Question Numerous BSOD throughout my workday

[KD0631]

Thanks for taking the time to read and hopefully assist!

I counted I think 5 crashes just within an hour this morning and after that I stopped counting. 3 of those crashes happened without a blue screen - Screens just went black and rebooted. This is on my work build and it's been having BSOD issues for quite some time now. Probably 15+ crashes/8 hour day and it's likely raising my blood pressure, so I decided to hop on here and hope someone can find the answer.

The crashes happen completely randomly. I could be on chrome, in photoshop, in a game, even doing nothing at all not even moving the mouse.

Here is my build:
http://speccy.piriform.com/results/EPTzVQ7mnApaH6yrGb3pTuC
I normally have 2x16GB of RAM but I am currently only using 1x hoping to see an improvement which I've not seen.

Here is what I've tried so far (not in chronological order):
Reinstalled Windows
Made sure all Windows Updates are installed
Installed latest BIOS
Installed latest chipset from manufacture site
Physically went through every item on Device Manager and hit "Update Driver/Search Automatically"
Reseated everything
Installed new PSU (Microsoft Forums guy suggested this)
Tried a different GPU
Tried both sticks of RAM, tried only 1, swapped them around, tried different slots with both and only 1
Ran Windows Memory Diagnostics (found nothing)
Ran the sfc /scannow command as admin
Ran check disk
Ran DDU for GPU drivers and installed latest
Disabled Bluetooth drivers (to see if it was the culprit)
Disabled Audio drivers incase they were conflicting
Uninstalled Logitech software
I didn't have Malware Bytes until recently and don't use anything other than Windows Defender, so it's not an Antivirus
... I want to say I've done more but I can't think of what they were, it's been so long since I've been trying to figure this out now.

If anyone would like to try their hand at this, I'd be infinitely appreciative. Just let me know how I can assist and I'd be more than happy to do so. Thanks.

** Update before I even post this - As I'm currently looking at the Device Manager after I typed all this, it's got the yellow flag on the Processor and those were never present until now.

 

[Colif]

it isn't common, I am still waiting for another example of it.

 

[KD0631]

So after it being in the shop for about a month, the owner basically said even he didn't know the cause and his recommendation was to start replacing parts starting with the motherboard. So I picked up my tower and got a new mobo that day from best buy. Since I had to install a new mobo, I made sure to (re)seat and connect everything properly, formatted thumb drive and installed a new windows media creation tool, clean install of windows, installed all windows updates, gpu and mobo drivers and still getting bsods.

He said he tested all the hardware when he had it and everything came back no issues. So he suspected a possible short on the mobo.

So I've replaced the psu, ssd and now mobo. I removed the nvme drive incase that was the issue, even though he said it tested fine. I've tried each ram stick by itself and no difference, and he said he tried different known working sticks and same issue. I know the gpu is good. He said he tried a different cpu and no difference.

I am at a complete loss.

I've ran sfc/scannow commands and it would say it fixed corrupted files, then run it later and says nothing corrupted. I've ran the dism commands and it finds nothing wrong.

I'm almost positive it never crashes in safe mode, so that should say a driver or signature (I think?) issue for sure and not hardware related, right?

I'm leaning mostly towards corrupted files somewhere, since the sfc/scannow consistently finds corrupted files and "repairs them" but if the source folder it keeps pulling files from to repair it is corrupted itself, couldnt that just lead to a constant loop of corrupted files? Is there a way to verify the source files? And is it even possible to keep having that issue with new windows media creation installs?

 

[Colif]

does it crash for him at shop with all these new parts?

or do they only start when you get home?

safe mode doesn't put much stress on PC, so it can mean its drivers or it can still be hardware.

If you clean installed it can't have corrupted files, unless they are being corrupted by some hardware that is really good at hiding.

 

[KD0631]

if he replaced the motherboard I would reinstall windows fresh and see if its any better

On another PC, download the Windows 10 media creation tool and use it to make a win 10 installer on USB
follow this guide: https://forums.tomshardware.com/faq/how-to-do-a-clean-installation-of-windows-10.3170366/

I replaced the mobo and did a fresh install of windows, creating the new windows 10 installer from my personal pc, separate of the problematic pc. Did that yesterday at home and still bsods.

 

[Colif]

lol. i edited my post, but you got the old version

 

[Colif]

set up this again, I will have to look through thread again and see what we haven't tried

Can you follow option one on the following link - here - and then do this step below: Small memory dumps - Have Windows Create a Small Memory Dump (Minidump) on BSOD - that creates a file in c windows/minidump after the next BSOD

• Open Windows File Explorer
• Navigate to C:\Windows\Minidump
• Copy the mini-dump files out onto your Desktop
• Do not use Winzip, use the built in facility in Windows
• Select those files on your Desktop, right click them and choose 'Send to' - Compressed (zipped) folder
• Upload the zip file to the Cloud (OneDrive, DropBox . . . etc.)
• Then post a link here to the zip file, so we can take a look for you . . .

 

[KD0631]

set up this again, I will have to look through thread again and see what we haven't tried

Can you follow option one on the following link - here - and then do this step below: Small memory dumps - Have Windows Create a Small Memory Dump (Minidump) on BSOD - that creates a file in c windows/minidump after the next BSOD

• Open Windows File Explorer
• Navigate to C:\Windows\Minidump
• Copy the mini-dump files out onto your Desktop
• Do not use Winzip, use the built in facility in Windows
• Select those files on your Desktop, right click them and choose 'Send to' - Compressed (zipped) folder
• Upload the zip file to the Cloud (OneDrive, DropBox . . . etc.)
• Then post a link here to the zip file, so we can take a look for you . . .

To answer your edited post, yes it was still crashing for him at the shop. He said he had got it running for 2 days straight with no crashes, that's when I picked it up the first time and as soon as I booted it up back in my office, it crashed. He took it back and tested all hardware in the machine, no faulty results. Tried his own known working gpu, cpu and ram, said still crashed. Then I replaced the mobo after getting it back end of last week from his recommendation that maybe there was a short in the original mobo. Formatted thumb drive, put a new windows creation tool on it from my home pc, reinstalled windows from it, I think it crashed initially after the clean install right as it was on the final stage of the install where it says "Hi..." and the screen transitions, so then I kept going with all windows updates, mobo and gpu drivers and it was consistently crashing still.

I've got some work to knock out since I'm still bringing my pc from home, but as soon as I get to a good stopping point, I'll setup the work pc to configure the dumps again and update you.

 

[Colif]

looks back, remembers you were one who stole all my parts

CPU 3600
MB Gigabyte X570 Elite Wi-Fi
2 x 16gb ram
Seasonic Focus GX 650
HP 1tb ssd
3tb hdd
GPU GTX 1060

So he swapped out the bolded items above
you replaced the Italic mb with same model or different?

do you use WIFI or Ethernet?

Could this be the first time I have to blame a Seasonic PSU? Starting to run out of things to blame. There are only so many parts.
Wonders why he didn't swap it out, just to confirm its not at fault.
Seasonic's are good but nothing is perfect, there can always be bad examples.

Did he try to run MB outside of the case, if he thought there was a short?

 

[KD0631]

looks back, remembers you were one who stole all my parts

CPU 3600
MB Gigabyte X570 Elite Wi-Fi
2 x 16gb ram
Seasonic Focus GX 650
HP 1tb ssd
3tb hdd
GPU GTX 1060

So he swapped out the bolded items above
you replaced the Italic mb with same model or different?

do you use WIFI or Ethernet?

Could this be the first time I have to blame a Seasonic PSU? Starting to run out of things to blame. There are only so many parts.

Did he try to run MB outside of the case, if he thought there was a short?

Yep, that was me 🤣

Yeah, he tried known working parts in replace of the bold items and I replaced the X570 with a MSI MPG B550 Gaming Plus and updated the bios to most recent. I always use ethernet. And like I said, I did install the latest mobo drivers including LAN.

It shouldn't be the PSU because it was doing this prior to me switching the PSU (that Seasonic PSU is brand new, the first thing I bought to replace the original when a windows moderator suggested to start with that).

I couldn't say if he tried the mobo out of the case or not. He never specified on that.

 

[Colif]

CPU - swapped out, BSOD still happen
MB - replaced with a new one, fresh install, BSOD still happen
RAM - swapped out, BSOD still happen
GPU - Swapped out, BSOD still happen
PSU - Bought to replace previous PSU, BSOD still happen
Peripherals - since shop used own and errors still happen, we can't look there.

storage only thing left?
I don't know what else is left??

Case being cause would be odd. Breadboarding MB outside case would remove it from possible blame, and remove any possible shorting

I have asked if anyone else has any ideas.

 

[KD0631]

CPU - swapped out, BSOD still happen
MB - replaced with a new one, fresh install, BSOD still happen
RAM - swapped out, BSOD still happen
GPU - Swapped out, BSOD still happen
PSU - Bought to replace previous PSU, BSOD still happen
Peripherals - since shop used own and errors still happen, we can't look there.

storage only thing left?
I don't know what else is left??

Case being cause would be odd. Breadboarding MB outside case would remove it from possible blame, and remove any possible shorting

I have asked if anyone else has any ideas.

Shouldn't be storage since I bought a brand new 870 EVO after sending it to the shop the first time, unless I got a bad nvme AND ssd, both new.

I wouldn't think mobo shorting out is it either since I've replaced that with a brand new one mentioned above. If you'd like to explain the breadboarding mobo thing more, I can give that a try. I'm unfamiliar with that.

 

[Colif]

is there anything else attached to PC that hasn't been swapped out?
sata cables?
oh wait, ones an nvme right?

How To - Breadboarding, stripping it down to the basics for troubleshooting

If you have to read this, something is very wrong with your PC such that you need to fully troubleshoot your system at the most basic hardware level, Breadboarding. A little background: breadboards were what we called our lab equipment in electronics school. I don't know why they started...

forums.tomshardware.com

that motherboard speaker part might be hard. I didn't realise it said to use that

Wait and see if anyone else replies here before doing above.

 

[KD0631]

is there anything else attached to PC that hasn't been swapped out?
sata cables?
oh wait, ones an nvme right?

How To - Breadboarding, stripping it down to the basics for troubleshooting

If you have to read this, something is very wrong with your PC such that you need to fully troubleshoot your system at the most basic hardware level, Breadboarding. A little background: breadboards were what we called our lab equipment in electronics school. I don't know why they started...

forums.tomshardware.com

that motherboard speaker part might be hard. I didn't realise it said to use that

Wait and see if anyone else replies here before doing above.

Only the sata cable needed for the EVO. And the nvme is not currently connected, nor has it been since I took it back to the shop for the 2nd time.

At this point, every single part has either been tested with a known working part or permanently replaced with a new part, other than the case itself.

 

[Colif]

and its a Meshify C... So not a cheap case. Looks like you should try the bread board idea, or repair guy should have.
I looked, can't find any other people with bsod caused by that case.

could try another sata cable. Would really suck if it were that easy


I can't really help you from where I sit. Not giving up, just out of fresh ideas.

 

[KD0631]

and its a Meshify C... So not a cheap case. Looks like you should try the bread board idea, or repair guy should have.
I looked, can't find any other people with bsod caused by that case.

could try another sata cable. Would really suck if it were that easy


I can't really help you from where I sit. Not giving up, just out of fresh ideas.

I have tried different sata cables. With the new ssd, I used the sata cable that was already being used in the case for previous storage and then swapped it out with one of the new ones from the mobo box. And I made sure to connect the ends properly so there is no bending on the end connecting to the mobo, as I read that can cause issues.

 

[Colif]

guess all i can do is wait for you to show the dumps and maybe I can figure it out, it MIGHT be a driver on new board, not a continuation of the same errors.

Did I ever suggest you post on here, show them what you replaced already, link to this thread. They normally blame CPU when I send people there but you swapped it out and it still happens. I am just curious - https://www.tenforums.com/bsod-crashes-debugging/ (follow the posting instructions). I feel its least I can do since I can't think of anything to get you to run now.

 

[KD0631]

guess all i can do is wait for you to show the dumps and maybe I can figure it out, it MIGHT be a driver on new board, not a continuation of the same errors.

Did I ever suggest you post on here, show them what you replaced already, link to this thread. They normally blame CPU when I send people there but you swapped it out and it still happens. I am just curious - https://www.tenforums.com/bsod-crashes-debugging/ (follow the posting instructions). I feel its least I can do since I can't think of anything to get you to run now.

Yeah it'll probably be tomorrow before I can get to the dumps.

And no, you haven't suggested that yet. I'll reach out to them there maybe this evening and see if someone might have some additional wisdom to bestow upon me. Until then, or if you think of something out of the box, I definitely appreciate your time on my troubles! Good to know I'm the problem child of my local professional and you guys here 🤣 it really is an enraging mystery.

 

[KD0631]

guess all i can do is wait for you to show the dumps and maybe I can figure it out, it MIGHT be a driver on new board, not a continuation of the same errors.

Did I ever suggest you post on here, show them what you replaced already, link to this thread. They normally blame CPU when I send people there but you swapped it out and it still happens. I am just curious - https://www.tenforums.com/bsod-crashes-debugging/ (follow the posting instructions). I feel its least I can do since I can't think of anything to get you to run now.

So I decided to call another local repair shop and after briefly telling him my story, he said it's the ram. After I told him what brand it was, he said to remove the 2nd stick and put 1 stick in the first slot. Something about that brand of ram (vengeance pro rbg) having issues with slots a2/b2 I think?

I did what he said, so just 1 stick in the first slot (a1) and reinstalled windows again. It did finish installing no problem, but it did crash 1 or 2 more times and then I finished all windows updates, installed mobo/gpu drivers and it hadn't crashed since, but it was only running for about 15-20mins after that before I decided to download memtest and start running passes.

But has anyone heard of that brand of ram having a similar issue like he mentioned? I've never overclocked or tweaked any timings/voltage on it before, so I'm at a loss with why having 2 sticks in the proper slots would cause bsods.

 

[Colif]

Corsair RGB Vengeance Pro = CMW32GX4M2C3200C16 - https://www.corsair.com/us/en/Categ.../Vengeance-PRO-RGB-Black/p/CMW32GX4M2C3200C16
same ram as I have

Something about that brand of ram (vengeance pro rbg) having issues with slots a2/b2 I think?

those are the slots I am using on the mb you had (since you have MSI now, its not exactly the same anymore)

ram can be buggy. ram can pass memtest and still cause BSOD
the first sticks tried in this pc were a bad pair of those, so I know it can happen.

I have heard of problems with Corsair LPX but not the RGB Pro.

 

[KD0631]

Corsair RGB Vengeance Pro = CMW32GX4M2C3200C16 - https://www.corsair.com/us/en/Categ.../Vengeance-PRO-RGB-Black/p/CMW32GX4M2C3200C16
same ram as I have

those are the slots I am using on the mb you had (since you have MSI now, its not exactly the same anymore)

ram can be buggy. ram can pass memtest and still cause BSOD
the first sticks tried in this pc were a bad pair of those, so I know it can happen.

I have heard of problems with Corsair LPX but not the RGB Pro.

Well the part that confuses me is that the first tech said he tried different, known working ram and I'm sure he put those in a2/b2, or so I would think, and still reported bsods. It doesn't make sense that it would continue to happen with different ram in one instance and a different mobo with the original ram in a second instance 🤷‍♂️

I'm probably just going to take it to this new techs shop since he specializes in gaming pcs and see what he comes up with. $35 for him to diagnose it vs me just buying new 32gb ram kit when the first tech had the above mentioned issues either way.

 

[Colif]

could ask 1st tech what ram he used

 

[KD0631]

could ask 1st tech what ram he used

So... I may have figured it out. After talking to the 2nd tech yesterday, I had just 1 stick of ram in slot a1 by itself, fresh install of windows, all windows updates and drivers in, was running fine. Decided to put the 2nd ram back in so a2/b2, then it crashed again after a bit, tried again and 2nd crash. Reverted back to 1 stick in a1 and it seems to be stable so far after about an hour.

So either the 2nd stick is bad or there must be an issue running them together. I haven't run memtest on the 2nd stick yet.

Is there a setting in the bios I can look for that might need changed when trying to run both sticks that maybe the default settings would be incorrectly set for 32gb?

 

[Colif]

check the 2nd stick with memtest, max number of times you can run it on free version is 4 in a row, but that doesn't stop you restarting it as soon as last 4 are done.

Is there a setting in the bios I can look for that might need changed when trying to run both sticks that maybe the default settings would be incorrectly set for 32gb?

I don't believe so.

Possibly just a bad set for some reason. Still makes you wonder about what ram the other tech used. Since its now a 2nd new motherboard it would have to be really bad luck to have 2 bad slots.
If you get the other tech to check PC, make him install win 10 and make sure PC is rock solid before returning it. I would have thought the first tech would have done that.

 

[KD0631]

check the 2nd stick with memtest, max number of times you can run it on free version is 4 in a row, but that doesn't stop you restarting it as soon as last 4 are done.


I don't believe so.

Possibly just a bad set for some reason. Still makes you wonder about what ram the other tech used. Since its now a 2nd new motherboard it would have to be really bad luck to have 2 bad slots.
If you get the other tech to check PC, make him install win 10 and make sure PC is rock solid before returning it. I would have thought the first tech would have done that.

I called him back yesterday and told him it was working fine with the 1 stick in slot 1 and it'd crash when I put them both back in a2/b2 so he told me to put them in a1/b1 even though the standard (as far as I know) and mobo recommendations are a2/b2 for dual sticks. It's actually been running stable for the most part. Only time it crashed was when I hit shutdown before I left the office yesterday.

 

[KD0631]

I never even thought to look... I'm not even seeing my ram model on the QVL for the original (aorus x570 elite wifi) or the new (mpg b550 gaming plus) mobo, and I built it via pcpartpicker (with the x570) so I just assumed everything would talk to each other just fine.

My ram is CMW32GX4M2C3200C16

...Did I really mess up that bad?

EDIT Well, I found on pangoly.com that it's showing up as compatible but it's not on the manufacturers list???