Solved Frequent BSODs after changing Graphics Card

[Here is Johnny]

Hi, everyone. I've been trying to find a solution to my problem in other threads both here and on other forums, but it wasn't much of a help, so I decided to write something.

All the files requested in the instruction are attatched.

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Some background:
Everything was working just fine, but my video card (GeForce 520GT - I wouldn't buy it, but the numbers tricked me) seemed really weak for modern games, so I decided to change it.

I've chosen Radeon HD 6770 1GB GDDR5 from Sapphire as it's reasonably priced. Unfortunately my power supply was too weak (Tracer Be Cool 420W), so I bought Chieftec 500W.

My first mistake was that I didn't uninstalled all the drivers and nVidia stuff. When the crashes started happening, I did some searching and found out this might be the cause. I tried to uninstall it with DriverSweeper, but it didn't helped much, so I reinstalled the system.

When it also failed, I tried to use my on-board graphics Radeon HD 3000 and it worked.

Now I'm back with GeForce 520GT, which seems stable, but turns The Witcher 2 into a slideshow, so I would be glad if Radeon HD 6770 started working properly.

I'm thinking of taking it back to the shop. I bought it about a week ago. The rest of my PC was bought in September, except for the PSU that I bought a few days before the card. All the stuff is on warranty, so that's the good point in this story.
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I checked RAM with Windows tool - no errors.
I checked it with memtest for more or less 3 hours - no errors.
I checked the hard drive with CheckDisk and I think the test didn't finished because of BSOD. I'm not sure.

Help me, please. If you need some more info - just ask.

One more thing: BSODs happened when I was surfing the net, copying files, playing games, turning the PC on with USB plugged, installing drivers and other software. After I reinstalled Windows, the surfing, copying and USB connected ones are hopefully gone.

So, one more time: I need your help, please. And sorry for any mistakes I've made, as I'm not an English native-speaker.

 

[writhziden]

If the problems only occurred with the Radeon HD 6770, then it is likely the card that is the issue. 500 W should be enough to handle it since it gives a minimum of 450 W. 550 or 600 W would have been a better choice, but 500 should still be fine.

I am not sure I understand the current situation. Are you still getting crashes with the nVIDIA GeForce 520GT card installed instead of the Radeon HD 6770?


Problem Devices:

AODDriver4.1	ROOT\LEGACY_AODDRIVER4.1\0000	This device is not present, is not working properly, or does not have all its drivers installed.

The above is likely part of the software installed with the AMD graphics. It could also be part of ASUS or Gigabyte utilities if you have one of these motherboards. If it is part of AMD graphics, something is amiss with the driver uninstall to make way for the nVIDIA GeForce 520GT card...


Problematic Software:

Start Menu\Programs\DriverMax	Public:Start Menu\Programs\DriverMax	Public

We do not recommend automated driver update software. It often finds drivers for devices similar to but not exactly the same as the hardware actually on the system. This can lead to conflicts and blue screen crashes. If you need help finding driver updates for a certain device, please start a thread in Drivers - Windows 7 Forums instead of using software. Driver updates are not always necessary and some updates can actually decrease system stability rather than increase it, so it is usually better not to update unless a device or its driver is causing problems with the system. If it ain't broke, don't fix it.


More problematic software:

Start Menu\Programs\TuneUp Utilities 2012	Public:Start Menu\Programs\TuneUp Utilities 2012	Public

Many of us on the forums actually do not recommend automated optimization tools for Windows 7. Windows 7 does a much better job of handling its own optimization than its predecessors did. We especially do not recommend registry cleaning as an "optimization" step because automated registry cleaning causes more harm to the registry than it actually repairs.

In the future, if you need help optimizing Windows 7, please post a thread in Performance & Maintenance - Windows 7 Forums or follow the tutorial enclosed in that forum to http://www.sevenforums.com/tutorial...ws-7-a.html?filter[2]=Performance Maintenance.


Other problematic software:

Start Menu\Programs\Alcohol 52%	Public:Start Menu\Programs\Alcohol 52%	Public

Please remove any CD/DVD virtualization software, such as Daemon Tools/Alcohol 120%, as they use a driver called sptd.sys that is known to cause BSODs. Use add/remove programs to remove the software. After removing the software, use the sptd.sys uninstaller to remove sptd.sys from the system.

I prefer TotalMounter as my CD/DVD virtualization software as it allows me to burn images to a virtual CD/DVD if I just want an ISO file instead of a disc, and it is free.

Many use MagicISO - Convert BIN to ISO, Create, Edit, Burn, Extract ISO file, ISO/BIN converter/extractor/editor as well, which is also free.

 

[Here is Johnny]

The above is likely part of the software installed with the AMD graphics. It could also be part of ASUS or Gigabyte utilities if you have one of these motherboards.

Well, it's probably from the AMD, because my mobo is from MSI.

Thanks for advice. I thought it may be the card, but I suspected that you, guys, can perhaps figure out from minidumps that maybe there's also something wrong with mobo, RAM or even HDD.

I have one idea that maybe the card is too strong for MSI 760GM-P33 to handle, but I'm definitely not an expert, so I decided to ask you.

Some really odd things happened with Radeon 6770 plugged in: my processor seemed to gain about 0,6 GHz (or something like that), but one of the two RAMs looked like it's disconnected (I had 4GB instead of 8).

If I got this right, your advice regarding the card, would be to exchange it on warranty and see what happens, yeah?

 

[writhziden]

First address the software issues above. If your card is only under warranty for a short time, then take care of the exchange right away, but otherwise, we should go through the software issues I mentioned in my previous post first.

 

[Here is Johnny]

Allright, I just uninstalled Alcohol, TuneUp and DriverMax. Got a BSOD while trying to erase Windows Service Pack back-up files.

 

[writhziden]

Please upload the crash report if you want an analysis done and would not like to do the following:

Due to the problems those programs can cause and irreparable damage to Windows they may cause, it may be prudent to do a clean install and not install the problematic software to see if your system runs stable. Take a look at http://www.sevenforums.com/tutorials/219487-clean-reinstall-factory-oem-windows-7-a.html#post1839164 to this end.

 

[Here is Johnny]

I had another BSOD just minutes ago and it happened entering Google Chrome. It showed fltmgr.sys as a cause.

Latest minidumps attatched.

 

[writhziden]

fltmgr.sys is a hard disk based file system driver.

• If you are overclocking any hardware, please stop.
  
  
• Run Disk Check with both boxes checked for all HDDs and with Automatically fix file system errors checked for all SSDs. Post back your logs for the checks after finding them using http://www.sevenforums.com/tutorials/96938-check-disk-chkdsk-read-event-viewer-log.html.
  For any drives that do not give the message:
  Windows has checked the file system and found no problems
  run disk check again as above. In other words, if it says:
  Windows has made corrections to the file system
  after running the disk check, run the disk check again.
  
  
• Make sure your hard disk is working properly by running diagnostics with the Hitachi Drive Fitness Test.

 

[Here is Johnny]

Partition with apps showed no problems.
Partition with downloaded files also.

When I was checking partition with system, I probably got another BSOD, because when I came to see whether it's finished, there was this window telling me that system has regained stability after crash.

I got some BSODs also when browsing website with Flash content and even playing Planescape: Torment (this showed usbport.sys as a cause).

EDIT: I haven't use this tool from Hitachi yet.

New minidumps attached.

PS: Do you think flashing BIOS may help?

 

[writhziden]

You already have the latest BIOS version... It is not likely that your motherboard does not support the graphics card. That is very uncommon. It would be more likely that your PSU is not providing the support needed for the card.


You had a USB related crash and two graphics card related crashes. One crash indicated DirectX, so check that DirectX is not corrupted.

• 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.
  
  
• Finish the steps with the Hitachi DFT diagnostics and report back the results.

 

[Here is Johnny]

I checked Windows for corruption - no files corrupted.

With this Hitachi DFT I've got a problem. I don't know why, but at the point with license and buttons to agree or disagree the keyboard stops working and I can't do anything. Please, help!

 

[writhziden]

Check your BIOS settings. Make sure keyboard and USB support are turned on. If that does not work, try SeaTools for Windows, or if you want to run it outside Windows, you can try SeaTools for DOS.

If you use SeaTools instead of DFT, run the short and long tests with it.

 

[Here is Johnny]

I used Sea Tools - long test, short, smart and so on - all passed with no errors.

 

[writhziden]

That's good news. I think it is time for a fresh install after backing up important files. http://www.sevenforums.com/tutorials/219487-clean-reinstall-factory-oem-windows-7-a.html#post1839164

 

[Here is Johnny]

I tried fresh install once and it didn't help much. But OK, I will try when my PC comes back from the repairs I'm taking it to tomorrow. Only if they won't help, of course.

BTW, I got a series of BSODs just minutes ago. Minidumps attatched. There was something about MEMORY MANAGEMENT and DRIVER IRQL NOT LESS OR EQUAL.

 

[writhziden]

You have a 0x124 hardware bugcheck. Your other crashes would indicate the hardware fault is likely due to memory. It could still be a driver, but 70-80% of the time, 0x124 does mean hardware. It is probably good that you are taking it in to have it serviced...

Here is what I normally recommend for this crash (you do not have to do these since you are having it serviced, but it may be good information):

   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.
  
  
• 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.
  Once these steps have been followed, it is safe to remove and replace components within your computer.

Remember to read closely through http://www.sevenforums.com/crash-lockup-debug-how/35349-stop-0x124-what-means-what-try.html for the crash.

 

[Here is Johnny]

OK, thanks for all the help.

I'm taking the PC back to the shop next week, because I didn't have time today. I will post something when it comes back. Hopefully, it will be OK. I wonder why it started crashing when I plugged the new card in.

BTW, I've taken the Radeon also for the repairs and the guys at the shop told me that "the socket on my motherboard can be uncompatible with this card". Is it possible?

My mobo is MSI 760GM-P33 and the card is Sapphire Radeon HD 6770 1GB GDDR5.

 

[writhziden]

I do not see how it would be incompatible. The graphics card requires a PCI-E X16 lane graphics slot available, which the MSI board supplies... I would recommend getting a second opinion by calling MSI and/or Sapphire before taking the word of the representative at your local shop.

 

[Here is Johnny]

My PC is at the shop now and I'm taking it back tomorrow. When I handed it in, they've told me the problem might be connected with my router. Is that one a good guess?

 

[writhziden]

I would be surprised if these were router based problems. It's a guess, but I wouldn't say it was a good one. Probably a below average guess...