[SOLVED] Blue screens every so often in my new first build

Jul 17, 2019
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Build: https://pcpartpicker.com/list/NzfXTB
First time buying PC components and first time building it. I researched a lot so I wasn't completely lost.

I purchased a Ryzen 5 3600X and an Asrock b450m pro4 it meant that I needed to update the motherboard before installing the processor. So I built the PC without the processor and gave the PC and processor to a friend of mine that takes care of these things to update the motherboard with one of his (a Ryzen 2000) and installed my processor then.

The problems started when he told me that the latest motherboard update from the webpage (3.40) just wouldn't work on my processor (it wouldn't start-up). So he decided to install the previous one (3.30) which is the first motherboard update with compatibility with Ryzen 3000 and then everything worked perfectly, aside from the fact that sometimes once you restart, everything seems to stop (as usual), video output stops (as usual), but everything inside the case stays on, even the system starts making more sound from the fans, and it just doesn't reboot, I would have to press the reboot button on the case or hold the off button. So this problem occurred even before installing Windows 10, but honestly, this is barely an inconvenience in contrast to the blue screen...

So then I installed Windows 10. I pretty much followed this video from dear Tom:
View: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WXwMbmhCQuY&t=198s


I updated my drives just like in the video: windows update > restart > rinse repeat. Everything working wonderfully, I was just moving around some files from drive to drive and then the first blue screen happened. The stop code said: WHEA_UNCORRECTABLE_ERROR. Then my PC rebooted and I was back in windows 10 as if nothing happened. And then it happened again, and I think I was also doing something related to file transfering, but nothing I could find about that stop code was related to my drives. I tried some troubleshooting to no avail. Some posts mentioned to update the drivers or check for corrupted drivers.

Then, the next day, I decided to just reinstall Windows 10. This time I went with Windows 10 Home as if that would make a difference. Then, everything seemed much better, until several hours later I found myself creating and renaming a folder in my 2tb drive and the blue screen appeared again, this time with another stop code: SYSTEM_THREAD_EXCEPTION_NOT_HANDLED. I've tried some other things, again, to no avail. After that first blue screen, this would happen again even randomly, without doing anything on my PC, and it happened once while attempting to write this post. It seems like this problem does not arise when I'm in Safe Mode.

Recap: This problem seems to happen when moving files around, downloading stuff, creating darn folders, or just doing nothing.

Things I've tried:
sfc /scannow in Safe Mode with network
it says there ARE corrupted files but wasn't able to fix them

sfc /scannow in the advanced command prompt that runs before the OS
it said the exact same thing

dism /online /cleanup-image /restorehealth in Safe Mode with network
Error: 0x800f081f
The source files could not be found.
Use the "Source" option to specify the location of the files that are required to restore the feature. For more information on specifying a source location, see http://go.microsoft.com/fwlink/?LinkId=243077.
It said that.

chkdsk c: /f /r in Safe Mode with network
Don't remember what it said or IF it said something at the end, but I did try it and it's still happening, so it didn't work!

Now imagine that I haven't done anything else that I have not described, so please feel free to give suggestions.
 
Solution
Just ran the first dump file (071919-7359-01.dmp). Bugcheck is 124, subtyoe 0x4 which is 'PCI Express Error' and no process.

Still drivers named are are WdNisDrv.sys and nvlddmkm.sys. Don't remember if we talked about this. Have you used DDU to clean graphics driver and do a clean install driver from nividia?

Also is the LAN driver for the motherboard up to date? Before you said the BSOD hapenned once when you opened Chrome. I'd suggest you check with ASRock website for your board and install the latest LAN/network driver.
Jul 17, 2019
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I got Windows from my laptop by creating a repair usb. Just like in the video at 2:50.

I have my Kingston 240 GB SSD where the OS is.
And a Seagate Barracuda 2TB HDD.

After the first time of installing Windows, I formatted my usb, but then I had the blue screen and I had to create it again from my laptop and reinstalled Windows in the exact same way. I don't know if there is another way to do so.
 
Jul 17, 2019
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Fast boot is disabled.
Windows update says everything is up to date.
Every single thing I've checked in the drivers also say they're up to date.

Wait.. I went ahead to double-check every single one in the list and at the very end, in the usb controllers, it updated my nvidia usb type-c port policy controller. Could this be the cause?

Now everything is completely up to date.
 
Jul 17, 2019
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I'm not sure what you mean about 'reloading' the bios. One thing I know is that the bios is completely set to default settings.
I think my amd all in one vga driver is up to date, but how do I check that?
 

Satan-IR

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Ambassador
BSODs still happening? Is Windows set to drop minidump files? Do you have any minidump files?


If not check how to set Windows to drop minidumps when BSODs happen here and upload them .dmp files somewhere like Google Drive or Dropbox, change sharing settings for those files to public and post a link here.

We can have a look if we have the minidump files and see if we can find out why.
 
Jul 17, 2019
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So I ran WhoCrashed to analyze the dump files and got these messages:


On Thu 7/18/2019 3:26:06 PM your computer crashed or a problem was reported
crash dump file: C:\Windows\MEMORY.DMP
This was probably caused by the following module: pshed.dll (PSHED!PshedBugCheckSystem+0x10)
Bugcheck code: 0x124 (0x4, 0xFFFFA90F9BF3A488, 0x0, 0x0)
Error: WHEA_UNCORRECTABLE_ERROR
file path: C:\Windows\system32\pshed.dll
product: Microsoft® Windows® Operating System
company: Microsoft Corporation
description: Platform Specific Hardware Error Driver
Bug check description: This bug check indicates that a fatal hardware error has occurred. This bug check uses the error data that is provided by the Windows Hardware Error Architecture (WHEA).
This is likely to be caused by a hardware problem.
The crash took place in a Microsoft module. Your system configuration may be incorrect. Possibly this problem is caused by another driver on your system that cannot be identified at this time.

On Thu 7/18/2019 5:52:16 AM your computer crashed or a problem was reported
crash dump file: C:\Windows\Minidump\071819-7078-01.dmp
This was probably caused by the following module: hal.dll (hal+0x477E8)
Bugcheck code: 0x124 (0x4, 0xFFFF908AEB139038, 0x0, 0x0)
Error: WHEA_UNCORRECTABLE_ERROR
file path: C:\Windows\system32\hal.dll
product: Microsoft® Windows® Operating System
company: Microsoft Corporation
description: Hardware Abstraction Layer DLL
Bug check description: This bug check indicates that a fatal hardware error has occurred. This bug check uses the error data that is provided by the Windows Hardware Error Architecture (WHEA).
This is likely to be caused by a hardware problem.
The crash took place in the Windows kernel. Possibly this problem is caused by another driver that cannot be identified at this time.



The second message appears multiple times for every minidump file stored, the first one being from a 500+MB file MEMORY.dmp
Then it gives me the following conclusion:


6 crash dumps have been found and analyzed. No offending third party drivers have been found. Connsider using WhoCrashed Professional which offers more detailed analysis using symbol resolution. Also configuring your system to produce a full memory dump may help you.

Read the topic general suggestions for troubleshooting system crashes for more information.

Note that it's not always possible to state with certainty whether a reported driver is responsible for crashing your system or that the root cause is in another module. Nonetheless it's suggested you look for updates for the products that these drivers belong to and regularly visit Windows update or enable automatic updates for Windows. In case a piece of malfunctioning hardware is causing trouble, a search with Google on the bug check errors together with the model name and brand of your computer may help you investigate this further.



Any clues?
 
Jul 17, 2019
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Oh hey, I got now another stop code. That's fun. I didn't even do anything out of the ordinary, just browsing on Chrome for possible fixes. So here's the details:

On Thu 7/18/2019 7:09:10 PM your computer crashed or a problem was reported
crash dump file: C:\Windows\Minidump\071819-7500-01.dmp
This was probably caused by the following module: ntoskrnl.exe (nt+0x1BC900)
Bugcheck code: 0xF7 (0xFFFFEC028CC13F30, 0xF3F256764090, 0xFFFF0C0DA989BF6F, 0x0)
Error: DRIVER_OVERRAN_STACK_BUFFER
file path: C:\Windows\system32\ntoskrnl.exe
product: Microsoft® Windows® Operating System
company: Microsoft Corporation
description: NT Kernel & System
Bug check description: This indicates that a driver has overrun a stack-based buffer.
This appears to be a typical software driver bug and is not likely to be caused by a hardware problem.
The crash took place in the Windows kernel. Possibly this problem is caused by another driver that cannot be identified at this time.
 
Jul 17, 2019
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So, I don't know if this is related, but I find it suspicious.
Screenshot
I don't think I have any devices on any PCI port, but I don't like seeing those warning triangles. Is that normal?
I've always had those two appearing since I built the system, just didn't mention it 'cause it was probably nothing.
 

Satan-IR

Splendid
Ambassador
Have you installed latest motherboard chipset drivers? Those might mean there's something wrong with PCI Express drivers or actual PCI express hardware.

I ran the dumps the first file 071819-7078-01.dmp is a 124 bugcheck. First parameter of which is 0x4 which means "An uncorrectable PCI Express error occurred." I didn't find any offending drivers in this one but will check the other dumps too.

This could have various causes from heat, faulty memory to faulty hardware even a dying processor (which is very very unlikely). A driver could cause this too.

  • Are you overclocking anything, CPU, RAM? If yes revert to default and see if issues persist.

  • What are your temps like at idle or under load? Have you monitored? Make sure the cooling is properly seated and working properly?

  • Have you run memtest? Do a bootable memtest examining each of the RAM modules at a time and do at least 8 passes and see it fines any errors.
I noticed your current BIOS release date is 05/10/2019. Is there any BIOS released by ASRock after this for the board?

If available and if you want to install newer BIOS read instructions on ASRock website carefully and see if there are any requirements. Also after installation of certain BIOS versions you won't be able to flash older versions (if need be) and you're stuck with that versions.
 
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Satan-IR

Splendid
Ambassador
I also ran the second dump file 071819-7218-01 and that one is also a 124 bugcheck with 0x4 (PCI Express Error).

No process named just system and two drivers are named. WdNisDrv.sys and nvlddmkm.sys.

Have you tried booting in safe mode and see if problems persist? If they don't happen in safe mode it could mean it's a driver issue and if it happened in safe mode too it MIGHT mean it's actually a hardware issue.

First one is Windows Defender Antivirus Network Inspection System Driver and second one is nvidia graphics driver. Have you installed the latest graphics driver from nvidia website directly and installed it?

I'd also suggest you use DDU in safe mode and remove the previous driver completely and do a clean installation of the latest driver.

I will check the rest of the dump files and see if I encounter anything else.
 
Jul 17, 2019
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I'm not overclocking anything, my bios is at stock settings.

I've checked and ran some stress tests on both gpu and cpu, they seem completely fine. And they do not seem to overheat.

I have tried to do a memtest, I read it would be a lengthy process and should be done at night, but I just couldn't figure out how to create the flash drive and just went to bed. Also I have a feeling it's not the ram.

I have the second-to-last bios update because the very last one just wouldn't play well with my cpu (not boot). Might consider updating if I wasn't scared of not being able to use the PC.

Bluescreen definitely does not occur in Safe Mode.

I'm not sure if I have installed the gpu drivers from nvidia's website in this instance of Windows (this is my third Windows installation).

I have tried DDU, but then installed the drivers from Windows Upload, I have not tried DDU and then nvidia's website drivers. I'll do that next.
 
Jul 17, 2019
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I'll do that next.
Update: I did that. I also installed AMD all-in-one with vga driver from Asrock and then a chipset driver from AMD. After all that, I went to check my device manager and those PCI drivers with the warning triangle were no longer showing, so I felt relieved.
As soon as I opened Chrome: Bluescreen.

Details:
On Fri 7/19/2019 9:59:01 AM your computer crashed or a problem was reported
crash dump file: C:\Windows\Minidump\071919-7015-01.dmp
This was probably caused by the following module: hal.dll (hal+0x477E8)
Bugcheck code: 0x124 (0x4, 0xFFFFCB0F7FD36038, 0x0, 0x0)
Error: WHEA_UNCORRECTABLE_ERROR
file path: C:\Windows\system32\hal.dll
product: Microsoft® Windows® Operating System
company: Microsoft Corporation
description: Hardware Abstraction Layer DLL
Bug check description: This bug check indicates that a fatal hardware error has occurred. This bug check uses the error data that is provided by the Windows Hardware Error Architecture (WHEA).
This is likely to be caused by a hardware problem.
The crash took place in the Windows kernel. Possibly this problem is caused by another driver that cannot be identified at this time.
 

Satan-IR

Splendid
Ambassador
Yes I guessed that PCI error problem would be rectified with installation of proper chipset drivers.

WhoCrahsed is not very accurate and doesn't really dig deep in debugging stops and BSODs and such. Most of the time, almost always, they blame a system process, DLL or driver and those rarely cause the issues.

Also update the browser to latest version if it is not already up do date.

Honestly, if it's caused by RAM any further attempt to debug and fix the issue is futile because as long as faulty RAM is not ruled out practically anything can be caused by and attributed to that.

You've installed Windows again and again and still have problem. If it was a software or driver problem it might have been fixed by the reinstall and installation of chipset drivers; which fixed the PCI Express issue.

I would suggest again that you run memtest to rule out whether RAM modules are faulty and have errors or not. If you don't rule out faulty RAM I'm afraid I can't help anymore.
 
Jul 17, 2019
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Funny thing about the ram... when I installed the ram for the first time, I chose the first and third slots closest to the processor because those are the slots I've always seen get picked in PC building videos. Unless my memory bamboozled me really hard.
But I decided to double-check up until now which slots should be chosen for this motherboard, and it turns out I needed the second and fourth slots...

If the problem persists, I will proceed to memtest.
 
Jul 17, 2019
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It still showed bluescreen, although it took it way longer to happen. Normally it would show mid-gaming (that was my way of checking if it was fixed or not), and it actually never crashed and I genuinely thought it was fixed. Then, I exited the game to download a program to use my ps4 controller and in the middle of downloading, it bluescreened.

I ran memtest86+, the first time it just stopped at test 5 after 2 passes. Then I read here that I can just run it in fail-safe mode. I did that and, well, up until the 7th pass, an error appeared. I let it continue for a bit to see if I would see another one, and then I had 8 passes and 1 error.

I took a picture at the screen where it shows the error at test 10.

I ran this test with both ram sticks installed. I guess I will repeat the test with only one to see which is the bad one.
 
Jul 17, 2019
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I ran the test with one stick and got the 8 passes without problems. And just to double-check, I ran the videogame with that single stick and didn't even got to the title screen before I got the bluescreen (whea uncorrectable error).

I think this should mean that the ram is unlikely to be the one causing this, and that I still need to check that one error I got when I ran the test with both of them. So I guess I'll test the other ram stick on its own, but that won't solve my bluescreen problem.

I'm at a loss.
 

Satan-IR

Splendid
Ambassador
You ran both RAM stick together and had an error. It's better to run the bootable memtest and you should run one stick at a time and that way now you would know for sure which stick (maybe both) are faulty and have errors.

I will run the other dumps when I have time and see if I can find anything else.
 
Jul 17, 2019
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Yeah, I tested both at the same time, but after that I tested only one, didn't get errors, and still got bluescreen while only having that single stick. Currently I just started the test for the other stick.
 

Satan-IR

Splendid
Ambassador
I just ran the 3rd dump (071819-7281-01.dmp) this one is a bugcheck 124 and this one is also a system process with the PCI Express error. You updated the chipset driver and that issue must have been resolved.

You said the BSOD does not happen in safe mode, so it can be a driver issue.

I also asked you before about BIOS and you didn't reply. Does the ASRock website for your board offer any higher versions of the BIOS? If there's any later versions available that might resolve the issue as well.