BSOD playing Battlefield 3, error 0x00000124

[JUDETSKi]

Hi!

Couple of days ago I installed Windows 7 Ultimate x64 to replace my Windows XP so I could play BF3. It went well, I could play the game (30-60fps) and everything went how they were supposed to. But this morning when I try to go and play it crashes after 1 match (around 15min). I have been trying to fix this almost whole day but nothing seems to help.

I haven't overclocked anything, I haven't installed any new hardware and I also have all the latest drivers. I tested GPU with FurMark and after 5minutes it settled around 90-degree celsius. I doubt it's thermal problem since I have never struggled with it before. I also tested my memory and there were no problems at all. I'm running out of ideas now and I hope you could maybe help me out.

Thanks in advance!

PS. Here is my crash dump, I have had 7 of these today (every of them during BF3).

On Fri 11/4/2011 3:01:21 PM GMT your computer crashed
crash dump file: C:\Windows\Minidump\110411-39015-01.dmp
This was probably caused by the following module: ntoskrnl.exe (nt+0x4B16CC)
Bugcheck code: 0x124 (0x0, 0xFFFFFA8002B788F8, 0x0, 0x0)
Error: WHEA_UNCORRECTABLE_ERROR
file path: C:\Windows\system32\ntoskrnl.exe

Basic System Spec (more details in my profile):
- Windows 7 Ultimate 64bit
- Age of the system is almost 4 years, but I have bought new parts (latest was over year ago)
- OS is brand new.

 

[zigzag3143]

Hi!

Couple of days ago I installed Windows 7 Ultimate x64 to replace my Windows XP so I could play BF3. It went well, I could play the game (30-60fps) and everything went how they were supposed to. But this morning when I try to go and play it crashes after 1 match (around 15min). I have been trying to fix this almost whole day but nothing seems to help.

I haven't overclocked anything, I haven't installed any new hardware and I also have all the latest drivers. I tested GPU with FurMark and after 5minutes it settled around 90-degree celsius. I doubt it's thermal problem since I have never struggled with it before. I also tested my memory and there were no problems at all. I'm running out of ideas now and I hope you could maybe help me out.

Thanks in advance!

PS. Here is my crash dump, I have had 7 of these today (every of them during BF3).

On Fri 11/4/2011 3:01:21 PM GMT your computer crashed
crash dump file: C:\Windows\Minidump\110411-39015-01.dmp
This was probably caused by the following module: ntoskrnl.exe (nt+0x4B16CC)
Bugcheck code: 0x124 (0x0, 0xFFFFFA8002B788F8, 0x0, 0x0)
Error: WHEA_UNCORRECTABLE_ERROR
file path: C:\Windows\system32\ntoskrnl.exe

Basic System Spec (more details in my profile):
- Windows 7 Ultimate 64bit
- Age of the system is almost 4 years, but I have bought new parts (latest was over year ago)
- OS is brand new.

Your .dmp file shows a stop error of 0x124 which is a general hardware error .

A "stop 0x124" is fundamentally different to many other types of bluescreens because it stems from a hardware complaint.

Stop 0x124 minidumps contain very little practical information, and it is therefore necessary to approach the problem as a case of hardware in an unknown state of distress.

Some generic advice.

If you are overclocking STOP. return to the default settings at least for now.
If you are running a RAID update its driver.


You can read more on this error and what to try here... http://www.sevenforums.com/crash-lockup-debug-how/35349-stop-0x124-what-means-what-try.html

 

[JaidynM]

The 0x124 error tends to be caused by hardware problems. You've said you've already tested your GPU with FurMark but 90 degrees seems a little too high. Test your memory with Memtest86+ (if you haven't already) as well as your CPU with Prime 95.
http://www.sevenforums.com/tutorials/105647-ram-test-memtest86.html
http://www.sevenforums.com/tutorials/100352-hardware-stress-test-prime95.html

Also have a look at the below post that explains the 0x124 error and some tips on how to fix it.
http://www.sevenforums.com/crash-lockup-debug-how/35349-stop-0x124-what-means-what-try.html

If you have Gigabyte EasyTune 6, uninstall this. It has a history of known problems with Windows 7 as it is only compatible with XP and Vista. Uninstalling has also fixed BSOD's while playing Battlefield: Bad Company 2.

These BSOD's could also be cause by any overclocks you are running. Putting everything down to stock should help. If it doesn't, you might need to up your VCORE as your CPU may need more to keep it stable.

 

[JUDETSKi]

I haven't overclocked at all and I don't have EasyTune6. I also have read the http://www.sevenforums.com/crash-lockup-debug-how/35349-stop-0x124-what-means-what-try.html thread many times.
I quess the only things that I can do now are Memtest86 and Hardware stress test. But when it comes to VCORE, I have no idea how to use it so I need help with that too.

Thanks for fast replies!

 

[JaidynM]

If you are not overclocking, your VCORE should be fine. This being said, run Prime95 and Memtest86 as well as Furmark to see if something is unstable.

 

[JUDETSKi]

I started Prime95 and then left out to do my own business. When I came back (about 2 hours later) the PC was crashed again. Does that mean that some part of my hardware is broken?

I haven't ran Memtest because I have no USB sticks or extra CD's at the moment. But yesterday I ran Windows' own memory test and there were no problems.

The Furmark result I already said earlier, it ran for 5minutes and after that it settled to 90-degree celsius.

Maybe this means that I have to get whole new PC?

UPDATE: Now when I tested out BF3 my FPS is 1-25, it used to be 30-60 (haven't changed any settings). Really looks like my hardware is broken but is it possible that they just break during the night without doing anything? Because couple of days ago I played with no problems and suddenly yesterday morning it just crashed during match, and ever since that the game haven't worked very well. Also, how do I locate which part of my hardware is broken (CPU or GPU or MoBo)?

 

[JaidynM]

If Prime95 crashed your computer, I would say that has something to do with either the CPU or RAM. When possible, give your stress test your RAM using Memtest86+ and post back with the results.

After this, the only foolproof way of checking to see which hardware is faulty is replacing them and running Prime95 again. Do you have more than one stick of RAM in your computer? If so, remove one stick and try and play BF3 as well as running Prime95 and Memtest86+. If your computer crashes, replace the stick with the other stick and try again. If it crashes both times, it shouldn't be the RAM. However, it may be both sticks of RAM. In this case, see if you can find any spare memory lying around and put that in the PC and try the stress tests and BF3 once more.

Next, if you have any spare graphics cards try replacing your 5570 with the spare one. If you don't, see if your motherboard has integrated graphics and simply remove the GPU and run the stress tests again. The computer should switch to the integrated graphics and use them instead of the dedicated card.

If neither solution works, we'll see if we can do something with the CPU.

 

[JUDETSKi]

I ran Memtest for 2,5 hours and there were no errors. Time to test another parts now...

UPDATE: Now I ran Prime95 with my old graphics card, same result. After about 2hours the PC crashed again. If there were no problems in GPU or RAM, the problem must be CPU. Right? What should I do now?

 

[JaidynM]

Hmmm, well it looks like it. Do you have any other computers?

 

[JUDETSKi]

Yes I think I have another computer.

UPDATE: I tested my CPU with IntelBurnTest couple of times and there were no errors. Maybe the installation of Windows 7 failed or something?

UPDATE2: I installed MSI Afterburner and played Battlefield 3. My GPU temperatures were around 48-degree celsius (not that high in my opinion). But the FPS is just getting worse. It's 1-15 and totally unplayable. It didn't crash at start this time (I left game because of lag after 10min) but there still must be something wrong. The parts of hardware which affects to the FPS must be broken because FPS wasn't used to be that low.

 

[JaidynM]

Do you think you could put the graphics card in the other computer and try to run BF3 there?

 

[zigzag3143]

There has been a spate of BF3 BSOD's of late. May be something the developer changed. Check with them.

 

[JaidynM]

There has been a spate of BF3 BSOD's of late. May be something the developer changed. Check with them.

Yes, I've noticed them too. The problem is, there hasn't been any recent updates or patches. It might be worth emailing or calling EA too see if they have a fix.

 

[JUDETSKi]

Today I started Prime95 before I left for school and when I came back (about 6 hours) the PC wasn't crashed! Before test I deleted every single driver I had, and reinstalled every driver I could find to my PC. Also I cleaned my PC off the dust as specific as I could. Still the FPS in BF3 is horrible, why? Haven't played it for long period now to test if it crashes or not but atleast the Prime95 didn't crash this time.

PS. None of my other computers are that good that they could run BF3.

UPDATE: I contacted EA Customer Support live chat and told them about the situation. Then they gave me this link (http://support.microsoft.com/kb/929135) and told me to do that. I did it and now when I tested out BF3 the FPS were like it was supposed to be. Don't know about crashing but I think its fixed because Prime95 didn't crash this time. I'm going to test it out now. I'll let you know what happens.

UPDATE2: Still doesn't work. After about 15 minutes of playing the game crashed again. Same error as before. The link I gave earlier fixed FPS but didn't fix my BSOD. Maybe it's memory related or something because game is playable only when I turn down every program before playing. And by playable I mean that FPS is good.

UPDATE3: I just noticed that when I startup my PC it doesn't start at first when I press power button. It starts up and after 5sec it shuts down, before the bleep sound. This happens 2 times and then it starts up normally and gives the bleep. Just tought I should let you know.

UPDATE4: I just reinstalled Windows 7 and BF3 works like it used to. After couple of hours no crashes, no FPS lag. Hopefully my PC stays this way. Thank you for your efforts, I appreciate it!

 

[JaidynM]

No worries, I'm glad you got it sorted!

 

[tmanv]

The 0x124 error tends to be caused by hardware problems. You've said you've already tested your GPU with FurMark but 90 degrees seems a little too high. Test your memory with Memtest86+ (if you haven't already) as well as your CPU with Prime 95.
http://www.sevenforums.com/tutorials/105647-ram-test-memtest86.html
http://www.sevenforums.com/tutorials/100352-hardware-stress-test-prime95.html

Also have a look at the below post that explains the 0x124 error and some tips on how to fix it.
http://www.sevenforums.com/crash-lockup-debug-how/35349-stop-0x124-what-means-what-try.html

If you have Gigabyte EasyTune 6, uninstall this. It has a history of known problems with Windows 7 as it is only compatible with XP and Vista. Uninstalling has also fixed BSOD's while playing Battlefield: Bad Company 2.

These BSOD's could also be cause by any overclocks you are running. Putting everything down to stock should help. If it doesn't, you might need to up your VCORE as your CPU may need more to keep it stable.

Just wanted to say thank you, uninstalling EasyTune 6 has fixed my blue screen issues! Thought I was going to have to send my RAM back after reading other forum posts, this is a relief.

 

[JaidynM]

No worries, I'm glad I could help.