Constant BSOD w/ corsair vengeance 8gb cmz8gx3m2a1600c9 + ASUS m4a89gtd

[Putumayo]

Howdy all! I sure am happy this forum exists. I've spent a LOT of time here lately!

Just built a new machine, basic build proposed by a building site. Win 7 Home Prem fired up right away, then started getting BSOD when I attempted to install Windows Updates. After a several hours of dealing with it, it was locked in a boot>BSOD>shutdown loop, so I pulled the HDD, erased partitions and reformatted it.

Installed Win 7 again, but still doing it. Chkdsk shows no errors, WD "Data Lifeguard" shows no errors. Flashed BIOS w/ EZ Flash (so nice). Still doing it. Could it be incompatibility w/ ram?



MoBo: Asus M4A89GTD (on board graphics is all I have connected right now - because of this problem)
CPU: AMD Phenom II X4 970 (125w)
RAM: Corsair Vengeance 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3 1600 CMZ8GX3M2A1600C9B
HDD: WD Caviar Black WD7502AAEX 750GB 7200 RPM 64MB Cache SATA 6.0Gb/s
PSU: OCZ GameXStream 700W
GPU: Gigabyte GV-R687OC-1GD Radeon HD 6870 1GB 256-bit GDDR5 PCI Express 2.1 x16 (NOT installed)

 

[joebakb]

Try re-seating the memory and/or inserting it into the other two slots on the board. Also, since it seems to be doing this while accessing the network, try to get the latest NIC drivers from Asus if you haven't tried that already.

If that doesn't work, download Bluescreenview and see which file(s) are causing the problem.

 

[Putumayo]

Thanks!

I cycled RAM sticks through all sockets. Ther is only one installed now, and have had NO PROBLEMS!!! YET, anyway.

So is this a RAM issue?


Blue Screen View installed.

42 crashes recorded:

10 were: DRIVER_IRQL_NOT_LESS_OR_EQUAL 0x000000d1

6 were: SYSTEM SERVICE EXCEPTION 0X0000003b

5X: PAGE_FAULT_IN_NONPAGED_AREA 0x00000050

4X: KMODE EXCEPTION NOT HANDLED 0X0000001e

4x: MEMORY MANAGEMENT 0X0000001a

3X: NTFS FILE SYSTEM 0X00000024

2X: SYSTEM THREAD EXCEPTION NOT HANDLED 0X1000007e

1X: SYSTEM THREAD EXCEPTION NOT HANDLED 0X0000007e

2X: IRQL NOT LESS OR EQUAL 0X0000000a

2X: PFN LIST CORRUPT 0X0000004e

1X: NO MORE IRP STACK LOCATIONS 0X00000035

1X: CRITICAL OBJECT TERMINATION 0X000000F4

1X: BAD POOL HEADER 0X00000019


fwiw, "Crash Address" was "NTOSKRNL.EXE" for ALL crashes but one. "+7cc40" for most, "+80640" for the remainder.

 

[beenthere]

I'd run Memtest86+ from a floppy, CD or flash drive to see if the RAM is OK. Check one DIMM at a time and if they pass, then install all DIMMs and re-test. There could be many issues with a new build but I always test the RAM first before going any further.

Be advised that IME Asus mobos can be very RAM sensitive so the RAM may be fine but it may not play well with the Asus mobo? This particular RAM kit seems aimed more towards Intel CPUs but it should work with your AMD CPU -- according to Corsair.

 

[Putumayo]

I'd run Memtest86+ from a floppy, CD or flash drive to see if the RAM is OK. Check one DIMM at a time and if they pass, then install all DIMMs and re-test. There could be many issues with a new build but I always test the RAM first before going any further.

Be advised that IME Asus mobos can be very RAM sensitive so the RAM may be fine but it may not play well with the Asus mobo? This particular RAM kit seems aimed more towards Intel CPUs but it should work with your AMD CPU -- according to Corsair.

Thanks.

Ran MEMTEST yesterday when this began, but I'll do it again one at a time.

 

[pat]

maybe you'll have tu give the memory a little more voltage. Go in BIOS, and try one value or 2 higher than the default one.

 

[joebakb]

Possibly the memory or one of the memory sockets. Also, note that that specific memory module model is not listed on the QVL.

Memtest may not find your problem every time, either. I fought with a problem for about 3 months concerning video driver crashes for separate graphics cards. Memtest kept testing fine and the memory was on the QVL, but the memory was still the problem all along. I effectively build a whole new computer before I switched it out and the problems were gone.

The voltage tweak may be a good idea, but take it easy or you could end up buying new RAM and/or a new board anyway.

EDIT: QVL is listed here: http://www.asus.com/Motherboards/AMD_AM3/M4A89GTD_PROUSB3/#MSL

The model number listed that is similar to yours is close and may be just a pcb revision, too.

 

[Putumayo]

Thanks everyone!

MemTest86+ on one stick showed "Passed. No errors."

Th Corsair RAM I'm using is indeed compatible with the ASUS MoBo according to the Corsair website, here: http://www2.corsair.com/configurator/product_results.aspx?id=1820621

Scroll down about 1/2 way and you'll see "cmz8gx3m2a1600c9".
This ram didn't exist when ASUS printed that QVL, so I went the other direction in determining compatibility.

On a different note, MemTest86+ shows this ram speed as only 666Mhz??? BIOS ram speed set to "Auto". Guess I should up it???

Thanks again!

 

[joebakb]

You could give it a go, but chances are good that nothing will be affected. Someone could correct me if I'm wrong, though I'm pretty sure that AM3 boards run natively at 1333 speeds (667 per channel or 1333 dual channel, which is what memtest reports) so I would imagine that your default will probably be the most stable.

If you've tried downloading the latest drivers for all of your hardware, I'd say that it may be time to borrow a friends ddr3 if at all possible to ensure that we aren't heading down the wrong path. Otherwise, try re-seating any connections that you can get your hands on just to be thorough.

The crashes all seem random, though, so I'd say that memory is probably the issue.

 

[nighthawk4]

i know that "PAGE FAULT IN NON-PAGED AREA" is caused by faulty RAM. i had that problem too. memtest seemed to run fine, but one stick was still broken. so i suggest RMA'ing that memory of yours.

 

[tlg]

Each of these BSOD you had are caused because of a hardware system error that prevented software running properly. That is obviously because of your RAM.

As someone else said, you might need to up the voltage abit in order for the modules to cope with the XMP setup, probably because the modules are really bad quality (one step before being faulty) and therefore cant always manage to work according to specifications.

If Memtest shows nothing wrong its because the RAM is working at default speed, which is much slower than the listed specifications of what you bought, and therefore can handle everything perfectly.

Should you decide to buy a new RAM kit, try to buy CAS8 or CAS7, as these RAM modules are very high quality in order to meet the low CAS specifications.

 

[Putumayo]

Each of these BSOD you had are caused because of a hardware system error that prevented software running properly. That is obviously because of your RAM.

As someone else said, you might need to up the voltage abit in order for the modules to cope with the XMP setup, probably because the modules are really bad quality (one step before being faulty) and therefore cant always manage to work according to specifications.

If Memtest shows nothing wrong its because the RAM is working at default speed, which is much slower than the listed specifications of what you bought, and therefore can handle everything perfectly.

Should you decide to buy a new RAM kit, try to buy CAS8 or CAS7, as these RAM modules are very high quality in order to meet the low CAS specifications.

Thank you.

I tested each stick of ram individually, and sure enough, one is bad. The computer has run beautiflly for two days now with just the one functional modual. Because these were purchased brand new from NewEgg, they'll replace them.

Thanks again to everyone who responded. The kind people on the forum are to be applodded!

 

[Putumayo]

One last question:

Is there any particular RAM that would be particularly good with this MoBo and AMD Phenom II x4 970 processor?

I've looked at DOZENS of moduals from Corsair and G. Skill. I've read that AMD likes tight timings, but I've noticed many discrepencies in manufacturer info, i.e. one document claims that "this" RAM is specifically designed for Intel i5 (or whatever), yet thier database suggests it for my AMD...

I found a G. Skill Ripjaws CL7 that looked good, but I don't have the model number at the moment.

Thanks again for all your help!