BSOD: unable to find a solution

[berkeleyboi]

Hi all, I'm having some problems with BSODs on my newly built computer. It happens when I play various games like Empire: Total War and Civilization IV. I have tried the newest as well as various older video drivers with no change in result. I have also run various stress tests like OCCT with no errors. MemTest also reported no errors. I'm running out of ideas here... please help me out, I'm starting to get desperate. Here's all the information:

Power Supply: OCZ StealthxStream 600W
Hard Drive: Seagate 1TB HD 7200/32MB/SATA-3G
Motherboard: MSI NF750-G55
Processor: AMD Athlon II X3 440 - 3.00GHz, 1.5MB Cache
Memory: 2GBx2 Corsair DDR3 1600
Video Card: x2 Sli BFG Geforce GTS 250 1GB

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Problem signature:
Problem Event Name: BlueScreen
OS Version: 6.1.7600.2.0.0.256.48
Locale ID: 1033

Additional information about the problem:
BCCode: 1000007e
BCP1: FFFFFFFFC0000005
BCP2: FFFFF88010B9FCF7
BCP3: FFFFF88004C4E6A8
BCP4: FFFFF88004C4DF10
OS Version: 6_1_7600
Service Pack: 0_0
Product: 256_1

Files that help describe the problem:
C:\Windows\Minidump\070610-12531-01.dmp
C:\Users\El Chai\AppData\Local\Temp\WER-20625-0.sysdata.xml

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System Information
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Time of this report: 7/6/2010, 20:29:33
Machine name: ASPARAGUS
Operating System: Windows 7 Professional 64-bit (6.1, Build 7600) (7600.win7_gdr.100226-1909)
Language: English (Regional Setting: English)
System Manufacturer: MSI
System Model: MS-7578
BIOS: Default System BIOS
Processor: AMD Athlon(tm) II X3 440 Processor (3 CPUs), ~3.0GHz
Memory: 4096MB RAM
Available OS Memory: 4096MB RAM
Page File: 1094MB used, 7094MB available
Windows Dir: C:\Windows
DirectX Version: DirectX 11
DX Setup Parameters: Not found
User DPI Setting: Using System DPI
System DPI Setting: 96 DPI (100 percent)
DWM DPI Scaling: Disabled
DxDiag Version: 6.01.7600.16385 64bit Unicode

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DxDiag Notes
------------
Display Tab 1: No problems found.
Sound Tab 1: No problems found.
Sound Tab 2: No problems found.
Input Tab: No problems found.

Moderator Edit: Removed unnecessary info.

 

[tank]

Ok blue screen of death.... Most likely RAM is the first guess. Switch sticks out and see if that helps. Have you overclocked anything? That is a ridiculous amount of data u posted. Do you get the black screen only when you do video intensive things?

Edit..
I would venture to say 600W is not enough to power ur system. Look into how big of power supply you need. It might say 600W but it doesn't deliver that to your PC, their is some energy lost in the conversion process.

 

[davcon]

Download and install DriverSweeper
Run in safe mode
Check off Nvidia
Click clean - you'll have to do that twice maybe since you have mutiple driver versions ontop of each other from the sound of your post.
Restart normal
Download latest drivers

 

[tank]

This sounds like a hardware issue at heart, i agree to clean up his drivers but it seems you are putting a band aid on a amputated limb. (analogy)

 

[berkeleyboi]

Thanks for the help. I checked the ram with Memtest multiple times and got no problems... I don't really have any other sticks of ram lying around to test it with. Should I run Memtest a few more times just to make sure? And I ran OCCT Power Supply Test for 2 hours with no problems. Is there any other way I can test the power supply?

And yeah, it does BSOD only when playing games. Haven't had it die when just in windows yet. Mass Effect 2 hasn't had any BSOD, but it does CTD every now and then. Haven't overclocked anything except I manually set the ram to 1600 and timing of 9-9-9-24 and the voltage to the recommended levels. I also increased the CPU voltage by 2 notches, but the BSODs were happening before I did this.

I'll go and do the driver sweeper thing, but I'm not so sure about how to take care of the chipset. The chipset is nVidia, which includes the ethernet and other drivers. Should I remove all the nVidia drivers or just the graphics drivers?

 

[hang-the-9]

Take out one of the cards, try it then.

 

[berkeleyboi]

Alright, I've installed new drivers on a clean system and it still BSOD, though it takes a little longer.

Using only one card results in NO PROBLEMS AT ALL. Does this mean I need more power, my SLI bridge is defective, one of my video cards is defective, or something else?

Thanks for all the help. I think I'm starting to zoom in on the problem now. Any more suggestions on pinpointing the problem would be very much appreciated.

 

[hang-the-9]

It could be an SLI issue with Win7. My deep memory banks seem to recall something about that, although I don't have an SLI system so don't play with that.

Take out one of the cards, your system will work, send me the other one in appreciation. Everyone is happy.

 

[berkeleyboi]

Did a quick search and it seems like the Win7 problem with Sli was with the beta version of Win7. Couldn't find too many issues of Sli with the latest Win7 with the updates.

 

[berkeleyboi]

Ok, I just played Mass Effect 2 for about 2 hours and got another BSOD... looks like it's not just the SLI problem.

 

[tank]

Ok try this....
http://www.extreme.outervision.com/index.jsp

this will calculate how much power you use. Granted you could just add it up if you wanted. Without your second graphics card. you came up to around 500 Watts. I bet your cards peak in performance, then maybe another hard drive spins up to get some data, then boom you have used up all 600 Watts.

Some questions?
How long can you normally play a game for before you get your BSOD?
How many cd-roms do you have?
Lots of fans/LCD lights?

 

[berkeleyboi]

Sometimes, I get the BSOD right within the first few seconds, like in Empire: Total War. For Mass Effect 2, it takes a lot longer, like 2 hours or so. For Civilization IV with the Fall From Heaven Mod, it takes about 2 hours as well. Also, I got the latest BSOD with only ONE video card installed, so I'm doubtful that it's the power supply.

I have 1 CD Rom and 3 120mm fans with no LCD lights.

I've been asking about the power supply issue in this http://www.tomshardware.com/forum/285383-28-power-supply#t2135447 thread, but I'm getting conflicting replies about how much power I actually need.