Solved BSOD only when playing BF3

[lonesome]

Hello everyone. I'm new to this forum, but I believe I followed all instructions properly to do this. I have been getting a BSOD in Windows 7 for a few weeks now. It seems to only happen when I'm playing Battlefield 3, which leads me to believe it's a video card problem. I have updated all drivers, flashed my BIOS, even reinstalled Windows, but the problem persists. Just recently found out about the minidumps and downloaded the tool this forum recommends.

I'm running an AMD Phenom II x4 955 3.2 GHz, 4 GB of RAM (the brand and speed escapes me at the moment), Windows 7 Home Premium x64, and an MSi Twin Frozr GTS 250 video card with 1GB of RAM.

I have attached the zip file from the SF Diagnostic Tool. Any help would be appreciated.

 

[HonorGamer]

Hello,

It seems this could very well be a hardware problem.

Please do the following:


BUG CHECK:

BugCheck 0x124

   Warning

Before you proceed with the following, answer these two questions: Are you still under warranty? Does your warranty allow you to open up the machine to check hardware? If you are unsure of the answers to these questions, contact your system manufacturer. :warn:WARNING: The steps that follow can void your warranty!!!

For your hardware stop 0x124 crash, read through http://www.sevenforums.com/crash-lockup-debug-how/35349-stop-0x124-what-means-what-try.html and use the following hardware checks to supplement that link.

• If you are overclocking any hardware, please stop.
  
  
• If you have an SSD, make sure the following are up to date:
  • SSD firmware
  • BIOS Version
  • Chipset Drivers
  • Hard disk controller drivers/SATA drivers
  • If you have a Marvell IDE ATA/ATAPI device, make sure the drivers are up to date from the Intel site or Marvell site and not from your motherboard/vendor support site.
  
  
• Run all but the advanced tests with SeaTools for HDDs.
  SeaTools for Windows
  
  SeaTools for DOS​
  
  
• Monitor temperatures during the following tests.
  
  Use the following programs to monitor the temperatures.​
  • Real Temp is a good CPU temperature monitor.
  • Speccy - System Information - Free Download will monitor all hardware temperatures.
  • HWiNFO, HWiNFO32 & HWiNFO64 - Hardware Information and Analysis Tools can be inaccurate for CPU temperatures, but is a good program for GPU temperature monitoring.
  • Use FurMark: VGA Stress Test, Graphics Card and GPU Stability Test, Burn-in Test, OpenGL Benchmark and GPU Temperature | oZone3D.Net to test the graphics card GPU. Let it run until the GPU temperatures even out or until the GPU temperatures reach a dangerous level (you can find the max temperature for your card on either the nVidia or AMD sites; if you are not sure, ask us). The goal is to get a steady temperature, find out if the GPU is overheating, or to see if there are any artifacts present in the test itself: look for strange pixelated patterns on the screen or colors that do not look like they belong. Then use the |MG| Video Memory Stress Test 1.7.116 Download to test your graphics card memory. Let the memory test run for at least seven passes; the more the better.
    
    
  • Run http://www.sevenforums.com/tutorials/100352-hardware-stress-test-prime95.html to determine any hardware problems. Run all three tests for a few hours each. If you get errors, stop the test and post back here.
    
    
  • Follow the steps for doing CPU stress test using IntelBurnTest
  
  
• Run the boot version of Memtest86+ paying close attention to Parts 2 and 3 of the tutorial. Also, in case Memtest86+ misses anything and comes up with no errors, run the extended version of the Windows Memory Diagnostics Tool for at least five passes. These you may want to run overnight since they take a long time to complete (run them an hour before bed each of the next two nights and check before going to sleep that they are still running).
  
  For Part 3: If You Have Errors: If you swap any memory components, follow these steps for ESD safety:
  1. Shut down and turn off your computer.
  2. Unplug all power supplies to the computer (AC Power then battery for laptops, AC power for desktops)
  3. Hold down the power button for 30 seconds to close the circuit and ensure all power drains from components.
  4. Make sure you are grounded by using proper grounding techniques, i.e. work on an anti-static workbench, anti-static desk, or an anti-static pad. Hold something metallic while touching it to the anti-static surface, or use an anti-static wristband to attach to the anti-static material while working. If you do not have an anti-static workbench, desk, or pad, you can use your computer tower/case by finding a metal hold in it, such as a drive bay.
  Once these steps have been followed, it is safe to remove and replace components within your computer.

​

Coutesy of: writhziden

After post back results.

-Justin

 

[lonesome]

Ok, I ran all the tests and everything was fine until I ran Prime 95. Within 5 minutes of starting the Prime95 test, I got a BSOD. My CPU temp was around 73 C and my motherboard was less than 50 C at the time of the BSOD.

BSOD info I got after restart said this:

Problem signature:
Problem Event Name: BlueScreen
OS Version: 6.1.7601.2.1.0.768.3
Locale ID: 1033

Additional information about the problem:
BCCode: 39d8000
BCP1: FFFFF8800F2EC917
BCP2: 0000000000000000
BCP3: 0000000000100000
BCP4: 0000000000000000
OS Version: 6_1_7601
Service Pack: 1_0
Product: 768_1

I'm attaching the newest SF Diagnostic zip file to this post named "lonesomev2". Thanks in advance for your help.

 

[HonorGamer]

Try some small things:

Uninstall AVG and replace with Microsoft Security Essentials - Free Antivirus for Windows (just for testing purposes). Make sure to create a restore point first.

73 C is extremely high even for an AMD processor which is well known to run hotter then an Intel. So make sure your computer is clean of dirt and crud that gets everywhere by using compressed air(from a can).

Probably caused by :[B][COLOR="Red"]nvlddmkm.sys[/COLOR][/B]

The crash files are blaming the graphics card driver. but:

nvlddmkm.sys Tue May 15 02:35:36 [B][COLOR="green"]2012 [/COLOR][/B](4FB20748)

The graphics card driver is up to date. Try uninstalling the driver and re install.

Then run Prime95 again. If it happens again during Prime95 then try using the on board video if your MoBo has it.

Try this for now, and let me know the results.

 

[lonesome]

I uninstalled AVG and installed MS Security Essentials.

I uninstalled the video card driver and reinstalled.

My computer was virtually dust free, but I sprayed it out anyway. I also left the side of my case off to run the tests. I need to run them again for longer periods of time, though, so I will have to report back.

Thanks for the help so far.

 

[lonesome]

I just had another BSOD and it was after I had only been playing BF3 for literally 5 minutes or less. The temps were all good. I thought I would post the info, just in case it contained anything different than the first time.

 

[lonesome]

I ended up taking out my video card to see how it would operate, but it seems that things were bad from the start of that. Locking up, etc. I had some Windows updates that I installed and my computer screen froze but was sort of flashing. I had to restart but couldn't get into Windows for many tries, with or without my video card. I just thought I would take two sticks of RAM out and see what would happen, and my computer finally booted up and let me into Windows. I don't know if that was coincidence or not. I'm going to reinstall the Windows updates now and see what happens.

UPDATE: Apparently the RAM thing was just coincidence. I put the RAM back in and it booted up fine... Unless it's intermittent? Ugh.

 

[lonesome]

I uninstalled my Nvidia video card drivers 301.42 and installed 296.10 instead. Haven't had a BSOD since. I'm not quite comfortable saying this is solved just yet because the BSODs didn't happen every day with the other drivers, but if I run it for another week or so without a BSOD, I'm going to say that the new driver was the problem.

 

[lonesome]

It's been a least two weeks since I put my Nvidia video card drivers back to 296.10 and I have been playing BF3 nearly every night. I have not had a crash since. I'm going to say that this issue has been solved. Thanks for your help.