Solved BSOD while playing a game, error x124

[Mottoman]

Hello, I've been recently experiencing BSOD issues the past 5 days. 4 days prior to this post, the BSODs have been rampant and occured on a 10-30 minute frequency. I've took some action to remedy it yet it seems to reoccur on a hour-two hour (Or less, depends on what I'm doing) basis. I've applied the new thermal paste just last night (7/15). The BSODs are more noticeable when I play the following games; APB and Cube World. Although it has happened just not too long ago with Lost Saga. Could anyone please pinpoint what the exact issue may be? Or at least narrow down the possibilities? Thank you.

I also mean Stop Error 0x00000124, not just error x124.

What I have done:
-Applied new Thermal paste to the CPU
-Cleaned out inside the case for dust
-Updated and resetted BIOS back to "Optimized Default" settings. Removed and re-seated the CMOS battery to ensure the complete reset.
-Updated as many drivers as I could for the time being
-Used CrystalDiskInfo to determine Hard Drive status
-Used Windows Memory Diagnostic test
-Re seated Video Card, Heat Sink, Sound Card, power wires, etc.
-Completed a ChkDSK on 7/14, another on 7/20 with CHKDsk /r.
-Complete a full virus scan with Malwarebytes Anti-Malware
-Mem86 test; Stick 1 passed on Slot 1~3. Stick 2 failed and received errors on Slot 1~2.
-Tested an alternative GPU for possible failing Video card.
-Prime95 test for 1 hour; No errors.

What I have not done:
-Perform a Hitachi Fitness Test on the Hard Drive.
-Reformatted (Last resort)

Please let me know if I'm missing any valuable information, I'd be more than willing to give out details.

 

[Arc]

Hello Mottoman, we generally express a 0x00000124 as a 0x124, it means the same. And it indicates to some hardware failure. Itis the same case for you, but which part of the hardware is failing is not described. It is to determine by various tests.

Some hints of graphics failure are there, whereas the driver is up-to-date.
Stress test the Graphics Card using Furmark.
Video Card - Stress Test with Furmark

Are you overclocking? As you are getting BSODs, you should stop overclocking and run all the hardware components like CPU, GPU and RAM to their default settings. Also set the BIOS to default, too.
How To Clear CMOS (Reset BIOS)

Is the computer hot? Report us the heat of the computer after a couple of hours of your normal usage. Upload a screenshot of the summery tab of Speccy.

Check if the Power Supply Unit (PSU) supplying adequate power to the computer or not.
eXtreme Power Supply Calculator
At least 30% free is safe. Also let us know about the wattage of your PSU.

Test your RAM modules for possible errors.
How to Test and Diagnose RAM Issues with Memtest86+
Run memtest for at least 8 passes, preferably overnight.

Stress test the CPU.
Hardware - Stress Test With Prime95

Let us know the results in detail.
__________________________________________________________________________________
BSOD ANALYSIS:

..................
*******************************************************************************
*                                                                             *
*                        Bugcheck Analysis                                    *
*                                                                             *
*******************************************************************************

Use !analyze -v to get detailed debugging information.

BugCheck 124, {0, fffffa8008225028, bf800000, 115}

Probably caused by : GenuineIntel

Followup: MachineOwner
---------

3: 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: fffffa8008225028, Address of the WHEA_ERROR_RECORD structure.
Arg3: 00000000bf800000, High order 32-bits of the MCi_STATUS value.
Arg4: 0000000000000115, Low order 32-bits of the MCi_STATUS value.

Debugging Details:
------------------


OVERLAPPED_MODULE: Address regions for 'nvlddmkm' and 'nvlddmkm.sys' overlap

BUGCHECK_STR:  0x124_GenuineIntel

CUSTOMER_CRASH_COUNT:  1

DEFAULT_BUCKET_ID:  WIN7_DRIVER_FAULT

PROCESS_NAME:  lostsaga.exe

CURRENT_IRQL:  f

STACK_TEXT:  
fffff880`02fdfa58 00000000`00000000 : 00000000`00000000 00000000`00000000 00000000`00000000 00000000`00000000 : nt!KeBugCheckEx


STACK_COMMAND:  kb

FOLLOWUP_NAME:  MachineOwner

MODULE_NAME: GenuineIntel

IMAGE_NAME:  GenuineIntel

DEBUG_FLR_IMAGE_TIMESTAMP:  0

FAILURE_BUCKET_ID:  X64_0x124_GenuineIntel_PROCESSOR_CACHE

BUCKET_ID:  X64_0x124_GenuineIntel_PROCESSOR_CACHE

Followup: MachineOwner
---------

 

[Mottoman]

Hello and thank you for your response Arc.
I'm doing tests here and there as I type this post. I've already went ahead and resetted the BIOS by reseating the CMOS battery. I've also performed a Furmark stress test for about 5-10 minutes with the average temperature being 72 C towards the end. I unfortunately can not find the screenshot and will reattempt + upload the screenshot within the next 24 hours. I've also completely forgot to test the RAM sticks one at a time so I have to perform the Mem86 test again tonight. A peculiar issue with the Prime95 test is that the temperatures shoot up to an average of 80 C after 5 or so tests, would that be considered okay to proceed on? Otherwise due to heating fears, I ended the test at that point.

Apart from my inquiries, could you please do me a huge favor and check with me by tomorrow? I'll update the first post with information/post a new reply when I get the files ready for you.

Thanks a whole lot.

Edit - The power supply is 700 W, it should be more than enough above the 30% mark.

 

[Arc]

A peculiar issue with the Prime95 test is that the temperatures shoot up to an average of 80 C after 5 or so tests, would that be considered okay to proceed on? Otherwise due to heating fears, I ended the test at that point.

Is the computer running hot? Report us the heat of the computer after a couple of hours of your normal usage. Upload a screenshot of the summery tab of Speccy.

It is seeming to be an important information that we need here.

 

[Mottoman]

Hello again, I've just finished 2 memory tests and attempted a few things during the day yesterday. (Need to run one/few more real soon after I get you your screenshot of Speccy after I use this computer for a few hours.)

Assuming it might have been the GPU, I plugged in and tested an alternative graphic card (NVIDIA 8600 GTS) for quite a bit. Unfortunately, just like my original GPU, the computer BSOD with the same bug check 0x124.

The memory stick tests shown quite a result, being that Stick # 1 is good after 8 passes (the one I'm using right now) while the other one shown an error after 7 passes. I'm going to test Stick # 1 on all the other slots to see if it might be the motherboard or just specifically that one stick which shown errors.

In the meantime, this is my current temperature on Speccy after bootup. I'll reply with one that's after a hour or two of usage, assuming the computer doesn't BSOD before it reaches that time.

 

[Arc]

So memtest is showing error?

Follow the Part 3 ot the tutorial How to Test and Diagnose RAM Issues with Memtest86+

First run it with all the existing/installed RAM modules. If it comes with no error, all is good.

But if it starts showing errors, Stop testing. Errors/red lines means one or more RAM is faulty. But the fault may occur due to a faulty DIMM slot, too, which is a motherboard component. Using memtest86+, you can discriminate between a faulty RAM and a faulty motherboard.

How? Say you have two RAM sticks and two DIMM slots. You obtained errors at the test with all RAM sticks installed. Now, remove all the sticks but one. Test it in all the available slots, one by one. Continue the same procedure for all the available sticks.
How to make the inference that is it a RAM issue or it is a motherboard issue? Suppose you have got the result like that:

test|Slot1|Slot2
RAM1| Error | Error
RAM2|Good|Good

It is a RAM, a bad RAM.

But if you have got a result like that:

test|Slot1|Slot2
RAM1| Error |Good
RAM2| Error |Good

It is a motherboard issue. The particular slot is bad.

 

[Mottoman]

Understood ARC. I've tested both Ram Stick 1 and 2 on the same slot (Which was slot 1.) Only number 2 shown an error. I'm going to test slot 2 tonight and get back to you on that. Here are the screenshots from Speccy as you requested. I've marked the screenshots by how long the system has been up.

Also a quick question, would the BSOD 0x124 be also caused by a lack of RAM voltage?

Thanks again Arc.

 

[Arc]

The temps are looking fine. The motherboard temps a little bit high, but stable at that level.

Lack of RAM voltage may cause stop 0x124 BSOD, for sure.

Will wait for the report og the remaining part of memtest.

 

[Mottoman]

Sorry for the lack of updates on this post. I've just had another question in mind about the Memory test; Should I test exactly all four slots? Or just two to determine if it's the motherboard or the RAM sticks?

Side note: I managed to complete a test with Stick 1 on Slot 2, shown up with no errors. Going to test Stick 2 (The supposively bad one) on Slot 2 tonight. I'll post the results first thing in the morning.

 

[Arc]

If a particular RAM module is showing error in two (out of four) slots, but the other modules are working fine on those, we can say it that the RAM module is bad.

Similarly, if a particular DIMM slot is showing error for two (out of four) sticks, but the other slots are working fine for those sticks, we can say that the particular slot is bad, the motherboard is corrupted.

You are proceeding in the right way. Carry the tests on, you will be able to arrive at the right decision.

 

[Mottoman]

Howdy. A small update in terms of the Mem86 test; RAM Stick 2 has shown an error on the test just after 1 pass on Slot 2. Just in case it still might be the motherboard, I tested RAM Stick 1 on Slot 3 to see if any errors would show up. 8 passes and nothing. So I'm guessing it's safe to assume that RAM Stick 2 is indeed bad.

However, if I receive a BSOD 0x124 again at this point, would it be the CPU or Hard Drive? I do have a large belief it might be the CPU since I rarely checked on the temperatures before I recently applied the new thermal paste. I did have the computer for 2 years now and it has been through quite a lot of intense gaming. Disregarding the CPU, there is a slight sluggish startup at times whenever the Windows Login screen shows up. About a good 5-10 seconds delay with the "Please Wait" message before I'm able to type in the password to login Windows.

 

[Arc]

One pass is not enough ... let it run a few more passes.

I know it is time consuming, but at the end of the day it will be proven to be a better decision

 

[Mottoman]

Hey there! A quick update on the mem86 test. I just got finished retesting Stick 2 on Slot 2. To no surprise, it came up with 2 errors after 8 passes.

Another note, I did get another BSOD earlier last night even when using the good RAM stick on a Slot that it has passed on. (With the bad RAM stick not inserted of course.)

I've attached the dump file if you'd like to take a gander at it.

 

[Arc]

Can you give us a summery report of your memtest?

The latest dump is a 0x124 too, as earlier.

*******************************************************************************
*                                                                             *
*                        Bugcheck Analysis                                    *
*                                                                             *
*******************************************************************************

Use !analyze -v to get detailed debugging information.

BugCheck 124, {0, fffffa80051bb028, bb800000, 175}

Probably caused by : GenuineIntel

Followup: MachineOwner
---------

That means, the troubleshooting is not completed yet.

But at first, we have to take a concrete decision about the motherboard/RAM issue.

 

[Mottoman]

Understood. I forgot to mention that Slot 1 and 3 are black slots while 2 and 4 are blue, if that has any importance.

Ram Stick 1 passed on three tests that I've conducted. Slot 1, 2, and 3.
Ram Stick 2 failed on the following slots; Slot 1 and 2. Slot 1 it received 1 error. Slot 2 it received 2 errors. I have yet to test it on Slot 3.

Both sticks went through 8 passes on the tests apart from Ram Stick 2 which received an Error on Slot 1 just after 7 passes.

A side note about the Prime95 test; I managed to perform the test for 1 hour and it came out with no errors. However, the temperature was fairly high as the four cores hit around 80~85 C range. My strongest guess to the high temperatures is because I'm using the Stock heatsink.
I'm certain the heatsink is securely in because when I've applied the new thermal paste way earlier, I did make sure all four push pins were securely in and followed thermal paste instruction videos. (I followed the pea method.) I could re-apply the paste if needed.

 

[Arc]

You may decide that the stick 2 is failing. Now, either dont use it, or get a replacement of it with the same FSB one, or get a totally new kit. Whatever you think the best.

Your decision about the thermal paste is just right. Reapply it ... it will not harm anything but will reduce the temps for sure

Let us know when these two are done. Best of luck

 

[Mottoman]

Okay, I've removed RAM Stick 2 from the Motherboard. Only RAM stick 1 is on and it's sitting in Slot 1.

I've also re-applied the thermal paste using the same method, temperatures look about the same as the previous ones.
What should I do from here now?

 

[Arc]

Now give the computer a time and observe the situation.

Let us know how it goes.

 

[Mottoman]

Alrighty, should I attempt to do the normal things like gaming? Or stick to low load stuff like browsing the web and whatnot?

 

[Mottoman]

After a good 2-5 hours of use, the computer blue screened once more. I was playing a game called Wakfu, which wasn't really graphic intensive, for a hour or so. The CPU temperatures were fine as I've kept CoreTemp open the entire time. It ranged from 30-45 C, not much higher towards the end bracket. I've attached the dump file for you to examine.