BSOD - GA-78LMT-USB3 causing it?

fudjy · Dec 28, 2017

First post, so bear with me!

I currently have the following hardware running Windows 10 64-bit:
Gigabyte GA-78LMT-USB3 motherboard
AMD FX(tm)-6300 Six-Core Processor
2x4GB DDR3 Value Select RAM
NVIDIA GeForce GTX 960 GPU
Corsair CX500 PSU

I've recently been getting WHEA_UNCORRECTABLE_ERROR BSOD errors, bugcheck does 0x124 (0xFFFF9D09F0C6D028, 0xB0800000, 0x60151), file path: C:\WINDOWS\system32\hal.dll. WhoCrashed gives me the following information:

On Fri 29/12/2017 00:51:44 your computer crashed
crash dump file: C:\WINDOWS\Minidump\122917-32046-01.dmp
This was probably caused by the following module: hal.dll (hal+0x3BF1F)
Bugcheck code: 0x124 (0x0, 0xFFFF9D09F0C6D028, 0xB0800000, 0x60151)
Error: WHEA_UNCORRECTABLE_ERROR
file path: C:\WINDOWS\system32\hal.dll
product: Microsoft® Windows® Operating System
company: Microsoft Corporation
description: Hardware Abstraction Layer DLL
Bug check description: This bug check indicates that a fatal hardware error has occurred. This bug check uses the error data that is provided by the Windows Hardware Error Architecture (WHEA).
This is likely to be caused by a hardware problem. This problem might also be caused because of overheating (thermal issue).
The crash took place in a standard Microsoft module. Your system configuration may be incorrect. Possibly this problem is caused by another driver on your system that cannot be identified at this time.

Event viewer gives a little more information than WhoCrashed was able to give me, with the following error and details:

A fatal hardware error has occurred.

Reported by component: Processor Core
Error Source: Machine Check Exception
Error Type: Cache Hierarchy Error:
Processor APIC ID: 2

And the XML details of the event:

- <Event xmlns="http://schemas.microsoft.com/win/2004/08/events/event">
- <System>
<Provider Name="Microsoft-Windows-WHEA-Logger" Guid="{C26C4F3C-3F66-4E99-8F8A-39405CFED220}" />
<EventID>18</EventID>
<Version>0</Version>
<Level>2</Level>
<Task>0</Task>
<Opcode>0</Opcode>
<Keywords>0x8000000000000000</Keywords>
<TimeCreated SystemTime="2017-12-29T00:53:01.990884300Z" />
<EventRecordID>1797</EventRecordID>
<Correlation ActivityID="{4190D6E7-A2A9-4104-B75A-36578B1EF12A}" />
<Execution ProcessID="3284" ThreadID="3656" />
<Channel>System</Channel>
<Computer>Tudge-Desktop</Computer>
<Security UserID="S-1-5-19" />
</System>
- <EventData>
<Data Name="ErrorSource">3</Data>
<Data Name="ApicId">2</Data>
<Data Name="MCABank">1</Data>
<Data Name="MciStat">0xb080000000060151</Data>
<Data Name="MciAddr">0x0</Data>
<Data Name="MciMisc">0x0</Data>
<Data Name="ErrorType">9</Data>
<Data Name="TransactionType">0</Data>
<Data Name="Participation">256</Data>
<Data Name="RequestType">5</Data>
<Data Name="MemorIO">256</Data>
<Data Name="MemHierarchyLvl">1</Data>
<Data Name="Timeout">256</Data>
<Data Name="OperationType">256</Data>
<Data Name="Channel">256</Data>
<Data Name="Length">928</Data>
<Data Name="RawData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ata>
</EventData>
</Event>

I tried some basic troubleshooting myself:
- I've checked temperatures using CoreTemp and NZXT's CAM and can see that my CPU and GPU generally don't get above 40°C, so I can't see that they're getting too hot
- I used the Windows Memory Diagnostic tool to check RAM, and can't see that there's any issues there

- I checked my drivers, all seem up to date. However, when checking my motherboard drivers, I noticed that there are no drivers available for my motherboard (revision 4.1) for Windows 10. Does this mean that my motherboard isn't compatible? I've been running Win10 on this board for at least a year, why am I only just seeing this? Is this likely to be the cause of these BSODs, and will replacing it at a cost I can't afford definitely fix this?

If you need any more information please let me know.

Thanks in advance,
Matt

jr9 · Dec 28, 2017

- If you do not see Windows 10 drivers there is no cause for immediate alarm. Often Window 10 built in drivers will work (LAN, Audio, etc). You generally won't get a chipset driver however. It isn't that it will not work but rather there is no guarantee that it will. You may see more stability reverting to Windows 7 although it's not very likely as this started recently. There is a chance though.

- WHEA_UNCORRECTABLE_ERROR and machine check exception are generally caused by hardware level errors. Issues with the motherboard, CPU, or RAM can cause this. Anything overclocked?

fudjy · Dec 28, 2017

jr9 :

Thank you, I was having a minor panic at the thought of paying out for a new motherboard to fix this. Hopefully the issue lies elsewhere.

Nothing overclocked, been tempted many times but never dared!

Now that I know there’s not a major issue with Win10 compatability I plan to try the RAM out of my Dad’s PC just to completely rule that out. I’ll try that after work tomorrow (or today now, looking at the time :O). Beyond that I’m not sure myself.

jr9 · Dec 28, 2017

fudjy :

I can't say which hardware specifically it is. You can verify the RAM is OK by running MEMTEST86 from a flash drive for a couple of passes; or try it in another PC assuming it is compatible. Motherboard and CPU are not as easy to test, generally this requires spare parts.

Windows compatibility is still also a possibility. Older hardware sometimes doesn't work well with Windows 10 and there isn't an updated chipset driver to correct this. A Windows 10 update could have triggered this issue. One solution could be restoring the PC to a previous restore point or uninstalling any recent Windows 10 updates.

Hopefully it is simply Windows causing the problem as that will not require purchasing parts. You could also try refreshing or resetting your PC, or clean reinstall and see if it doesn't crash before and after you apply updates.

fudjy · Dec 29, 2017

jr9 :

fudjy :

I can't say which hardware specifically it is. You can verify the RAM is OK by running MEMTEST86 from a flash drive for a couple of passes; or try it in another PC assuming it is compatible. Motherboard and CPU are not as easy to test, generally this requires spare parts.

Windows compatibility is still also a possibility. Older hardware sometimes doesn't work well with Windows 10 and there isn't an updated chipset driver to correct this. A Windows 10 update could have triggered this issue. One solution could be restoring the PC to a previous restore point or uninstalling any recent Windows 10 updates.

Hopefully it is simply Windows causing the problem as that will not require purchasing parts. You could also try refreshing or resetting your PC, or clean reinstall and see if it doesn't crash before and after you apply updates.

As mentioned, I’ll check the RAM later today. If I rule that out, I suppose it’d be possible to install Win7 on a different partition of my HDD and see how it behaves on that OS? Would that be enough to rule the OS compatability in/out?

Calvin7 · Dec 29, 2017

2x4GB DDR3 Value Select RAM

Looks like a poor hardware choice. Could be wrong memory speed for FX CPU or use of modules purchased as singles. Vague description of memory does not mean very much.

If you see the text “WHEA_UNCORRECTABLE_ERROR,” it means that a hardware error has occurred.

jr9 · Dec 29, 2017

You could try running Win7 on another partition and see if it crashes just to confirm it isn't Windows that is the issue.

Another idea is remove one of your sticks of RAM and see if you get the same error. Try running each one on their own. If your RAM is mix-and-matched, it can cause stability problems. You should be able to boot with just one stick.

fudjy · Dec 29, 2017

jr9 :

Actually just been doing the Win7 test. Found a spare HDD, installed Windows 7 on it, been getting things setup and so on and just a minute ago it blue screened with exactly the same error as I was getting with Windows 10.

The RAM sticks I have are both 4GB Value Select so I wouldn't expect any issues with them being used together, but I'll go back to Windows 10 and try different RAM.

jr9 · Dec 29, 2017

It's good that you eliminated Windows as the issue, now you can freely focus on hardware as the issue can only lie there.

fudjy · Dec 29, 2017

jr9 :

Took my 2x4GB RAM out, put in my Dad's 2x4GB RAM, got the BSOD again, suggesting this isn't down to the RAM. Oddly, looking at WhoCrashed, I got 2 crashes together this time:

On Sat 30/12/2017 00:42:32 your computer crashed
crash dump file: C:\WINDOWS\Minidump\123017-30453-01.dmp
This was probably caused by the following module: Unknown ()
Bugcheck code: 0x0 (0x0, 0x0, 0x0, 0x0)
Error: CUSTOM_ERROR
A third party driver was identified as the probable root cause of this system error.
Google query: CUSTOM_ERROR

On Sat 30/12/2017 00:41:18 your computer crashed
crash dump file: C:\WINDOWS\memory.dmp
This was probably caused by the following module: hal.dll (hal!HalBugCheckSystem+0xCF)
Bugcheck code: 0x124 (0x0, 0xFFFFD98C531A9028, 0xB0800000, 0x60151)
Error: WHEA_UNCORRECTABLE_ERROR
file path: C:\WINDOWS\system32\hal.dll
product: Microsoft® Windows® Operating System
company: Microsoft Corporation
description: Hardware Abstraction Layer DLL
Bug check description: This bug check indicates that a fatal hardware error has occurred. This bug check uses the error data that is provided by the Windows Hardware Error Architecture (WHEA).
This is likely to be caused by a hardware problem. This problem might also be caused because of overheating (thermal issue).
The crash took place in a standard Microsoft module. Your system configuration may be incorrect. Possibly this problem is caused by another driver on your system that cannot be identified at this time.

Not sure how I can determine which driver is responsible for this crash, so I'll give you the Event Viewer details and the .dmp files from this crash. Hopefully these are more use to you than me!

- <Event xmlns="http://schemas.microsoft.com/win/2004/08/events/event">
- <System>
<Provider Name="Microsoft-Windows-WHEA-Logger" Guid="{C26C4F3C-3F66-4E99-8F8A-39405CFED220}" />
<EventID>18</EventID>
<Version>0</Version>
<Level>2</Level>
<Task>0</Task>
<Opcode>0</Opcode>
<Keywords>0x8000000000000000</Keywords>
<TimeCreated SystemTime="2017-12-30T00:42:35.815315600Z" />
<EventRecordID>2379</EventRecordID>
<Correlation ActivityID="{E75FBCFA-EB9B-44F3-871B-40826D11F401}" />
<Execution ProcessID="3204" ThreadID="4032" />
<Channel>System</Channel>
<Computer>Tudge-Desktop</Computer>
<Security UserID="S-1-5-19" />
</System>
- <EventData>
<Data Name="ErrorSource">3</Data>
<Data Name="ApicId">4</Data>
<Data Name="MCABank">1</Data>
<Data Name="MciStat">0xb080000000060151</Data>
<Data Name="MciAddr">0x0</Data>
<Data Name="MciMisc">0x0</Data>
<Data Name="ErrorType">9</Data>
<Data Name="TransactionType">0</Data>
<Data Name="Participation">256</Data>
<Data Name="RequestType">5</Data>
<Data Name="MemorIO">256</Data>
<Data Name="MemHierarchyLvl">1</Data>
<Data Name="Timeout">256</Data>
<Data Name="OperationType">256</Data>
<Data Name="Channel">256</Data>
<Data Name="Length">928</Data>
<Data Name="RawData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ata>
</EventData>
</Event>

https://www.dropbox.com/s/f6srdm9jxslpqwo/123017-30453-01.dmp?dl=0

Interestingly, looking at my Event Viewer since my last crash just now (Windows Logs > System), there's some warnings and errors I've never seen before that seem to point at something serious going wrong:

Error - 00:42:35 - A fatal hardware error has occured. (Seen this event every time)
Error - 00:46:18 - The computer has rebooted from a bugcheck. (Seen this event every time)
Warning - 00:47:05 - The file system structure on volume C: has now been repaired.
Warning - 00:47:33 - The file system structure on volume C: has now been repaired. (Same warning at the same time appears 9 times)
Warning - 00:47:33 - Too many repair events have occurred in a short period of time. Temporarily suspending posting of further repair events.
Warning - 00:48:07 - Volume C: (\Device\HarddiskVolume3) requires an Online Scan. An Online Scan will automatically run as part of the next scheduled maintenance task. Alternatively you may run "CHKDSK /SCAN" locally via the command line, or run "REPAIR-VOLUME <drive:> -SCAN" locally or remotely via PowerShell.
Error - 00:48:07 - A corruption was discovered in the file system structure on volume C:. The Master File Table (MFT) contains a corrupted file record. The file reference number is 0x4000000001ebe. The name of the file is "\Windows\Logs\CBS\CBS.log".
Warning - 00:52:35 - The file system structure on volume C: has now been repaired. (Same warning at the same time appears 10 times)
Warning - 00:52:35 - Too many repair events have occurred in a short period of time. Temporarily suspending posting of further repair events.

These new events are clearly indicating an issue with my C: drive. Not sure if this means the HDD is faulty or if the issue was caused by the crash, if that makes sense?

jr9 · Dec 29, 2017

I don't think drivers are the issue. The driver blamed was HAL which is a central part of the Windows OS. It's actually the only driver that Windows itself needs to function. The H stands for hardware so that points even more to hardware. According to that file, the OS was running your game and then a piece of hardware suddenly brought the OS down as before. I am seeing WHEA_UNCORRECTABLE_ERROR and machine check exception again in that dump file indicating hardware problems and we know it isn't the RAM.

I don't think harddrives or Windows is the issue as you tried Win7 on a different drive and got the same error.

I would consider trying a different power supply. If that does not help it is likely the motherboard or CPU if you are getting this crash on a new HDD and new Windows with different RAM. If you get the same issue with a different PSU you would then have to either try your CPU on another board or another compatible CPU in your board. If that is the case and you don't have a spare either of these a shop could perform this diagnosis for you.

fudjy · Dec 30, 2017

jr9 :

Only half my post was saved yesterday for some reason, oops!

Had to wait until this morning to try a different PSU, I had a brand new one lying around but it doesn't have a 6 pin connector for my GPU, had to go and buy an adaptor before I could try it. PC is on with the new PSU, gonna give it a quick run and see how it behaves this time. Honestly though, I wouldn't have thought the PSU would be behind this, are you thinking it may be failing?

jr9 · Dec 30, 2017

If the power supply has no longer able to give clean reliable electricity it can manifest itself in crashes. Circuitry not getting the power it needs can in turn crash the OS. It can mimic other issues like failing video card or failing RAM in diagnostic testing. I always perform a power supply swap prior to moterboard/CPU testing as PSU is more likely to die than those two. Failing power supply can even produce video card driver-related blue screens as if the video card isn't receiving the power it needs it can crash the OS.

fudjy · Dec 30, 2017

jr9 :

Got you, that makes sense. Unfortunately, it's just crashed again. To recap, this time I was using different RAM and a different PSU. Here's the dmp for this latest crash: https://www.dropbox.com/s/alwpc754vdtt4w4/123017-30140-01.dmp?dl=0

jr9 · Dec 30, 2017

Same error as before.

- How are your CPU temps when you try to play the game? Overheating is another cause of this error.
- Try a different graphics card.

After that, the only other things that it could be are the processor or motherboard. If you do not have a spare AM3 or AM3+ processor or motherboard I'd recommend trying a shop that does free diagnostic and they could figure out which one of the two it is. We've definitely cleared a large number of things off the list it could be though.

fudjy · Dec 30, 2017

jr9 :

CPU doesn't seem to go above 40, GPU doesn't go above 65. I don't have any spares so I'll look around and see if I can get them tested. I'll also try a spare GPU I have when I eventually find it!

Thanks for your help so far, I'll probably report back tomorrow once I've been able to find my spare GPU etc.

jr9 · Dec 30, 2017

NP, eventually you'll find the part causing the issue. Sometimes it is simply trial and error.

fudjy · Dec 30, 2017

jr9 :

Found my old AMD Radeon HD 7770 GPU, installed that, got the same BSOD just now, so that rules out the GPU. Whilst digging this out, I found an old motherboard and processor, a GA-MA770T-UD3 motherboard and AMD Phenom II X4 955 processor. Unfortunately, neither of these will be compatible with my current motherboard or processor, but I guess it's still worth installing these in place of my current ones so as to absolutely rule out all of my other hardware, as if I install these and don't get any issues I know that's where the problem lies. Any issues with my logic there?

fudjy · Dec 30, 2017

fudjy :

jr9 :

Found my old AMD Radeon HD 7770 GPU, installed that, got the same BSOD just now, so that rules out the GPU. Whilst digging this out, I found an old motherboard and processor, a GA-MA770T-UD3 motherboard and AMD Phenom II X4 955 processor. Unfortunately, neither of these will be compatible with my current motherboard or processor, but I guess it's still worth installing these in place of my current ones so as to absolutely rule out all of my other hardware, as if I install these and don't get any issues I know that's where the problem lies. Any issues with my logic there?

My mistake, looks like that old processor (AM3) will work on my motherboard, which makes it a much quicker job!

jr9 · Dec 30, 2017

AM3 processors do physically fit in AM3+ boards. If it doesn't work then try a BIOS update then reinstall the Phenom. If swapping the CPU doesn't help then it must be the motherboard.

fudjy · Dec 30, 2017

jr9 :

Processor swapped over and seems to work with this motherboard without issue. Unfortunately due to the age of this processor it isn't compatible with the game I've been running previously and I've not worked out another method for replicating the BSOD (I've seen the BSOD outside of playing AC Origins, but found that the easiest way to produce the BSOD was by playing the game for approx. 30 mins) so it could be difficult to prove this time round. Any idea as to how I should go about testing this time, or should I just try another game like GTA V?

jr9 · Dec 30, 2017

I would just try various games, stress testers like Prime95 or Furmark CPU burner to try to trigger a crash. It may take some time but the longer you run without a crash the more likely you've found the part to replace. Stress testers can even be run unattended although make sure your temps are good first.

fudjy · Dec 31, 2017

jr9 :

I ran Furmark for an hour without any issues on the spare CPU, whereas on my own CPU it was crashing within an hour each time. I've switched back to my CPU and ran Furmark with that one as I wanted to prove that I can make it crash without playing AC Origins (I guess I figured this could actually be related to the game, so wanted to confirm), after 20 minutes my PC has just restarted itself without a BSOD, WhoCrashed can't see any log files from the restart and Event Viewer doesn't mention it other than saying that the previous shutdown was unexpected. I guess that still proves there's a fault with this CPU, right?

jr9 · Dec 31, 2017

A hard reset is different but I still would feel comfortable replacing the CPU with a stronger AM3+ chip maybe something around FX 8350 or just what you had before. If you can't use the exact same BSOD trigger in both tests you can't be certain but your chances are still good. It would be very unlucky if it was the motherboard.

Worst case scenario you have a newer stronger CPU and it would just be a matter of sourcing a cheap AM3+ motherboard.

fudjy · Dec 31, 2017

jr9 :

Installed and played AC Syndicate (the game before Origins in the series) and was able to play for an hour with no issues. All pointing at my CPU just being a bit old for new games? Seeing as this suggests there isn't actually anything wrong with my hardware, but that it's just a bit old, I'm thinking of holding off on replacing anything just yet and saving up a little to make the jump to something more up to date, probably buy a motherboard with DDR4, just to future-proof myself a little. Found the following bits that I might look at getting, thoughts?

GIGABYTE AB350 GAMING - AMD Ryzen Motherboard -
https://www.aria.co.uk/Products/Components/Motherboards/AMD+Socket/Socket+AM4+-+AMD+B350/GIGABYTE+AB350+GAMING+-+AMD+Ryzen+Motherboard+?productId=67287
AMD Ryzen™ 5 1400 Quad Core CPU - https://www.aria.co.uk/Products/Components/Processors/AMD+CPUs/Ryzen+5+-+Socket+AM4/AMD+Ryzen%E2%84%A2+5+1400+Quad+Core+AM4+CPU%2FProcessor+with+Wraith+Stealth+65W+cooler+?productId=67470
Corsair Vengeance LPX 8GB (2x4GB) 2133MHz DDR4 - https://www.aria.co.uk/Products/Components/RAM/DDR4/Dual+Channel+2133MHz+DDR4/Corsair+Vengeance+LPX+8GB+%282x4GB%29+2133MHz+DDR4+Memory+-+Black+?productId=65308

BSOD - GA-78LMT-USB3 causing it?

Prominent

Estimable

Prominent

Estimable

Prominent

Titan

Estimable

Prominent

Estimable

Prominent

Estimable

Prominent

Estimable

Prominent

Estimable

Prominent

Estimable

Prominent

Prominent

Estimable

Prominent

Estimable

Prominent

Estimable

Prominent

Share this page