Question "SYSTEM_THREAD_EXCEPTION_NOT_HANDLED" BSOD when quitting games ?

[Kane Hobday]

Hi there,

Had this BSOD happen twice when quitting games only (POE2 and Indiana Jones).

I've done the usual, memtest86, Windows memory diagnostic, and repair Windows 11 System Files with SFC and DISM tools.

My SSD firmware and drivers are also up to date.

Specs:

Windows 11
RTX 4080
CREATIVE AE-5 PLUS SOUND CARD
i5 13600KF
ASUS PRIME Z790-P D4
WD SN850X SSD
CORSAIR VENGENCE 32GB RAM
CORSAIR RM 850W PSU

The latest mini dumps are below. Any help is appreciated

https://www.mediafire.com/folder/u6y3chs6w99kd/Minidump

 

[Ralston18]

Take a look in Reliability History/Monitor and Event Viewer.

Either one or both tools may be capturing some related error code, warning, or informational event just before or at the time of the BSODs.

Another place to look is in Task Scheduler - there could be some rule in place that is triggered when you quit the games. Could be that there is some app or process being triggered that is the root cause of the BSODs.

 

[Kane Hobday]

Take a look in Reliability History/Monitor and Event Viewer.

Either one or both tools may be capturing some related error code, warning, or informational event just before or at the time of the BSODs.

Another place to look is in Task Scheduler - there could be some rule in place that is triggered when you quit the games. Could be that there is some app or process being triggered that is the root cause of the BSODs.

Hi, i provided minidumps, is the relevant information not in those?

 

[Ralston18]

Perhaps.

Minidumps can prove helpful. And there are some members here who can readily read, understand and interpret the results. Just finding some .exe listed as a problem can be a good lead.

However, my preference is to start with the more basic tools that are available and more likely to to be of value to the end user.

You may see, for example, that some app "X" is being launched and you know that you did not launch that app. Much less even install the app....

Plus Reliability History/Monitor provides a timeline format that could reveal some pattern in the the BSODs. The BSODs occur when games are quit - correct? (I wonder about what else might be getting started when those games are launched. And crashes without the game being there....)

Event Viewer is not as end user friendly and requires more effort to navigate and understand.

FYI:

How To - How to use Windows 10 Event Viewer | Tom's Hardware Forum (tomshardware.com)

You know your system and are far more likely to spot something amiss via the tools provided. And may lead you to note some other clues via the minidump(s).

And no downloads required.

Even with AV and anti-malware software installed I am adverse to downloading files from unknown sources.

Much safer and easier to just take and post screenshots from Reliability History/Monitor and Event Viewer.

The screenshots may later support or confirm something in the minidump. Or, again, provide a hint of what to look for in the minidump.

 

[Kane Hobday]

Perhaps.

Minidumps can prove helpful. And there are some members here who can readily read, understand and interpret the results. Just finding some .exe listed as a problem can be a good lead.

However, my preference is to start with the more basic tools that are available and more likely to to be of value to the end user.

You may see, for example, that some app "X" is being launched and you know that you did not launch that app. Much less even install the app....

Plus Reliability History/Monitor provides a timeline format that could reveal some pattern in the the BSODs. The BSODs occur when games are quit - correct? (I wonder about what else might be getting started when those games are launched. And crashes without the game being there....)

Event Viewer is not as end user friendly and requires more effort to navigate and understand.

FYI:

How To - How to use Windows 10 Event Viewer | Tom's Hardware Forum (tomshardware.com)

You know your system and are far more likely to spot something amiss via the tools provided. And may lead you to note some other clues via the minidump(s).

And no downloads required.

Even with AV and anti-malware software installed I am adverse to downloading files from unknown sources.

Much safer and easier to just take and post screenshots from Reliability History/Monitor and Event Viewer.

The screenshots may later support or confirm something in the minidump. Or, again, provide a hint of what to look for in the minidump.

Hi there,

I've checked event viewer and reliability history. Nothing out of the ordinary prior to the BSODs. Windbg and blue screen view suggest dxgmms2.sys is crashing but someone with better understanding of the minidumps should be able to see what is causing it.

 

[ubuysa]

The two dumps both fail during a graphics operation. We can see functions from the Windows DirectX drivers dxgkrnl.sys and dxgmmms.sys being called. The context records show that both BSODs failed for the same reason, an invalid memory reference caused by a register used as a memory pointer (the RBX register) being zeroed...

CONTEXT:  ffffbe8c0870eb50 -- (.cxr 0xffffbe8c0870eb50)
rax=ffffae875ab760f0 rbx=0000000000000000 rcx=0000000000000001
rdx=0000000000000004 rsi=ffff9b8167d0d190 rdi=ffff9b81727214f0
rip=fffff8019b3a28b1 rsp=ffffbe8c0870f570 rbp=ffff9b81727214f0
 r8=ffff9b8175feba50  r9=0000000000000014 r10=ffff9b81783ca320
r11=0000000000000000 r12=ffffae8751e97000 r13=ffff9b8167d0d190
r14=ffff9b8177f8c258 r15=ffffae875e0c86e0
iopl=0         nv up ei ng nz na pe nc
cs=0010  ss=0018  ds=002b  es=002b  fs=0053  gs=002b             efl=00050282
dxgmms2!VidMmiUnlockAllocation+0x35:
fffff801`9b3a28b1 488b4b08        mov     rcx,qword ptr [rbx+8] ds:002b:00000000`00000008=????????????????
Resetting default scope

The MOV RCX,QWORD PTR[RBX+8] instruction there fails because the RBX register is zeroed. That is almost certainly the fault of the Nvidia graphics driver nvlddmkm.sys, which we also see called in the lead-up to the bugcheck.

The question of course is why?

In both dumps I can see the Riot Games Vanguard anti-cheat driver vgk.sys loaded and although we don3't see it called in the lead-up to either bugcheck it is a very well-known cause of BSODs. Was Vanguard in use with these two games? If so then I would contact Riot Games and query this with them. The version of vgk.sys that you have installed seems recent but may not be current...

0: kd> lmvmvgk
Browse full module list
start             end                 module name
fffff801`9b5d0000 fffff801`9d125000   vgk        (deferred)            
    Image path: vgk.sys
    Image name: vgk.sys
    Browse all global symbols  functions  data  Symbol Reload
    Timestamp:        Thu Sep 12 00:21:26 2024 (66E209D6)
    CheckSum:         01B9720F
    ImageSize:        01B55000
    Translations:     0000.04b0 0000.04e4 0409.04b0 0409.04e4
    Information from resource tables:

If you can uninstall Vanguard and see whether you get BSODs in any other games or at any other times that would be a pretty clear indication of whether vgk.sys is involved. I would not be at all surprised if it was, I see it often in BSOD dumps.

 

[Kane Hobday]

The two dumps both fail during a graphics operation. We can see functions from the Windows DirectX drivers dxgkrnl.sys and dxgmmms.sys being called. The context records show that both BSODs failed for the same reason, an invalid memory reference caused by a register used as a memory pointer (the RBX register) being zeroed...

CONTEXT:  ffffbe8c0870eb50 -- (.cxr 0xffffbe8c0870eb50)
rax=ffffae875ab760f0 rbx=0000000000000000 rcx=0000000000000001
rdx=0000000000000004 rsi=ffff9b8167d0d190 rdi=ffff9b81727214f0
rip=fffff8019b3a28b1 rsp=ffffbe8c0870f570 rbp=ffff9b81727214f0
 r8=ffff9b8175feba50  r9=0000000000000014 r10=ffff9b81783ca320
r11=0000000000000000 r12=ffffae8751e97000 r13=ffff9b8167d0d190
r14=ffff9b8177f8c258 r15=ffffae875e0c86e0
iopl=0         nv up ei ng nz na pe nc
cs=0010  ss=0018  ds=002b  es=002b  fs=0053  gs=002b             efl=00050282
dxgmms2!VidMmiUnlockAllocation+0x35:
fffff801`9b3a28b1 488b4b08        mov     rcx,qword ptr [rbx+8] ds:002b:00000000`00000008=????????????????
Resetting default scope

The MOV RCX,QWORD PTR[RBX+8] instruction there fails because the RBX register is zeroed. That is almost certainly the fault of the Nvidia graphics driver nvlddmkm.sys, which we also see called in the lead-up to the bugcheck.

The question of course is why?

In both dumps I can see the Riot Games Vanguard anti-cheat driver vgk.sys loaded and although we don3't see it called in the lead-up to either bugcheck it is a very well-known cause of BSODs. Was Vanguard in use with these two games? If so then I would contact Riot Games and query this with them. The version of vgk.sys that you have installed seems recent but may not be current...

0: kd> lmvmvgk
Browse full module list
start             end                 module name
fffff801`9b5d0000 fffff801`9d125000   vgk        (deferred)           
    Image path: vgk.sys
    Image name: vgk.sys
    Browse all global symbols  functions  data  Symbol Reload
    Timestamp:        Thu Sep 12 00:21:26 2024 (66E209D6)
    CheckSum:         01B9720F
    ImageSize:        01B55000
    Translations:     0000.04b0 0000.04e4 0409.04b0 0409.04e4
    Information from resource tables:

If you can uninstall Vanguard and see whether you get BSODs in any other games or at any other times that would be a pretty clear indication of whether vgk.sys is involved. I would not be at all surprised if it was, I see it often in BSOD dumps.

You are a god among men. Vanguard runs all the time, whether you are playing Valorant or not, and I don't even play it anymore. I will uninstall it and see if the problem persists. Thank you.