[SOLVED] Help with BSOD

[kesa0003]

I've been having BSOD issues, and it seems to be beyond my capabilities to diagnose. I've tried several things (memory diagnostic, hard disk check, windows driver verifier) and nothing has had a red flag. I'm currently fiddling with my memory and took it out of XMP mode in case that was an issue, but since the BSOD have been few and far between it's hard to tell if it's working or not. I have created a minidump that I can share (here: minidump ).

If anyone could help me out I would greatly appreciate it!

Pcpartpicker list for my system specs: PC specs

 

[gardenman]

Hi, I ran the dump file through the debugger and got the following information: https://pastebin.com/LCT9Qwsv

File information:	070320-15812-01.dmp (Jul 3 2020 - 14:16:10)
Bugcheck:	KERNEL_SECURITY_CHECK_FAILURE (139)
Probably caused by:	ntkrnlmp.exe (Process: ModernWarfare.)
Uptime:	0 Day(s), 3 Hour(s), 06 Min(s), and 52 Sec(s)

Possible Motherboard page: https://www.msi.com/Motherboard/MAG-Z490-TOMAHAWK
There is a BIOS update available for your system. You are using version 1.0 and the latest is 1.1. Wait for additional information before deciding to update or not. Important: Verify that I have linked to the correct motherboard. Updating your BIOS can be risky. Never try it when you might lose power (lightning storms, recent power outages, etc).

This information can be used by others to help you. Someone else will post with more information. Please wait for additional answers. Good luck.

 

[Colif]

Bios update could help, it adds memory compatibility and updating BIOS on new boards can add new features or fix bugs

how to update MSI bios

update the chipset driver at same time, it is on link below
Newer Sound drivers as well
https://www.msi.com/Motherboard/support/MAG-Z490-TOMAHAWK#down-driver&Win10 64

 

[kesa0003]

Thanks for the suggestions! After posting this I did, dangerously, go ahead and try updating my BIOS because its patch notes (however brief they were) did mention better memory compatibility. After updating I turned off XMP for my memory and then ran prime95 to see if I could get any errors (if there's something better to help check BSOD please let me know) and it ran fine for 3 hours using 99-100% of the cpu and memory. I then turned XMP back on, but only had time to run it for 10 minutes, but it did that with no BSOD, so I may try stressing it again, but now I'm encountering a different issue!

Now when I pull up Core Temp it constantly shows my cores running a non-trivial load, and I can feel it when utilizing other programs--nothing is "snappy" anymore. In games it manifests as frequent stutters, and the average FPS has gone down ~15% or so. My audio is also staticky and garbled frequently (I use a USB headset, and I have downloaded all the driver updates to my mobo including chipset and audio). It really feels like something is chugging in the background, but I can't figure out what. I haven't had a BSOD lately, which is neat, but it's also not been that long since the changes, but when I check out task manager there are no obvious cpu hogs. I have norton antivirus installed, and have only been visting sites for help like this, or to download steam, blizzard launcher, gog galaxy, etc.

I realize I did not including my system specs, so I have edited the first post to include them in case that helps diagnose. I greatly appreciate any help and the help already given

 

[Colif]

it could be NVIDIA drivers, you could try running DDU and using older drivers - https://forums.tomshardware.com/faq...n-install-of-your-video-card-drivers.2402269/

USB headsets don't use realtek audio, they often have their own software? I only see Nvidia & Realtek installed. What headset is it?

 

[kesa0003]

I'll try reinstalling the nvidia drivers--I just built this PC, so the first drivers I installed for nvidia were just the most recent ones. Should I try installing an older version instead?

As for the headset I just double checked and it does work with no issues on my other, older, desktop, so it's not an issue with the actual headset. The headset in question is a Corsair HS60. I went to the website for Corsair and looked for drivers for it, but there was nothing to download on the product page, and when I check device manager in windows it says it has the most recent drivers for it. I'm currently googling like mad to try to find a solution to the mysterious cpu usage as that feels like what's causing the strange audio since everything is feeling slow and jerky.

 

[Colif]

did you have the CPU usage thing before updating the drivers?
I don't think the Intel update would cause it, but maybe the audio could.

I don't see any software for headset, I just thought it might have some.

 

[kesa0003]

Thanks for looking into it.

The CPU usage thing is new, but I can't pinpoint when it began--I've been doing a lot of fiddling trying to figure out my BSOD, and something I did must have been the starting point. But I honestly don't remember which individual item it was.

Before my first BSOD everything ran super smooth (and that's after I had updated all mobo drivers [I had not updated the BIOS yet]) and I had the most recent nvidia drivers installed at that point. Then I got a few BSOD, panicked, and started trying all sorts of things (memory checkers, driver verifier, virus scans, etc.), and at some point everything started crawling and slowing down.

When I booted into safe mode, though, to run the DDU the cpu usage problem was gone. Everything was snappy again and the garbled audio wasn't an issue anymore either. At this point should I just do a fresh install of windows? I have messed something up, but I have no idea what particular thing it is. I haven't had a BSOD again, but with the cpu usage being weird I also haven't tried anything intensive (except prime95, but only for 10 minutes).

If I do a fresh install, since I don't use any of the audio jacks from my mobo, should I not install the realtek driver, or should I just install all drivers that the mobo has listed? I had installed them all on my first install, and things worked fine (minus the BSOD), but my hope is that the BIOS update (which I only did recently) has fixed that.

Thanks again for all your help, I greatly appreciate it


EDIT also, since the cpu spiking started, it boots much slower now. Just in case that is indicative of something else going on.

 

[Colif]

Silly me, when I said update chipset drivers I meant Intel Management Engine Driver which are under Others Drivers (maybe I should blame MSI for putting it there) as it helps to have a version of it that matches BIOS - https://www.msi.com/Motherboard/support/MAG-Z490-TOMAHAWK#down-driver&Win10 64

did you turn driver verifer off?
safe mode would indicate its probably a driver
windows will install realtek drivers regardless. Just to be helpful.

 

[kesa0003]

Oh my gosh I am so out of my league here--I thought it would be fun to build my own PC and try to learn about PCs in general, not quite realizing the absolute depth of that knowledge. I am incredibly thankful for your help

Anyway I didn't realize that driver verifier would keep running in the background--so it has been running for many hours (I don't remember when I started it), and when I stopped it and restarted, BAM! lagginess and cpu usage is gone. Back to being nice and snappy!

I had already downloaded and installed both the chipset and intel management driver, but the when I check the driver version for the intel management driver it is not the same as the one on my mobo's website. The one installed is from March, but the newest one is from June. When I download the new one, and run the update it only allows me to "repair" or "remove." When I repair it says things are all fine and dandy but the version is still the older one. Not sure if this even matters, but figured I'd mention it.

Well now that I've updated BIOS, have all current drivers, and have re-enabled XMP on my memory, I'm going to try to get another BSOD. I'm hoping the BIOS update has fixed it, but we'll find out! Is there any way to speed up the search for a BSOD? Or should I just run Warzone (the main culprit previously) for awhile and see if one occurs?

Also can I mark 2 answers as being the best answer? Both your suggestion to update BIOS and turn off the dang driver verifier seemed to have helped both of my issues and I'd like to mark both as correct, but don't know if I can do that. I'll go run some warzone and see if it crashes and report back in a few hours. Or if you have a better suggestion for causing BSOD I'd be open to try them!

 

[Colif]

I am just glad the lag was an easy fix. Driver verifer is something I only suggest at end of fixing problems as it can cause boot loops, so you got off easy.

guess it could be the new one is same driver, the installer date isn't always the same as driver date that shows in system.

Only 1 Best answer per thread. you can like as many posts as you want though.

 

[kesa0003]

Sorry I should have been clearer--the driver version numbers are different too. The older one (from March) is a smaller number than the newer one. Again, not sure if that's a big deal or not.

I've done a bunch of post liking, and as soon as the BSOD seem to be for sure gone (I'll spend the day playing Warzone...I'll tell my wife it's required research and see if it seems solid now. Again, thanks so much for your help!

 

[kesa0003]

After running Warzone (the previous culprit for BSOD) for 3.5 hours, I finally got a crash--but it wasn't a BSOD! It was just a game crash (Dev Error 6328, which wasn't an issue as I could rejoin immediately). I'm going to mark an answer and call this one solved. Thanks for all the help!