Serious BSOD problem

[Barely_1]

I recently put together a desktop computer from used parts and stumbled upon an issue.
I can be using my computer for a few hours or minutes and it would just freeze and bring me to a BSOD.
Then when it tries to boot up again it just won't, it will barely start powering the case fans and shut down again. It can start properly when one of the RAM sticks is placed into another slot. It will boot, work for a couple hours/minutes and shut off again.
I tried running memtest for my RAM sticks, not only when used together but also when using just 1 stick and the test passes with 0 errors, just 1 pass though. My guess is the HDD, even though the S.M.A.R.T. readings indiciate that everything's ok.

 

[MasterMadBones]

What exactly does the BSOD say? This could be one of many possible problems.

Also please list the hardware so we don't have to ask you later in case it's important.

 

[Barely_1]

BSOD varies, they can be: DRIVER IRQL NOT LESS OR EQUAL, WINDOWS STORE EXCEPTION(or something like that), BAD OBJECT HEADER, BAD POOL HEADER

Specs: 500GB WD HDD 5400RPM
I5 4590 cpu
R9 270 gpu
2x4GB HyperX Savage DDR3 1600MHz RAM
BEQuiet 400w 80+ bronze
GA-B85M-D3H motherboard

 

[Barely_1]

update, pc wont turn on at all, even with just one ram stick in any slot, turns on and turns off instantly, was working just fine yesterday, i don't get it

 

[MasterMadBones]

Your last update makes pin-pointing the problem a lot more complicated. If you have another pc with DDR3 memory, try and see if it works with a stick from that pc.

The bluescreens that you mentioned most often result from errors in RAM or in the HDD, when data is incorrectly read and processed. If you can get it to boot again, try running chkdsk /R (using command prompt as administrator) and Memtest86+.

EDIT: got something confused with another thread, the above still goes though.

 

[Barely_1]

Appearantly one of my roommates unplugged my monitor and I spent the last 3 hours worrying about nothing, PC still works with 1 stick of RAM and yesterday it booted with both sticks in the 2nd and 3rd slot, probably not gonna last though, i'm gonna run chkdsk as soon as i get home

 

[Barely_1]

i ran chkdsk and it returned no bad sectors, i had a problem with a different cpu, mobo and ram where it would freeze if i connected or connected USB devices, only component that is the same for these two builds is the HDD and the PSU, should probably mention that my steam and uplay shortcuts randomly became inactive and just blank icons after a restart.
PC still seems to be running fine since yesterday, just got a BSOD with KERNEL DATA INPAGE ERROR watchdog.sys in the title though but it booted up just fine after restart.
Also, how long should i run memtest86+ for?

 

[MasterMadBones]

One pass should be enough considering the problems are so frequent.

Have you considered the possibility of a virus? Even if your antivirus doesn't give you any warnings, there is a small chance that your system is infected.


You should open a new thread for your other pc. I'm currently dealing with some USB issues myself. Seems the only thing I have left to do is to wait for a driver/BIOS update...

 

[Barely_1]

No way it's a virus, i had the problem before and i have formatted my hdd and installed only windows, still happened.
I just got a new HDD , even if it solves my issue i doubt i will be able to use whichever ram slot i want which is a part of the problem.
I'll come back with results this evening if the problem still persists with the new hdd.

EDIT: Regarding my other pc(mobo, ram, cpu), i have sold it and no longer have it.

 

[Barely_1]

Memtest86 passed with no errors, the new HDD seems to be working fine this far, no BSOD yet.
I forgot to mention that i changed X.M.P. settings in my BIOS, at first i didn't notice that there was a "memory" and a "frequency" tab, both containing X.M.P. settings. So i enabled XMP in the "memory" tab and disabled X.M.P in the "frequency" tab(which was on all along) and it has been working for the following day and a half.I'm gonna post here if anything changes

 

[MasterMadBones]

We're definitely moving in the right direction. Chkdsk may not have detected an error because it only checks the disk surface and MFT but not the control electronics or the driver, which may cause those problems as well.

I don't know how your BIOS works, but it does seem strange to me. You can check the memory frequency and timings in BIOS to see whether XMP is enabled now. You will want to have it enabled for better performance. If XMP hasn't been enabled, you should see 11-11-11-28-39 (CL-tRCD-tRP-tRAS-tRC) timings. If it has been enabled, they are likely lower. Try to re-enable it if it hasn't been enabled. If it's unstable again, feel free to run another memtest, but this time for 4 or 5 hours. If memtest says it's unstable, it's likely that the RAM modules are simply no longer good enough to maintain XMP timings but they will last you a little longer without XMP until they really die. If there are no errors, it may be a compatibility issue with the motherboard. You could try to find a BIOS update to fix it, but don't get your hopes up.