Random BSODs on a brand-new PC (ntoskrnl.exe)

[carwiz]

Your viewpoint is without question as far as I'm concerned.

 

[rslembo]

having

Do the bug checks begin right after starting the PC or after the system has run for a while?

Most of them while running for a while. Sometimes when rebooting from a BSOD it crashes again after Windows logon.
Remember having BSOD at the very start only once.

I know you tested the individual modules but have you tried running with just one module? You might also try cleaning the memory module connections and slots.

Did all of that.. Had BSOD also with each stick separately.
Tried cleaning, removing dust...

Verifier itself didn't actually catch anything, but one thing I noticed was the Nvidia 3D control panel item showing up a lot. Do you have a 3D setup? If not, have you considered uninstalling the 3D portion of the Nvidia drivers if possible, or at least disabling them?

Never used it. However, at some of early Windows installs, I left 3D Vision unistalled, and the problems persists.

Other then that, the only other item I see frequently coming up is some Pokemon Tradein application. Unfortunately even the DV crashes aren't showing anything of worth, which kinda leads me to believe that we aren't dealing with a software problem but a hardware problem, which has been my suspicion since the beginning.

I'm believing in hardware problem, also.
Just don't have any ideia of which one.

Took RAM sticks for RMA today.
They asked me a maximum of 2 weeks for a reply after completing the tests.
Trying getting another DDR3 stick with a friend of mine, probably tomorrow.
(If he had just told me earlier that he had a DDR3 to spare..)

May take CPU for RMA at Wednesday.

 

[rslembo]

Running with friend's RAM.
Let's see..

 

[Vir Gnarus]

Make sure his RAM modules are compatible with your motherboard, otherwise you'll run into another mess of problems.

 

[rslembo]

Checked before, are compatible.

Still running with no crashes yet.
I'm not confident it will last long, though

I'll let you guys updated

 

[rslembo]

Still running with no crashes at all with friend's RAM stick.
However, with my RAMs at RMA, I could run the system stable for more then a week once.

Can a RAM be with "problem" even with memtest86+ not showing anything running for 10 hours?

 

[Vir Gnarus]

Diagnostic software can only go so far. Even Memtest - as thorough as it is - can only do so much in testing the RAM. There's perchance a possibility the issue lies not in the RAM itself but the crosstalk between RAM and the CPU or another device using DMA (Direct Memory Access), in which case that would implicate the motherboard more than the RAM. Hardware problems are rather difficult to evaluate through software methods, so often times it ends trying to isolate potential items of cause and then just swapping hardware and hoping for the best, like now. I hope it's the RAM we're dealing with and not the mobo!

 

[rslembo]

I'm back with some news.

Passed 25 days since took RAM kit to RMA, no BSOD at all.
Tested with:
1 x 4gb Markvision 1.5V 1333mhz Single channel for 15 days
and
1 x 4gb Kingston Hyperx 1.65V 2400mhz Single channel (same as mine) for 10 days


Yesterday, the store gave me a NEW RAM kit.
Took it home, placed both at the machine.
ONE HOUR running the system, it crashed, BSOD.

Seriously, what the hell?

Motherboard warranty 10 days left.

 

[Vir Gnarus]

Uh oh. I'd take that motherboard out and RMA it asap before that warranty expires skipper, if just for the fact that its warranty is about to run out.

That or of course, the mobo just doesn't like the RAM you're feeding it (either it can't handle the amount you give it of that particular model or the mixed setup), in which case no amount of RMAs will fix it outside of requesting a refund and getting another mobo that will accept the RAM better.

 

[rslembo]

Running with OLD RAM kit, 2 x 4gb on the machine: BSOD

Running with OLD RAM kit, 1 x 4gb on the machine: BSOD

Running with FRIEND's RAM, 1 x 4gb on the machine: NO BSOD

Running with NEW RAM kit, 2 x 4gb on the machine: BSOD

All above were tested in all slots.

I just can't see how it would be the motherboard as I had no BSOD with the same type of RAM.
Sure there's a possibility, but tests won't let me see it.
However, 2 kits with problem is weird.


Configuration Running ATM:

NEW RAM 1 x 4gb + FRIEND's RAM 1 x 4gb: no BSOD yet

Doing this mix to check motherboard.

 

[rslembo]

Lent 1 of my RAM to another friend, to see if he gets any BSOD on his machine.
1 day past, no BSOD at all.
Neither in mine, with the current configuration above.

Should we enable D. Verifier?
Would it make the system crash due to RAM and not any driver issue?

 

[Vir Gnarus]

Was this one of the old RAM that supposedly is causing the BSODs? Where did he put it in his system? Be aware that depending what slot he placed it in, the system may not even be using it at all (as in the system never reaches a point where it needs to use it). Kernel activity (Windows n drivers) sits at the very top of the memory range (last stick of RAM), and userland (applications and services) start at around the bottom and grow upwards. Keep that in mind when setting up the RAM for testing. If you want to make quite sure the RAM is bad, make sure it's placed in the last numbered slot on the mobo since there it'll hold Windows kernel and drivers.

Anyways, remember that this may not be an issue with the RAM itself but your configuration of it. The mix of RAM and their amounts could've been enough to bug your mobo out. When you got the new RAM kit, was it same make/model as the old?

Btw, what happened with the mobo? The warranty on it is looking pretty tight right now, have you considered RMAing it?

As for Driver Verifier, not really. It will make the system panic more in the event of an issue, as in more prone to BSOD, and will take up a modicum of more RAM and CPU activity to do all the extra checks, but that doesn't necessarily mean it'll catch bad RAM. Driver Verifier is just as its name says, it's designed to verify drivers. It has absolutely nothing to do with testing any form of hardware. If you want to do that, it'll be through Memtest, but we've already proven the issues evading that program. Again, I really do think we're dealing with a motherboard incompatibility problem or just a bad mobo altogether.

 

[rslembo]

Was this one of the old RAM that supposedly is causing the BSODs?

The RAM I lent was from the NEW kit I got Tuesday. I followed my intuition at this.
Lent one stick, stayed with the other.
If his machine had BSOD on tests, we would have found the problem.
As mine would crash in any way.

Where did he put it in his system? Be aware that depending what slot he placed it in, the system may not even be using it at all (as in the system never reaches a point where it needs to use it). Kernel activity (Windows n drivers) sits at the very top of the memory range (last stick of RAM), and userland (applications and services) start at around the bottom and grow upwards. Keep that in mind when setting up the RAM for testing. If you want to make quite sure the RAM is bad, make sure it's placed in the last numbered slot on the mobo since there it'll hold Windows kernel and drivers.

This stick is the only one he's using on his machine to help me.
In this case, would it matter the slot?
I don't really know which slot he's using.

When you got the new RAM kit, was it same make/model as the old?

Yes, it's exactly the same RAM model as before.

The mix of RAM and their amounts could've been enough to bug your mobo out.

Btw, what happened with the mobo? The warranty on it is looking pretty tight right now, have you considered RMAing it?

I'm still not considering MoBo.
But im really scared about the warranty, though.
I'll just test RAMs as far as I can.
Something is telling me the problem is the stick I lent. Intuition.

 

[rslembo]

UPDATE:

By the time I was writing the reply, my friend called me.
HE HAVE HAD BSOD TWICE, CONSECUTIVELY!
So the RAM stick I lent him is with problem.

I'll just have to check my machine now.
As said before, I am using ATM:
1 RAM from the NEW kit + 1 RAM another friend lent me (spent 15 days with this stick without crashes).
No crashes yet.

So, I guess we can finally forget about the motherboard..?
Just have to find out if BOTH RAM sticks are with problems, or just the one I lent him.

 

[Vir Gnarus]

Here's hoping the BSODs weren't coincidental and caused by something else. Nevertheless, we'll approach that RAM as the suspect for now.

 

[rslembo]

Would be too much coincidence if not true.
His computer has been built over a year and never had crashes.
When working with the RAM I lent, gone BSOD.
Took that RAM out, no BSODs again.

This afternoon I went to the store to RMA them again.
The vendor was a really nice guy, and gave me another kit once again, without tests this time.

Running system with new RAM kit, lets hope for the best

 

[Vir Gnarus]

Hi there. It's been a while. Any update on that RAM and how it's working?

 

[rslembo]

It has crashed BSOD again..
XMP Profile 1 at 2400mhz
Took a week to do so.

I changed to XMP Profile 2 at 2132mhz: BSOD at windows start up.. twice
Went for JEDEC Profile at 1333mhz: no problems since.. computer stabilized. 2 weeks.

Then I gave up..
Since there are not any more problems with JEDEC Profile, I'm letting as it is..

 

[Vir Gnarus]

Looks like timing may have been the problem after-all. Glad to hear it's stable. You can mark this thread as solved at your discretion.