Question Constant BSODs even after multiple OS reinstalls ?

Apr 16, 2024
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10
For the past few days, I've been trying to reinstall Windows 10 on my PC. While it was working fine before, I wanted to clear out the bloat accumulated on my computer, so I used Windows Media Creation Tool to make a bootable USB, which I then used to reinstall the OS. The installation media works fine, however, it's not until my PC begins Windows setup that it begins to crash, with any number of BSODs. I've seen them range from PFN_LIST_CORRUPT, to KERNEL_SECURITY_CHECK_FAILURE, to SYSTEM_THREAD_EXCEPTION_NOT_HANDLED.

I've run Windows Memory Diagnostic, which told me that there did not seem to be any issues with my RAM. I ended up re-seating it regardless, and I cleared my CMOS before resetting my BIOS to default settings in case there was an issue, however, even upon multiple reinstalls, my computer would keep blue screening as soon as I attempted to set up again (Windows installation media remained fine). The most successful attempts I've gotten are when I install Windows without an internet connection, which does allow me to consistently get to my desktop, however the blue screens persist even after this, as it crashes after a while of use, seemingly exacerbated by actual use of programs.

When I boot in safe mode, I encounter no problems whatsoever, and I can seemingly leave it on indefinitely, along with networking (I'm currently writing this in safe mode), however as soon as I reboot normally, I experience the same issues again. I've attached the last couple of minidumps I was able to get, as it seems the crashes do not always result in minidumps being created. I feel as though I've tried absolutely everything bar individually disabling every single driver on my machine, and replacing parts in my computer which I cannot afford, though I wouldn't even know where to start if I could. I would appreciate some guidance on the issue, and I am not particularly worried about data on this machine, as I've already backed up all personal data beforehand, so any suggested methods would be appreciated.

https://1drv.ms/f/c/87e99077ab53fab8/Erj6U6t3kOkggIdhBQAAAAABgBm6P3Im5IRHeDJ24GqQeA?e=gv8VK7

OS: Microsoft Windows 10 Home

CPU: AMD Ryzen 5 3600 6-Core Processor, 3593 Mhz, 6 Core(s), 12 Logical Processor(s)

Motherboard: PRIME X570-P

AMD Radeon RX 5600 XT
 
You're right that if it's fine in Safe Mode then it's most unlikely to be a hardware problem. The two dumps point in different directions...

One fails during a graphics operation, we see the Windows DirectX kernel drivers dxgkrnl.sys and dxgmms2.sys called often, and whilst the third-party graphics driver isn't named it must have been called as well of course. The bugcheck was a PFN_LIST_CORRUPT which means that a corruption in the pagetables that map virtual memory was detected. The corruption was likely caused by a third-party driver that has now ended and the DIrectX kernel only detected the foul-up later, causing the BSOD.

The other fails following a call to fltmgr.sys, that's the Windows filter driver manager, so this is likely a problem with a third-party filter driver that we don't see in the dump. This is supported by the actual failure, it was an invalid access attempt during a Runtime Library function call, typical of third-party drivers....
Code:
10: kd> .frame /r 7
07 ffffd881`08f4c4f8 fffff806`2349725e     nt!RtlImageNtHeaderEx+0x35
rax=00007ffcc804ff00 rbx=0000000000000000 rcx=0000000000005a4d
rdx=00007ffcc8050000 rsi=ffffc4024dae72c0 rdi=ffffd88108f4c640
rip=fffff806234972a5 rsp=ffffd88108f4c4f8 rbp=ffffd88108f4c640
 r8=0000000000000000  r9=ffffd88108f4c538 r10=0000000000000000
r11=ffffc4024e8f1130 r12=0000000000000584 r13=ffffc4024e710790
r14=ffffd88108f4c9e0 r15=ffffc4024dfcf080
iopl=0         nv up ei pl zr na po nc
cs=0010  ss=0018  ds=002b  es=002b  fs=0053  gs=002b             efl=00040246
nt!RtlImageNtHeaderEx+0x35:
fffff806`234972a5 66390a          cmp     word ptr [rdx],cx ds:002b:00007ffc`c8050000=????
Note that the failure occurs in an nt!RtlImageNtHeaderEx function call (RTL is the Runtime library) and the resulting memory reference is invalid (????). We can also see here that the referenced memory is in user-space because it' starts with 0x0000 and that is a good indication that this is a third-party driver because Windows drivers rarely reference user-space.

We have a pretty good idea from these dumps that this is a third-party driver that we can't directly identify from the dumps. You could enable Driver Verifier to try and weed the flaky driver out but since you can't boot a stable system that's not possible. I suggest you try a clean boot of Windows.

Initially disable all third party serices in boith msconfig and the Start-up list and check that it boots. It's then a case of enabling services and start-ups slowly - one at time if you have the patience - until you find the one(s) that cause the BSODs on boot.

Another thing I would suggest is that you buy a new 8GB USB drive and make another install drive via the Media Creation Tool - ON ANOTHER PC/LAPTOP. It could easily be a problem with the image on the install USB drive you're using.
 
For the past few days, I've been trying to reinstall Windows 10 on my PC. While it was working fine before, I wanted to clear out the bloat accumulated on my computer, so I used Windows Media Creation Tool to make a bootable USB, which I then used to reinstall the OS. The installation media works fine, however, it's not until my PC begins Windows setup that it begins to crash, with any number of BSODs. I've seen them range from PFN_LIST_CORRUPT, to KERNEL_SECURITY_CHECK_FAILURE, to SYSTEM_THREAD_EXCEPTION_NOT_HANDLED.

I've run Windows Memory Diagnostic, which told me that there did not seem to be any issues with my RAM. I ended up re-seating it regardless, and I cleared my CMOS before resetting my BIOS to default settings in case there was an issue, however, even upon multiple reinstalls, my computer would keep blue screening as soon as I attempted to set up again (Windows installation media remained fine). The most successful attempts I've gotten are when I install Windows without an internet connection, which does allow me to consistently get to my desktop, however the blue screens persist even after this, as it crashes after a while of use, seemingly exacerbated by actual use of programs.

When I boot in safe mode, I encounter no problems whatsoever, and I can seemingly leave it on indefinitely, along with networking (I'm currently writing this in safe mode), however as soon as I reboot normally, I experience the same issues again. I've attached the last couple of minidumps I was able to get, as it seems the crashes do not always result in minidumps being created. I feel as though I've tried absolutely everything bar individually disabling every single driver on my machine, and replacing parts in my computer which I cannot afford, though I wouldn't even know where to start if I could. I would appreciate some guidance on the issue, and I am not particularly worried about data on this machine, as I've already backed up all personal data beforehand, so any suggested methods would be appreciated.

https://1drv.ms/f/c/87e99077ab53fab8/Erj6U6t3kOkggIdhBQAAAAABgBm6P3Im5IRHeDJ24GqQeA?e=gv8VK7

OS: Microsoft Windows 10 Home

CPU: AMD Ryzen 5 3600 6-Core Processor, 3593 Mhz, 6 Core(s), 12 Logical Processor(s)

Motherboard: PRIME X570-P

AMD Radeon RX 5600 XT
Did you clear the disk using diskpart clean all before a fresh reinstall of windows?
 
Safe mode runs with a very minimum set of drivers and start up apps.
See that you have installed the relevant hardware drivers, downloaded directly from the source.

On the startup side, Task manager will have a startup tab.
See if there is anything strange there and disable it.
 
For the past few days, I've been trying to reinstall Windows 10 on my PC. While it was working fine before, I wanted to clear out the bloat accumulated on my computer, so I used Windows Media Creation Tool to make a bootable USB, which I then used to reinstall the OS. The installation media works fine, however, it's not until my PC begins Windows setup that it begins to crash, with any number of BSODs. I've seen them range from PFN_LIST_CORRUPT, to KERNEL_SECURITY_CHECK_FAILURE, to SYSTEM_THREAD_EXCEPTION_NOT_HANDLED.

I've run Windows Memory Diagnostic, which told me that there did not seem to be any issues with my RAM. I ended up re-seating it regardless, and I cleared my CMOS before resetting my BIOS to default settings in case there was an issue, however, even upon multiple reinstalls, my computer would keep blue screening as soon as I attempted to set up again (Windows installation media remained fine). The most successful attempts I've gotten are when I install Windows without an internet connection, which does allow me to consistently get to my desktop, however the blue screens persist even after this, as it crashes after a while of use, seemingly exacerbated by actual use of programs.

When I boot in safe mode, I encounter no problems whatsoever, and I can seemingly leave it on indefinitely, along with networking (I'm currently writing this in safe mode), however as soon as I reboot normally, I experience the same issues again. I've attached the last couple of minidumps I was able to get, as it seems the crashes do not always result in minidumps being created. I feel as though I've tried absolutely everything bar individually disabling every single driver on my machine, and replacing parts in my computer which I cannot afford, though I wouldn't even know where to start if I could. I would appreciate some guidance on the issue, and I am not particularly worried about data on this machine, as I've already backed up all personal data beforehand, so any suggested methods would be appreciated.

https://1drv.ms/f/c/87e99077ab53fab8/Erj6U6t3kOkggIdhBQAAAAABgBm6P3Im5IRHeDJ24GqQeA?e=gv8VK7

OS: Microsoft Windows 10 Home

CPU: AMD Ryzen 5 3600 6-Core Processor, 3593 Mhz, 6 Core(s), 12 Logical Processor(s)

Motherboard: PRIME X570-P

AMD Radeon RX 5600 XT
Good evening. What type of ram is it ( model nr ) ?