Solved BSOD when playing BF3 (Battlefield 3), error 0x000000fc

[rikbrouwer]

Problem:
When playing BF3, my system or the game crashes frequently. Sometimes I get a BSOD, like in this report, but many times Windows just informs me that BF3.exe has stopped working. Some of the other BSOD error codes:
0x000000da
0x00000050 (3 times)
0x000000d1 (3 times)
0x000000c2 (2 times)
0x1000007e (6 times)

System:
Windows 7 Ultimate x64, retail
Asus M4N68T
AMD Phenom II X6 1055T (not OC)
AMD HD6950 (flashed with the HD6970 bios)
4GB unbranded DDR3 1333 (2x2GB)
OS installed on 60GB SSD, game runs from 1TB secondary HDD
CM690 II Advanced, with extra 140mm bottom intake and top exhaust fan.

Temps when playing BF3 (in degrees Celsius, measured with Speedfan):
CPU 37
GPU 80 (default BIOS: 73)
MB 28

Age:
Oldest part is my tertiary 500GB HDD, about 5 years old.
Latest part is the video card, little over a year ago.
The main components (MB, CPU, RAM) are 2 years old.
Age of OS is 1,5 years; re-installed it after adding a SSD. Haven't tried to reinstall after getting those BSOD's though.

I hope someone can shine some light on what might cause this instability. Thank you very much in advance!

Update (1 May):
Did the tests James7679 mentioned below (thanks!).
- Switched to GPU's default BIOS
- Ran Malwarebyte's Anti-Malware, it actually did find a trojan. Removed it.
- Ran 2 complete runs of Memtest86+, no problems. I'll let it run overnight for the advised 7 runs.
- Disk Check, didn't see the report, because it had to run before booting Win 7. Is it stored somewhere? found it, no problems found; added as attachment.

I will now try to reproduce a crash by playing BF3. Difficult to test, because the errors are irregular. I'll update as soon as I have more info.

Update (2 May):
I've played BF3 for a while, but got another BSOD. Error code 0x1000007e this time. This problem is known on the interwebs; "Stop 0x0000007E SYSTEM_THREAD_EXCEPTION_NOT_HANDLED" error when the GPU is under heavy load conditions in Windows 7 or Windows Server 2008 R2 Sounds plausible. There's a hotfix, but I'll wait for confirmation.

I will now start the "7 run overnight Memtest86+ check".

Update (2 May #2)
I've finished 10 runs of Memtest86+ without error, so I think it's safe to conclude that the problem is not caused by faulty memory..

Update (3 May)
Got another BSOD (0x00000050) right after closing down BF3. I pressed quit > ok, and after 2 seconds strange colourful lines in my display, followed by the BSOD. Any other thoughts?

Update (11 May)
Uploaded new crash reports, containing 4 new BSODs. All different 'Bug Check Codes'. The BSODs seem less frequent, but BF3.exe crashes a lot. Checked the file system and disks for errors, but these seem to be ok. SSD firmware is not the latest, but I'm unable to flash under IDE mode, and my MB doesn't support AHCI. New motherboard then?

 

[James7679]

These errors could be due to a few different things.

First, if you are Overclocking, stop, at least for testing.
Second, Download Malwarebytes, the free version, and run it on all user accounts.
Third, Test your RAM using the following tutorial, http://www.sevenforums.com/tutorials/105647-ram-test-memtest86.html
Fourth, Run Disk Check.

Post back results.

 

[rikbrouwer]

Post back results.

Thank you for your reply. I've updated the first post. Didn't complete the 7 Memtest runs yet, needed my computer. Will run this again overnight.

 

[James7679]

- Disk Check, didn't see the report, because it had to run before booting Win 7. Is it stored somewhere?

yes, for the logs, follow these instructions.

I will now try to reproduce a crash by playing BF3. Difficult to test, because the errors are irregular. I'll update as soon as I have more info.

It's best for you to try to force the machine to fail if it is a memory issue. Memtest will be more accurate if the machine is acting up.

 

[rikbrouwer]

Memtest will be more accurate if the machine is acting up.

Did the overnight Memtest runs, and it came up clean..

 

[writhziden]

Do you have any new crash reports? How is the system responding?

Have you done any new troubleshooting steps since the last post?

 

[rikbrouwer]

Thanks for your message! Yes, the problem still exists, however the BSOD seem less frequent. When playing BF3, the game itself crashes a lot now. But also the BSOD's still occur sometimes. Today I got the strange colored lines again followed by a BSOD, after closing BF3 and before returning to my desktop.

I've erased all my old crash reports (by accident) in the cleaning process, but that means that I've started with a clean sheet. I'll run a new crash-report-collection thing soon.

 

[James7679]

In the meantime, because of the 0x7e, maybe run sfc/ scannow and also disk check to ensure system file and HDD integrity.

 

[rikbrouwer]

sfc /scannow came up clean. Already did a chkdsk earlier, but set it up to run next boot, so I'll post results tomorrow.

 

[James7679]

Is the Firmware up to date on the SSD?

 

[rikbrouwer]

Is the Firmware up to date on the SSD?

No, the firmware on the SSD is not the latest. I'm running 1.29 on the OCZ Vertex 2. The lastest version seems to be 1.35. It should be able to update on the fly, however AHCI should be enabled in order to do this from Windows, and unfortunately my MB doesn't support AHCI. There's a Linux based boot tool, which can update my SSD, but all the data will be erased.

As for the chkdsk, I ran it ons my (primary) SSD, as well as my (secondary) HDD which contains the BF3 install. Both of them reported that no errors were found.

Back to the SSD and its firmware. Do you think it's wise to backup my files, flash the firmware (and format it in the process) and reïnstall everything?

I'll do it anyway.. be back in a few hours then

Update:
Ok, I'm back earlier than expected. The boot flash tool wasn't able to flash the firmware either. It warned me that only AHCI drives are able to update and IDE drives might result in an error. I continued anyway, and indeed it gave me an error. Should I buy a new motherboard?

Added the new crash reports zip to the first post

 

[James7679]

No, let's not replace parts yet.

First, make sure all of your MoBo's drivers and BIOS are up to date. http://www.asus.com/Motherboards/AMD_AM3/M4N68T/#download
Second, make sure that your GPU drivers are up to date. ATI Catalyst
Third, remove all exteral devices not necessary. Basically, all you want connected is the Monitor, keyboard, and mouse.

Test after doing these things and post back.

We may go ahead and try installing Windows 7 to a partition on one of your spinners if the above doesn't work. If you decide to do this, make sure that you disconnect your other drives before installing.

 

[rikbrouwer]

Thank you James,

Drivers:
- Motherboard all separate drivers are up to date.
- BIOS is up to date
- GPU Driver is the latest

Unnecessary devices disconnected:
- printer (HP Deskjet F370)
- tablet (Bamboo One)
- webcam (Logitech C270)

Still connected:
- Mouse (Logitech G5)
- Keyboard (Logitech K800)
- Monitors (2x Samsung Syncmaster 930BF)
- Ethernet, Power cord, Headphones.. and thats it.

Problem still exists, however.. The BSODs while playing BF3 seem to have disappeared. They happen sometimes when I close BF3, but also had them when watching a youtube video. This didn't happen before, so in some way the situation degraded.

BF3 still crashes a lot though. But this is very irregular. Sometimes within 5 minutes, and sometimes after an hour.

What is my next step?

 

[writhziden]

Upload your crash reports for us to analyze.

 

[rikbrouwer]

Upload your crash reports for us to analyze.

Do you mean the minidumps from the BSODs? (attached them to this post) Or did you mean the non-BSOD crash reports, when Windows tells me BF3.exe has stopped working? Don't know how to post these..

 

[writhziden]

The http://www.sevenforums.com/crashes-debugging/96879-blue-screen-death-bsod-posting-instructions.html provide both the .dmp files and the event logs that show errors when applications crash without a blue screen crash.


Crashes indicate graphics card problems; could be drivers or hardware. Let's start with the drivers/software side of things. Re-install or install the latest drivers for your display card. Your current drivers may be corrupted and/or outdated. Use the following method to re-install the drivers.

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
   • Restart your computer after uninstalling drivers for all display cards
   • Install the driver you selected for the display cards once Windows starts

Also, the 12.x drivers for ATI cards have caused issues on some systems. Try finding an older driver 11.9 or prior and installing that. See if it helps.

 

[James7679]

were you able to get this resolved?

 

[rikbrouwer]

I've uninstalled the video drivers as writhziden explained, and reïnstalled the latest (Catalyst 12.4).
Haven't had much time for intensive BF3 testing, but my computer didn't crash in the first 2 hours (cumulative) of BF3. I'll do some more testing the next few days maybe, then report back.

 

[writhziden]

Alright, sounds like good steps. Thank you for keeping us updated. Look forward to a response in a few days or more; however long it takes is fine and there is no rush.

 

[rikbrouwer]

Ok, the driver removal and reinstall seemed to work pretty well, but today I got two BSOD's while playing BF3. One in between two round, and one midgame. Shall I reupload these crash reports?