Random BSOD, will not start windows

[stevetx19]

Ok - I'm not entirely sure I have everything that is requested, but here goes. zipped diagnostic file attached.

Problem: While browsing internet(firefox), computer makes very strange noise(came from speakers, not tower) - a bit like a dj scratching and then dying. I briefly get blue screen with lots of white text on, but eventually the screen distorts and computer turns off.
Upon restart, i get windows loading screen(black screen with windows logo), but eventually distorts and restarts. Bios screen next, says windows failed to shut down properly - I can(and am right now) in safe mode, but multiple restart attempts fail. I can't get back on in normal.

I've looked at drivers - everything seems ok, nothing particularly new on my computer, and flash should be up to date as well. I think the last thing installed was the latest version of VLC, and that program was not running at the time of the crash. windows error reporting shows i have problems, but it won't connect when i try to have it auto fix - "try again later" :-(

Also, not sure if this is related, but for work i use Powerpoint and Excel a lot, and both programs have been a bit buggy in the last week or so. My computer should have no problem with these programs, but in the past few days/week, it seems like they are slow and not always running smooth. Especially PP - ever get images in-between the slides? Not sure if that has anything to do with my current problem. Running office 2007, installed on the SSD.

All hardware is about 15 months old, everything purchased new.

As soon as I post this, i will shut it down and it should run an error scan of the SSD, which is my best guess at the moment. I'll post details tomorrow if anything useful is gained from the scan.

I have an image backup for the OS if need be, hopefully it won't come to that, but i have no idea what to do next if not restore from the backup.

I think my specs are in the zip file, but just in case:
windows 7 pro 64
custom build
intel i5 3570k
intl z77 mb
16GB ram
kingston hyperx ssd 120GB - OS/program drive
WD caviar black 1TB - data
nvidia GTX 480

Please let me know if i can provide any other details and thanks in advance for help!

 

[koolkat77]

Welcome to Seven Forums.

[COLOR="Blue"]dtsoftbus01.sys             Fri Jan 13 19:45:46 2012[/COLOR]

Daemon Tools (and Alcohol % software) are known to cause BSOD's on some Win7 systems (mostly due to the sptd.sys driver, although we have seen dtsoftbus01.sys blamed on several occasions). Please uninstall Daemon Tools.

DuplexSecure - FAQ​

As an alternative, many people recommend the use of Total Mounter or Magic ISO

Reduce items at start up:

Performing a Clean Startup in Windows 7

Add, or Remove Startup Programs in Windows 7
​

Antivirus software is basically whats just needed there.

Use the System File Checker tool and Run Disk Check:

Repair Windows 7 System Files with System File Checker

Run Disk Check in Windows 7 for Bad Sectors & Errors​

Follow this -

If you have an SSD, make sure the following are up to date:

• SSD firmware
• BIOS Version
• Chipset Drivers
• Hard disk controller drivers/SATA drivers
• If you have a Marvell IDE ATA/ATAPI device, make sure the drivers are up to date from the Intel site or Marvell site and not from your motherboard/vendor support site.

Lately we have experienced some issues with the latest driver. Install the 314.22 WHQL only.

• Uninstall All nvidia items in Control Panel > Programs and features
  • 3D Vision Control Driver
  • 3D Vision Driver
  • Graphics Driver
  • HD Audio Driver
  • PhysX
  • nvidia Update
  (Are you using nvidia chipset drivers? If so, dont uninstall anything other than those are listed).
• Now follow Drivers - Clean Left over Files after Uninstalling
• Boot normally now. Go to Drivers - Download NVIDIA Drivers, Download 314.22 WHQL. While installing, Select Custom (Advanced) install. In the next page, follow this settings:
  
  

Let us know the results.

Test your Hardware for Stability and Heat Problems with Prime95:

Stress Test With Prime95 ​

How to Stress Test a Video Card with Furmark:

Video Card - Stress Test with Furmark​

Test your CPU Stability with IntelBurnTest:

CPU - Stress Test Using IntelBurnTest​

When Furmark fails - there are still several possibilities.

1. The most common ones -
2. - Faulty Graphics Card
3. - Underpowered/Faulty PSU (what is your PSU? Brand? Model?)
4. - Faulty RAM (this is unlikely as you say the Prime95 Blend test and Memtest didn't show errors?)
5. - Faulty Motherboard (unlikely - as it's been replaced)
6. - Faulty CPU (very unlikely - anyway, Prime95 passed)

Monitor hardware temperature with system monitoring software like Speccy or HWMonitor:

Piriform - Speccy

CPUID - HWMonitor​

Refer to this thread for more information - STOP 0x116: VIDEO_TDR_ERROR troubleshooting

DUMPS SUMMARY:

[FONT="Lucida Console"]Built by: 7601.18205.amd64fre.win7sp1_gdr.130708-1532
Debug session time: Mon Aug 19 07:54:58.650 2013 (UTC + 6:00)
System Uptime: 0 days 0:00:13.884
BugCheck 116, {fffffa8010494010, fffff880073d4378, 0, 2}
*** WARNING: Unable to verify timestamp for ntoskrnl.exe
*** ERROR: Module load completed but symbols could not be loaded for ntoskrnl.exe
Probably caused by : nvlddmkm.sys ( nvlddmkm+135378 )
BUGCHECK_STR:  0x116
PROCESS_NAME: NOT FOUND
¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨``
Built by: 7601.18205.amd64fre.win7sp1_gdr.130708-1532
Debug session time: Mon Aug 19 07:33:23.984 2013 (UTC + 6:00)
System Uptime: 0 days 0:00:10.828
BugCheck 116, {fffffa800f44e4e0, fffff880073fa378, 0, 2}
*** WARNING: Unable to verify timestamp for ntoskrnl.exe
*** ERROR: Module load completed but symbols could not be loaded for ntoskrnl.exe
Probably caused by : nvlddmkm.sys ( nvlddmkm+135378 )
BUGCHECK_STR:  0x116
PROCESS_NAME: NOT FOUND
¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨``
Built by: 7601.18205.amd64fre.win7sp1_gdr.130708-1532
Debug session time: Mon Aug 19 07:30:54.686 2013 (UTC + 6:00)
System Uptime: 0 days 0:00:10.920
BugCheck 116, {fffffa800f52c010, fffff880073a6378, 0, 2}
*** WARNING: Unable to verify timestamp for nvlddmkm.sys
*** ERROR: Module load completed but symbols could not be loaded for nvlddmkm.sys
Probably caused by : nvlddmkm.sys ( nvlddmkm+135378 )
BUGCHECK_STR:  0x116
PROCESS_NAME: NOT FOUND
¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨``
Built by: 7601.18205.amd64fre.win7sp1_gdr.130708-1532
Debug session time: Mon Aug 19 07:16:44.451 2013 (UTC + 6:00)
System Uptime: 0 days 0:00:11.684
BugCheck 116, {fffffa800f5164e0, fffff8800740c378, 0, 2}
*** WARNING: Unable to verify timestamp for ntoskrnl.exe
*** ERROR: Module load completed but symbols could not be loaded for ntoskrnl.exe
Probably caused by : nvlddmkm.sys ( nvlddmkm+135378 )
BUGCHECK_STR:  0x116
PROCESS_NAME: NOT FOUND
¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨``
Built by: 7601.18205.amd64fre.win7sp1_gdr.130708-1532
Debug session time: Mon Aug 19 07:15:46.591 2013 (UTC + 6:00)
System Uptime: 0 days 0:00:12.434
BugCheck 116, {fffffa800f61e010, fffff8800734c378, 0, 2}
*** WARNING: Unable to verify timestamp for ntoskrnl.exe
*** ERROR: Module load completed but symbols could not be loaded for ntoskrnl.exe
Probably caused by : nvlddmkm.sys ( nvlddmkm+135378 )
BUGCHECK_STR:  0x116
PROCESS_NAME: NOT FOUND
¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨``
Built by: 7601.18205.amd64fre.win7sp1_gdr.130708-1532
Debug session time: Mon Aug 19 07:14:18.518 2013 (UTC + 6:00)
System Uptime: 0 days 13:06:35.362
BugCheck 116, {fffffa800e92b010, fffff8800738c378, 0, 2}
*** WARNING: Unable to verify timestamp for nvlddmkm.sys
*** ERROR: Module load completed but symbols could not be loaded for nvlddmkm.sys
Probably caused by : nvlddmkm.sys ( nvlddmkm+135378 )
BUGCHECK_STR:  0x116
PROCESS_NAME: NOT FOUND
¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨``
[/FONT]

 

[stevetx19]

Thank you for all of that - still having the same problem. Here's what i've done:

In Safe Mode
-removed Daemon tools
-clean startup
-disk check on SSD
-driver check on SSD
-uninstalled Nvidia drivers
RESTART
In Normal Mode!
-got back in after a restart
-CC cleaner for registry/drivers
-reinstalled nvidia drivers (3.14)
RESTART
-BSOD again, can not get into normal mode again
-Back in Safe mode now

So, is it safe to say its my graphics card? I'm expecting to hear that i will need to replace it....is there anything else I can try before replacing?
I can't do stress/stability/heat tests in safe mode; nothing is running full speed, and that's the only thing i didn't do from your list.

thanks again!

 

[Arc]

Let us see the new dumps? Post it following the Blue Screen of Death (BSOD) Posting Instructions.

 

[stevetx19]

Of course, sorry. Updated specs attached. Note, when running the app to get the dump, i got an unhandled exception - could not locate windows update file.

thanks again for the help!

 

[Arc]

Both of them are stop 0x116, display/graphics related issue.

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)

Check if the Power Supply Unit (PSU) supplying adequate power to the computer or not.
eXtreme Power Supply Calculator
Also let us know the wattage of the PSU.

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.

Stress test the Graphics Card using Furmark.
Video Card - Stress Test with Furmark

Let us know the results.
________________________________________________________________________________
BSOD ANALYSIS:

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

Use !analyze -v to get detailed debugging information.

BugCheck 116, {fffffa800f1ed4e0, fffff8800495d2b0, 0, 2}

*** WARNING: Unable to verify timestamp for nvlddmkm.sys
*** ERROR: Module load completed but symbols could not be loaded for nvlddmkm.sys
Probably caused by : nvlddmkm.sys ( nvlddmkm+1392b0 )

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

2: kd> !analyze -v
*******************************************************************************
*                                                                             *
*                        Bugcheck Analysis                                    *
*                                                                             *
*******************************************************************************

VIDEO_TDR_FAILURE (116)
Attempt to reset the display driver and recover from timeout failed.
Arguments:
Arg1: fffffa800f1ed4e0, Optional pointer to internal TDR recovery context (TDR_RECOVERY_CONTEXT).
Arg2: fffff8800495d2b0, The pointer into responsible device driver module (e.g. owner tag).
Arg3: 0000000000000000, Optional error code (NTSTATUS) of the last failed operation.
Arg4: 0000000000000002, Optional internal context dependent data.

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


FAULTING_IP: 
nvlddmkm+1392b0
fffff880`0495d2b0 4055            push    rbp

DEFAULT_BUCKET_ID:  GRAPHICS_DRIVER_TDR_FAULT

CUSTOMER_CRASH_COUNT:  1

BUGCHECK_STR:  0x116

PROCESS_NAME:  System

CURRENT_IRQL:  0

STACK_TEXT:  
fffff880`02e69888 fffff880`0532c054 : 00000000`00000116 fffffa80`0f1ed4e0 fffff880`0495d2b0 00000000`00000000 : nt!KeBugCheckEx
fffff880`02e69890 fffff880`0532bd5e : fffff880`0495d2b0 fffffa80`0f1ed4e0 fffffa80`0ecc0810 fffffa80`0ebe4410 : dxgkrnl!TdrBugcheckOnTimeout+0xec
fffff880`02e698d0 fffff880`0400ff13 : fffffa80`0f1ed4e0 00000000`00000000 fffffa80`0ecc0810 fffffa80`0ebe4410 : dxgkrnl!TdrIsRecoveryRequired+0x1a2
fffff880`02e69900 fffff880`04039cf1 : 00000000`ffffffff 00000000`000002e8 00000000`00000000 00000000`00000002 : dxgmms1!VidSchiReportHwHang+0x40b
fffff880`02e699e0 fffff880`04038437 : 00000000`00000102 00000000`00000006 00000000`000002e8 00000000`00000000 : dxgmms1!VidSchiCheckHwProgress+0x71
fffff880`02e69a10 fffff880`0400b2d2 : ffffffff`ff676980 fffffa80`0ebe4410 00000000`00000000 00000000`00000000 : dxgmms1!VidSchiWaitForSchedulerEvents+0x1fb
fffff880`02e69ab0 fffff880`04037ff6 : 00000000`00000000 00000000`0000000f 00000000`00000080 fffffa80`0e846a08 : dxgmms1!VidSchiScheduleCommandToRun+0x1da
fffff880`02e69bc0 fffff800`03368bae : 00000000`019cddbd fffffa80`0ed184c0 fffffa80`0cd64890 fffffa80`0ed184c0 : dxgmms1!VidSchiWorkerThread+0xba
fffff880`02e69c00 fffff800`030bb8c6 : fffff800`03245e80 fffffa80`0ed184c0 fffff800`03253cc0 00000000`00000000 : nt!PspSystemThreadStartup+0x5a
fffff880`02e69c40 00000000`00000000 : 00000000`00000000 00000000`00000000 00000000`00000000 00000000`00000000 : nt!KxStartSystemThread+0x16


STACK_COMMAND:  .bugcheck ; kb

FOLLOWUP_IP: 
nvlddmkm+1392b0
fffff880`0495d2b0 4055            push    rbp

SYMBOL_NAME:  nvlddmkm+1392b0

FOLLOWUP_NAME:  MachineOwner

MODULE_NAME: nvlddmkm

IMAGE_NAME:  nvlddmkm.sys

DEBUG_FLR_IMAGE_TIMESTAMP:  51427b3c

FAILURE_BUCKET_ID:  X64_0x116_IMAGE_nvlddmkm.sys

BUCKET_ID:  X64_0x116_IMAGE_nvlddmkm.sys

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

2: kd> lmvm nvlddmkm
start             end                 module name
fffff880`04824000 fffff880`052cf000   nvlddmkm T (no symbols)           
    Loaded symbol image file: nvlddmkm.sys
    Image path: \SystemRoot\system32\DRIVERS\nvlddmkm.sys
    Image name: nvlddmkm.sys
    Timestamp:        Fri Mar 15 07:07:00 2013 (51427B3C)
    CheckSum:         00A8D47C
    ImageSize:        00AAB000
    Translations:     0000.04b0 0000.04e4 0409.04b0 0409.04e4

Intel DZ77GA-70K; 04/26/2012
​

 

[stevetx19]

A bit more to clarify where I'm at now:

-I get a BSOD every time i turn on/restart and try to go into normal windows; at this time i can only get in through safe mode.
-I did get into normal windows twice without BSOD, both times where after uninstalling NVIDIA drivers, but I have gotten BSOD restarting after installing the recommended older drivers.
-I have tried 4 different versions of the drivers - none of them have resolved the BSOD problem.

After reading a bit more of the links/info provided in the first response, it seems my problem is likely caused by a few things:
-overheating video card - maybe, the gtx480 i have has been known to be difficult to cool properly. But at the time of the first crash, I wasn't gaming or pushing my computer in any way. Actually, my computer hasn't been really pushed in the last month or 2. Its in a cool spot in my house, plenty of airflow with the case i got, and it has all Noctua fans running smooth. I checked for dust, and there was none; all of my intake fans have dust screens. So, if my Video card IS overheating, I think i only have two options: 1. invest in more cooling(nope, not interested) 2. buy a new card, preferably one that doesn't overheat easily. I'd like to try the stress tests to narrow it down to a hardware problem, but can't in Safe mode.

-video drivers - since uninstalling/re-installing drivers seems to change the situation the most, i'm thinking that may be the problem. But none of the versions seem to fix the problem....Do i have to wait for Nvidia to release a new version?

-BIOS - this was listed on one of the pages for my BSOD, but i didn't see any explanation. My board has a UEFI BIOS from intel, really nice, but was buggy when first built. It took me about 2 days to get it working when assembled. the biggest problem was the boot order - no matter how many times i put my ssd as my boot drive, it wouldn't save that and would just sit there not booting windows. I'm actually seeing that problem again now, after several restarts it seems my SSD has been pushed behind all my USB drives, DVD, and WD for boot priority. I looked at Intel drivers, and the only ones they have available at the moment for my board are what i have currently. I'm not sure what driver versions are installed on my OS backup - it was made about 1 year ago when the computer was built.

I'm not sure what else anyone can offer - but any ideas on how to proceed before purchasing a new card or reverting to my originals window install backup are greatly appreciated.

 

[stevetx19]

Arc - didn't see your reply before my last post - thanks for all of that. I will try it when i get home tonight and post results.
BTW- no overclocking. I built it for a slight overclock, but nothing i play needs more than what it does standard so i never bothered to push it.

PSU is somewhere in the 850 range, but i'll double check when i get home.

thanks again

 

[Arc]

Two of your inputs are OK.

Let us know the result of the GPU stress test and the heat report.

 

[stevetx19]

well - i wish i could provide results from heat and stress tests, but they won't run in safe mode and i get BSOD every time i try to load in normal.
-i reset bios to default
-no overclocking
-trying different nvidia drivers; none seem to work so far.
-extreme power supply calculator says: 487w min, 537w recommended. My PSU is 860w Seasonic Platinum - plenty.
-my gtx 480 very well could be running hot, but i've got higher end fans on my cpu and ram, as well as psu and intake/out. There's plenty of room for airflow, and i haven't pushed my computer(especially my graphics card) in weeks. If i can get out of Safe Mode, the first thing i'll do is run the heat test to make sure.

I'm not sure how to get to a point where i can run the stress tests, but i've attached the most recent crash dumps.

 

[Arc]

It would be extremely helpful for us if you could supply the data related the temps. I guess you failed to stress test the CPU, too.

In this situation what you can do is to remove the existing GPU. Run the computer on onboard graphics ... or with any other GPU that you have access to .... and observe if it is behaving the same or not.

 

[stevetx19]

I understand the data is useful - the testing programs will not work in safe mode. So, I need to try without my graphics card - I will have to buy a new one. Funny story: my motherboard does not have a video out. It was marketed toward builders who would certainly have a discrete card, so they used the space to offer a few extra features like more usb3.0 and firewire.
So i need to buy a new card. I'll get one this week, install, and run some stress tests. I'm suspicious that a new card will solve whatever issues i'm having right now anyway, but i'll come back here with test data in a few days.

Thanks - you have all been very helpful; i appreciate it very much!