Random BSOD?

Xmsteel

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I'm running Windows 7 64bit. Below are my exact computer specs:

AMD Phenom 9550 Quad-Core Processor @ 2.2GHz
7168MB RAM
NVIDIA GeForce GTS 250
Windows 7 Ultimate 64-bit (6.1, Build 7601) Service Pack 1

It happens at totally random. I go about doing what I normally do, and all of a sudden the screen appears. Hopefully this image is big/good enough, I had to whip out my camera fast.

http://sphotos.xx.fbcdn.net/hphotos-snc7/s720x720/428141_196469553795533_100002974700028_307991_1455871306_n.jpg


Thanks for any help!
 

alishathomaz

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The most important Blue Screen of Death troubleshooting step you can take is to ask yourself what you just did.

1) Did you just install a new program or a piece of hardware, update a driver, install an update, etc.? If so, there's a very good chance that the change you made caused the BSOD:
Startup using Last Known Good Configuration to undo recent registry and driver changes.
Use System Restore to undo recent system changes.
Roll Back device driver to version prior to your driver update.

2) Scan your computer for viruses. Some viruses can cause a Blue Screen of Death, especially ones that infect the master boot record (MBR) or boot sector.

3) Update drivers for your hardware. Most Blue Screens of Death are hardware or driver related so updated drivers could fix the cause of the STOP error.

4) Return hardware settings to default in Device Manager. Unless you have a specific reason to do so, the system resources that an individual piece of hardware is configured to use in Device Manager should be set to default. Non-default hardware settings have been known to cause a Blue Screen of Death.

5) Return BIOS settings to their default levels. An overclocked or misconfigured BIOS can cause all sorts of random issues, including BSODs.

Hope these guidelines fix BSOD problem.
 

Xmsteel

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Hi,

I did just install a program when this happened. It installed fine, but once I went to open it this happened. What I don't understand is why, because I'd have this program before.

I've gotten a BSOD just like this one before a couple weeks ago, but I don't remember what I did then.
 

slhpss

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Info from Google...

The first article refers to errors with attached network drives, and network connectivity issues. Do you have an attached network drive and do you have any problems connecting to it or the internet?

Here's some preliminary stuff to run as you have time: BSOD troubleshooting preliminaries - Vox

This error is usually caused by an issue with a system service.
From this link ( Bug Check 0x3B: SYSTEM_SERVICE_EXCEPTION ):
Quote:
The SYSTEM_SERVICE_EXCEPTION bug check has a value of 0x0000003B. This indicates that an exception happened while executing a routine that transitions from non-privileged code to privileged code.
...
Cause This error has been linked to excessive paged pool usage and may occur due to user-mode graphics drivers crossing over and passing bad data to the kernel code.

I would first replace your graphics drivers using this procedure:
1 ) Download the latest version of the ATI drivers for your video card from the ATI website
2 ) Uninstall your current video drivers using Control Panel...Programs...Uninstall a program.
3 ) Install the freshly downloaded drivers.
 

Xmsteel

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I don't think it has to do with graphics, I've been running this card fine for quite a while now, and had drivers professionally installed as with the card.
 

Xmsteel

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Really? Very interesting! I just happened to purchase brand new RAM from newegg...
I started Prime95, but I'm not sure how to go about using it...
 

dragonbane

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Since it's likely your old RAM isn't causing the problem you can simply remove all the RAM except what you just bought. If you added more than one stick you should try each stick individually.

To test in Prime 95 it's as easy easy as opening it and choosing a blend test. Once you click OK the test will begin. Let it run for a few hours to see if that stick fails, or you get a BSOD then it's likely that stick.

A more appropriate test, on the other hand, is Memtest86+. It's specifically meant for finding problems with RAM. You boot it from a floppy or CD. You can find quite a few tutorials on using it online.

However, before you decide that the stick is bad. Move it to another slot on the MOBO, and test it again to make sure you don't have a faulty slot.
 

Xmsteel

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I don't think it is the slot, I had all slots taken before I put this one in (still do though) and it was fine. Right now I'm running "memtest" (not memtest86) and seeing what happens.

Should I wait or can I run P95 at the same time?
 

dragonbane

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Oh okay, then it's likely not a slot.

Also, I just edited my post to mention memtest86+, but memtest will work too.

I don't think you really need to run prime95 if you're running memtest. I'm sure memtest will show any errors, if there's any to show.
 

Marnad

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I had BSODs in one of two PCs. I would get that same error you posted (and some others).

It was strange, because everything from the PC with the BSODs (RAM, GPUS, HDD, Power Supply and Optical Drive) worked fine in the other PCs Mobo and processor. Anyhow, it turned out to be the RAM (1333MHz G.Skill).

I still don't understand how the RAM worked in one Mobo, but not the other (unless the DC regulation/smoothing got a little more saw-toothed than usual and the RAM didn't like it).

Since I replaced that RAM, I have not had a BSOD since (5 weeks and counting).

 

dragonbane

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Which programs? Memtest and Prime95? If so you should also try Memtest86+ since sometimes it catches things Memtest misses, and vice versa. If i'm not mistaken Memtest can't test all of your RAM since Windows is reserving some of it to operate.

You mentioned that you got the BSOD when you tried to run the new program you installed? Does it happen every time you try to run this program, or do anything in particular? If so you could try to remove the new ram, and see if you can open it. If suddenly you aren't getting the BSOD that'd be pretty good evidence that the RAM is the problem.
 

Xmsteel

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I noticed memtest86 was an ISO file and didn't have any runnable files in it, I wasn't sure I was down to mess with it.

I don't think its the program, because I had the same BSOD before I even had the program.
 

dragonbane

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Personally I'd run Prime95 for at least 3-4 hours or even overnight to see if I get a failure or a BSOD at any point. If you do, I'd remove the new RAM and run it again. If you run it for just as long, or longer and don't get the problem again you can assume it's a RAM failure. If it still fails you can rule out the RAM. Though, if you weren't experiencing the BSOD prior to buying new RAM it seems likely that it is the culprit, and I wouldn't want to move away from it until you can definitely rule it out.


Just a random thought, you haven't overclocked any of your components have you?
 
Well, this LOOKS like a memory problem. Worst case, just run the system on one stick of RAM and see if it crashes. Then try with another stick. The point is to try and either prove/eliminate RAM as the cause.

System_Service_Exceptions are 95% RAM realted, since windows services tend to be rock solid stable. Could be a badly written device driver, but you wouldn't expect MS to certify them if they had these types of memory related problems.

Especially since the exact cause of the BSOD was STATUS_ACCESS_VIOLATION, which means that some contents in RAM were not what the running program expected. Again, since its highly unlikely a windows system service has such a bad memory related error, that means some sort of memory corruption is going on. Hence why I suspect RAM.
 

Xmsteel

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No, I have not overclocked anything on my computer.

Will I be able to run the computer decently enough with just 2GB though? This is a pretty beefy computer...

Also, it happens so far and few in between, would the RAM automatically fail or would I just have to use the computer until it happened again?
 

dragonbane

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How many sticks of RAM did you add? Personally, if it was only 1-2 sticks I'd put them in on their own and see if I get a crash more often. Obviously if you have 7 Gigs of RAM and typically only use 3-4 GB, then the stick with problems may not get accessed very often. However, when the stick is isolated it may access the problematic area more often and result in a crash. If you do this and BSOD's occur more often then I'd swap that memory out with some of the old memory (as close to the same amount as possible) and see if the crashing continues. If it suddenly stops then it's time to start testing each stick of new memory until you isolate the one(s) that are causing the problem.

Also, you mentioned that Memtest didn't return any errors. How long did you allow it to run? You posted that 2 hours after you posted that you were running it. Personally I'd run it for 12 hours or at least overnight. You can run a program like that for 8 hours and stop it, but if you'd run it 1 minute longer it may have found an error. I've run prime95 for 12 hours, and had no error, and later that same day my computer crashed. Ran prime95 again but for longer. After the 15th hour it suddenly returned errors. In these situations, when it's extremely likely that RAM is the problem, I would run memtest for 12-24 hours (assuming you can) before I decided to look elsewhere for the problem.
 

dragonbane

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Actually, since it's only the one stick that's new, I would take all the other sticks out and run memtest/memtest86+ on just the new stick overnight. That way you're giving it a good length of time to look for errors. If it doesn't find any errors after looking all night we can try something else.
 

Xmsteel

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Alright, I'm running the test on that computer, but it hasn't changed from 0.0% in the last half hour or so? Is it just that slow or is it not working?
I'm using memtest btw.
 

Xmsteel

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I think it might have froze, I set it to test all memory (2GB) instead of just the unused if that mattered...

I did another test just running "unused memory" or whatever it says when you open it. Ran it for a good 15-17 hours and no errors were shown. Do you suggest I run Prime95 still?