[SOLVED] Graphics drivers gives BSOD

[jon.schjelderup]

Hey. I have a most peculiar and extremely irritating problem. I tried updating the drivers for my graphics card, a Radion R7 200-series (I can't even check which specific card it is right now, since I have no drivers!), and got the BSOD with the message "Page fault in nonpage area". I've been troubleshooting my PC since then. I've googled and tried pretty much every solution out there, I've removed my drivers completely, and then tried reinstalling them, all with the exact same result: "Page fault in nonpage area". Thing is, when I remove the drivers, and use the generic Windows drivers instead, everything runs like clockwork. Except my games, I expect (haven't tried yet). The thing that happens now when I try installing the drivers (no matter the version, I've tried the latest two updates that weren't installed, both with the same result, and most recently just now, went back to the last drivers I know worked fine up until yesterday, and no dice) is that the installation starts, runs for a while, then the screen starts to flicker, goes dark, and after a few seconds, the BSOD appears. The PC reboots, the Windows logo appears, and... BSOD! And like I said, I've tried every solution I could find on Google, and nothing helps. Is my graphics card dead? And if so, why does it work just fine with generic drivers?

I run Windows 10 Home 64-bit, Intel i7 920,

 

[Darkbreeze]

It works fine with generic drivers because it is not attempting to make use of advanced card specific features and higher power draw.

About half the time this is a problem with the card, and often it is related to the PSU. In some few cases it could be a BIOS version or motherboard issue.

What are your full system specs including the EXACT model number of your power supply which you locate on the specifications decal located on the power supply itself.

 

[jon.schjelderup]

It works fine with generic drivers because it is not attempting to make use of advanced card specific features and higher power draw.

But even when installing the drivers? Though I suppose it runs a few checks on the card, which would explain it, maybe?

What are your full system specs including the EXACT model number of your power supply which you locate on the specifications decal located on the power supply itself.

I'll get back to you on that later.

 

[jon.schjelderup]

OK, I've finally gotten around to cracking open my case and having a look at my hardware. Took a while, as I've had to prioritize work, and I couldn't risk the PC failing completely on me. Still can't, but that's another matter. Anyway, I found out that one of my RAM modules was faulty, so I've plucked that out. Didn't help my issue, though. When I tried installing the AMD drivers, I get the exact same BSOD message.

I have been unable to find the decal on the power supply. Either it sits on top or on the side, and is unavailable to see unless I dismantle the entire thing. But it is a Corsair TX 750W. So ample power, it would seem. My motherboard is the Asus P6T Deluxe V2, ver. 1202, I have an Intel Core i7 920 (Bloomfeld), the graphics card is an Asus DirectCU II (AMD Radeon R9 HD7970), my RAM is Corsair Dominator DDR3 3x4GB (well, 2X4GB now), and I run Windows 10 Home 64Bits, 10.0.17134, build 17134.

I usually build my own rigs, but I bought this one used, as my old rig died on me, and I needed a new one fast. The guy who built this one clearly had little to no idea what he was doing, it was listed as having 4GB RAM, but as it turned out, he had two sets of RAM modules installed, 3x4GB and 3x3GB modules, but of different models (both Corsair, but one set at 1600Mhz, and the other at 1333Mhz), and the PC only found 4GB to utilize. That changed when I removed the 3x3GB modules. Anyway, what this means is that I know very little about the hardware on this rig, and can only rely on the information I find in the case (whereas I could have listed the model number of every component in my old rig).

So there it is. I have no idea what to try next, other than replacing the graphics card, which isn't an option for at least a few months.

 

[Darkbreeze]

So, TX unit, but any idea at all how old it is? Having enough power, on paper, and being a good brand and model, which that is, are all fine and good, but even the best of power supplies can fail. Even right out of the box a Titanium Ultra plus Seasonic unit could be bad. Much less if a unit is 3 years, or six years old, or more. The TX units have been around a good long while, so that unit could be REALLY old in power supply years.

You could always buy a cheap 35 dollar Nvidia GT 710, which is capable enough for most common tasks including watching HD video, just as a placeholder if you need something more capable plus it would tell you if the GPU card was the problem or not. The upside, if it's not the problem, is you would then have an extra card to use for testing anytime you need to rule out the graphics card on that or any other system.

 

[jon.schjelderup]

I don't know how old any of the components in this rig are, except for the SSD and HDD, which I bought new myself. But I bought this rig in late 2017, and I'm guessing it wasn't exactly new then. At a guess, I'd say the entire rig is at least 3-4 years old. I've tried contacting the guy I bought it from, but no answer so far.

Anyway, I have a new development. It seems my RAM modules are now failing one by one, and I'm currently down to 4GB. Chrome seems to become more and more unstable, but I'm guessing that's due to a lack of memory. It was acting up even with my full 12GB, just not this bad. I'm going to try installing the other three RAM modules that I got with this rig. They're slower, yes, but I'm hoping this will all turn out to be due to faulty RAM.

 

[jon.schjelderup]

Actually, and this is a bit embarrasing, but never mind that last bit about the RAM. Turns out one of the modules wasn't seated properly. I blame a hard day of work and poor light. All good now, and Chrome seems much more stable again.

 

[Darkbreeze]

Glad you got it sorted, however, not including perhaps the power supply, because who knows on that, but the rest of the platform, CPU, motherboard and memory, is likely about 10-11 years old, as that CPU was released in 2008 and was no longer being manufactured two years later.