BSOD Help Request

[pfitzger]

Cannot figure out a BSOD issue. Have updated BIOS and all driver updates from ASUS (motherboard), checked memory, SSD harddrive with OS.

I've tried the Run - Driver Verifier - Windows 7 & Vista.

Latest was it stayed up for 10 days but when I tried to RIP a Bluray to my HD it BSOD after about 10 minutes. Also noticed that Firefox will have scripts stop working. Other than that not sure what could be causing this.

I've run MalwareByes and CCleaner.

I'm really at a loss.

Thanks for your help.

 

[Patrick]

Hi,

We're seeing lots of memory corruption and memory management faults - mostly memory management which in this consistency is indicative of memory issues. I'm going to first recommend running Memtest86+ to rule out or to catch a memory issue -

Memtest86+:

Download Memtest86+ here:

[url]http://www.memtest.org/[/URL]



Which should I download?



You can either download the pre-compiled ISO that you would burn to a CD and then boot from the CD, or you can download the auto-installer for the USB key. What this will do is format your USB drive, make it a bootable device, and then install the necessary files. Both do the same job, it's just up to you which you choose, or which you have available (whether it's CD or USB).



How Memtest works:



Memtest86 writes a series of test patterns to most memory addresses, reads back the data written, and compares it for errors.



The default pass does 9 different tests, varying in access patterns and test data. A tenth test, bit fade, is selectable from the menu. It writes all memory with zeroes, then sleeps for 90 minutes before checking to see if bits have changed (perhaps because of refresh problems). This is repeated with all ones for a total time of 3 hours per pass.



Many chipsets can report RAM speeds and timings via SPD (Serial Presence Detect) or EPP (Enhanced Performance Profiles), and some even support changing the expected memory speed. If the expected memory speed is overclocked, Memtest86 can test that memory performance is error-free with these faster settings.



Some hardware is able to report the "PAT status" (PAT: enabled or PAT: disabled). This is a reference to Intel Performance acceleration technology; there may be BIOS settings which affect this aspect of memory timing.



This information, if available to the program, can be displayed via a menu option.



Any other questions, they can most likely be answered by reading this great guide here:



[url]http://forum.canardpc.com/threads/28864-FAQ-please-read-before-posting[/URL]

The BIOS version is 0602, and the latest is 3904 and offers a ton of fixes regarding stability... so navigate to Asus' website and update your BIOS!

http://www.asus.com/Motherboards/Intel_Socket_1155/P8Z68V_LX/#download

Regards,

Patrick

 

[pfitzger]

That's weird. I just updated the BIOS from the ASUS website. Maybe that was before I did that.

More importantly I'm running the memory test and it's up to 538K errors so far after 90 minutes. Does the test eventually complete? It says it's on test #4. Also does it generate test to tell you whether it's CPU RAM or DIMM RAM or something else?

Either way it sounds like you were spot on.

Glad I'm finally starting to see some potential root causes.

Please let me know what I should do next.

Thanks,

Preston

Hi,

We're seeing lots of memory corruption and memory management faults - mostly memory management which in this consistency is indicative of memory issues. I'm going to first recommend running Memtest86+ to rule out or to catch a memory issue -

Memtest86+:

Download Memtest86+ here:

http://www.memtest.org/http://www.memtest.org/



Which should I download?



You can either download the pre-compiled ISO that you would burn to a CD and then boot from the CD, or you can download the auto-installer for the USB key. What this will do is format your USB drive, make it a bootable device, and then install the necessary files. Both do the same job, it's just up to you which you choose, or which you have available (whether it's CD or USB).



How Memtest works:



Memtest86 writes a series of test patterns to most memory addresses, reads back the data written, and compares it for errors.



The default pass does 9 different tests, varying in access patterns and test data. A tenth test, bit fade, is selectable from the menu. It writes all memory with zeroes, then sleeps for 90 minutes before checking to see if bits have changed (perhaps because of refresh problems). This is repeated with all ones for a total time of 3 hours per pass.



Many chipsets can report RAM speeds and timings via SPD (Serial Presence Detect) or EPP (Enhanced Performance Profiles), and some even support changing the expected memory speed. If the expected memory speed is overclocked, Memtest86 can test that memory performance is error-free with these faster settings.



Some hardware is able to report the "PAT status" (PAT: enabled or PAT: disabled). This is a reference to Intel Performance acceleration technology; there may be BIOS settings which affect this aspect of memory timing.



This information, if available to the program, can be displayed via a menu option.



Any other questions, they can most likely be answered by reading this great guide here:



http://forum.canardpc.com/threads/28864-FAQ-please-read-before-postinghttp://forum.canardpc.com/threads/28864-FAQ-please-read-before-posting

The BIOS version is 0602, and the latest is 3904 and offers a ton of fixes regarding stability... so navigate to Asus' website and update your BIOS!

http://www.asus.com/Motherboards/Intel_Socket_1155/P8Z68V_LX/#download

Regards,

Patrick

 

[Patrick]

Hi,

Thanks for the update, that is definitely indicative of memory failure. I would next recommend finding the culprit stick by testing one stick at a time and testing in different slots to rule out a DIMM slot / mobo issue. Also, remember that Memtest can also shoot errors if you have your memory configured improperly / in the wrong slots. Just some other things to note :)

Also, in regards to your question, Memtest really never "ends", it just keeps going and going. It's essentially performing different tests and running through its algorithm to see if the memory cracks under stress.

Regards,

Patrick

 

[pfitzger]

Patrick, you are a genius. I think I have isolated it to one of the four sticks. My next question is can I run it with 3 sticks or do they have to be matched? Can I just by one replacement stick?

Thanks so much. I've been wrestling with this issue for 2 weeks now.

 

[Laxer]

You can run 3 sticks it just might effect your performance.... If you need the extra ram I would say put it in for now, if not I would run on two sticks.

Just keep in mind when you go to replace one that all sticks must run at the same speed... therefore if you get a slower stick they will all run at that speed...

If it was me I would run my system on two of the good sticks and buy another matched set to replace the bad one.

 

[Patrick]

Thank you for the kind words :)

You should be fine running with one less stick. In the meantime, contact the RAM manufacturer about a replacement / RMA.

You can run 3 sticks it just might effect your performance.... If you need the extra ram I would say put it in for now, if not I would run on two sticks.

Just keep in mind when you go to replace one that all sticks must run at the same speed... therefore if you get a slower stick they will all run at that speed...

If it was me I would run my system on two of the good sticks and buy another matched set to replace the bad one.

Indeed, that's why most vendors when dealing with RMA's want all the sticks back rather than the bad one... so they can give you a matching kit so you have no issues. That's probably what you'll go through too.

Regards,

Patrick