Multiple, random BSODs, different messages, different drivers

[jjccia]

Hello,

I'd appreciate anyone's help who can help me to diagnose what's going on with my gaming computer. I have been receiving BSODs since I upgraded to a new motherboard/cpu/power supply combo in July of 2014. At that time I believed it was flaky MSI drivers/bloatware that were installed with my MSI motherboard, as well as drivers related to the killer e2200 nic that it came with, and/or possible out of the box overlclock settings the MB set by default. I removed the MSI 'help keep your system' updated drivers, changed my nic into a QUALCOMM Atheros and reset all the cpu settings back to stock.

It got better, for quite a while. I did not see BSODs often. Two or three months passed at a time with no issues. Then I got two in February, 1 in March, and now 3 in April (although one was a few seconds after a reboot, I might have needed to power down for a few seconds on that one).

I have tried many things and could go on and on for pages, but before I do that, I'd hope that someone could point out to me what's really happening. I'm trying to rule out hardware issues. Here are just a few of the things I have tried (among many many more)

- sfc /scannow reports normal
- memtest86 for over 10 hours (16gb 4x4, 5.5 passes) no errors
- bios update to most recent version
- driver booster for driver check
- driver verifier for over 3 hours, no errors
- SMART on all harddrives appear normal
- cpu/gpu temps are all always good. I have huge cooling going on here

the errors seem to happen randomly. usually not while gaming. often just when on the web with a youtube video.

here are my specs:

windows 7 ultimate 64 bit
i7 4790k at 4.0 ghz
16gb corsair vengeance at 1600mhz (4x4)
msi z97 gaming 5 motherboard
msi gtx 980 4g video card (just one)
corsair force gt 90gb (boot drive)
corsair carbide air 540 case with huge amounts of cooling
coolermaster hyper 212 evo cooler
evga g2 850 watt psu, gold certified

I will also attach dump files. To whoever can help, thank you, thank you, thank you.

Joe

 

[Arc]

BugCheck 3B, {c0000096, fffff80003ccfa34, fffff8800a6d9de0, 0}

Probably caused by : ntkrnlmp.exe ( nt!SwapContext_PatchXSave+74 )

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

BugCheck A, {fffffa810f4804e0, 2, 1, fffff80003a89be0}

Probably caused by : ntkrnlmp.exe ( nt!KiProcessExpiredTimerList+110 )

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

Test your RAM modules for possible errors.

How to Test and Diagnose RAM Issues with Memtest86+
​

Run memtest86+ for at least 8 consecutive passes.

If it start showing errors/red lines, stop testing. A single error is enough to determine that something is going bad there.

Let us know the result.

 

[jjccia]

ok, I will do that. I ran it previously for 10 hours but since it has 4 sticks of ram it only got through 5.5 passes. I will run it longer this time. Another thing I forgot to mention is that, although it seems to point to different drivers, there is always one common thread mentioned by Bluescreenview and Whocrashed, which is ntoskrnl.exe. That seemed to be consistent as the possible 'caused by'.

I will report back the results of the extended memtest (which will probably take 12 hours or more) after I have finished it (likely tomorrow).

thanks for your help.

Joe

 

[Arc]

there is always one common thread mentioned by Bluescreenview and Whocrashed, which is ntoskrnl.exe. That seemed to be consistent as the possible 'caused by'.

It is the kernel on which the BSOD takes place. When the dump recording mechanism fails to find/detect any probable cause, it mistakenly blames the kernel itself. It is not something to investigate.

 

[jjccia]

Hi.

The results of the memtest86+ (v 5.01) was 0 errors. It ran for over 19 hours and was on pass number 9.7. I'll also upload a screenshot.

One thing I think I should mention about the ram is that it is 4 sticks of 4gb each, not 2x8. All of the sticks are corsair vengeance 1600mhz (they look identical), but they did not come in one kit. I initially bought one pair and put it in (8gb), and then later on bought the second pair because I found them super cheaply. I have read warnings about running sticks together that are not out of one kit. Could that be contributing? They are the same model and all, but are definitely from different batches (maybe 6 months apart). The sticks in slots 1/3 are an actual pair, and the sticks in 0/2 are the other paired set. I can’t imagine under what circumstances windows is ever really using that second set of 8gb though. I never run anything that soaks so much memory, I don’t think. At any rate, there were zero errors.

Any ideas on what other bits of info I can provide to help make things clear? I’d be happy to upload screen shots of my current bios settings for ram,cpu, etc. I could certainly run tests like prime/unity/heaven, I’ve done those before. My only concern is running them for so long that they do more harm then good. I don’t want to cause more damage.

If it’s a bad component I’ll RMA it (even though I’d rather it be a software issue I could just ‘fix’), but the hard part is knowing which part to RMA. Previous prime tests have all been good. Previous heaven/unity tests have all been good (and I got the video card in October, and this was happening before then too, so I don’t think it’s the video card), kill-a-watt and hwinfo show good voltages and low watts being used on my psu. I really wonder if it’s a legit hardware failure, or some slight motherboard incompatibility/bios settings. My head is spinning.

Thanks for the support. I love my gaming rig and see it unstable is far more emotionally draining then it should be! Seriously, I'm a wreck.

Joe

 

[jjccia]

I should also mention that my old config (i7 3770, intel motherboard) had the same 4x4 ram sticks, and I didn't seem to have these same kinds of problems.

 

[Arc]

If those RAM modules are really mismatch, the issue may occur. But for Corsair 1600MHz RAMs the possibility of being different is not very wide. We will definitely pay attention to this possibility, but not right now.

The memory errors may cause due to some failing drivers too. So as the next step, let us enable Driver Verifier to monitor the drivers.

Driver Verifier - Enable and Disable
​

Run Driver Verifier for 24 hours or the occurrence of the next crash, whichever is earlier.

   Information

Why Driver Verifier:
It puts a stress on the drivers, ans so it makes the unstable drivers crash. Hopefully the driver that crashes is recorded in the memory dump.

How Can we know that DV is enabled:
It will make the system bit of slow, laggy.

   Warning

Before enabling DV, make it sure that you have earlier System restore points made in your computer. You can check it easily by using CCleaner looking at Tools > System Restore.

If there is no points, make a System Restore Point manually before enabling DV.

   Tip

• If you fail to get on the Desktop because of DV, Boot into Advanced Boot Options > Safe mode. Disable DV there. Now boot normally again, and try following the instruction of enabling DV again.
• If you cannot boot in Safe mode too, do a System Restore to a point you made earlier.

Let us know the results, with the subsequent crash dumps, if any.

 

[jjccia]

ok. thanks. I had run driver verifier before but only for 3 hours and with the standard settings. I set it up again just now with the custom settings you mentioned. I will not be able to watch it constantly for all 24 hours, but I have it playing long youtube videos so it is not idle. I'll report back what happens tomorrow morning. Thanks again for all of your help, I really appreciate it.

Joe

 

[jjccia]

Hi.

Well, after 24 hours of running driver verifier with the recommended settings, nothing. It worked fine the entire time. I had it playing youtube videos most of the time, but I also used it at other points, installed a program, surfed the web, even played a light game (pillars of eternity). All worked ok.

So I wonder, do you think there actually is a hardware issue? Could it still be the cpu or motherboard? Something caused those blue screens before.

Between the time of the last blue screen (about a week ago) I had made a few small changes (before I posted for the first time here). Those things were:

-Changed avast to panda free antivirus
-Changed the surge suppressor connected to the pc from a 15 year old crummy one to a new higher end one.
-Changed the power cord from the psu to the wall outlet from a crappy thin cable I had lying around to the thick one the psu actually came with.
-Got sfc/ scannow to successfully run (but it said it did nothing). Up until recently sfc would say say windows resource protection prevented further execution at around 68%. Not sure why it started working all of a sudden, but again it said it fixed nothing.
-A few windows updates and optional updates were installed.

But these are all small things I guess. Or maybe not. I’d like to get your opinion on tests or things to try, if any. I don’t want to do more harm than good, but would also like to carry it through to a reasonable level of thoroughness, whatever that may be.

Thanks again for everything.

Joe

 

[Arc]

Hmm interesting. Two big possibilities of memory corruption is nullified now.

Run the computer in normal mode now .... if it BSODs again, let us see the files. Perhaps some more info will be available this time.

 

[jjccia]

Ok, I will thanks. Hopefully we can leave this thread open for a while. It may be a few more days, a week, or a month. I’m just not sure. Hopefully never. If it does happen again, I’ll post new dump information.

But if I could ask for your opinion, do you have a gut feeling? Obviously I cannot expect you to know for sure but it sounds like you do a lot more debugging on this then most people. I’m just wondering if your gut feeling says hardware issues or software issues? Are BSODs sometimes really just software, or is it usually hardware? I know right now is seems bizarre, because the last few days have all been good.

Thanks again for taking the time to help.

Joe

 

[Arc]

So many different bugcheck codes gives a hint that it is a memory related issue. But it seems that it is not, after doing the tests.

If any sort of software/driver is involved in the issue, verifier must have caught it.

So the possibility that remains there is hardware, but till now I dont have any proof to say so.

 

[jjccia]

ok, thanks. I will definitely post again ASAP if or when it happens again. Thanks again for everything. Joe