Question random BSODS, freeze-ups and one confused builder

[enzeetee]

Hey everyone,

I hope I'm posting this to the right thread.

So last week I finished building my computer and have been having problems with it ever since. In short, I have been experiencing BSODs with random errors (the most common was DPC Watchdog Violation) and freeze-ups requiring a button reset. These will almost always occur after the computer has been turned off for awhile and I first turn it on or the computer has went to sleep and I try to wake it up (the latter usually leading to no screen input and I must reset the computer).

Here's my situation up until now to shed some light and provide some more information:

1. All new parts built last week --> MSinfo readout http://s000.tinyupload.com/?file_id=09963166724701841790
2. Updated all drivers from MSI website.
3. Installed NZXT CAM and Precision X1 to control lighting on the cooler and graphics card (both can control fan speed for the system as well) and some games. Only other drivers installed was for my Focusrite audio interface.
4. Computer freezes at times but never during gaming. Usually only randomly at idle. Was always freezing within a minute of being turned on after it was off for some while or waking from sleep (this is when it was most commonly DPC watchdog violation). Once computer is up and running it is usually fine for the remainder of the day.
5. I updated BIOS to see if this would fix the problem. No go. I google and see it could be RAM. Run Memtest with 4 passes (I think I used the version limited to 4). All clear.
6. BSODs happen over and over again on startup and the problem seems to be getting worse. The only critical error in event viewer is Kernel Power which I just assumed is because the computer was forced to reset from the error code violations.
7. At this point I decide I will wipe my M.2 SSD completely using command prompt and re-install Windows. Before that I collected all my minidumps and they can be found here (DMP1 through 5 occurring before the DMP files labelled by date): https://gofile.io/?c=wijzUb

So now with Windows only installed I decide to run Driver Verifier as it should clear since I only have Windows signed drivers (or so I thought). It immediately crashed and went into a BSOD loop forcing me to go in through safe mode and stop it. This leads me to think hardware so I run Prime95 blend test and the workers stop doing tests after 6 hours. I go to stop the test and that's when it freezes and crashes. I run Prime95 again on custom with 400k to 4000k FFTs at 80% RAM allocation to try to target the RAM. Ran completely fine for 6 hours. I install Steam and try to install a game. It freezes at one point and I have to restart Steam. When the game is finished downloading I see some files got corrupted. At this point I am really thinking this is a RAM issue but I am not tech savvy enough to actually pinpoint it.

I apologize for the long-winded post. I thought providing the most information I can will give people the best chance to help me out. I ordered all my parts through Amazon and Newegg so I am trying my best to narrow it down if it is a hardware problem. I don't have access to someone who can lend me parts to swap out and test. I am hoping someone with experience can make a good educated guess at what is happening here. Thanks in advance to everyone who takes the time to read this!

EDIT: I want to make note that with this fresh install I am currently experiencing random freezing without a BSOD that requires resetting the PC

 

[kerberos_20]

Dpc watchdog is just that some driver freezed, it could be hardware or software


does it bsod during safe mode?

 

[enzeetee]

Dpc watchdog is just that some driver freezed, it could be hardware or software


does it bsod during safe mode?

I haven’t been in safe mode for long but no it does not.

 

[kerberos_20]

If safe mode is ok, then its software..
try to run latencymon see if it catches anything
https://www.resplendence.com/latencymon

 

[enzeetee]

If safe mode is ok, then its software..
try to run latencymon see if it catches anything
https://www.resplendence.com/latencymon

Hey kerberos,

Sorry it took a bit to get back to ya. So I went ahead and changed my BIOS settings to 4700 MHz and upped the voltage as per the MSI website (my mobo). This article was made to help with overclocking manually (before it was set to auto mode so I guess the board just used what it thought was best. I also changed it to a fixed value so regardless of what is running or isn't it will always use the same voltage and speed.

Interestingly I haven't had a crash or a freeze-up since.

But I went ahead and ran the latencymon test and here are the results:


CONCLUSION
_
Your system appears to be suitable for handling real-time audio and other tasks without dropouts.
LatencyMon has been analyzing your system for 0:14:02 (h🇲🇲ss) on all processors.


_
SYSTEM INFORMATION
_
Computer name: DESKTOP-LOEUEST
OS version: Windows 10 , 10.0, version 1903, build: 18362 (x64)
Hardware: MS-7B12, Micro-Star International Co., Ltd., MEG Z390 ACE (MS-7B12)
CPU: GenuineIntel Intel(R) Core(TM) i9-9900K CPU @ 3.60GHz
Logical processors: 16
Processor groups: 1
RAM: 16308 MB total


_
CPU SPEED
_
Reported CPU speed: 360 MHz

Note: reported execution times may be calculated based on a fixed reported CPU speed. Disable variable speed settings like Intel Speed Step and AMD Cool N Quiet in the BIOS setup for more accurate results.

WARNING: the CPU speed that was measured is only a fraction of the CPU speed reported. Your CPUs may be throttled back due to variable speed settings and thermal issues. It is suggested that you run a utility which reports your actual CPU frequency and temperature.



_
MEASURED INTERRUPT TO USER PROCESS LATENCIES
_
The interrupt to process latency reflects the measured interval that a usermode process needed to respond to a hardware request from the moment the interrupt service routine started execution. This includes the scheduling and execution of a DPC routine, the signaling of an event and the waking up of a usermode thread from an idle wait state in response to that event.

Highest measured interrupt to process latency (µs): 499.10
Average measured interrupt to process latency (µs): 2.114195

Highest measured interrupt to DPC latency (µs): 497.60
Average measured interrupt to DPC latency (µs): 0.943489


_
REPORTED ISRs
_
Interrupt service routines are routines installed by the OS and device drivers that execute in response to a hardware interrupt signal.

Highest ISR routine execution time (µs): 265.535556
Driver with highest ISR routine execution time: dxgkrnl.sys - DirectX Graphics Kernel, Microsoft Corporation

Highest reported total ISR routine time (%): 0.066125
Driver with highest ISR total time: dxgkrnl.sys - DirectX Graphics Kernel, Microsoft Corporation

Total time spent in ISRs (%) 0.078678

ISR count (execution time <250 µs): 769581
ISR count (execution time 250-500 µs): 0
ISR count (execution time 500-999 µs): 2
ISR count (execution time 1000-1999 µs): 0
ISR count (execution time 2000-3999 µs): 0
ISR count (execution time >=4000 µs): 0


_
REPORTED DPCs
_
DPC routines are part of the interrupt servicing dispatch mechanism and disable the possibility for a process to utilize the CPU while it is interrupted until the DPC has finished execution.

Highest DPC routine execution time (µs): 455.650556
Driver with highest DPC routine execution time: nvlddmkm.sys - NVIDIA Windows Kernel Mode Driver, Version 441.20 , NVIDIA Corporation

Highest reported total DPC routine time (%): 0.024821
Driver with highest DPC total execution time: dxgkrnl.sys - DirectX Graphics Kernel, Microsoft Corporation

Total time spent in DPCs (%) 0.070145

DPC count (execution time <250 µs): 2568783
DPC count (execution time 250-500 µs): 0
DPC count (execution time 500-999 µs): 6
DPC count (execution time 1000-1999 µs): 0
DPC count (execution time 2000-3999 µs): 0
DPC count (execution time >=4000 µs): 0


_
REPORTED HARD PAGEFAULTS
_
Hard pagefaults are events that get triggered by making use of virtual memory that is not resident in RAM but backed by a memory mapped file on disk. The process of resolving the hard pagefault requires reading in the memory from disk while the process is interrupted and blocked from execution.

NOTE: some processes were hit by hard pagefaults. If these were programs producing audio, they are likely to interrupt the audio stream resulting in dropouts, clicks and pops. Check the Processes tab to see which programs were hit.

Process with highest pagefault count: msmpeng.exe

Total number of hard pagefaults 4286
Hard pagefault count of hardest hit process: 2149
Number of processes hit: 53


_
PER CPU DATA
_
CPU 0 Interrupt cycle time (s): 32.383844
CPU 0 ISR highest execution time (µs): 265.535556
CPU 0 ISR total execution time (s): 10.585820
CPU 0 ISR count: 751456
CPU 0 DPC highest execution time (µs): 455.650556
CPU 0 DPC total execution time (s): 9.031006
CPU 0 DPC count: 2496073
_
CPU 1 Interrupt cycle time (s): 4.607551
CPU 1 ISR highest execution time (µs): 7.297778
CPU 1 ISR total execution time (s): 0.006921
CPU 1 ISR count: 6414
CPU 1 DPC highest execution time (µs): 140.460556
CPU 1 DPC total execution time (s): 0.209454
CPU 1 DPC count: 8436
_
CPU 2 Interrupt cycle time (s): 3.294055
CPU 2 ISR highest execution time (µs): 3.352222
CPU 2 ISR total execution time (s): 0.000049
CPU 2 ISR count: 41
CPU 2 DPC highest execution time (µs): 284.870
CPU 2 DPC total execution time (s): 0.036943
CPU 2 DPC count: 13904
_
CPU 3 Interrupt cycle time (s): 2.872418
CPU 3 ISR highest execution time (µs): 0.0
CPU 3 ISR total execution time (s): 0.0
CPU 3 ISR count: 0
CPU 3 DPC highest execution time (µs): 76.281111
CPU 3 DPC total execution time (s): 0.003719
CPU 3 DPC count: 1893
_
CPU 4 Interrupt cycle time (s): 3.101940
CPU 4 ISR highest execution time (µs): 0.0
CPU 4 ISR total execution time (s): 0.0
CPU 4 ISR count: 0
CPU 4 DPC highest execution time (µs): 81.680556
CPU 4 DPC total execution time (s): 0.019277
CPU 4 DPC count: 7378
_
CPU 5 Interrupt cycle time (s): 2.823567
CPU 5 ISR highest execution time (µs): 0.0
CPU 5 ISR total execution time (s): 0.0
CPU 5 ISR count: 0
CPU 5 DPC highest execution time (µs): 75.236111
CPU 5 DPC total execution time (s): 0.004246
CPU 5 DPC count: 2655
_
CPU 6 Interrupt cycle time (s): 3.072573
CPU 6 ISR highest execution time (µs): 0.0
CPU 6 ISR total execution time (s): 0.0
CPU 6 ISR count: 0
CPU 6 DPC highest execution time (µs): 70.879444
CPU 6 DPC total execution time (s): 0.015224
CPU 6 DPC count: 5545
_
CPU 7 Interrupt cycle time (s): 2.793221
CPU 7 ISR highest execution time (µs): 0.0
CPU 7 ISR total execution time (s): 0.0
CPU 7 ISR count: 0
CPU 7 DPC highest execution time (µs): 86.312222
CPU 7 DPC total execution time (s): 0.003870
CPU 7 DPC count: 1267
_
CPU 8 Interrupt cycle time (s): 3.054521
CPU 8 ISR highest execution time (µs): 0.0
CPU 8 ISR total execution time (s): 0.0
CPU 8 ISR count: 0
CPU 8 DPC highest execution time (µs): 88.611111
CPU 8 DPC total execution time (s): 0.010467
CPU 8 DPC count: 3655
_
CPU 9 Interrupt cycle time (s): 2.915209
CPU 9 ISR highest execution time (µs): 0.0
CPU 9 ISR total execution time (s): 0.0
CPU 9 ISR count: 0
CPU 9 DPC highest execution time (µs): 95.320556
CPU 9 DPC total execution time (s): 0.013433
CPU 9 DPC count: 5008
_
CPU 10 Interrupt cycle time (s): 3.204658
CPU 10 ISR highest execution time (µs): 0.0
CPU 10 ISR total execution time (s): 0.0
CPU 10 ISR count: 0
CPU 10 DPC highest execution time (µs): 283.8550
CPU 10 DPC total execution time (s): 0.015259
CPU 10 DPC count: 3863
_
CPU 11 Interrupt cycle time (s): 2.997701
CPU 11 ISR highest execution time (µs): 0.0
CPU 11 ISR total execution time (s): 0.0
CPU 11 ISR count: 0
CPU 11 DPC highest execution time (µs): 69.113889
CPU 11 DPC total execution time (s): 0.011865
CPU 11 DPC count: 3137
_
CPU 12 Interrupt cycle time (s): 3.203474
CPU 12 ISR highest execution time (µs): 4.872222
CPU 12 ISR total execution time (s): 0.000672
CPU 12 ISR count: 621
CPU 12 DPC highest execution time (µs): 113.095556
CPU 12 DPC total execution time (s): 0.029219
CPU 12 DPC count: 7128
_
CPU 13 Interrupt cycle time (s): 2.925830
CPU 13 ISR highest execution time (µs): 6.247778
CPU 13 ISR total execution time (s): 0.006025
CPU 13 ISR count: 11051
CPU 13 DPC highest execution time (µs): 81.2650
CPU 13 DPC total execution time (s): 0.005908
CPU 13 DPC count: 1207
_
CPU 14 Interrupt cycle time (s): 3.156509
CPU 14 ISR highest execution time (µs): 0.0
CPU 14 ISR total execution time (s): 0.0
CPU 14 ISR count: 0
CPU 14 DPC highest execution time (µs): 111.185556
CPU 14 DPC total execution time (s): 0.031428
CPU 14 DPC count: 6180
_
CPU 15 Interrupt cycle time (s): 2.975342
CPU 15 ISR highest execution time (µs): 0.0
CPU 15 ISR total execution time (s): 0.0
CPU 15 ISR count: 0
CPU 15 DPC highest execution time (µs): 282.636111
CPU 15 DPC total execution time (s): 0.008630
CPU 15 DPC count: 1460
_


Can you tell me what is going on with CPU 0?

 

[enzeetee]

I wanted to follow-up on this post in case anyone else is experiencing the same kind of thing.

As I said in my reply to Kerberos, I ended up following an overclock guide from MSI's website. I had not touched these settings before. I set the speed to 4700 MHz on all cores and set voltages of 1.32V. I changed from automatic to fixed so the CPU would not change voltage/speed depending on the task.

Ever since doing this I have not experienced any issues whatsoever. No program crashes. No freeze-ups. No BSOD start-ups. I don't know if this is just a coincidence but it seems to be something.

Now my question to everyone: If this was the fix, does that mean my CPU is unstable? It was having issues at stock speed and auto voltage. I now have it overclocked to 4.7 at all times. I remember reading on these forums that if a CPU requires higher voltage that is usually indicative of a bad CPU.

Thanks everyone!