Solved Reproducible Win7 64-bit lock up - no event log entries

[jonnyb]

Hello,

I have a home built machine that has been running without issue for a few months. On Friday, out of nowhere my screen completely froze (no change in clock, etc.) without any response to keyboard strokes, mouse clicks, CTRL+ALT+DEL, and so on. Some applications were running but I wasn't using the keyboard/mouse at the time of the lock up. I then did a hard reboot, and everything ran fine for a few hours when another freeze occurred - again, nothing in event log to indicate what occurred before the freeze.

I began going through some troubleshooting like SFC scan and wasn't really finding anything until I noticed that my Windows Experience Score needed to be refreshed b/c new hardware had been detected (it may have been this way for a long time, I'm never in the control panel during my normal usage). Anyhow, just for the heck of it I decided to click the button to refresh my score. The update began to progress normally "Running the Direct3D..." then "Running the ...." and so forth until it got to "Tuning Windows Media Decoding" at which point it froze. I assumed that it was just time for another random freeze, but after hard rebooting and attempting to refresh the Windows Experience Score again it froze at the same point in the update "Tuning Windows Media Decoding". I verified that it was reproducible this way 4 times.

So I guess my question is, what occurs during this update either at or immediately after the "Tuning Windows Media Decoding" that could cause a lock up? Is it accessing a certain driver at that point in time?

Clearly, I don't know enough to identify the issue myself, but I'm guessing that my ability to reproduce the issue is a good thing. Would greatly appreciate any help in trying to pin down and fix the underlying cause for these random lock ups. If there is any additional information that I could provide which would be helpful, please let me know.

 

[usasma]

Try the free video tests (and Prime 95) here: Additional Hardware Diagnostics

Update your video drivers
Check the video card to ensure that it has power, that the fan is running and that the cooler isn't obstructed or covered with dirt/dust.
Monitor temps to see if they spike as the problem occurs.

 

[jonnyb]

Thanks very much for the reply. I've downloaded FurMark but I can't get to the point where I can run it. Moments after I click 'Ok' after setting max temp to 90 and checking the option to log GPU data, the programs stops working "FurMark - swiss made GPU stress test and OpenGL benchmark has stopped working". I've tried many times, and the result is always the same. (this was v1.10.1)

I'm guessing this is an issue with the program rather than my machine. I will try an earlier version of FurMark and report back.

 

[jonnyb]

Here's somewhat of an update:

1. I was able to run the earlier version 1.9.2 of FurMark. It ran fine for 80 minutes before I stopped it. The GPU temp remained pegged at 72*C after the first 10 minutes or so. Do I need to run it longer? Also, it was set at 800 x 600 resolution when I started the program, so I just left it there - please let me know if that's an issue.

2. I updated the video card driver from PNY's website. I noticed that you said driver(S) - are there more that I should be updating?

3. The lock ups still occur after updating the driver. However, now sometimes the computer will also shut itself down after being frozen for a couple minutes. Updating the WEI has still worked every time but one to cause a lock up.

Below are min / max values from CPUID monitor taken while running the WEI update that led to a failure:
--Intel Corporation DX79TO--
CPU VCORE: 1.00 / 1.00 V
VIN1: 1.12 / 1.13
AVCC: 3.38 / 3.39
3VCC: 3.38 / 3.39
VIN4: 1.03 / 1.04 V
VIN5: 1.01 / 1.01 V
SYSTIN: / 33*C
CPUTIN: / 40*C
AUXTIN: / 49*C
CPUFANIN: 1318 / 1506 RPM
***All CPU Core Max Temps are in the 40s***
Package: 9.58 / 73.41 W
IA Cores: 1.99 / 64.54 W
--NVIDIA GeForce GT 520--
VIN0: .9 / 1.04 V
TMPIN0: 36 / 63*C
FANPWMIN0: 40 / 46%

One last note, the system specs shown are for my other machine. If any details are needed on hardware from the machine in question, please let me know and I will list them here or update the specs.

Next I am looking to run the Memtestg80 as suggested by the carrona site. Are there recommended parameters that I should be entering for amount of RAM and # of iterations?

Thanks again.

 

[jonnyb]

There is one additional item that may be worth noting...each time the machine starts up there is an Event Log Error "Session 'Microsoft Security Client OOBE' stopped due to the following error: 0xC000000D" - EventID 3. I've tried disabling MSE at startup and then running the WEI update, but it still froze. There is also an Event Log Warning after restarting that says "Windows detected your registry file is still in use by other applications or services...." - EventID 1530. At startup, these programs automatically run: Realtek HD Audio Manager, LogMeIn, MSE, Skype, USB 3.0 Monitor, and Java Auto Updater.

 

[usasma]

I'm still not certain which video card you have. Update your drivers from the ATI/AMD website or the nVidia website - whichever is appropriate.

Please post the report from here even though you're not experiencing BSOD's: http://www.sevenforums.com/crashes-debugging/96879-blue-screen-death-bsod-posting-instructions.html

 

[jonnyb]

My card is the PNY GeForce GT 520: Newegg.com - PNY VCGGT5201XPB GeForce GT 520 (Fermi) 1GB 64-bit DDR3 PCI Express 2.0 x16 HDCP Ready Low Profile Ready Video Card

I updated with this driver: NVIDIA DRIVERS 301.42WHQL

Report attached. Thanks

 

[usasma]

The uploaded file is only step 3 of the instructions - I need the info from the other steps also (1-4) Don't worry about step 5 - I have as much of that as I need already.

 

[jonnyb]

I looked at those but I don't have any dump files - the folder hasn't even been created since this machine has never had a BSOD. I did double check to make sure that I'm set up to do a kernel dump to C:/Windows/Memory.dmp...followed these instructions: http://www.sevenforums.com/tutorials/174459-dump-files-configure-windows-create-bsod.html and http://www.sevenforums.com/tutorials/204214-dump-file-change-default-location.html

Am I wrong to assume that the folder does not exist because I've never had a BSOD before? When I checked the dump file / folder settings they were already set up as described in the above links.

 

[usasma]

The C:\Windows\Minidump folder may not exist if you don't have any minidumps.
But the file will generate a number of other reports - and I use those to see what's going on within the system.

In particular I nuse the System and Application event viewer logs (in .txt format), the MSINFO32 report in .nfo format, the systeminfo.exe report in .txt format and the dxdiag report in text format.

 

[jonnyb]

But the file will generate a number of other reports - and I use those to see what's going on within the system.

Gotcha, my apologies...didn't realize there was other stuff in there. New folder attached.

 

[usasma]

It's possible that updates could have caused issues with the SSD or the controller (on the mobo) that controls it.
Here's my suggestions for SSD users (it may not all apply, but the suggestions for updating, etc should):

We've seen a number of BSOD issues with SSD's. Here's the information that I've compiled so far:

There's not a whole bunch available to test SSD's. The "easiest" test is to remove the SSD, install a platter-based hard drive, install Windows and test for stability that way.

Here's some suggestions:
- Update the SSD's firmware to the latest available version (VERY IMPORTANT!!!)
- Update the motherboard controllers drivers to the latest available version from the controller manufacturer (NOT the mobo manufacturer unless you can't find any on the controller manufacturer's website)
- Slow the memory (RAM) down to the next slower speed (I've only seen one person who claimed that this worked for them).
- Use any manufacturer's utilities that you may have. If you don't have any, then try this free one (I haven't used it myself): Crystal Dew World
- Update chipset and storage controller drivers to the latest available from the manufacturer of the device (not the manufacturer of the motherboard). Be sure to update ALL controllers on the motherboard!
....NOTE: Recently (Nov 2011) we had BSOD issues with the Marvell 91xx controller and an SSD. You may have to switch controllers also.-
Replace the SSD with a platter based hard drive and see if that stops the BSOD's. If it does, then it's likely that there's a problem with the SSD OR an incompatibility with your system.
It's my opinion that SSD's aren't reliable enough (with current hardware) to be used on a system that needs to work reliably. Until I see reliability I will not recommend, nor will I use, SSD's for critical applications.
06 Dec 2011 - This post tends to confirm issues with certain SSD chipsets and certain controllers - [SOLVED] cant find the cause of BSOD F4 - Tech Support Forum
29 May 2012 - The frequency of BSOD's with SSD's seems to have been decreasing over the last several months. It may be approaching time to re-evaluate my stand on their suitability for use in production systems.

Lot's of Critical events in your System log file - in particular on 01 Jun
6 - 4 Jun
0 - 3 Jun
2 - 2 Jun
36 - 1 Jun
None before then

Could these have been you forcing a shutdown while holding the power button down? If not, then there's likely a hardware problem here. The most common is CPU overheating - so a good temp monitor is needed - and you've gotta monitor it just before the freezes/crashes (not an easy task to do).

Those are the only 2 things that were noticeable to me (the Furmark crashes were also noticed, but didn't yield any significant info).

 

[jonnyb]

Yes, all the critical erros are from me doing a hard reboot. Additionally, since I'm able to reproduce the problem at will, it's very easy for me to track temps just before the freeze (and they remain on the screen for me to record). A few posts back I've listed all my min and max temps from the time of (and leading up to) a freeze.

What parameters for memory and # of iterations do you recommend for the memtestG80 application?

In the meantime, I will go through those steps for the SSD.

 

[jonnyb]

UPDATE: I've updated my BIOS, SSD firmware, and every driver download I could find on my mobo's website. Since doing all this, I've now run 5 consecutive WEI updates without a freeze (previously I could never get past the second one, and normally the first caused a freeze).

Is it safe to assume at this point that one of these updates solved the problem and I no longer need to continue troubleshooting?

 

[usasma]

Sorry, but I've got some serious eye problems and I don't go back over previous posts very often because of it.

I'd continue troubleshooting "just in case". You know that Murphy's Law states that if you stop the troubleshooting now, the problem will recur ;0)

 

[jonnyb]

Sorry to hear about your eye problems. Thanks for all you help with this. Tomorrow will be a good test for the issue since i'll be putting the machine back into production and running the apps where the problem first occurred. Assuming all goes well, I will come back here and mark this as solved.