Various and Constant BSOD's.

bAdbUd

bAdbUd

bAdbUd

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Various and Constant BSOD's.

All components are new as detailed below:

Intel Core i5-4690K 3.5GHz Quad-Core Processor
MSI Z97-GAMING 5 ATX LGA1150 Motherboard
Crucial 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-1600 Memory
Crucial MX100 512GB 2.5" Solid State Drive
MSI GeForce GTX 960 2GB Video Card
Corsair SPEC-01 RED ATX Mid Tower Case
Corsair CX 430W 80+ Bronze Certified Semi-Modular ATX Power Supply
Samsung SH-224DB/BEBE DVD/CD Writer
Microsoft Windows 7 Home Premium SP1 (OEM) (64-bit)
Corsair Air Series Purple 2 pack 52.2 CFM 120mm Fan
Corsair Air Series Purple 2 pack 52.2 CFM 120mm Fan
AOC G2460PQU 144Hz 24.0" Monitor

Since day 1 I've had problems with BSOD's, My initial investigation's lead down the routes of un-installing Avast and then running memtest86/64. When I run memtest64 in windows it produces errors, I belive this is due to using all available memory and getting into a deadlock state. When I run memtest86 off a USB drive no errors are reported. I've left it running for 10 passes, no errors found. I believe this is the better memtest to run, unless advised differently.

However I bought an identical set of memory and have tried them and still I'm getting random BSODs.

I'm currently trying each of the four sticks in each of the four slots available, I'm still getting BSOD's In Slot Two and Four together and Slot 1 and 3 together. I'm now trying one stick in each slot.

UPDATE:
=======
No change trying each of 4 sticks in all 4 slots.

However the more I've investigated the less I think it's Memory, but it could be the motherboard.

I have re-installed my system 3 times, fully updated Win7 with all patch's, only used manufacturer drivers for the Motherboard.

I haven't Overclocked anything, everything is running with default settings.

Bios for the motherboard hasn't been updated as it's the current version 1.9.

I have run sfc.exe /scannow and no problems where reported.

Code: 
Microsoft Windows [Version 6.1.7601]
Copyright (c) 2009 Microsoft Corporation.  All rights reserved.
C:\Users\Steve Arthur>sfc.exe /scannow
Beginning system scan.  This process will take some time.
Beginning verification phase of system scan.
Verification 100% complete.
Windows Resource Protection did not find any integrity violations.

I'm now going to set "verifier" following these instructions:

Go to Start and type in "verifier" (without the quotes) and press Enter
Select "Create custom settings (for code developers)" and click "Next" (or Type "verifier /standard /all" (no quotes) if you want to verify all of them (this will slow your computer down))
Select "Select individual settings from a full list" and click "Next"
Select everything EXCEPT FOR "Low Resource Simulation" and for win 8 dont check Concurrency stress test, and DDI compliance checking click "Next"
Select "Select driver names from a list" and click "Next"
Then select all drivers NOT provided by Microsoft and click "Next"
Select "Finish" on the next page.
Reboot the system and wait for it to crash to the Blue Screen.
Continue to use your system normally, and if you know what causes the crash, do that repeatedly. The objective here is to get the system to crash because Driver Verifier is stressing the drivers out. If it doesn't crash for you, then let it run for at least 36 hours of continuous operation.
If you can't get into Windows because it crashes too soon, try it in Safe Mode.
If you can't get into Safe Mode, try using System Restore from your installation DVD to set the system back to the previous restore point that you created.
Click to expand...

As you'll be able to see a common failure is due to Kernel System Error and often related to Graphics cards.

However there are also files attributed to the LAN drivers and other drivers, so I don't now know what else to check.

Please advise how I can go about determining what is the root cause of my problem.

Minidump and DxDiag Files available from Dropbox

UPDATE:
=======
I've now Breadboarded and stripped the whole thing down to only crucial parts required to get Win7 to load and I'm still getting BSOD's. However I'm now getting the same BSOD for the last 9. IRQL_NOT_LESS_OR_EQUAL, same file; ntoskrnl.exe and same address; ntoskrnl.exe+74ec0.

I haven't connected USB 2/3 Cables or Sound cables. Only cables connected are power to motherboard and JFP1 System Panel connectors and the stock CPU fan cable.

I've examined the motherboard back and front and I haven't noticed anything that looks out of the ordinary.

I'm now going to take the CPU out clean it and reattach.
 
Last edited by a moderator:
Sorry about that, I just used a part picker site to get all the components, I didn't even buy them from thouse other sites.

Again sorry.

Any help with my question will be greatly appreciated.
 
Sound's plausible, are you suggesting it's a motherboard issue?

I really don't think it's Memory, 4 sticks bought in pair's at separate occasions from different scource. Unlikely ALL 4 are problematic.
 
I've set Ram voltage to Auto, 1.35 and 1.5.

Now that I've breadboard, literally, as the mobo is on a wooden breadboard. And still not got any closer to knowing the cause I'm doing a full reinstall.

I could do a Linux install, if anyone has idea's about diagnosing in Linux, Ubuntu specifically. Then I could iron out possible driver issues.
 
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OracIe said:
Just checking.

BIOS all default? Sounds like it's going to be motherboard or PSU.
Click to expand...

I'm leading to motherboard, I don't understand why the PSU could be at fault.

Please explain your reasoning

Everything is default, as I want a stable system before I tweek.
 
I've reinstalled, (4th time). This time I'm not installing any drivers at all. I'm running a few standalone burn tests and see if I still get a BSOD.

If I do get one, then it's not driver related, but hardware.

Suspects from a hardware point are:

1: Motherboard, (I'm leading to this).
2: PSU, I don't believe it's that, I think some may say that due to it being 430W. I'm pulling 390 W from the wall, so it's hardly down to wattage issues.
3: CPU is also a possible candidate.
4: Memory I've ruled out.
5: Drivers, I'm testing that now.
 
OracIe said:
Quite often if the PSU is faulty it wont supply reliable current as the system draws on it, or intermittent current which can lead to BSOD.

I would say try the paperclip test on the PSU (you tube it) but it would appear its working to a degree.

It will be either PSU or motherboard, without getting a spare or sending them away to test by way of RMA, you wont reliably know.

The only other thing it could be is an incorrectly seated CPU cooler on the CPU itself, causing an overheat or you *may* have bent one of the pins on the motherboard which you would need to check by removing the CPU.
Click to expand...

Taken out CPU, cleaned, checked for bent pins, nothing out of the ordinary seen.

Heat hasn't been a problem, runs at 40/70 C with stock heatsink and 25/50 C with water cooler and still I'm getting BSOD's.
 
Danny75 said:
Testing the PSU is based on three reasons. First and foremost it's a part of the rig and you want to rule out everything that you can to help narrow down the cause. Second, any PSU, no matter how good it's supposed to be, can be faulty in some way, particularly in the intermittent current way Oracle mentioned. Thirdly, that PSU does not provide 430W on the 12v rail. It either provides around 330W or 380W depending on which version it is.

If it's drawing 390W from the wall and working at 80% efficiency, it's putting out 312W. If working at 85% efficiency, it's putting out 331.5W.

To be honest I'm surprised that rig is drawing so much from the wall. So despite having suspicions originally based more around the second point (something faulty) - that wattage seems close enough to its maximum 12v output to warrant suspecting it may also be failing due to not having enough grunt.

Could be a mixture of both. Or another component of course. But don't exclude the PSU from testing just because you thought it would have plenty of extra juice available. It doesn't, according to your wall draw figure and the effective output of those CXs. It's pretty tight, apparently.
Click to expand...

Thanks for your detailed reply, it's not 390 W, that was a typo for 290 W, sorry.

And that's with the GTX 960 installed. I've not got that installed and still I get BSOD'S. I don't know what it's drawing now as I lent the wattage meter from a friend. Didn't want to spend £17 for a rearly used device.
 
After a reinstall and installing no drivers except lan driver to install prerequisites for "Intel Diagnostic Tool" and then running it for 2 hours I've had no BSOD's.

This build has rarely lasted more than 2 hours doing this test, so now I'm leading down the route of driver issues.

Which driver?
Which driver in which combination?

My first try is going to be just doing MS Win7 updates and then keep running the same tests that have failed previously and caused BSOD'S.

Let's see how far I get under a controlled install, test, install regime.
 
Driver's possibly ruled out, I'm getting random resets, without BSOD'S, with just a basic install.

This now leads me down the route of mobo.
 
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After reinstalling Win7 and testing for two hours, I didn't get any BSOD's but the machine did randomly reboot itself.

I'm now installing Win7 updates to see if I get any BSOD's.
 
UPDATE:

Prime Blend Test produced one error within 5 minutes, I stopped the test and rebooted and started it again.

Code: 
[Wed Apr 08 18:31:49 2015]
Self-test 12K passed!
FATAL ERROR: Rounding was 0.5, expected less than 0.4
Hardware failure detected, consult stress.txt file.

Running it again produced these errors with 20 minutes and then BSOD

Code: 
[Wed Apr 08 19:50:15 2015]
FATAL ERROR: Rounding was 4.460210523e+285, expected less than 0.4
Hardware failure detected, consult stress.txt file.
Self-test 896K passed!
Self-test 32K passed!
FATAL ERROR: Rounding was 2.173430923e+189, expected less than 0.4
Hardware failure detected, consult stress.txt file.

I have a sneaky suspicion that my CPU could be an RMA'ed component as it's clocked at 3.7 GHz not the stock 3.5 GHz, although it's Boost value is 3.9 GHz so it may just be that.

However would you expect to get a new CPU that was clocking higher than it's stated stock value?

Further Information:
I installed Ubuntu anyway, no loss in doing that, then I ran Prime for a good 10 hours overnight along with 'stress' and finding that the machine is still up and running after being left on overnight.

However I'm not sure of a few things, even though Prime was running and causing some load when looking at 'top' and CPU heat was hovering around 45 C, indicating it's being loaded as the idle temp is around 20 C. I'm not sure even in this situation the machine is being stressed in the same way, so not having any errors doesn't mean there still isn't an issue with hardware. Although it could mean a Driver issue in Windows.

Also:
The machine when first turned on seems to function normally for up to 2 hours, then at around the 2 hour mark the BSOD's start, after this when rebooting it will BSOD within 5 to 10 mins constantly until left off for a good half hour.

BSOD'S in this Order:

Code: 
MEMORY_MANAGEMENT
MEMORY_MANAGEMENT	
SPECIAL_POOL_DETECTED_MEMORY_CORRUPTION	
PAGE_FAULT_BEYOND_END_OF_ALLOCATION	
BAD_POOL_HEADER	
IRQL_NOT_LESS_OR_EQUAL	
IRQL_NOT_LESS_OR_EQUAL	
IRQL_NOT_LESS_OR_EQUAL	
IRQL_NOT_LESS_OR_EQUAL	
IRQL_NOT_LESS_OR_EQUAL	
IRQL_NOT_LESS_OR_EQUAL	
IRQL_NOT_LESS_OR_EQUAL	
IRQL_NOT_LESS_OR_EQUAL	
IRQL_NOT_LESS_OR_EQUAL	
SYSTEM_THREAD_EXCEPTION_NOT_HANDLED	
NTFS_FILE_SYSTEM	
BAD_POOL_HEADER	
SYSTEM_SERVICE_EXCEPTION	
SYSTEM_SERVICE_EXCEPTION	
BAD_POOL_HEADER	
MEMORY_MANAGEMENT	
SYSTEM_THREAD_EXCEPTION_NOT_HANDLED	
IRQL_NOT_LESS_OR_EQUAL	
NTFS_FILE_SYSTEM
 
Rroff said:
CPUs are overclocked via changing how the motherboard works with them - any overclock from the CPU perspective is lost the moment the CPU loses power.

At default Intel CPUs will usually boost from base->boost depending on the number of active cores and thermal conditions so if its 3.5 base, 3.9 boost you will see values in between depending on what it is doing - with 3 threads active its likely to be running around 3.7.

You seem to be ignoring the most likely cause of the problem in that it is related to voltage settings - higher end hardware especially when your pushing larger amounts of RAM won't always play nice with the default voltage settings.
Click to expand...

I haven't ignored it, I just haven't tried changing the voltages yet.

What voltage setting would you recommend I start with and work up towards to try and find a stable threshold?
 
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