options in all web browsers

- Chipset drivers (Dell Website)