Repeating blue screens on new(ish) PC build

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kingmoney8133

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Dec 9, 2013
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So I built my first desktop in July and everything went rather smoothly (specs below for if they become needed). I used it substantially for three weeks. One day, upon restarting, the computer crashed when booting back up. The blue screen read Bad System Config Info, and the crash log attributed it to a corrupted registry. So after system restore refuses to work, I reinstall windows. Everything seems to work fine for a few weeks until I experience the same issue again while restarting. Safe mode boots up fine. However, after I exit safe mode, Windows is able to launch normally. The issue only occurs when I tried to restart instead of shutting down and turning back on. Since I was really busy and didn't have time to investigate I just avoided restarting the computer and everything was fine. However, last weekend, the computer blue screened on a normal startup. This time, the error read Attempted Write To Readonly Memory. Safe mode still boots fine, however no amount of restarting will get me to boot up regularly.

Should I just try reinstalling windows again (system restore again refuses to work). Also, what could be the issue causing these repeating blue screens? At this point, I'm attributing it to hardware issues, but I have no idea what to test and how. Any help would be appreciated and please let me know if you need more info. Thanks!

Specs:

CPU: AMD - Ryzen 5 2600X 3.6GHz 6-Core Processor

Motherboard: MSI - X470 GAMING PRO ATX AM4 Motherboard

Memory: G.Skill - Ripjaws V Series 16GB (2 x 8GB) DDR4-2666 Memory

Storage: ADATA - Ultimate SU800 256GB 2.5" Solid State Drive

Storage: Hitachi - Ultrastar 7K3000 2TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive

Video Card: MSI - GeForce GTX 1070 Ti 8GB Video Card

Case: NZXT - S340 (Black/Red) ATX Mid Tower Case

Power Supply: EVGA - SuperNOVA G3 650W 80+ Gold Certified Fully-Modular ATX Power Supply

Monitor: Acer - GN246HL 24.0" 1920x1080 144Hz Monitor
 
Solution
Darkbreeze
You need to update the bios. This is not the old days. Motherboards bricking is incredibly rare. I haven't even heard of anybody doing that from updating a board that didn't already have something else wrong with it, in years. There are plenty of instructional videos on how to update a given motherboard, on Youtube, or on the manufacturers website. It's pretty much a no brainer unlike how it used to be years, and years ago.
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Darkbreeze

Darkbreeze

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Jun 24, 2014
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Is the memory configured at it's XMP setting? What is the reported, actual, memory configuration, as reported in Windows? I'd recommend using HWinfo and checking what the reported speed and timings are as well as the DRAM voltage.

When you initiall, and subsequently, installed windows, did you have only the SSD attached to the system, or were multiple drives attached at that time?

Did ANY of the drives in use PREVIOUSLY have an OS installed on them prior to the Windows installation after the build? In other words, are any of the drives, drives that had windows on them from a previous build at any time?

After installing Windows each time, have you purposely gone to the motherboard product page and updated the drivers for the chipset and other hardware using the latest available versions from that page?

What Windows version are you running?
 
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kingmoney8133

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I'm working on installing HWInfo and I'll post the results but I figured I'd provide the other answers in the mean time:

1. The first time I installed Windows I only had the SSD attached. The second time both drives were attached.
2. Both drives were purchased new and never previously had an OS on them
3. After the second Windows install I did use the MSI's Live Update tool to install the drivers. I don't exactly remember what I did the first time, but I think I did get some of the drivers (including the chipset) from the same tool.

In addition, when I reinstalled windows I did do only a soft reset in order to keep my files. I was going to do a hard reset if that didn't work, but it never came to that.

Thanks for the quick response.

Edit: I'm going to have to reinstall Windows first so I can actually get HWinfo to install. When I'm reinstalling, should I perform a hard reset instead of a soft one, unplug all drives except the SSD, and download the drivers directly from the MSI website instead of using Live Update?
 
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Darkbreeze

Darkbreeze

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Ok, here is, at the least, MY recommendation.

Make absolutely certain that your motherboard bios is up to date with the latest bios version. This is the #1 problem on new builds. Especially these days where they cycle platforms out at the drop of a hat without the same rigorous extensive testing they used to do before release. Update the bios first.

Then, do a CLEAN install of Windows, as follows. Do it EXACTLY as follows, and do NOT leave the secondary drives attached to the system when you do it. You can reconnect them later.

http://www.tomshardware.com/faq/id-3567655/clean-installation-windows.html

Then, when that is done, go to the motherboard product page and download all the relevant drivers for your motherboard hardware. Chipset can also be downloaded directly from the AMD website. Download chipset, network adapter and any other drivers listed for your board on it's product page that are relevant. Install them after they are downloaded.

Then, do a CLEAN install of your GPU card drivers, as follows:

http://www.tomshardware.com/faq/id-2767677/perform-clean-install-video-card-drivers.html

Do not use automatic updating software for your hardware, except for Windows update. Even that, you have to keep an eye on to make sure it doesn't try changing any of the core component drivers like your GPU card drivers, to versions Microsoft likes better. Usually, they are not, better that is.
 
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kingmoney8133

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Dec 9, 2013
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So I attempted a fresh install of Windows. I followed those instructions to the letter (except for disabling secure boot and fast boot as, it seems, these are automatically disabled on my motherboard). However, during the 'getting files ready for installation' phase, the computer keeps crashing. The errors I have received have been 'bad pool header' and 'page fault in nonpaged area.'

The only step I haven't taken so far is updating my BIOS. It is out of date (v14 while I'm on v10), and I know you recommended updating it, but I am terrified of bricking my motherboard so I only want to take that step if absolutely necessary. Is this my last remaining step or does it sound more like a faulty SSD? Thanks for the help.
 
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Darkbreeze

Darkbreeze

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Jun 24, 2014
80,411
7,631
176,790
You need to update the bios. This is not the old days. Motherboards bricking is incredibly rare. I haven't even heard of anybody doing that from updating a board that didn't already have something else wrong with it, in years. There are plenty of instructional videos on how to update a given motherboard, on Youtube, or on the manufacturers website. It's pretty much a no brainer unlike how it used to be years, and years ago.
 
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