Self-built gaming PC having BSODs and freezes; can't pinpoint cause.

[Dem0nGam3r]

@TwoCables Thanks for the advice, I'll make sure to check out the site.

I already tried my luck with PCHelpforum and Microsoft's forums, but neither posts have had many responses. Ironically, a guy on PCHelpforum actually criticized my having multiple forums involved .

I think involving more than one forum is a very good thing to do, because there being more people involved means having a larger knowledge pool to draw theories and answers from, and with that a greater chance of solving an issue. It's just common sense.

I just thought of something; I'm using the stock Intel cooling fan for the CPU. I bought thermal paste, but I didn't use it because I had read that the stock fan is ok unless you plan to overclock. Should that cause any problems?

 

[TwoCables]

@TwoCables Thanks for the advice, I'll make sure to check out the site.

I already tried my luck with PCHelpforum and Microsoft's forums, but neither posts have had many responses. Ironically, a guy on PCHelpforum actually criticized my having multiple forums involved .

Wow. Some people. You'll never get that kind of a response on here or over on Overclock.net (well, the chances are very slim because there are bad apples in every community). All we care about in these communities is arriving at the solution!

I think involving more than one forum is a very good thing to do, because there being more people involved means having a larger knowledge pool to draw theories and answers from, and with that a greater chance of solving an issue. It's just common sense.

Yep! There is a very old book that says that the wisest thing to do is to consult as many different people as possible instead of just one person. Of course, I'm paraphrasing it, but that's the gist of what it says. So, your feeling is absolutely correct.

 

[Golden]

Did you try Prime95 as recommended? Its unclear whether you did that.

You could also try Intel Burn Test - as far as I'm aware, the a CPU fault hasn't been ruled out, correct?

http://www.sevenforums.com/tutorials/220743-cpu-stress-test-using-intelburntest.html

 

[x BlueRobot]

For the Minidumps not saving then, try these instructions:

• http://www.sevenforums.com/tutorials/174459-dump-files-configure-windows-create-bsod.html

 

[ganjiry]

Just an idea but how are you installing your Nvidia drivers?
The newer Nvidia drivers need to be installed differently to how they used to be as it can cause allsorts of problems otherwise. Have a look at this new guide for the install Ultimate 2013 Nvidia Driver Guide by MANIAC-VVV-

 

[Dem0nGam3r]

@Golden No, I didn't run Prime95 yet. I'm rather concerned that it (and that other CPU stress test you mentioned) could damage the CPU. Besides, I'd like to eliminate the GPU and RAM first, as they're easier and safer to rule out. Are those programs safe to test the CPU with? Because if so I would still like to use them after I've eliminated the GPU and RAM as suspects.

@BlueRobot I already made sure that the settings were configured to create dumps, but the fact is my minidump folder is literally gone since the repair install. Unless it's a hidden file and I need to enable viewing it, I think I'm in big trouble. What do I do about that?

@ganjiry I already tried a complete removal and clean install of my video drivers (I'm quite certain I did everything right), and even tried downgrading them to no avail.

Also, guys, my computer seems to take significantly longer to boot and definitely takes longer to load once at the desktop since I did a repair install of Windows. Any reason for the slowdown (and that missing minidump folder)?

Thanks to everyone for the responses! I really appreciate the help!

 

[x BlueRobot]

The tests are safe as long as you follow the instructions carefully, and have tried Option Two of http://www.sevenforums.com/tutorials/174459-dump-files-configure-windows-create-bsod.html?

 

[Dem0nGam3r]

I'll read that after I type this up, but I'm really more concerned about my computer running twice as slow as before the repair install. Also, do you have any idea why my minidump folder is gone? It was under C:/Windows/minidump before, and now it is GONE (I'm not even sure the option two thing will work if the minidump folder is missing, and I want that folder back anyway). Do I need to do another repair install?

I'm very concerned that I've irrepairibly damaged Windows, and my situation is now even worse than before.

Does a repair install remove chipset/LAN/USB/audio drivers? I need to get my computer running fast again and retrieve the minidump folder before I do anything else.

I'm kind of panicked right now about the whole thing. As if I needed another issue to fix .

By the way, what is that download under option two?

 

[Dem0nGam3r]

Upon Googling my problem, I came up with a SevenForums article in which someone pointed to this article:

http://www.sevenforums.com/tutorials/73046-crash-reports-read.html

I guess it's just a matter of creating the file myself?

I still need some help with the problem of my PC running slowly after the repair install.

 

[x BlueRobot]

Device Drivers - Be sure to have these handy to reinstall. They do not always remain after the repair (upgrade) install.

I would recommend installing all the latest drivers, as they may have been deleted from the operating system after the Repair Install. The performance may be a result of having the in-built Windows drivers instead.

The Crash Reports tutorial shows how to read WhoCrashed reports, which is a program that provides very little information about a BSOD, and suggests setting the dump files to be created using the same tutorial I provided earlier.

The file which is attached within the tutorial is simply a registry file which can be merged with your registry, to allow configuration of the dump files to be saved, in case that registry entry is corrupted or missing from your registry.

I would suggest carrying out the hardware tests already mentioned, since 0x124 bugchecks are almost always hardware related.

• http://www.sevenforums.com/crash-lockup-debug-how/35349-stop-0x124-what-means-what-try.html

 

[Dem0nGam3r]

Haha, my friend just said the same thing and I was about to tell you I'm going to try reinstalling the core system drivers . I was thinking that originally, but the drivers appeared to still be updated under the device manager, which led me to dismiss them being outdated due to the repair. However, as you and my friend pointed out, the actual system files may have been reverted, so I'll get on that pronto and update again.

Is there any way to retrieve the minidump folder, or is it enough to just create a new folder named Minidump (which I already did)? You might have already explained it in your post, but I don't understand what to do if that's the case. Sorry if I'm being an idiot.

I will be doing the hardware tests very soon.

 

[x BlueRobot]

I would wait until another BSOD occurs to see if the Minidump folder is then created, the folder may be created in the event of a BSOD. Also, have you make sure a page file is set?

 

[Dem0nGam3r]

Well, there already has been a blue screen since the repair (which did not automatically recreate the minidump folder). From the look of the blue screen itself, it appeared identical to the previous WHEA_INCORRECTIBLE_ERROR, in that it had no error message displayed. Do I need to remove the Minidump folder I created?

Can you explain the page file thing and what I need to do?

 

[TwoCables]

@Golden No, I didn't run Prime95 yet. I'm rather concerned that it (and that other CPU stress test you mentioned) could damage the CPU. Besides, I'd like to eliminate the GPU and RAM first, as they're easier and safer to rule out. Are those programs safe to test the CPU with? Because if so I would still like to use them after I've eliminated the GPU and RAM as suspects.

They're just as safe as anything else. There are millions of people who absolutely depend on Prime95 and similar programs to test the stability of their system after overclocking their CPU. They run Prime95's "Blend" test for 12-24 hours. Many others will select "Custom" and tell Prime95 to use about 90% of their installed memory to make the test even more effective at testing the system's stability.

Also, I've been on Overclock.net for over 4 years and I have never seen anyone end up with damaged hardware due to running Prime95 or other similar programs (not even IntelBurnTest). Our computers are designed to run software, even if it's as demanding as Prime95.

Not only that, but Prime95 didn't start out as a stability testing program. There's a large community of people who are running Prime95 24/7 in order to help discover new "Mersenne Prime" numbers (I don't know why though). I haven't looked into it very far because I honestly have no interest in it, but I know that these people are running Prime95 24/7 in order to help out. However, Overclockers don't care about that: we just use Prime95 to test the stability of our systems once we overclock the CPU. Many people even use Prime95 to test the stability of their system at stock before overclocking just to make sure everything is perfectly stable first (although, it usually is, so many of us don't even bother).

So yeah, it's 100% harmless.

 

[Dem0nGam3r]

@TwoCables Thanks for clearing that up for me, and as usual kudos for the thoroughness of your response.

 

[TwoCables]

@TwoCables Thanks for clearing that up for me, and as usual kudos for the thoroughness of your response.

You're welcome, and it's a pleasure!

 

[x BlueRobot]

Information about Page Files:

• Understanding the Windows Pagefile and Why You Shouldn't Disable It

If configured to do so, the computer will perform a "core dump" and save all data in memory in raw form to a disk file (known as a "dump file")

The BSOD you specified is Stop 0x124, again another hardware specific BSOD.

 

[Dem0nGam3r]

Just thought I'd mention, I reinstalled those core drivers (the chipset drivers did the trick) and the computer seems to be running faster now.

Thanks for linking that article, BlueRobot.

 

[x BlueRobot]

Your welcome