[averysadman]

Hi, I've been getting a BSOD for a couple of days, it usually happens overnight when I'm not on the PC, but today it happened when I was away for a moment during the day, so it's happening more frequently.
This is very unusual for me, as I've had this PC for nearly three years with only a single BSOD caused by a registry error that was immediately solved.

Google hasn't turned up much, I ran "sfc /scannow" to see if ntoskrnl.exe was corrupted or damaged:

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Microsoft Windows [Version 6.1.7600]
Copyright © 2009 Microsoft Corporation. All rights reserved.

C:\Windows\system32>sfc /scannow

Beginning system scan. This process will take some time.

Beginning verification phase of system scan.
Verification 100% complete.

Windows Resource Protection did not find any integrity violations.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

As you can see, no results. As far as I can tell no drivers need updating besides my GPU drivers (ATI Radeon 5850) which I keep at the best stable version for my purposes (currently Catalyst 11.12).

BlueScreenView says the following:

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Filename: ntoskrnl.exe
Address In Stack: ntoskrnl.exe+f11e4
From Address: fffff800`03266000
To Address: fffff800`03843000
Size: 0x005dd000
Time Stamp: 0x4a5bc600
Time String: 7/14/2009 12:40:48 AM
File Description: NT Kernel & System
File Version: 6.1.7600.16385 (win7_rtm.090713-1255)
Full Path: C:\Windows\system32\ntoskrnl.exe

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

I have read that antivirus programs can cause this BSOD, but I don't use an active antivirus, and MBAM scans show no results.
I don't think it's a memory issue as I have had my current RAM cards for 2 years without a single issue, and they're on my motherboard's QVL.

I have never overclocked my RAM, but the system is very stable under load, as I ran extensive tests a couple of years ago when I overclocked my GPU (very minor, 750Mhz stock to 800Mhz, completely stable, no artifacts under Furmark stress tests).
It's not heat because these BSODs are happening under idle load, average idle temps are:

CPU-55°C
MoBo-25°C
GPU-28°C
4xHDD-20°C~22°C

This is the extent of my expertise unfortunately.

Edited by averysadman, 26 January 2013 - 05:08 AM.

[Advertisements]

Hello,

You should try:

-Run chkdsk

-Update all drivers

-Run memtest86

[kenta09]

Hello,

You should try:

-Run chkdsk

-Update all drivers

-Run memtest86

[averysadman]

Hi, chkdsk found no problems, all drivers are up to date as far as I can tell, besides my GPU drivers (Catalyst 11.12) which are stable and are not causing the issue. I'd rather not update my ATI drivers as I know they're not causing the problem, and knowing ATI doing so could invoke the wrath of Thor and bring about Armageddon.

I will run memtest86 overnight as it takes a while, however I doubt it's my RAM as I've had them for nearly 3 years without any problems, and they're on the MoBo QVL.

[kenta09]

my GPU drivers (Catalyst 11.12) which are stable and are not causing the issue

How can you be sure about this?

[averysadman]

my GPU drivers (Catalyst 11.12) which are stable and are not causing the issue

How can you be sure about this?

Because I've had them since they were released without a single issue, and they're the most stable drivers for my build.

In any case the BSODs seem to have stopped on their own now for whatever reason, 3 days without one. I'll monitor it for a few more days and see what happens.

[kenta09]

Ok, but do not discard the possibility that the VGA driver be causing the problem, it might be the most stable, but the other drivers and windows got updates that may have conflicts with this old driver.

[averysadman]

Ok, my system had been fairly happy for a few weeks, however the problem seems to have resurfaced!

I've been doing some research but I can't seem to fix it.
So far I have tried:

-Run Memtest for 7 passes, clean
-Run chkdsk /f multiple times, all clean
-Run Seatools for DOS long test, clean
-Updated video card drivers to 13.1 (latest)
-Verified that no system components are overheating or undervolted
-I run virus scans, registry defrags/cleaning regularly, all clean
-sfc /scannow, all clean
-I have no active anti-virus that could cause the problem
-Stress tested both the GPU and CPU, all stable
-removed Acronis Trueimage drivers I thought may have been causing the issue, no effect
-replaced my 60Gb C: drive with a new 300Gb, as I was running low on space and thought maybe that might have contributed, no effect

Things I have not yet tried:
-Scan entire system for outdated drivers (I can't find a reputable program that will do this, all of the ones I've tried just want me to pay)
-I ran sfc/verifyonly which reported integrity violations, however I don't know how to read the dump file and identify the issue.
-Full format and reinstall Windows, obviously this is a last resort.

Ok, but do not discard the possibility that the VGA driver be causing the problem, it might be the most stable, but the other drivers and windows got updates that may have conflicts with this old driver.

As you suggested I tried updating my GPU drivers, no luck, however I did get a nice boost in performance! I'll keep them updated from now on.

[averysadman]

It took me a while to figure out, but this BSOD was caused by me having disabled paging on my system to free up space.
Turns out even if you have more than enough RAM some programs will still try to write to your page file, and if it isn't there you will get this BSOD.