Multiple BSODs, Need help please

actionduck · Jan 11, 2014

Good afternoon,

I have reached the end of my knowledge, and need some help. My custom build has been getting repeated bsods over the last 4-5 months, but I cannot figure out the source of the problem.

First, my specs—
OS: Windows 7 x64
CPU: AMD Phenom II X6 1045T (with stock fan)
Motherboard: ASUS M4A88T-M
Memory: 2 x 4GB sticks of Corsair XMS3 PC10666 DDR3
Storage: Seagate 2TB LP Serial ATA
Video Card: PNY Nvidia GeForce GT 630 2GB GDDR3 PCI-Express
PSU: 450w

When this first started, I figured it was an issue of dust build up on my cpu fan, leading to a heat build up, or I was having difficulties with the on-board graphics. I updated the drivers, verified the BIOS was current, and blew out the fans on the CPU and power supply. No improvement.
As I do some gaming with this system, my suspicions of overloading the graphics chip lead me to install the current graphics card, yet this did not resolve the bsods.

I have continued to try tweaking things here and there, but have no solution, and otherwise clueless on what direction to go in.

Within the last month, I have received the following bug check codes:

2—0x0a
1—0x18
8—0x1e
2—0x24
1—0x34
23—0x3b
2—0x3d
1—0x4a
3—0xc4
1—0xd1
6—0x1000007e

The most referenced drivers showed by BlueScreenView to be causing problems are nvlddmkm.sys and ntoskrnl.exe (7 times for each one).

Any suggestions?

C12Friedman · Jan 11, 2014

I'm going to focus on your PSU as the possible culprit here. What make and model, how old is it?

actionduck · Jan 11, 2014

Thanks for the feedback. I am not certain about the make and model for the PSU, as it came as part of the Thermaltake V2 case I bought in March 2012. I will tear into the case tomorrow to find that data. However, I will say that for approximately 18 months I ran my system with the same hardware configuration, without the BSOD issue.

Wait a minute...I have added an external usb HD...could this cause a problem like this?

C12Friedman · Jan 11, 2014

You can try without the external USB HDD but I'm really thinking that a 2+ year old PSU that came with a case has pretty much run it's expected lifespan. I will also suggest that you can try cleaning the PSU real good by blowing it out and getting the plastic straw into all areas - keep working it until no more dust comes out. It may be that a good cleaning of it can help prolong it's life a little. Do post the PSU info though when you can

actionduck · Jan 11, 2014

Unfortunately, the dominoes are lining up on this issue. After looking back at my receipts, I added the Seagate 2TB expansion HD by early August, and the BSOD started around that time. The HD has a separate power supply, so I would not think that it would take add to the load on the PSU.

But...if I have the HD sitting atop the case, over the PSU, could the heat of that device contribute to instability? The HD is not putting out much heat, but I could see that it may restrict the ability to dissipate through the case surface.

Though this is my backup drive, I will try leaving it unplugged for now. Tomorrow, I will blow out my system, and get the PSU data.

Thanks Friedman.

actionduck · Jan 12, 2014

OK, I have blown out my fans (CPU, PSU, and the 120mm case fan). There was not too much debris, as I have done this a couple of times in the last month, or so. The PSU model # is TT-450NLNK, made by Thermaltake (I believe, since their name is written all over it). The external HD has been disconnected all day. However, after all this...I still have had 3 bsod (codes 19, 24, and 7e).

Previously, my perception was that I generally would not have much of a bsod problem when running MS Office or MSIE until later in the day. However, running Photoshop or gaming (Civ 5, Arma 2, etc.) would bring on bsods within 2-3 hours, with frequent reoccurrences thereafter.

C12Friedman · Jan 13, 2014

That does seem to be a generic PSU of Thermaltake's - looking through reviews I found nothing for that PSU (not surprising though). I'm going to stick with the PSU here as my primary suspect
A few red flags come up in looking at the label; 1) 12v amperage is listed as 25A which should give you 300W usable but yet they list the max 12v as 237W. I don't know where they learned math but the formula for Wattage is Volt times Amps equals Watts (v x A = W). 2) Again, bad math for the 5v & 3.3v rails which if combined only comes to ~145W. 3) The Amperages listed are "max", in this case that is not good, I'm thinking they are using the term "max" to indicate "peak" (which a PSU only has to hold for <1sec to claim)
I might suggest looking at the Corsair "builder" series CX500M or the XFX 550 as viable replacement options. While those are considered to be 'value' PSU's they are of good quality. Note that everything running properly inside your computer depends upon well regulated power coming from the PSU, it's not really the place to cut costs.

actionduck · Jan 17, 2014

I'm back.

I installed a new 550w PSU last night, and started running my system through its standard workout this morning. In the last hour and a half, I have had two bsods come up--both were 3b's.

Incidentally, I have also been running speedfan, because I was concerned that CPU temp may be factor. While running civ 5, I did not note any temp extremes. The GPU was around 50, but nothing appears to be running hot. Though my knowledge isn't sufficient to know if any other components are temp sensitive for system stability.

actionduck · Jan 17, 2014

Additional notes--

I ran radar sync a little bit ago, which indicated several drivers were out of date. I resolved the Nvidia HD audio drivers, but still have an issue for the following: standard dual channel PCI IDE controller, AMD PCI Express (3GIO) filter driver, ATI I/O communications processor SMBus controller. All of these are at least four years old. Could they be players in this issue?

Rats. Had another 3b come up.

C12Friedman · Jan 17, 2014

Aw shucks, I just gave my AMD build (with the same mobo) to my nephew or I'd be able to 'play along'. I do have the manual still so here's what I'm going to suggest. You won't be able to get much enjoyment out of gaming during this testing since I'm going to have you try running on only the motherboard's graphics. Uninstall all graphics drivers, shut down the PC and unplug it. Remove the GT630 and then run it... you can run stressing tests like Unigine Heaven http://unigine.com/products/benchmarks/ to check stability. You can attempt some gaming also I guess. From what I have read, it is a graphics issue but it may be driver or hardware related

actionduck · Jan 18, 2014

Well, gaming is off the menu for now, anyways.

I elected to do a clean reinstall of win 7 last night. Today has been a day all about updates, so I have not even gotten around to putting anything work or play related back in yet. I figured it would not be a bad idea to try the reinstall to clean out debris, like bad/conflicting drivers. Did that work? Nope, three bsods today. The only things I have loaded up so far are: win 7 (with updates), Norton 360, the graphic drivers (and supporting software), java, and MSIE 11.

As for your latest recommendation, I see you are trying to isolate the motherboard for the testing. I wish I could say that it had something to do with the GT630, but these issues pre-date the graphics card install.

I have one other culprit that I would like to explore, probably at the top of the priority list: Norton 360 v. 21. I upgraded my version back around August, on both my system, and my wife's. And we are both having issues. Hers, though, are system lockups and overall lagginess, like something is sucking up all her RAM. Even though she is still running XP (on a Athlon II X2 and 4GB RAM), it should be just fine for only running MS Word, MSIE, and N360. I have been pushing her to upgrade to win 7, thinking that it will optimize memory usage. But if N360 is the issue, then there is a chance I will have 2 systems to troubleshoot. Nevertheless, I have seen a couple postings that bsods with N360 v. 21 may be an issue.

Ideally, I would like to roll back to N360 v.20. I will explore that option tonight, or, if that option tanks, switch over to a free trial on another anti-virus. With more than eight months remaining on my subscription, I don't want to ditch N360 completely...yet.

C12Friedman · Jan 19, 2014

I was thinking along the same lines when I read what you have installed...

actionduck · Jan 19, 2014

I made it back to v.20, and won myself another bsod--code d1. So I will continue on, looking for any consistency.

Are you thinking hardware conflict?

C12Friedman · Jan 19, 2014

I'm thinking I'm confused... how about ram? Purchased as a 'kit' or individually? Have you run memtest86 or tried with only one stick

actionduck · Jan 19, 2014

Individually. I ran memtest86 through once. I know I need to let it run for several hours, though, just to eliminate that possibility. So that will be on this afternoon's agenda.

We win a prize! About five hours in, we got a bad sector on memtest86. I will post a screen shot in a few minutes.

So, the next two questions are:
1. Does this automatically mean the trash can for the faulty stick?
2. How can I tell which stick it is? (Of course, I can pull one, then run memtest86 to see if the bad sector comes up again. Is there a simpler way?)

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C12Friedman · Jan 20, 2014

Running each stick individually is the recommended procedure here but you may find both check out okay by themselves - not only a possibility but very likely.
What I'm thinking here is that your sticks of ram do not like each other. Not all ram plays nice with other ram (even off the same assembly line) which why 'kits' are matched up by the factory to ensure compatibility and proper operation (partially explains why 'kits' are more expensive than individual sticks of ram, more involved in the sorting process)
If you do find one of the modules tests bad, that won't be a bad thing since Corsair is really good about RMA and the replacement module might like the existing module

actionduck · Jan 20, 2014

Good call about Corsair's warranty period. That's one of those things that is so easy to forget about long after purchasing--especially when its a lifetime warranty.

I ran memtest86 throughout the night--11 hours. It came back with 2 errors, and if I am reading the failing address correctly, these should be on the same stick as earlier.

I just finished the RMA stuff over on Corsair's website. That was fairly painless. So now, I can do some testing to make sure I pull the correct stick out to send back. Hopefully, replacement will solve the bsod issue.

actionduck · Jan 20, 2014

I pulled what I am hoping was the bad stick a couple of hours ago, then have been hitting this machine with a heavy load (photoshop cs6, n360 full scan, and downloading steam games simultaneously). That should have spiked memory usage, and a probable bsod. So far, nothing.

I will run memtest86 again tonight, just to make certain this stick is good. The bad one goes off tomorrow for replacement. If all looks good over the next couple of days, I would think this should be solved.

Then I can move off to fixing my wife's whine...I mean, system.

actionduck · Jan 25, 2014

So far, bsod free! My system feels a little sluggish running on 4gb. But the bad stick is off for replacement. It should not be too long before this rig is running good once again.

Thanks, Friedman, for your help.

Multiple BSODs, Need help please

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