Non-stop BSODs... Please help

[ar_0]

I built my system about 5 years ago. It's the second system I built. It worked perfectly for 5 years. I didn't even shut it down. It stayed powered on for months at a time.

Then, a couple of months back, I decided to upgrade and overclock. So I bought a new Xeon CPU and a liquid cooling, cleaned the hardware, blew the dust, reapplied thermal paste to both the CPU and GPU, and started OCing. During the OC process, I discovered that my 1st DIMM slot is kind of faulty. I had to use extra strength to push the RAM stick inside the slot, otherwise it would not even show on the system. (Three sticks total, the one in the first slot won't show if I don't push extra hard, no matter which stick I use. Other sticks show).

I then did a fresh Windows install, system stable after testing with prime95 for over 8 hours. Then after a while... boom! BSOD! Did memtest86 for over 15 passes (over 40 hours), with no errors.

At first, the BSOD was about twice a week, now they are about once a day. How can the frequency increase without any change in hardware?

I still check regularly with memtest. No errors.

I can also confirm that my CPU temp averages 50s when under moderately heavy load.

Furthermore, I have Windows 7 installed on an SSD, and Windows 8.1 installed on another HDD. Whenever I use Windows 8, the BSOD frequency is through the roof. I get a BSOD with Windows 8 about once per hour, and that is without having any drivers installed. And the reason is, whenever I try to install drivers via Windows Update, I get a BSOD (the DVD drivers not compatible with Windows 8).

My PC is overclocked, but I returned settings to normal clock for a while, and I still get BSODs.

Before all this, I also had both Windows 7 & 8 installed and both operating systems worked fine.

I can handle the once-a-day BSOD, but why is Windows 8 getting all these once-an-hour BSODs?

I reinstalled both Windows at least 3 times each... same result.

The errors vary. I get BSOD codes 7f, 124, and a few more that I can't remember.

With Windows 8 I get the errors that say something like (Kernel trap mode) and (irq not equal or less)

Is there any guru here that can help please?

 

[Shazamy]

Hi there, I see you tested your memory extensively and I have to say that it does sound like you're having a memory issue.
The slot that requires an extra push to be able to read the RAM stick could very well be the problem. I don't know what kind of MB you have but you might be able to run fine by skipping that DIMM slot. If not then you might be looking at replacing the whole MB (as much as that sucks).

The only other things I can think about that might be causing your problems are either your SSD, which you can usually test with proprietary software from the manufacturer. Or maybe you tightened the CPU block too much. Applying the correct amount of force while screwing in your CPU cooler is very important.

Hope this helps.

 

[ar_0]

Hi there, I see you tested your memory extensively and I have to say that it does sound like you're having a memory issue.
The slot that requires an extra push to be able to read the RAM stick could very well be the problem. I don't know what kind of MB you have but you might be able to run fine by skipping that DIMM slot. If not then you might be looking at replacing the whole MB (as much as that sucks).

The only other things I can think about that might be causing your problems are either your SSD, which you can usually test with proprietary software from the manufacturer. Or maybe you tightened the CPU block too much. Applying the correct amount of force while screwing in your CPU cooler is very important.

Hope this helps.

I agree. Didn't want to face the possibility though, but now I guess I have to. I'll place the RAM stick in one of the remaining slots and see how it goes.

Thanks Shazamy.

BTW, my mobo is P6X58D premium. I already know that the first channel behaves the same (1st two slots), so if I place the stick in a slot that would force me to go dual channel instead of triple channel, how much would the performance be affected?

 

[Shazamy]

People seem to give RAM too much credit when it comes to performance impact in gaming and otherwise.
Really, as long as you're not running out of memory, you're pretty much solid.
I have an X58 platform (Asus P6T Deluxe) that supports triple channel memory yet I'm using a Kingston 2x8GB configuration because it really doesn't matter.

As long as the system doesn't crash without the use of the faulty DIMM slot I would keep using it.

 

[ar_0]

Thanks, I'll let you know of the result.

 

[ar_0]

Minor Update: I forgot to mention another thing that might be important: Whenever I shut down my PC for longer than 30 minutes, the BSOD will stop for a while and won't return until about 2 days later.

Does this mean anything?