Help - BSOD on new machine

[yueli7]

I have a longstanding issue with a pc I have. As soon as it loads past the xp logo screen there is a BSOD with stop code

0x0000007E (0xC0000005, 0xF7660756, 0xF788EB42C, 0xF78EB128)

I have searched around google for the 7E stop code but solutions found have not worked.

This is a PC with no cards (graphics or audio), HDD that is newly formatted and installed a fresh copy of XP professional SP3. The PC enters safe mode with networking fine, I have internet and can install drivers for USB etc using the OEM CD. There is one device still uninstalled, as it says found new hardware and the device name is MEDIA and this does not match any drivers on the CD. I can't think what this device could be.

So, the HDD works, I have plugged it into another computer (this one) and the disk operates fine. I have also replaced the RAM on that PC with the working RAM stick from this one and it still gives the same BSOD. I have also used a different PSU, but still giving the BSOD. I also have reset the BIOS to default with no joy.

The motherboard is a M2A-VM series with 690G chipset (X1250 gpu). The CPU is a AMD Q9550.

Interesting point I add, that may complicate things, is that the PC is not new. It was fully working before for about a year until it started BSODing on me with no reason I can think of. I used the very same XP SP3 disk i am using now to repair the installation, and it worked - I booted up windows normally with no BSOD. However I wanted to start afresh so I put the CD back in and chose to install XP with a full format. From then on I cannot solve the BSOD issue. This shows that there is nothing wrong with the XP CD, at least, and perhaps even it shows that it is not a motherboard issue, as it boots into safe mode now and also booted normally after I repaired the XP installation when I first began having BSOD. Also, on previous installs, it had not mentioned any devices that could not be installed, namely this MEDIA device.

Any ideas, please?
Thanks

EDIT: I will add this, after the successful repair (prior to the reformatted installation) I could not install XP completely without the PC either shutting down on me during installation, or the installation will complete (and i get through to entering the date/time) but then the following screen is blue with no text and will not proceed to the log on screen. upon restart, I get the BSOD all over again. Hence, I have installed XP this time by plugging the HDD into this PC, and installing XP successfully from here.
Perhaps unrelated, the PC is unable to POST after it is on for about 30 minutes (nothing on the monitor, no startup beep, the keyboard lights do not flash - but the cpu fan and HDD are spinning). I would have to wait around another 30mins or so before the next power on passes POST. I believe this sounds like a heat issue, however this problem did not exist before the BSOD issue and so I think it is worth mentioning. I am unconvinced it is a heat issue however, as before the BSOD I was using the PC to play intensive games etc. and it obviously got much hotter then, than it is now. Again, this could be unrelated to the BSOD, as the 7E stop code is not heat related, but if anyone knows why the PC needs a "rest" please let me know.

 

[hunter315]

Please list your full system configuration, makes trouble shooting easier if we know all of the possible parts that could cause it. Were there any hardware changes prior to it starting to BSOD or maybe a driver update that gave you a bad driver?

 

[yueli7]

Please list your full system configuration, makes trouble shooting easier if we know all of the possible parts that could cause it. Were there any hardware changes prior to it starting to BSOD or maybe a driver update that gave you a bad driver?

No, this was is the same motherboard/HDD/PSU etc as when I first installed the system (it was working then) with no additional hardware. I am not sure if a driver update caused the problem, but this is now a reformatted HDD so I don't think it matters at the moment. I have ruled out RAM and PSU as the culprits.

I have also added a section at the end of the original post that further outlines the PC issue.

 

[Outlander_04]

if it installed windows and boots in safemode the problem must be with a driver OR a device the driver turns on .

Since you have integrated gfx I think its worth testing whether that is the problem . Head to BIOS and see if you have an option to set northbridge voltage and frequency to default

If it changed when you did that you may have found the problem . if it doesnt change then try adding voltage in very small steps to see if the system stabilises .

Also check the RAM frequency and voltage [ but this is less likely because safemode should not affect this ]

It may also be worth checking the cpu and northbridge heatsinks are firmly in place

 

[yueli7]

if it installed windows and boots in safemode the problem must be with a driver OR a device the driver turns on .

Since you have integrated gfx I think its worth testing whether that is the problem . Head to BIOS and see if you have an option to set northbridge voltage and frequency to default

If it changed when you did that you may have found the problem . if it doesnt change then try adding voltage in very small steps to see if the system stabilises .

Also check the RAM frequency and voltage [ but this is less likely because safemode should not affect this ]

It may also be worth checking the cpu and northbridge heatsinks are firmly in place

I also just ran a chkdsk /r without benefit.
The BIOS is limiting with regards to voltages, but I have set the BIOS to default and I have checked that the voltage are set on AUTO, and the CPU frequency is at the normal 200mhz. The RAM voltage and timings are all default.

The heatsinks appear in place.

 

[yueli7]

PSU in BIOS is

Vcore - 1.26V
3.3V - 3.29V
5V - 4.89
12V - 11.84

CPU temp on start up is 28