Windows 7 is unstable

[techyguy]

Windows 7 is unstable (Problem's cause was faulty ram)

Hello all!
So...My Windows 7 applications just crash.Not all of them,not all at once.Propably they won't be even the same apps!Sometimes,no crash will occur.I get the "The program stopped working" error,and that's it.After I reboot,I run the same program,and it just runs perfectly.However,something else crashes this time.I believe it has to do with my ram (because different programs crash at different times,and a reboot fixes the problem...for a bit!).I don't have any memory drains though (about 17% of the usable ram is used).
I have done memory diagnostics and nothing came up.I am using both Windows and Linux (Debian and Suse),and both Linux run without a hiccup!
Ok,I know,I have too much ram for nothing,but that doesn't mean it must not work right!
I have reinstalled Windows 7 x64 (Ultimate) 4 times the last 5 months,and the same thing happens.I used to have BSODs,but they seem to have stopped for some reason.I had Windows 7 x86 (Ultimate) installed before,and it ran perfectly.That's what also makes me believe it has to do with the ram(8gb could not be seen by Windows 7 x86).
Oh,and I have installed Windows 7 x64 (Ultimate) from the same disc on my macbook pro,and it runs like a charm.No crashes or whatsoever.
Is there any fix for this?Any configuration I have to do?Fresh installs and repair installs didn't solve the issue.
Thanks in advance!

 

[yowanvista]

1. It could be malware related, run a free scan of malwarebytes: Malwarebytes Anti-Malware - Reviews and free Malwarebytes Anti-Malware downloads at Download.com

2. Update your mainboard drivers: http://pixel01.cps.intel.com/support/motherboards/desktop/DP965LT/

 

[whs]

It could be one of the drivers that is giving you a hard time. Run the DPC Latency Checker and see whether you get any red bars. If yes, there is most likely a driver problem.

 

[techyguy]

Thank you both for your replies!
@ yowanvista: I have already done multiple scans for malware(with different software,one of them being malware bytes) and I've found nothing.Plus,I got Nod 32,and you can't go wrong with nod
Now,about the drivers:I have already installed the chipset drivers,but I haven't installed the lan ones,because Intel states clearly that they are for Windows Vista (x86 and x64).Should I install them?Can they be compatible with Windows 7?
@ whs: I ran the dpc latency checker,and the bars are constantly pretty low and green,so propably drivers are not the cause of the problem.What's ironic though is that I have ran the dpc latency checker on my macbook in the past,and I was getting plenty of red bars,even if things were working tight (or actually seemed they were ).

 

[Capt.Jack Sparrow]

Hello !!

Check what is the DEP Setting set to in your Computer usually that used to cause problem. Follow this link for more info Data Execution Prevention: frequently asked questions make sure your Turn it off. Check the Event Viewer for Errors and post them here.

- Captain

 

[techyguy]

@ Capt.Jack Sparrow: Thanks for your reply! I've been playing a bit with Windows settings,and I think I have found something that works...I turned off Dep,crashes kept going on.I also checked my Event Viewer,I was getting exception errors 0xc0000005 on different programs with each reboot.As I said before,the problem has to do with the ram.I set the maximum memory at the boot options (through msconfig) to 4095 mbs and I have no problems so far(after 5 reboots!).The thing is...I have 8gbs of ram and Windows x64,so...ok it's a solution,but obviously not the best one(I am happy that it works fine,though.)!Is there anything else I could try?

Edit:As it seems,I am not the only one with this kind of problem,I've read about similar problems all over the internet,but I haven't found a solution yet.

 

[Capt.Jack Sparrow]

@ Capt.Jack Sparrow: Thanks for your reply! I've been playing a bit with Windows settings,and I think I have found something that works...I turned off Dep,crashes kept going on.I also checked my Event Viewer,I was getting exception errors 0xc0000005 on different programs with each reboot.As I said before,the problem has to do with the ram.I set the maximum memory at the boot options (through msconfig) to 4095 mbs and I have no problems so far(after 5 reboots!).The thing is...I have 8gbs of ram and Windows x64,so...ok it's a solution,but obviously not the best one(I am happy that it works fine,though.)!Is there anything else I could try?

Edit:As it seems,I am not the only one with this kind of problem,I've read about similar problems all over the internet,but I haven't found a solution yet.

System Expection code 0xc0000005 bascially refers to some Firewall / Antivirus is blocking some important services like svchost.exe so if you have any uninstall it and see if that makes any difference.

-Captain

 

[techyguy]

@ Capt.Jack Sparrow: Thanks for your reply! I've been playing a bit with Windows settings,and I think I have found something that works...I turned off Dep,crashes kept going on.I also checked my Event Viewer,I was getting exception errors 0xc0000005 on different programs with each reboot.As I said before,the problem has to do with the ram.I set the maximum memory at the boot options (through msconfig) to 4095 mbs and I have no problems so far(after 5 reboots!).The thing is...I have 8gbs of ram and Windows x64,so...ok it's a solution,but obviously not the best one(I am happy that it works fine,though.)!Is there anything else I could try?

Edit:As it seems,I am not the only one with this kind of problem,I've read about similar problems all over the internet,but I haven't found a solution yet.

System Expection code 0xc0000005 bascially refers to some Firewall / Antivirus is blocking some important services like svchost.exe so if you have any uninstall it and see if that makes any difference.

-Captain

I uninstalled Nod 32,and in this reboot I got no crashes!I am using Windows Firewall,so I doubt that would cause any trouble...I am going to do some more test reboots and see what happens!

Edit:This is the fourth reboot,and no crashes are observed.In the past,my system wouldn't last that long Nod 32 was the source of the problem all along!5 months now,nod has been crashing my pc!Thanks Captain,you saved my rig! One question though:Which antivirus should I use now?Anything that compares to the perfomance of nod 32 (plus good compatibility with Windows 7 x64)?

 

[Capt.Jack Sparrow]

Your Most Welcome !! Glad that you got it working !! Reagrding the AV and Firewall check our sticky threads Security Basics - Windows 7 Forums and http://www.sevenforums.com/system-security/72070-whats-best-anti-virus.html. But I like Microsoft Security Essentials

- Captain

 

[techyguy]

Well,I got to check only on the antiviruses,as I already got a hardware firewall(I have disabled Windows Firewall now).I have already checked MSE,and well,I liked it! It's probably the most compatible with Windows,so I'll stick with it (plus it has a x64 version).

 

[Capt.Jack Sparrow]

Well,I got to check only on the antiviruses,as I already got a hardware firewall(I have disabled Windows Firewall now).I have already checked MSE,and well,I liked it! It's probably the most compatible with Windows,so I'll stick with it (plus it has a x64 version).

Microsoft Security Essentials is a good choice. You might wanna have WinPatrol and Malwarebytes for added protection.

Hope that helps,
Captain

 

[techyguy]

Well,I got to check only on the antiviruses,as I already got a hardware firewall(I have disabled Windows Firewall now).I have already checked MSE,and well,I liked it! It's probably the most compatible with Windows,so I'll stick with it (plus it has a x64 version).

Microsoft Security Essentials is a good choice. You might wanna have WinPatrol and Malwarebytes for added protection.

Hope that helps,
Captain

Thanks a lot for your help.However,I found that nod 32 wasn't the cause,it just induced the problem.As I said before,I thought the problem was ram,and it was.I did memory tests with memtest86+ and found that one of my memories was faulty.Now,I use 6gb of ram,and everything runs perfect as it should be.

The problem in general is characterized by many exception code 0xc0000005 errors in different programs or services in each reboot(dll files may not load,it will seem like they are corrupted,when they aren't) and by some BSOD and random restarts.

Now,I'm gonna give some steps,for anyone who has a similar problem:
Firstly,when you check if the problem persists,try to open as many programs as you can altogether(and every program you got,don't forget to check all of them),so that you push your memory a little,in order to project the problem.
Another way is through Windows Experience Index.If it stops or crashes,or finishes but the score isn't saved,then you got a problem.
The steps are:

1.Check for malware,as malware usually causes this kind of problems,because it tries to access memory addresses that it shouldn't.Clean the malware,if there is any and retry.

2.Update your bios and drivers.Check for driver errors with DPC Latency Checker->http://www.thesycon.de/eng/latency_check.shtml.Then retry.

3.Disable any resource hogging applications and services and retry.

4.Disable any firewall or antivirus you have and retry.

5.Turn Dep off and retry.To turn Dep off,do the following:
Open the command line: “Start” -> enter “cmd.exe” into search field and hit enter.
Simply run the following command to disable it:
bcdedit.exe /set {current} nx AlwaysOff
You can enable it again with:
bcdedit.exe /set {current} nx AlwaysOn

If you run this command and you are not able to start Windows, then run Windows in safemode and enable it again, using the command above. Start Windows in safemode by pressing F8 during bootup.

Alternatively,you can use a tool like easybcd 2.0 beta->http://neosmart.net/forums/showthread.php?t=642.Just register at the forum,and then download the latest build.
Open easybcd and go to advanced settings->advanced->noexecute and set it to always off.

6.If the problems still persists,try to set the maximum memory through ->run->msconfig->boot tab->select the current os->advanced options->maximum memory and set it to a number from 1024-4095 mb (1 mb is for hardware) and retry.If the system works fine,then go to step 8.

7.Scan and repair corrupted files through windows-key+r->cmd->sfc /scannow.

8.If none of these worked or step 6 worked,try the memtest86+ boot utility and check for faulty ram(some info is given further down).I got it from ubcd-> Ultimate Boot CD - Download the UBCD.Get the image and burn it.

Some info for anyone who doesn't know how dual channel works:

Dual channel practically means that two memory slots work as one.Memories in slot 1 and 3 work together,and memories in 2 and 4 work together.If you have let's say,2x2048mb memories,Windows reads slots 1 and 3 as one (if you have put the two memories in slot 1 and 3,which is recommended because that way,memory performs faster!) and you see 4096 mb used(if you have Windows x64,less if you are using Windows x86).

Now,if you are using 4x2048mb memories,Windows (x64,x84 reads 8gb but doesn't use slots 2 and 4) reads and uses all slots and memories are mapped to this ranges:
0-4096mb ->Slot 1 and 3
4096-8192mb ->Slot 2 and 4

So...if you didn't have any problems when you used 4gbs of memories and you have with 8gbs,that means that either your 2 and 4 slots are damaged,or that one of the two memories inserted in slots 2 and 4 have a problem,or maybe both of them!
For my problem,I took out memories in slots 1,2 and 3 and put 4 in slot 1.Everything was fine,no errors.Then,I put the memory which used to be in slot 2 in slot 3 (it was dual channel that way) and got errors.So I knew now,that the memory in slot 2 was faulty.Then I took out the faulty one,and put the memory that used to be in slot 1.Everything was fine again!So,now I got no access violation errors anymore!

When you'll run the test,leave it at least 2 passes (you can run all tests,or select 1 of them),in order to make sure,that you do or do not have an error.

Obviously,the exact opposite could happen,one of the memories in slot 1 and 3 could be faulty,but the test is the same(only then,Windows would have problems even with 4bs of ram,if you had 2x2048mbs memories in slot 1 and 3).