BSOD every month

[faervian]

I built a system 6 months ago and I have a strange problem I couldn't fix yet.

Every month or so (20 to 40 days), I get a bsod and after that OS becomes completely ruined with constant reboots and more BSODs. When this happens, if I rollback to a previous system restore point or reinstall OS, problem stops for another month. By the way, BSODs and reboots are not software related and they come up completely random (surfing, playing game, watching video, or even on idle).

I had this problem with 2 different OS (xp 32bit, vista 64bit), so i'm suspecting that this is a hardware problem. And in one of those BSOD times, my memories died and Rma'ed. Also, a couple of weeks ago I told the local store that i'm suspecting that memories are causing the problem, they accepted to change with a different brand (patriot viper, I didn't replace it yet though).

Here's my questions:
1-Rolling back to a previous system restore point solves the problem temporarily. How can this happen if it's really a hardware problem?
2-Which part of the system can cause this kind of problem?
3-Should I change my memory modules?

system:
Core2Duo E8500 @3.16
Gigabyte GA-EP45-DS3R
Crucial Ballistix Tracer Led 800mhz cas4 d9 micron 2.0v
Seagate 640gb HDD
Sapphire HD4850 Toxic
Xilence 600W Redwing

I have some dump files and some screens of the error messages if needed.
And one more note: Rams running on 2.1v at 4-4-4-12 and I think the store I bought the system set it so. Everthing else is on auto and no overclocks.

[dred210]

Re: BSOD every month

If system restore solves the problem 99% of the time it is a software issue. If i was running into this issue i would assume its sometype of spyware/virus.

I would immediatly download malwarebytes and scan with that. you can get it here Malwarebytes.org Its pretty much the best anti-spyware program out thats free right now.

I would also get ccleaner to clean out any crap hanging out on the hard drive that is no longer being used. you can get that at CCleaner - Home

If all that checks out then all you can do is check what programs you have installed maybe uninstall stuff you don't remember putting on the pc? or stuff you know you don't need.

As far as hardware goes.

I would run a chkdsk c: /f /r which will scan your hard drive for bad sectors.. (this can take a while with very large hard drives like hours)

When you get the new ram i would immediatly make a boot cd and run memtest86 and make sure its stable.

all a system restore does is basically restore your registry to an earlier time. So if this was happening every few days then my assumption would be that your registry is just getting corrupted every few days.. which i guess could be hardware. just most of the time its a software issue.

[faervian]

Re: BSOD every month

It doesn't have virus-like characteristics (no weird background processes, no slowdowns). I always use antivirus softwares (avg earlier and avira premium security suite now) and daily scans/realtime guards don't find anything suspicious.

I'm thinking this scenario: Every once in a while, ram's getting overheated or maybe voltage drops or irregularities affects the ram (maybe because of long hours of use), not enough to damage them (though i remind you one of those times memories died), but enough to make it give errors and corrupt registry.

But I don't know if this possible or not.

So I'm thinking, I must change my rams, and if problem continues, i must suspect my mainboard (gigabyte ep45-ds3r) or psu (xilence 600w) next.

What do you guys think?

[Lsdmeasap]

Re: BSOD every month

I agree with this for sure >>>

If system restore solves the problem 99% of the time it is a software issue. If i was running into this issue i would assume its sometype of spyware/virus.

Now, it does not always mean virus/spyware, but also could be drivers or other programs that are installed between those times that you are not thinking of or noticing.

And I do have to say AVG is terrible, just my thoughts there.

Those 2.0V Crucial are great, you can see my review of them in my signature. Granted I did not use them all day for many weeks/months, but I did put them thru some heavy testing for several weeks and they were fine. So I would not think they would be your issue, but have you ran memtest86+ on them lately? If not, please run this overnight while you sleep and see if all is well >>>
Memtest86+ - Advanced Memory Diagnostic Tool

Hey, I just noticed your last comment about 2.1v Set to the ram. Can you please post me a image of the SPD Tab of CPU-z so I can see which Crucial you have? If it is the 2.0V versions then 2.1V could possibly be what killed your last stick? Or was those the 2.2V versions, if so they often died for various reasons and have been replaced due to that with the 2.0V type >>>
CPUID

And please do check in the PC Health page of your BIOS as well and see what it says is being applied to the DDR

[faervian]

Re: BSOD every month

The reason I wanted to change Crucials, was one of your posts actually. But I didn't know you were talking about 2.2v's back then. Besides I found some people like me, having BSOD's periodically with Crucial memories.

I don't know what killed the other stick. I didn't check the voltage back then. But after I get back my system, I checked it and found the voltage is 2.08v, and rounded it up to 2.1v, because I thought 0.02v won't change anything, and it's still working. When I talked about the problems with the technical support of the seller, he told me, setting the voltage 0.1v higher is better for low latency rams, because on Gigabyte mainboards, voltage under load can decrease up to 0.060v. I think that's why they set it to 2.080v.

After the last BSOD and System restore routine (just couple of days ago), I tested the memories with memtest86 for maybe an hour. Before I stopped it, it completed the half of the test and couldn't find any errors. But I will complete the test today and update this post with the result. (Update: memtest86 finished in 1.5 hours without errors. I thought it supposed to take longer, is it normal?)

For software/drivers... I didn't install any software that can cause problems and if a software was causing this, I think I'd see it. But I admit, I'm lazy about the drivers and just installed them from Gigabyte cd and didn't check for updates.

I attached the CPU-Z page you're talking about. Slot 1 and Slot 3 are being used and they are the same except for the serial number. PC Health Page on BIOS is only saying this about the ddr: DDR18V: 2.064V , +3.3V: 3.280V, +12V: 11.858V. By the way, BIOS verison is F9, Date 8/18/2008.

[Lsdmeasap]

Re: BSOD every month

Well if your memory (Settings and voltages as they are) pass overnight Memtest86+ then it is most likely something else causing your BSOD's.

Ya, those are the new Crucial's, the same as I reviewed. You will be fine with the voltages set like you guys told you. I ran them often at 2.08 set in the BIOS, and that came out to be 2.06 in windows on my board

How stable are you on Orthos? You may have some other settings or voltages that need a adjustment. But pelase do be sure you memory passes 5 or so full runs of memtest86+ first so you know that is not the issue

If you are Orthos and Memtest86+ stable then you may be looking at software related issues that are causing your BSOD's

Can you get the BSOD error? If you know how to cause the BSOD's or it happens often you can disable automatic restart on the PC when it BSOD's that way you can see and write down the error. To do that, go to control panel, system, advanced settings, startup and recovery settings button, then at the bottom in the system failure section uncheck "Automatically Restart" then click ok, apply. After this, you will have to manually restart your PC when it BSOD's.

Then next time you BSOD the system will remain running on the BSOD screen and you will have time to get the error # (0x000000) and any related info it may give you

[faervian]

Re: BSOD every month

I ran some tests.

First I scanned the HDD with seatools. HDD passed the every test )even the long ones).

I ran memtest86 for 6 hours. It didn't give any errors.

After that I ran Orthos for 4 hours. It didn't give any errors and cores reached 65C maximum. I'm using stock cpu fans and cpu temp is at 33-35C at idle, 65C max with orthos. Isn't 65C a little high for [email protected]? I'm guessing it's not a good idea for me to overclock with stock fans (in future), right?

I can't force BSOD's and they happen really rarely (15 to 30 days) but I have some minidumps from a crash and some bluescreen error reports about windows, on Vista's problem history. I don't know if they can be helpful. I'm writing down one of them:

BCCode: f4
BCP1: 0000000000000003
BCP2: FFFFFA8005FA7C10
BCP3: FFFFFA8005FA7E48
BCP4: FFFFF80001EFEDA0

All of the reports has FFFFF80001... in the last line. And most of them has "a" on "BCCode" line (except for this one).

Ok let's rule out hardware problem for a second. I'm pretty sure it's not a software (application) issue and this has happened on 2 different OS (XP and Vista). If it's a driver problem, which driver can cause this and corrupt registry everytime it crashes?

[kick]

Re: BSOD every month

If the restore solves it and it is software .Could it be just about anything.What items do you run on both OS
The things I update most often are AVGwhich it seems Lsd doesnt think much of and adaware.
I dont have this problem ,but aside from not using your net connection for 30 days or so,that would be hard to test.
I found a virus ..well the prog did hidden deep in the system restore(hmm) portion of my hdd ,it only turned itself on sometimes and wasnt detected under normal scans.
It came from some dload of partypoker.com and even tho id long since deleted the original software ,this thing would pop out every so often.

[Lsdmeasap]

Re: BSOD every month

Isn't 65C a little high for [email protected]? I'm guessing it's not a good idea for me to overclock with stock fans (in future), right?

Agreed

About your BSOD's. I would need to see the BSOD error code that you are presented with on the BSOD Screen, and any other info it gives you. It will look like this 0x000000 as a example with all zeros.

To Stop the BSOD from Automatically restarting your system go into control panel, then system, then the advanced tab. On that Tab go to the Startup and Recovery settings section and then at the button uncheck Automatically restart in the System Failure section. Now when you BSOD the screen will stay up until you manually reboot the system. This way you can see the error info and write it down.

Very well could be a driver issue, many drivers can cause various BSOD's

[faervian]

Re: BSOD every month

Bump:)

Sorry for the long time waiting. I just wanted to wait until I get another Blue Screen. It didn't break the 20to40 days cycle and happened 24 days after the last system restore.

I did as you said, stopped automatic restart and finally managed to copy the BSOD detail.

Stop: 0x0000003B (0x00000000C0000005, 0xFFFFF80001F1E901, 0XFFFFFA6006349C40, 0X0000000000000000)

And I checked the Vista Problem Reports and found out they wrote down these errors also. So my previous error reports should be like this:

23.01.2009 : 0x0000000a (time: 13:35), 0x0000001a (13:40), 0x0000000a (13:57), 0x0000003b (14:07) (as you see if I don't restore the system I just keep getting blue screens)
06.02.2009 : 0x0000000a
27.02.2009 : 0x000000f4
23.03.2009 : 0x0000003b (this one happened just 1 hour ago)

btw, I updated the LAN and Onboard audio drivers in hope for a solution 2 weeks ago but they didn't solve anything.

[Lsdmeasap]

Re: BSOD every month

Well wow, that is pretty random for sure. That is a windows 2000 error code? Did you see the file name it referenced also on the BSOD Page, just wondering it is not likely important

STOP: 0x0000003B (parameter, parameter, parameter, parameter) SYSTEM_SERVIC

Bug Check 0x3B: SYSTEM_SERVICE_EXCEPTION

What I would try first is clearing your CMOS to reset your IRQ's. Or, Personally I would just go ahead and update to the latest BIOS which includes some fixes and correct S3 issues >>>
GIGABYTE - Support&Download - Motherboard - BIOS - GA-EP45-DS3R (rev. 1.0)

If you do flash, or clear your CMOS see here for info on how to safely do both, and remember either way to load optimized defaults and follow my advised steps afterwords >>>

http://forums.tweaktown.com/f69/bios-flashing-how-qflash-guide-27576/