BSOD - Need Some Guidance

First time poster on this website but I've heard nothing but good things about the people here so I'm giving it a shot because I'm about to pull my hair out.

It started a month ago and I've tried numerous 'fixes' to no avail. The odd part is, the computer does NOT crash while just surfing the internet or listening to music or other trivial things. It only crashes while playing games (and no I'm not talking about solitaire lol).

I at first thought it was my graphics card because it was acting how it did when the card I had prior to that one went out. I bought a new card and it didn't crash for about a week after that, then BAM, BSOD again.

I am using the free version of WhoCrashed and the dump analysis that it was giving me was very vague as to what the issue was. Finally one day it blue screened and this time gave me a code pertaining to Avast Antivirus. I uninstalled Avast and once again didn't have a problem for about another week, only for it to start crashing again.

I ran memtest and the default Windows memory diagnostic and the memory has passed. I then pulled the hard drive out of my case and hooked it up to an external HDD reader that plugs into a USB slot on another computer As soon as I plugged it in it recognized errors and 'fixed them' so I put it back in my case. It then blue screened 3 more times just that night while playing.

I figured well it's been a while since the computer's been reformatted and Windows reinstalled so I gave that a shot. I finished installing all the drivers for the graphics card etc. when I got home from work today and it ran great while just watching vids on youtube and surfing the interwebs. As soon as I started up a game though it blue screened again within 10 minutes.

With having just reformatted and having a fresh copy of Windows I'm now leaning even more than before towards a hardware issue. I am also strongly leaning towards it being the hard drive but it was only purchased this past December so it's still fairly new.

Attatched is the copy of the minidump file it made when crashing this last time. I lost all the others from the reformat but this one is the same as it's always said.

Computer Specs:
Windows Vista 32bit Ultimate SP2
AMD 64x2 Dual Core 6000+ 3.0 GHz
4 GB DDR2 Corsair RAM
PNY Geforce 550 GTX Ti graphics card
Seagate 1.5TB internal HDD

Any help would be greatly appreciated!

 

Have you tried turning your game all the way 'down' so it takes the minimum hit? Is this where you run it at? Does your graphic card have any 'known' issues, or is it a problem with that game?

 

The game settings are probably on 'medium'. I haven't tried taking it and setting all the way down no. The main game I've been playing is League of Legends and it's not exactly an intensive game.

As far as known issues with the card are concerned I haven't done a whole lot of research to see if there are known problems with that card simply because the card is barely 2 weeks old and the problems aren't consistent with a graphics problem (at least as far as I can tell).

There are a few new developments however. Last night I downloaded the seagate hdd test software. I ran the first few tests with no errors and figured I'd run the 'long' test and just head to bed. When I woke up I had a popup from the program saying that it was taking a lot longer to run the test than it should. It had been running for the past 9 hours or so and only about 3/4 of the way done.

ALSO when I went to open my browser to check and see if anyone had replied to this thread yet, I got horizontal thin white lines that spanned across the entire screen. They were dim at first then would brighten and go away. This would happen every 10 seconds or so but in between the lines coming up the computer was running ok. I left it on so it would at least finish the HDD test while I was at work. When I got home the test had finally finished and said there were no errors but the frequency at which the lines would come up and go away had increased.

It's possible I got a faulty vid card but it also entrigued me that I wasn't having the whole lines on the screen issue until I stress tested the HDD with that Seagate software.

I'm not sure if this helps much but it's quickly getting to the point where I may just buy a new mobo and processor and RAM and start over. Just didn't want to do that if someone on here could point me in the right direction.

 

There used to be a program that would 'kill' all your unessential programs running in the background, that may help with speed on games, but I never see it on these boards.

May be a video card issue with the white lines. Expert needed~!

 

It reads like you used the Windows version of Seatools, can you please download the DOS version and create a CD to boot and test from. This will rule out any possible interference from anything loaded with Windows.

 

Ok after a week or so of more troubleshooting I'm at an even more loss for words.

I downloaded and burned the ISO file for the seagate software. After the test it ran fine.

I also reran memtest just for giggles for 10 hours and it passed with flying colors.

After that I downloaded and used an overall PC tester called 'BurnIn Test' and every aspect of my computer passed that fine as well.

Either something is just being sneaky hardware wise or maybe I am in fact dealing with some sort of bad driver issue. Everything is updated to the current version of driver for the specific hardware.

I'm going to attach the most recent .dmp file.

If someone could 'decipher' what it says and maybe give me a hint as to what's causing it I'd greatly appreciate it.

 

AtiPcie.sys = 2006, there should be a 2009 driver, find it at ATI.com, it's a chipset driver.

Rtlh86.sys = 2006, this is your network card driver, find an updated version at RealTek.com.tw.

Code:

*******************************************************************************
*                                                                             *
*                        Bugcheck Analysis                                    *
*                                                                             *
*******************************************************************************

Use !analyze -v to get detailed debugging information.

BugCheck A, {cf80dbb8, 1b, 0, 820c5fe3}

Probably caused by : ntkrpamp.exe ( nt!EtwpCCSwapTrace+3b1 )

Followup: MachineOwner
---------

1: kd> !analyze -v
*******************************************************************************
*                                                                             *
*                        Bugcheck Analysis                                    *
*                                                                             *
*******************************************************************************

IRQL_NOT_LESS_OR_EQUAL (a)
An attempt was made to access a pageable (or completely invalid) address at an
interrupt request level (IRQL) that is too high.  [B]This is usually
caused by drivers using improper addresses.[/B]
If a kernel debugger is available get the stack backtrace.
Arguments:
Arg1: cf80dbb8, memory referenced
Arg2: 0000001b, IRQL
Arg3: 00000000, bitfield :
	bit 0 : value 0 = read operation, 1 = write operation
	bit 3 : value 0 = not an execute operation, 1 = execute operation (only on chips which support this level of status)
Arg4: 820c5fe3, address which referenced memory

Debugging Details:
------------------


READ_ADDRESS: GetPointerFromAddress: unable to read from 82154868
Unable to read MiSystemVaType memory at 82134420
 cf80dbb8 

CURRENT_IRQL:  1b

FAULTING_IP: 
nt!EtwpCCSwapTrace+3b1
820c5fe3 8b45d8          mov     eax,dword ptr [ebp-28h]

DEFAULT_BUCKET_ID:  VISTA_DRIVER_FAULT

BUGCHECK_STR:  0xA

PROCESS_NAME:  League of Legen

TRAP_FRAME:  cf82db18 -- (.trap 0xffffffffcf82db18)
ErrCode = 00000000
eax=84b8490e ebx=cf82dc18 ecx=fffffffe edx=00000003 esi=00000002 edi=84b847f8
eip=820c5fe3 esp=cf82db8c ebp=cf80dbe0 iopl=0         nv up ei ng nz ac po cy
cs=0008  ss=0010  ds=0023  es=0023  fs=0030  gs=0000             efl=00010293
nt!EtwpCCSwapTrace+0x3b1:
820c5fe3 8b45d8          mov     eax,dword ptr [ebp-28h] ss:0010:cf80dbb8=????????
Resetting default scope

LAST_CONTROL_TRANSFER:  from 820c5fe3 to 8206afb9

STACK_TEXT:  
cf82db18 820c5fe3 badb0d00 00000003 85292100 nt!KiTrap0E+0x2e1
cf82dbe0 820c5af5 803d51e0 85292190 00000001 nt!EtwpCCSwapTrace+0x3b1
cf82dc2c 820c557c 8687a9e0 cf82dd40 00000000 nt!EtwTraceContextSwap+0x14a
cf82dc3c 820c5246 cf82dc94 85292190 803d1120 nt!SwapContext_PatchFxe+0x30
cf82dc50 820c9332 85292190 85292218 803d1120 nt!KiSwapContext+0x26
cf82dc94 82064f38 85292190 00000000 8546de08 nt!KiSwapThread+0x44f
cf82dce8 8224f302 8546de08 00000006 8932e801 nt!KeWaitForSingleObject+0x492
cf82dd50 82067c7a 00000374 00000000 00000000 nt!NtWaitForSingleObject+0xbe
cf82dd50 76e75e74 00000374 00000000 00000000 nt!KiFastCallEntry+0x12a
WARNING: Frame IP not in any known module. Following frames may be wrong.
0842ff50 00000000 00000000 00000000 00000000 0x76e75e74


STACK_COMMAND:  kb

FOLLOWUP_IP: 
nt!EtwpCCSwapTrace+3b1
820c5fe3 8b45d8          mov     eax,dword ptr [ebp-28h]

SYMBOL_STACK_INDEX:  1

SYMBOL_NAME:  nt!EtwpCCSwapTrace+3b1

FOLLOWUP_NAME:  MachineOwner

MODULE_NAME: nt

IMAGE_NAME:  ntkrpamp.exe

DEBUG_FLR_IMAGE_TIMESTAMP:  49e0199e

FAILURE_BUCKET_ID:  0xA_nt!EtwpCCSwapTrace+3b1

BUCKET_ID:  0xA_nt!EtwpCCSwapTrace+3b1

Followup: MachineOwner
---------

 

Ok I updated both the network card drivers and the chipset drivers.

It seemed to be running better but then today again another blue screen.

This one pointed to what seems to be the Nvidia driver for my card. I've uninstalled and reinstalled different versions (each time making sure to completely wipe anything nvidia related) and it's still happening.

It also seems to happen more frequently the longer period of time my computers been on. It runs fine for the first few hours but then I'll get a blue screen, it will reboot and the time it takes to get the next one is only an hour or so and it just snowballs and happens more often as it goes.

Attached are the 2 recent ones I got tonight including the one about the nvidia one.

 

This reads like it could be heat-related, perhaps your gfx card is not being cooled efficiently. The lines you described back in post #3 are probably related to this too.

You might have a bad card or possibly just bad airflow in the case, causing a hotspot around the gfx card, open the case and point a small room fan in there to give some extra cooling to test. Ensure that any inlet air filter is clean, look around the lower front of the case for one.

SpeedFan and GPU-Z are good for checking temperatures, run them and post screenshots of the temperatures at boot, also after a time running or testing hard.

Code:

*******************************************************************************
*                                                                             *
*                        Bugcheck Analysis                                    *
*                                                                             *
*******************************************************************************

Use !analyze -v to get detailed debugging information.

BugCheck A, {81205bb8, 1b, 0, 820bffe3}

Probably caused by : dxgkrnl.sys ( dxgkrnl!DxgkPresent+34f )

Followup: MachineOwner
---------

1: kd> !analyze -v
*******************************************************************************
*                                                                             *
*                        Bugcheck Analysis                                    *
*                                                                             *
*******************************************************************************

IRQL_NOT_LESS_OR_EQUAL (a)
An attempt was made to access a pageable (or completely invalid) address at an
interrupt request level (IRQL) that is too high.  This is usually
caused by drivers using improper addresses.
If a kernel debugger is available get the stack backtrace.
Arguments:
Arg1: 81205bb8, memory referenced
Arg2: 0000001b, IRQL
Arg3: 00000000, bitfield :
	bit 0 : value 0 = read operation, 1 = write operation
	bit 3 : value 0 = not an execute operation, 1 = execute operation (only on chips which support this level of status)
Arg4: 820bffe3, address which referenced memory

Debugging Details:
------------------


READ_ADDRESS: GetPointerFromAddress: unable to read from 8214e868
Unable to read MiSystemVaType memory at 8212e420
 81205bb8 

CURRENT_IRQL:  1b

FAULTING_IP: 
nt!EtwpCCSwapTrace+3b1
820bffe3 8b45d8          mov     eax,dword ptr [ebp-28h]

CUSTOMER_CRASH_COUNT:  3

DEFAULT_BUCKET_ID:  VISTA_DRIVER_FAULT

BUGCHECK_STR:  0xA

PROCESS_NAME:  TqitD.exe

TRAP_FRAME:  81225b18 -- (.trap 0xffffffff81225b18)
ErrCode = 00000000
eax=84b9572a ebx=81225c18 ecx=fffffffe edx=00000003 esi=00000002 edi=84b954b0
eip=820bffe3 esp=81225b8c ebp=81205be0 iopl=0         nv up ei ng nz ac po cy
cs=0008  ss=0010  ds=0023  es=0023  fs=0030  gs=0000             efl=00010293
nt!EtwpCCSwapTrace+0x3b1:
820bffe3 8b45d8          mov     eax,dword ptr [ebp-28h] ss:0010:81205bb8=????????
Resetting default scope

LAST_CONTROL_TRANSFER:  from 820bffe3 to 82064fb9

STACK_TEXT:  
81225b18 820bffe3 badb0d00 00000003 b4e00008 nt!KiTrap0E+0x2e1
81225bac 93661c15 00000000 58675cda 00000004 nt!EtwpCCSwapTrace+0x3b1
81225d58 00000000 00000000 088eff50 76eb5e74 dxgkrnl!DxgkPresent+0x34f


STACK_COMMAND:  kb

FOLLOWUP_IP: 
dxgkrnl!DxgkPresent+34f
93661c15 c20400          ret     4

SYMBOL_STACK_INDEX:  2

SYMBOL_NAME:  dxgkrnl!DxgkPresent+34f

FOLLOWUP_NAME:  MachineOwner

MODULE_NAME: dxgkrnl

IMAGE_NAME:  dxgkrnl.sys

DEBUG_FLR_IMAGE_TIMESTAMP:  49e01b4f

FAILURE_BUCKET_ID:  0xA_dxgkrnl!DxgkPresent+34f

BUCKET_ID:  0xA_dxgkrnl!DxgkPresent+34f

Followup: MachineOwner
---------


*******************************************************************************
*                                                                             *
*                        Bugcheck Analysis                                    *
*                                                                             *
*******************************************************************************

Use !analyze -v to get detailed debugging information.

BugCheck D1, {40da, 9, 0, 92c87497}

Unable to load image \SystemRoot\system32\DRIVERS\nvlddmkm.sys, Win32 error 0n2
*** WARNING: Unable to verify timestamp for nvlddmkm.sys
*** ERROR: Module load completed but symbols could not be loaded for nvlddmkm.sys
Probably caused by : nvlddmkm.sys ( nvlddmkm+81497 )

Followup: MachineOwner
---------

1: kd> !analyze -v
*******************************************************************************
*                                                                             *
*                        Bugcheck Analysis                                    *
*                                                                             *
*******************************************************************************

DRIVER_IRQL_NOT_LESS_OR_EQUAL (d1)
An attempt was made to access a pageable (or completely invalid) address at an
interrupt request level (IRQL) that is too high.  This is usually
caused by drivers using improper addresses.
If kernel debugger is available get stack backtrace.
Arguments:
Arg1: 000040da, memory referenced
Arg2: 00000009, IRQL
Arg3: 00000000, value 0 = read operation, 1 = write operation
Arg4: 92c87497, address which referenced memory

Debugging Details:
------------------


READ_ADDRESS: GetPointerFromAddress: unable to read from 8216f868
Unable to read MiSystemVaType memory at 8214f420
 000040da 

CURRENT_IRQL:  9

FAULTING_IP: 
nvlddmkm+81497
92c87497 ??              ???

CUSTOMER_CRASH_COUNT:  2

DEFAULT_BUCKET_ID:  VISTA_DRIVER_FAULT

BUGCHECK_STR:  0xD1

PROCESS_NAME:  audiodg.exe

TRAP_FRAME:  a48c5b28 -- (.trap 0xffffffffa48c5b28)
ErrCode = 00000000
eax=a48c5bc8 ebx=00000000 ecx=000000c0 edx=00000002 esi=87f9b9a0 edi=a48c5be4
eip=92c87497 esp=a48c5b9c ebp=a48c5bcc iopl=0         nv up ei pl nz na pe nc
cs=0008  ss=0010  ds=0023  es=0023  fs=0030  gs=0000             efl=00010206
nvlddmkm+0x81497:
92c87497 ??              ???
Resetting default scope

LAST_CONTROL_TRANSFER:  from 92c87497 to 82085fb9

STACK_TEXT:  
a48c5b28 92c87497 badb0d00 00000002 87f4ebd0 nt!KiTrap0E+0x2e1
WARNING: Stack unwind information not available. Following frames may be wrong.
a48c5b98 00000000 87f9b9a0 00000000 0002d38e nvlddmkm+0x81497


STACK_COMMAND:  kb

FOLLOWUP_IP: 
nvlddmkm+81497
92c87497 ??              ???

SYMBOL_STACK_INDEX:  1

SYMBOL_NAME:  nvlddmkm+81497

FOLLOWUP_NAME:  MachineOwner

MODULE_NAME: nvlddmkm

IMAGE_NAME:  nvlddmkm.sys

DEBUG_FLR_IMAGE_TIMESTAMP:  4dd73a6b

FAILURE_BUCKET_ID:  0xD1_nvlddmkm+81497

BUCKET_ID:  0xD1_nvlddmkm+81497

Followup: MachineOwner
---------

Both BSOD's are display-related, no real clues as to the cause though.

Drivers are looking much newer now.

 

Well I turned on my computer this morning, read your post and then downloaded GPU-Z. As soon as it booted I noticed that just sitting there it was running at a cool 39 C. However when I went to screenshot it the computer blue screened. So I think to myself ok maybe it isn't an overheating issue.

I let it do its thing and try to reboot itself, only to have it tell me that it couldn't because it was missing winload.sys (or something like that) and to put in my windows CD and repair the OS.

I pop my windows CD in and after waiting for approximately an hour before it would even get to the screen where I could either reinstall or repair the current installation. I chose repair just so it could repair the missing or corrupted files only for it to NOT FIND a Windows installation on the hard drive. I checked the error report and there was actually a line in there claiming that there was 'no hard drive'.

I then restarted and went into the BIOS to make sure the HDD was even being detected and sure enough its still there.

After this recent development I'm beginning to think it may in fact still be the hard drive. My thought process is well if the HDD is badly jacked up then it could easily corrupt or even lose the drivers and/or Windows system files causing the random blue screens and now this problem.

That sound about right to you? If so I'll order a new hard drive today and once it's in pop it in and see what happens.

 

Check and re-seat the connectors for the hard drive, also try another data cable if you have one. Otherwise, it does read like there's something seriously wrong with the MBR, partition or boot data, it may have been part of the problem all along.