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Question

[WIN7] Multiple and consistant BSOD

Sep 10, 2015 8:42AM PDT

HI i have had multiple BSOD over the last few months and i am unsure about what exactly might be causing it.
It happens literally at random for no consistent reason, sometimes i'll be gaming and most of the time i'll just be browsing the internet, it can also blue screen for absolutely no reason(like i haven't started or run or even clicked anything) i think it also can blue screen while on sleep. I also fell like it runs poorly, A LOT of: This program has stopped working for no reason, and a lot of page kills whilMinidump.zipe browsing.

OS - Windows 7
Graphics - NVIDIA GeForce GTX 760
CPU - Intel Core i5-3570K CPU @ 3.40GHz
RAM - 8.00 GB
Motherboard - ASUS P8 Z77-V PRO
64-bit Operating System

I have already tried resetting the RAM, have run multiple disk checks and windows cannot find a solution for me.
I have also run Temperature tests, and it seems fine.
I've googled and tried to find out what might be causing it with no luck.

I have my minidump for the BSOD's, but am not sure how to post it here?

If there is any other information that i can supply please let me know!

Thank you very much in advance!

Discussion is locked

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Answer
Never found anyone here to read minidumps.
Sep 10, 2015 8:48AM PDT

If you must have it read find forums that you see folk reading those.

There is a clue in the runs poorly. Did you re-do the CPU and GPU heatsink compound? That's 2 bucks of work that I find sometimes clears it up.

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Replying
Sep 10, 2015 9:30AM PDT

I have not tried re-doing the CPU and GPU heatsink compound. I'll look into trying this.

any other advice or info i can provide?

I'll ask elsewhere for minidump check.

Thanks!

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Let me share this.
Sep 10, 2015 9:42AM PDT

Since Windows NT 3.0 days I have yet to find a minidump file lead me to a solution. Given that long of a time I use the other clues such as the BSOD error, story and hardware to pick a direction to move in.

Your clue about poor performance is a clue about the CPU. That model slows as it gets warm (do not fall for temp readings.) That's why I remove the cheap causes first if the clues are there.

Just yesterday another BSOD but annoying cause. The HDD passes all diagnostics but doesn't sound or feel right. Clone the drive, BSOD vanishes. The makers need better diags.

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Interesting
Sep 10, 2015 10:00AM PDT

I have a friend who said it might be HDD or Ram by going off of my minidumps.
He said: "You may have a bad or failing hard drive or ram. All your crashes are for different reasons. There is no one set reason although memory management comes up a few times, there are many other crash faults as well. My money is on either Ram or HDD."

He also recommended checking the full memory address range for 8 to 12 hours.
I have not done this yet. Does it sound like it might isolate my problem?


I'll start with redoing the heat sinking.

If that doesn't work it sounds like i would have to try a new HDD next?

Any way to test if its my HDD or if its the RAM?

Thank you for your assistance and for going into detail to explain, much appreciated!

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Wrong person to ask.
Sep 10, 2015 10:31AM PDT

I've run memory tests for years and better than half the time it passes yet there can be a memory issue.

Here's what I really find. Ready? After many years of chasing many ghosts I no longer will put my name on repair if the memory sticks are not all the same size, make and model. It's something you learn after machines come back to haunt you over that issue. Yes, it's allowed but for the quick repairs that folk insist on I no longer have the luxury to get all the memory specs and see if the sticks are indeed something I want to mix on a PC.

As to the HDD, we have shop drives that we clone the client's to then try the clone. Usually that tells us fast enough. However the last month has seen a high percentage of Seagate failures. Something's up.

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Bad RAM
Sep 23, 2015 8:59AM PDT

Turned out to be bad RAM, confirmed via Memtest utility test.

Thanks for the help!

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Good to read.
Sep 23, 2015 9:15AM PDT

And remember that I've rarely found that to nail it. I've seen passes that when I change the RAM (matched sets) the problem vanishes. It can be a memory issue even if the test passes so it's good to read it did find it.