Blue screen mystery

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chaitanyo

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Apr 9, 2014
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I have frequent blue screen crashes since about two weeks. Nothing new has been installed during the time these happen.

I managed to see the error message a few times. Sometimes it says MEMORY_MANAGEMENT, other times it is IRQL_NOT_LESS_OR_EQUAL.

There does not seem to be a consistent scenario when the crashes happen. They seem random.

I have done memory tests, checked the hard drives, reinstalled Norton 360. So far nothing did the trick.

Is there someone who can read the dumps Windows generates and tell me what's going on? That would be very much appreciated. I have made the dumps ready for download at http://www.chaitanyo.com/rd/Minidump.zip.

Thank you! thank you!

Chaitanyo
 
Solution
Tom Tancredi
Do some basics first then tell us the results:

Download and run SPECCY, copy and paste the first tab to show your idle temps
Download and run MSI Afterburner, run some of the games that crash, what temps are you getting when underload?
Open Computer, Can Air dust out the bunnies and use paint brush on the vents, coolers, fans, etc.

Did you install all Windows Updates? Including options except BING? Check them and repeat till ALL are installed.
Download and run Slim Drivers, install all the latest updates but you don't need to reboot until you do the last update

Remove whatever AV your using and go to www.filehippo.com and download AVAST! or AVG and do a full system scan - this repeatedly has resolved alot of people issue relying on...
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Tom Tancredi

Tom Tancredi

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May 9, 2013
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Do some basics first then tell us the results:

Download and run SPECCY, copy and paste the first tab to show your idle temps
Download and run MSI Afterburner, run some of the games that crash, what temps are you getting when underload?
Open Computer, Can Air dust out the bunnies and use paint brush on the vents, coolers, fans, etc.

Did you install all Windows Updates? Including options except BING? Check them and repeat till ALL are installed.
Download and run Slim Drivers, install all the latest updates but you don't need to reboot until you do the last update

Remove whatever AV your using and go to www.filehippo.com and download AVAST! or AVG and do a full system scan - this repeatedly has resolved alot of people issue relying on MS Essentials or had some version of Norton being too intrusive.
Download Malwarebytes do a full system scan (AV doesn't pick up alot of malware) - this resolved almost ALL other similiar posts to date as most had Malware the AV didn't pick up.
Repeat the AV/Malware scans till the system comes up clean.

Download Mem86test to test your RAM if all above comes up perfectly clean.

Can you reporoduce the issue? For example happens every-time I open my 50th Tab on Chrome, or Only when I open a PDF file it happens, etc.
 
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Solution
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chaitanyo

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Apr 9, 2014
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I appreciate your input, Tom, and I intend to follow your advice as soon as I find the time in the next couple of days. Meanwhile I can already answer a few of your questions or clarify:
- I don't run games. What I usually have open on my computer are Outlook and some Adobe products, such as InDesign and Dreamweaver. I have not been able to reproduce the issue. It seems totally arbitrary, although I can't imagine it is. It just crashes out of the blue.
- I don't understand terminology like "...what temps are you getting when underload."
- Yes, I do install all Windows updates, including options, except Bing.
I'' let you know as soon as I have followed some of your advice.

Lastly, I want to apologize for starting this thread twice. After posting the first time I received an email telling me that it has been removed because I didn't follow the rules, or something to this effect. I had no idea why and posted a second time. When I then checked, both of them were up...
 
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Tom Tancredi

Tom Tancredi

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May 9, 2013
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I don't understand terminology like "...what temps are you getting when underload."

- If you installed MSI Afterburner and were using a 3D application, it would overlay and show you your FPS as well as Temps. When using 3D applications (Maya, CAD, Games, etc.) is a heavier 'load' for the computer to create than say opening notepad or using Word. So this would be a good test to see if there is a issue with the temps or maybe with the video card itself your not realizing.
 
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chaitanyo

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Apr 9, 2014
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For what it's worth, an update: I usually have a few programs open at the same time, but to figure out what's crashing, I had minimal programs, as described below, open for my past work period during which I had seven blue screens. At first it looks like Outlook might be the culprit until I close down Outlook and the blue screens also happen with Adobe products.

1. I edit an email in Outlook. In the background Windows Update downloads something. Blue screen.
2. I work in Word. Windows Update asks "Reboot?"
3. I edit email in Outlook and double click on MyComputer on the desktop.
4. I'm on the Internet with Internet Explorer. Outlook is idle in the background.
5. Computer is idle, but Outlook open.
6. I work in Dreamweaver. Blue screen when attempting to also load InDesign.
7. Browse internet with Firefox.
 
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Tom Tancredi

Tom Tancredi

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May 9, 2013
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Well these items are not mutually exclusive (edit email and Windows Update downloads blue screen as a connection). The updates asking to reboot are common and are kinder then the old update / close everthing forcing reboot before model.

Again I would ask you to kindly follow my directions and provide the results of each. Any number of things could be the issue here, and I have no idea what sort of computer your even working on.
 
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chaitanyo

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Apr 9, 2014
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4,510


 
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chaitanyo

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Apr 9, 2014
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Here is the first tab from Speccy:

Operating System
Windows 7 Professional 64-bit SP1
CPU
Intel Core i5 3550 @ 3.30GHz 49 °C
Ivy Bridge 22nm Technology
RAM
16.0GB Dual-Channel DDR3 @ 668MHz (9-9-9-24)
Motherboard
ASUSTeK COMPUTER INC. P8Z77-V PRO (LGA1155) 40 °C
Graphics
VE248 (1920x1080@60Hz)
1023MB NVIDIA GeForce GT 430 (ASUStek Computer Inc) 52 °C
Storage
931GB Western Digital WDC WD1002FAEX-00Y9A0 (SATA) 47 °C
223GB OCZ-AGILITY3 ATA Device (SSD) 30 °C
698GB Western Digital WD My Passport 0740 USB Device (USB (SATA)) 35 °C
Optical Drives
ASUS DRW-24B1ST a
Audio
NVIDIA High Definition Audio
 
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chaitanyo

Reputable
Apr 9, 2014
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4,510
Ok, meanwhile I've gone through all the steps you suggested, Tom.

Re Speccy and a bit warm when idle: the computer is built to be as quiet as possible, so that may be the cause for running a bit warm.

- MSI Afterburner showed the GPU temp hovering around 50 C.

- Dust inside wasn't all that bad, but clean now.

- All updates are installed, with the exception of Bing.

- SlimDriver found a few drivers to update. Done.

- No viruses found.

- Malwarebytes found about 20 files to quarantine.

After all that, the blue screens continue. I now even observe crashes from the desktop (without anything else running except Windows).

So I also download Memtest86 which has scoured my two Kingston RAM modules for the past seven hours to reveal more than 500,000 errors. I hit "Y" to save an html report, as the program invites me at the end, but I can't find that file at all, now that I look for it.

So, to me this looks like these two memory sticks are shot, doesn't it, Tom? Or do you see anything else that might not be right? I checked my invoice and Kingston has a lifetime warranty on these (they are only about one and a half years old).
 
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