DPC_WATCHDOG_VIOLATION BSOD while gaming etc, tried everything

[apawlak]

My computer's been crashing for a couple weeks now when I play games or occasionally when I watch streams. It freezes for 10-30 seconds and then goes to a blue screen with DPC_WATCHDOG_VIOLATION. It can go several hours without crashing or just a few minutes. If it helps at all, the crashes have mostly happened when I'm playing Final Fantasy XIV (mmo), but that's what I play most of the time anyway so no idea if that has any influence on it.
I've tried a large amount of methods to fix this problem, mostly from forum posts of similar issues or responses to my own post on the Microsoft ask forum. I've removed every new device I recently installed, checked if my BIOS was updated, used chkdsk and memcheck, updated every driver I could, used driver verifier to weed out any that might still be causing issues, and used DDU to remove and reinstall my graphics card drivers multiple times with different versions (currently on an old version that people recommended as being stable, no improvement). I'm at a complete loss as to what to do at this point. I'm currently disabled and can't get out much, so I spend most of my time on the computer, so you can see how this has effected me significantly.
Here are my specs: AMD FX 8350 Eight Core Processor 4000 mhz, 8GB RAM, Seagate Firecuda 2TB SSHD, ZOTAC ZTSSD 120GB, NVIDIA GeForce GTX 970
Here's a OneDrive folder with four of my crash minidump files, including the most recent one: https://1drv.ms/f/s!AqDSSJYfZz6vgQ02qlHTFDznG2PQ
Any help is appreciated. Thank you very much for reading.

EDIT: Got another crash just now, with a different BSOD message: WHEA_UNCORRECTABLE_ERROR. I uploaded a new dump file to the OneDrive folder for that one.

 

[Paul NZ]

Your video drivers is the cause of one crash. It maybe causing the other crashes

This file is causing one of them ffxiv_dx11.exe Final Fantasy. Whoever makes the game tell them it's crashing

It's crashing directx as well. I would also update Easeus Todo Backup. It's drivers are 3 yrs old

I would also update whatever this belongs to it's 6 yrs old GEARAspiWDM.sys

I would uninstall Logitech CPU core temperature monitor. It maybe doing something

 

[apawlak]

Your video drivers is the cause of one crash. It maybe causing the other crashes

This file is causing one of them ffxiv_dx11.exe Final Fantasy. Whoever makes the game tell them it's crashing

It's crashing directx as well. I would also update Easeus Todo Backup. It's drivers are 3 yrs old

I would also update whatever this belongs to it's 6 yrs old GEARAspiWDM.sys

I would uninstall Logitech CPU core temperature monitor. It maybe doing something

Not sure what to do about the video drivers since I've already resintalled them several times, or the final fantasy exe. Might try playing the non DX11 version for a while.
I went ahead and uninstalled Easeus Todo Backup, I haven't used it in forever. GEARAspiWDM.sys is some iTunes thing, and I never use that either, so I removed it as well.
No idea what or where Logitech CPU core temperature monitor is, I can't find any info about it on Google either.

 

[apawlak]

Update: Since I made the thread it's just been getting worse. Can't even go an hour in game without crashing, if that. It's also been just shutting down immediately without even a freeze or a blue screen, which is worrying.
Thought my CPU temperature looked high when I checked it in the BIOS, so I checked on it and cleaned out the fan which was pretty dusty. Planning on at least getting some new thermal paste. Downloaded a temperature monitor program after I got done with that, and it stayed below 75 degrees celsius when I started up a game. Made no difference with the crashing, though
I really need some help here. My friends have suggested it might be the PSU malfunctioning in some way, but they don't have the knowhow to test that in any capacity, so if anyone can help me with that at least or if that gives you some ideas for what the problem is, please let me know. Thank you.

 

[jr9]

Can you tell me your max CPU and GPU temps please in game? Use HWInfo. While you are there, check the 12V, 5V, and 3.3V parts of the motherboard section. Are they all close to those 3 numbers and holding steady?

The only things that can cause hard shutdowns:

- Failing PSU, bad power cable, bad outlet
- Failing motherboard. VRM power issues are very common on these older AMD motherboards.
- Overheating

I believe this issue lies outside Windows. No software or OS problem will shut down your PC like that. The hard shutdowns are a blessing actually because it means you can save time not troubleshooting OS, drivers, etc.

 

[apawlak]

Can you tell me your max CPU and GPU temps please in game? Use HWInfo. While you are there, check the 12V, 5V, and 3.3V parts of the motherboard section. Are they all close to those 3 numbers and holding steady?

The only things that can cause hard shutdowns:

- Failing PSU, bad power cable, bad outlet
- Failing motherboard. VRM power issues are very common on these older AMD motherboards.
- Overheating

I believe this issue lies outside Windows. No software or OS problem will shut down your PC like that. The hard shutdowns are a blessing actually because it means you can save time not troubleshooting OS, drivers, etc.

Thank you for the response. I installed HWInfo just now, started up a game, and put it into a graphically stressful situation (that it could handle before this started happening, not one intended to break computers or anything), which caused it to crash after a few minutes as expected. I took a few screenshots of the HWInfo window while I waited for it to crash, but the last one I took was about a minute before the actual crash. Not sure if the temperatures spiked or anything when it crashed since I had looked away for a bit to try to do something that would put it under more stress. Let me know if these aren't enough to tell you anything and I can try it again and pay more attention to the numbers. I hid a few of the readings that I didn't think were relevant to make more screen space for the ones you requested, also.

 

[jr9]

Can you try a program called Coretemp and show your max temps? I'd like a 2nd opinion.

 

[apawlak]

Can you try a program called Coretemp and show your max temps? I'd like a 2nd opinion.

Just did. The screenshot I took got corrupted or something unfortunately, but the highest I saw was 87 C before it crashed.

 

[jr9]

Those CPU temps are very high. I am not sure if that is a misreading or not. Some programs do not read AMD temps properly.

Are you able to clean, repaste, and reinstall the CPU cooler and see if temps come down? Is the CPU fan actually spinning? Removing the side panel may also reduce temps if you have bad airflow. Anything over 70c is considered uncomfortable.

 

[apawlak]

Those CPU temps are very high. I am not sure if that is a misreading or not. Some programs do not read AMD temps properly.

Are you able to clean, repaste, and reinstall the CPU cooler and see if temps come down? Is the CPU fan actually spinning? Removing the side panel may also reduce temps if you have bad airflow. Anything over 70c is considered uncomfortable.

I've been using Open Hardware Monitor and tried another program, and they've given similar temperatures, if that helps.
I cleaned the cooler a couple days ago, and noticed that the paste was pretty dry, so I ordered a new tube of it yesterday. The fan's definitely still spinning (audibly) when it gets that hot. I have kept the side panel open also to see if that helps and so I can check on the components more easily. Hopefully the paste will be enough to help, and if not I'll look into a new cooler.
Do you think the CPU overheating could've been causing the other blue screen errors as well?

 

[jr9]

Old paste is generally dry. It doesn't stay wet forever, it bakes and creates a contract surface. Recommend cleaning it with isoprobl alcohol and a lint free cloth. Both the CPU cap and headsink should shine. If you remove the cooler at all you must clean and reapply paste or it doesn't work at all.

If the CPU is over 80c then it will throttle and this could lead to system instability. At those kinds of temps on an AMD processor I would expect thermal shutdowns. AMD overdrive software may give you a more reliable reading.

 

[apawlak]

Old paste is generally dry. It doesn't stay wet forever, it bakes and creates a contract surface. Recommend cleaning it with isoprobl alcohol and a lint free cloth. Both the CPU cap and headsink should shine. If you remove the cooler at all you must clean and reapply paste or it doesn't work at all.

If the CPU is over 80c then it will throttle and this could lead to system instability. At those kinds of temps on an AMD processor I would expect thermal shutdowns. AMD overdrive software may give you a more reliable reading.

Temps are back to normal and I'm no longer having instant shutdowns, so it must have been me not knowing I had to reapply paste after removing the CPU fan.
However, I had another DPC_WATCHDOG_VIOLATION the same way I had it before around half an hour ago. I checked the dump file with Windbg, saw it was probably caused by dxgkrnl.sys, and did a search for that. Found a very recent thread of other people having the same problem, saying that removing a windows security update fixed it for them, so I've done that and will hope for the best.
Here's the aforementioned minidump as well, in case that provides any further insight: https://1drv.ms/u/s!AqDSSJYfZz6vhkkPqgepCz8-jdaJ

 

[jr9]

If it continues to crash I would try a fresh Windows install (not reset, as reset may carry over things) and install only the graphics card drivers and disconnect ethernet so it can't do any Windows updates. Then see if it crashes. I've heard the Meltdown/Spectre patches can cause BSODs. If it does crash on a fresh copy of 8 then it must be hardware although I doubt it. It sounds like it stopped working sometime in January which is when these Meltdown and Spectre patches were pushed through Windows update.

Good to see it's not overheating anymore. AMD processors generally shut down when they get to those kinds of temps.

 

[apawlak]

If it continues to crash I would try a fresh Windows install (not reset, as reset may carry over things) and install only the graphics card drivers and disconnect ethernet so it can't do any Windows updates. Then see if it crashes. I've heard the Meltdown/Spectre patches can cause BSODs. If it does crash on a fresh copy of 8 then it must be hardware although I doubt it. It sounds like it stopped working sometime in January which is when these Meltdown and Spectre patches were pushed through Windows update.

Good to see it's not overheating anymore. AMD processors generally shut down when they get to those kinds of temps.

I did a fresh install with Windows 10, as a few other people that I've spoken to recommended it as my next course of action, and I also just figured it was a good idea to upgrade in general. Was able to keep the game open for around 5 hours without any crashes. Hopefully that'll be the end of it. Thank you for your help. I'll make another post if anything else happens.

 

[jr9]

Please post here if it does. Give it some time. It would give valuable information if it doesn't crash at all. It seems a recent Windows update is causing this issue for a lot of Windows 8 users. I suppose leaving Windows 8 is one solution. Perhaps this is all part of Microsofts plan