Games and Heavy Load Causing Blue Screens, Lock-ups, and Freezes? - HEAVILY DESCRIPTED

NBKEEP

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Dec 14, 2013
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10,510
Just as the title says, and below is what I have done, along with my specs:


    1. I ran a Memtest86, nothing was found to be wrong with my RAM.
    2. I ran a Furmark test to test my GPU, it ran great and didnt shut down my computer at all.
    3. While running Furmark, I tested how much power was being pulled into my computer, since my GPU was under heavy load. Only 330W was being generated, and I have a 750W PSU.
    4. I ran a "chkdsk (enter drive here): /f /r /x" and checked all my hard drives. Nothing was reported and no bad sectors were found.
    5. Out of frustration, I ended up reformatting all of my hard drives and re-installing Win. 8.1 fresh
    6. My CPU temperature never exceeds 47C, but I haven't done any specific tests on the CPU alone
    7. Nothing I own is OC'd, I tried this once and it gave me problems, so I reverted it back to default.


MSI Z-77 Motherboard
3.4GHz, i5 processor
EVGA GTX 770 GPU
8 GB RAM (Ripjaw)
120 GB Kingston SSD (Win. 8.1 booted from here)
120 GB HDD from an older desktop computer
750W Corsair Power Supply



I am still having problems with blue screens/random restarts. I just went into my Steam and U-Play settings and followed instructions to fix compatibility, since it won't let me individually set compatibility for the shortcut program.

So, the only options I'm left with are the my CPU may be in a funk.. but I don't know how or why it would be. And the only other option is the Windows 8.1 OS itself. Either way, it gets frustrating spending hours on end trying to troubleshoot and then playing a game to see that a half hour later it just..dies.

Any other suggestions for this problem? Thank you guys for looking!

Merry Christmas, Happy Holidays, and Happy New Year everyone!
 
Solution
Think your missing the obvious, the GPU. While you checked CPU temps you didn't check nor monitor (under load) what the GPU is up to.
Please run SPECCY and copy the info there to paste here, it should show you as well idle temps. Then install MSI Afterburner and start up a Game, let us know the temps on it.

I would try this next (yes it sort of repeats but bear with me): Download and use the DBAN CD to wipe the SSD. This will ensure absolutely nothing is left as well as 'stress' the drive. It may then show signs of issues, which possibly indicate the SSD is failing. Reinstall Windows, then run all updates including optional EXCEPT Bing. Once that is done, download and run Slim Drivers to get all of the latest drivers. I wouldn't...
try using the bare minimum first (use igpu if you have, instead of discreet gpu), use 1 stick of ram, single hdd, etc.
things like that, then try to replicate the issue, if it looks fine. add 1 component then test again (play a game or something), then add another one until the issue resurfaces
 
Think your missing the obvious, the GPU. While you checked CPU temps you didn't check nor monitor (under load) what the GPU is up to.
Please run SPECCY and copy the info there to paste here, it should show you as well idle temps. Then install MSI Afterburner and start up a Game, let us know the temps on it.

I would try this next (yes it sort of repeats but bear with me): Download and use the DBAN CD to wipe the SSD. This will ensure absolutely nothing is left as well as 'stress' the drive. It may then show signs of issues, which possibly indicate the SSD is failing. Reinstall Windows, then run all updates including optional EXCEPT Bing. Once that is done, download and run Slim Drivers to get all of the latest drivers. I wouldn't reboot each time, just on the last set of drivers. Go to www.filehippo.com and download / install AVAST! or AVG, then if it didn't install the latest BETA from Nvidia go ahead and try that.

Now do a Steam then one game install. TEST. Still a issue?

If yes then the only tests left would be as follows to determine the 'fail' component; ready?

1) Unplug SSD, and use DBAN to wipe the HDD. Complete the same steps above, and test (DO NOT short cut and try to copy from SSD to HDD, there is a reason for this!). Does it work now?
2) If not unplug the HDD, and ONLY plug back in the SSD, boot and test again, does it now work?
RESULT: IF Either HDD/SSD suddenly 'work' the other component SSD/HDD is failing.

3) unplug all but one RAM, and test, then test in each 'slot', until it 'works'. If it doesn't try the same steps with the second RAM stick, again until it works'
RESULT: If nothing changes it isn't the RAM

4) Swap GPU for older / other card to test. Does the single game with single drive now work (you can have the DUAL Memory in)?
RESULT: If works, the 770 is toasted.

If those parts all work the last three tests are the CPU/Mobo, PSU and case.
6) Remove ALL parts of the computer and place Mobo on wood board or a cardboard box. Reseat the CPU and FAN, one stick of RAM, the GPU, SSD, then connect the power switch and PSU connection ONLY to Mobo. If it still doesn't work, this removes the probabilty of a 'short' with the case.
7) Test with another PSU, does it work now? If not then it is Mobo/CPU.

That would be the best way to eliminate the most likely to fail to least likely, which at that point if it still under warranty (check it out) you can tell them how you tested and they will not 'argue' the point since you tested every other component as the possible issue.
 
Solution
+1 to Cons29 above. On the hardware side, you should revert to as basic of a system as possible, and then re-test to establish a baseline. If it works, install one part back into the machine, turn it back on, and re-test the system. If the baseline fails, backpocket the idea that you may have a faulty mobo, CPU, or power supply. But we should also check the software side of things too...

What were the error codes from these blue screens? They should have created dump files with the error code info under the folder C:\Windows\minidump. If you are equipped to do so, analyze these dumps yourself and post the error codes here. Otherwise, zip up the .dmp files and upload the file to Skydrive, Dropbox, or whatever other cloud storage service you prefer, and paste the link here so we can have a look.
 

NBKEEP

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Dec 14, 2013
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10,510
Okay, Tom, here's the information from both Speccy and MSI Afterburner when run on Payday 2 with all effects on high or very high.

SPECCY (Idle Values):
http://gyazo.com/de38598ec4cb7965aa384f7d7d647ec2

MSI Afterburner (Directly after playing):
http://gyazo.com/6083e3ef297d8f1e7bafa2883307494d

I have actually stressed the GPU, as number 2 stated above with Furmark. I reached a maximum temperature of 82C after a 15 minute benchmark test. After the test was completed, it took me to their website and I ranked second in their scoring system of graphics card efficiency, respectively (and unofficially). Maybe we can go from here?

And to Prophecy, I do not have another system, unfortunately. This was my first build as a Christmas gift. I do also have a minidump file (only have one since the reformatting of my SSD and HDD) and here it is:
http://gyazo.com/56c7adcc4841f345adb287ef03eb2109

Maybe these tools could help you both see what all is going on. Thanks for the replies!
 


Yeah looks awesome actually. But the problem your saying is it BSOD lockup or freezes even with your Windows reinstall. So I would ask you to go back to my post and follow it. It works step by step, pain in the ass (welcome to the PC world) but is the most reliable way to test each level. At this point I could guess any number of answers, but following that process should reveal the culprit, OR at the least prove each piece works even when tested.
 

NBKEEP

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Dec 14, 2013
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Okay, looks like I'll follow those steps when I have a good deal of time to kill. I haven't accumulated any data on here that would need to be backed up, so even wiping the hard drive again isn't an issue. Thanks for the extremely in-depth answer for this strange problem. I'll keep you posted!
 
I would look at the dump file but your link seems to require gyazo to be installed.

- look at the memory command wait states required for the setup and hold time for your memory modules. This would be a BIOS memory setting sometimes you need two wait states. sometimes listed as 2n or 2T in the memory settings.

I can look at the hardware setting in the memory dump if you put it on a cloud share like skydrive and give the public access to it. I really don't want to install various little 3rd party utilities to get access.

second question I would have is what video cable type are you using for your video? displayport, dvd-I, hdmi?
and how are you connecting your sound?
 

NBKEEP

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Dec 14, 2013
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10,510
Tom, I went back and followed your instructions step-by-step and so far..everything has been perfect! I only did the first step of running "D-Ban" and wiping the SSD (no errors found), then reinstalling Windows 8.1. There have only been two noticable differences after that:
1. Windows 8 is booted from "Window 3" when I restart my computer, because I had an "0xc000000e" error on the regular install, apparently.
2. My HDD is not being shown in the drive options on my computer anymore, so I'm thinking that this hard drive may have been the issue. I took it out/reformatted it from an old Windows XP computer (maybe..3 years old) and I used to put a good amount of my games on there just as an extra source of space.

Since the D-Ban and troubleshooting you gave, I have been downloading a game AND playing PayDay2 at the same time. PayDay 2 alone would almost always crash after about 20-30 minutes, and it hasn't crashed or died once today. Are my assumptions about the old hard drive correct? It's still connected to my computer via SATA and such, but it is not being shown as a drive to store anything on anymore.


John, I'm not quite sure why Gyazo is making you install it, but I'm obviously not the maker of that application and don't know what/why it's doing that :p I also tried to upload the dump file and the SkyDrive wouldn't find it when I browsed for it for some reason. So here's what I can do instead:

The "Bug Check String" in this dump file is "PAGE_FAULT_IN_NONPAGED_AREA"
"Bug Check Code" is "0x00000050"
Caused by Driver - "ntoskrnl.exe"
Caused by Address (and Crash Address) - "ntoskrnl.exe+1500a0"

I also have parameters too if you need them. The cord I use is a DVI cable and it is connected into one of my two DVI slots on the GPU. My sound is connected through a 3.5mm dual male end jack from my monitor to the output jack of my Mobo.
 
naw, I need the actual memory.dmp file it contains a image of state of the OS at the time of the crash. it should be about 250mb in size. I can connect a debugger to the file and dump any info that was in memory at the time of the crash. The active process, who caused the page fault, things like that. generally the file is located in %systemroot%
most often c:\windows\system32\memory.dmp for the default but other vendors may set it to other places and names.


 


Well yep sounds like the HDD was failing. Now that you had a installation error (it sounds like you install 3 times Windows) I would take it as a sign the drive you use or the CD you have is also bad. But your saying everything is fine now so.. *shrugs*
 

NBKEEP

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Dec 14, 2013
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Well, it would probably help if I told you I ran D-Ban and more than likely/guarantee I deleted that file when I nuked my SSD. I also looked though my C: drive again, just to make sure I had no other errors, and I'm coming up clean in that department, John.

My mistake, Tom, it wasn't "Windows 3" it was "Volume 3" when my OS boots up at the beginning. After my BIOS screen flashes by, I get to choose from either "Windows 8.1 on volume 3" or "Windows 8.1". The "Windows 8.1" does not start at all, so I'm forced to just use "Windows 8.1 on Volume 3" and it works fine. I'm just curious as to why it may be doing that?
 


Yeah you have TWO drives with Windows on them. One on drive #3, and one one another drive. You can only have one Windows installed, so one drive needs to be wiped. You will need to go through Device Manager to determine which drive is which, then you can figure out which one is your 'boot drive', shut down, unplug that drive and boot off DBAN again, wipe the remaining drives, reboot and replug in your 'working' Windows drive and you should be done.
 

NBKEEP

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Dec 14, 2013
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10,510
Just to keep you guys updated, I took my rig into a professional and he ran a day's worth of hardware testing and scanning, just to find everything was okay. He did find that my Intel Chipset Driver was not properly installed, and that my Mobo's Atheros Bluetooth device/driver was messing up my driver status.
Thanks for all the help through this! I've learned a lot!