Possible causes of Blue Screen errors?

eaclou

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So i'm trying to figure out an issue i'm having with blue screen crashes when Windows is booting. First, the hardware:

Asus P7P55D mobo
G.Skill 4x2GB DDR3 1.5v 1600mhz RAM
Intel i7 860
Sapphire Radeon HD 5770 1GB
WD Caviar Black 1TB
WD Caviar Green 1TB
Corsair 750HX PSU
Windows 7 Professional x64

I thought I had the situation figured out when I found a stick of memory that was producing errors in memtest86+. I RMAed the stick and got a new one.

The problem was that I was getting Blue screens on startup at the windows loading screen, with various error messages. (IRQL_NOT_LESS_OR_EQUAL, SYSTEM_SERVICE_EXCEPTION, etc etc.) The weird thing was that if I ran windows repair after the crash, it would boot up fine, and I would even be able to restart it fine right afterwards, but when i came back from work the next day (computer had time to sit awhile - no idea why this would make a difference with electronics) it would crash.

Now i'm getting the same type of crashes in the same place (while loading Windows) when using more than 4GB of RAM (3 or 4 DIMMs). The REALLY strange part is that I can pull the 3rd and 4th DIMM's out, boot (It always boots with only 2 DIMMs installed), turn it off, pop the other 2 sticks back in, and it will boot fine! However, when i try it the next day it will Blue Screen.

I'm putting the DIMMs in the correct places (checked the motherboard manual and double-checked it). Also, I get the same crashes with 3 DIMMs installed, regardless of which physical stick I put in or which DIMM slot (I thought it might be a bad Slot, but it crashes on both).

I'm totally stumped at what could cause something like this. Any ideas? It's bizarre that I can get it to work by unplugging and re-plugging the RAM, but then it doesn't work the next day. There's no way it's a loose connection either.

To make it more complicated, there's another issue that pops up sometimes IN windows, where it will stutter every 1 or so seconds as if it's thinking really hard (the mouse will pause, then jump forward to catch up even though my hand is moving smoothly), but i'm barely doing anything that strenuous, and the task manager shows all 8 threads under 10%. It will also cause the audio to cut out temporarily at the same time the mouse freezes. It doesn't happen very often, but when it does it's infuriating. This might be unrelated, or it might not be, i have no idea, but thought I should mention it.

Should I try to see if i can RMA the motherboard and see if i get the same issues with a new one? Any ideas what could be the possible culprit so i can try to narrow it down more? I've tested the RAM and they are all good. However, I DID run memtest86+ AFTER a bluescreen, and i got about 10k errors in 2 minutes.
 

roonj

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Can you provide the model number of your ram? All of them just in case. Did you buy all the ram at one time?
Typically that error message occurs when a cpu core is dropping off but not a certainty, could be memory controller in processor.
 
Blue screen of death are nearly always caused by faulty RAM or bad drivers. In your case it is the Ram that is giving you your problems. Having three or four sticks of RAM causes more load on the buses than if you only have two sticks of RAM fitted. The result of this load is to reduce the effective speed of the RAM. The solution to this problem is to either and increases the voltage to the RAM or lessen the timings of the RAM.
 

eaclou

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So I tried putting in all 4 sticks again (been running with 2 because I was busy and just needed it to work - now I have time to fix this) and got the exact same behavior as before:

It booted up perfectly fine the first time after installing the DIMMs. I dropped the frequency from 1600 to 1066MHz (they're rated for 1600) and ran memtest+, no errors. Turned the computer off, let it sit for 2 hours, turned it on; Blue Screen at windows start, like clockwork.

There's definitely something going on with letting it stay off for awhile, but I can't figure out what might cause that. The PSU? I made sure to invest in one of the best possible, Corsair 750HX, and it is able to run intensive games and apps once IN windows, so I doubt that.

does this sound like a motherboard/cpu issue?
 

roonj

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Page 5 of reviews at newegg dated 12-20-09, G.Skill representative is telling customer that the voltage needs to be set to 1.6v. Noticed multiple posts saying works at 1.5 but several that say 1.6 and many who don't have a clue whats going on, but they're happy!, good luck
 

ekoostik

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Does it always work with only 2 sticks of RAM? Or do you also sometimes get BSoDs with 2 sticks?

Have you tried manually setting the RAM timings and V yet? If not, try it with two. If that works, move on to all 4. May want to keep it at 1333 while testing for stability. If 4 sticks aren't stable at 1.5V, slowly increase the V and re-test. Keep in mind 1.65 is the highest allowed on the 1156 socket. If you can get 1333 working, move up to 1600 by increasing your memory multiplier.
 

eaclou

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It always works with just 2 sticks.

When I put in 4 sticks, it will boot no problem the first time, but if I then turn it off and let it sit for a few hours or more, it will BSOD consistently. Windows repair recovery utility will fix it and allow it to boot, but if it sits again while being turned off it will BSOD the next time you attempt to turn it on.

I tried 800MHz, 9-9-9-24 timings, and 1.6V, and it froze on the windows startup logo one time and BSOD'ed another.

The thing that I don't understand is that once i'm IN windows, even with 4 sticks at 1.5V and 1600MHz, it is perfectly stable and I can run intensive programs on it with no problem.

So i don't know if that could be a bad MoBo, CPU, drivers, etc.
 
G

Guest

Guest
I am having a similar problem with an ASUS P7P55D-E Deluxe and the i7 860 CPU with G Skill memory works great with 2 sticks but beyond that I start getting errors that flow over to the video card and hard drive. I would really like to know what I need to change to fix this. Is it the memory, the CPU or the Mobo? My G Skill memory is the ECO 1333 1.35v
 
G

Guest

Guest
I am having a similar problem with an ASUS P7P55D-E Deluxe and the i7 860 CPU with G Skill memory works great with 2 sticks but beyond that I start getting errors that flow over to the video card and hard drive. I would really like to know what I need to change to fix this. Is it the memory, the CPU or the Mobo? My G Skill memory is the ECO 1333 1.35v
 

eaclou

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Do you get the same issue where it will boot perfectly the first time you put in all 4 sticks, but it will fail if you try the next day?

There's an element of time in the errors i'm getting which is highly perplexing.
 
G

Guest

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I did but than I changed the bios in the AI tweaker set the Ai Overclock Tuner to XMP and it improved but I still get errors. There should be no errors. Which model do you have of the G.skil Model F3-12800CL9D-4GBNQ?
 
G

Guest

Guest
I Just got off the phone with G.Skill and basicly they said that to assure that 8 gb will work you have to buy it as a set of 4-2GB. 2sets of 2-2GB may or may not work as they are not matched for synchrinazation.
 

eaclou

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I realize i'm woefully less knowledgeable about computers than the guys at G.Skill, but still, without a better explanation, i'm HIGHLY suspicious that that is the case (need to buy in a kit of 4x2GB)

How would that explain the fact that I can be running 4GB (2x2GB), turn off the computer, plop in the other 2 sticks (for 4x2GB) and the computer boots flawlessly, and will stay on as long as I want, even running intensive 3D Sculpting programs and renders. However, when I turn it off and try turning it back on it will blue screen until I A) go back to 4GB (2x2GB) or B) Let windows recovery repair thing do its stuff.

Anyone have any other ideas, or confirm the buying in 8GB kit theory?
 

ekoostik

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It sounded suspicous to me, too. There are a few settings to suspect when you're working with RAM. One is the DRAM Voltage. For the sake of trying to get the RAM to work I would only run it at 1333, until you get it working. I believe you've both tried setting the DRAM Voltage manually? If it doesn't work at the spec'd V, try upping it a little. Don't go over 1.65V. As someone said earlier in the thread, there were reports of getting the 1.5V spec'd RAM to run at 1.6V.

Another possibility is the QPI/Vtt/IMC Voltage. Saw a couple people with RAM issues (but not the same as yours) bump theirs up to 1.21V. That seems a little high to me (and is the intel "absolute max"**). I believe mine defaults to 1.05V. You could slowly move it up to 1.10 or 1.15V.

A third option is the memory's static read aka tRD setting. Most motherboards don't expose this outright. My Gigabyte allows this to be controlled through a setting called "Performance Enhance" in which you can pick Standard, Turbo, or Extreme (or something like that). Based on my research of the ASUS BIOS you might have an option called "Transaction Booster". If so, try to disable it. Or set the number higher. You may have to enable DRAM Static Control (or Manual Control?) to see it. Or if you do have a field called DRAM Static Read Control, raise that number.


**See the P55 intel datasheet, table 7-6 for a listing of max V, table 7-4 for aboslute max: http://download.intel.com/design/processor/datashts/322164.pdf
 

eaclou

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So late reply:

I've tried playing with the DRAM voltage, frequency, and timings. With DRAM voltage at 1.6V, running at 1066MHz, at 9-9-9-24, I was not able to boot into windows.

However, when I upped the IMC voltage to 1.15 (it defaulted to 1.10) it DID boot into windows (DRAM voltage 1.6, freq 1600MHz, 9-9-9-24). However, i got a bluescreen after some time in Windows, opening a program (blue screen said BAD_POOL_HEADER).

I upped the IMC voltage to 1.8675 and it crashed once, but then successfully booted into Windows, only to again blue screen after about 10 minutes of activity.

So i'll continue to play around a little bit to see if i can get it stable, but it still doesn't explain why it is ROCK SOLID the first time i drop in all 8 sticks, but not after having it sit for 45 minutes.

Does anyone have a theory for why this time in the off-state would have such an effect? Given that the IMC voltage had an effect but DRAM settings didn't, makes me think it could just be a problem with the motherboard. Do you think an RMA of the motherboard is needed?

thanks.
 

cbhatt

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Feb 22, 2010
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I'm having a similar issue. In my case i have two 2 GB sticks and when i install both i get a BSOD after booting into windows for a while. If use only one stick I'm fine. The more preplexing part is that either stick works if that is the only thing installed (Similar to eaclou's issue). Where u able to find anything else regarding this?
Thanks
-cbhatt
 

ratnesht

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Blue screen issue resolved

I have an used PC with fresh windows 7 installed into it. I was having similar blue screen error and comp will shut down abruptly after few minutes of start up. It will say the blue screen error (with minidump file issue). I tried many things and the following worked:

I have 4*1GB RAM in 4 slots. I tried removing them one by one and started restarting the computer until the blue screen stopped. Unfortunately, my 4th memory slot was the culprit and I had to take total of 4 trials.

Hope this helps.