Constant crashing and Blue Screen errors (Win 7)

I built my PC a couple years ago, and it ran great for several months and then out of nowhere began crashing and giving me blue screen errors. The problem itself sort of comes and goes. Sometimes I won't see it for several months, and sometimes I can't have my computer on for more than an hour or so without seeing one. Unfortunately, the latter has been the case recently. I can still boot up my PC and use it for a little while, but then out of nowhere... blue screen. It's the most random thing too. It just happens. Sometimes I'm browsing the web, sometimes I'm editing videos, and sometimes I'm doing absolutely nothing. Up until now, I've just sort of been ignoring it and working around it, but I really can't deal with it anymore and need to get it sorted out. Unfortunately, I have absolutely no idea what it could be or where to start.

I'm thinking it's either a RAM or graphics card issue. The error I get the vast majority of the time is IRQL_NOT_LESS_OR_EQUAL. I've also seen MEMORY_MANAGEMENT, some others, as well as plenty of blank ones. I'm pretty sure it's not a software issue as it's happened with no software or drivers installed whatsoever and I've gone through tons of different driver versions. Also, I've scanned with Memtest in the past. It came up with an error on one of the modules, but after pulling it I was still receiving errors. Upon testing them again a few more times, I couldn't get the error to show up again.

My hardware is as follows-
Motherboard: GIGABYTE GA-EP35-DS3P
CPU: Intel Core 2 Quad Q6600, 2.4GHz
RAM: 4GB DDR2 800 (Crucial Ballistix Tracer)
Video: ATI Radeon 3870x2

SO, I'm assuming the first step should be to exchange the RAM? Luckily the manufacturer has a lifetime guarantee on it. The other hardware is a different story, so I'm hoping that's it. It will still be a big inconvenience to go without my computer for several weeks though, so I just wanted to check here first to see if anyone had any ideas or suggestions that could possibly solve this. Thanks.

 

Greetings, roryt2000.

Do try to record as much data as possible when the next blue screen occurs. You might also take a look at this tutorial about debugging memory dumps.

Agreed with your assumptions about the RAM - you might try mixing sticks, pulling one stick at a time, running Memtest again, etc. - might even try cleaning the modules, but do research cleaning procedures before trying that.

Another shot might be the power supply - PSUs are often the source of misleading symptoms. Heat also manifests itself as spurious symptoms - make sure all of your fans are clear and running, and that there's no major dust buildup on heatsinks, etc.

Intermittent problems can be among the toughest to solve - hang in there, and keep us posted. :major

 

Okay I've looked at the log files and apparently the main issue is with ntoskrnl.exe, but I also see one with an Nfts.sys error and one with an afd.sys error.

This is the blue screen I got a few minutes before this post:

http://i52.tinypic.com/1zgrlll.jpg


The power supply is new. My old one went out entirely and I replaced it, but seeing as I got errors with both installed, it doesn't seem likely that it's the problem.

I've just recently vacuumed all the dust out of my computer. Fans are set to high and there's nothing blocked them or clogging up the heatsink. I've been monitoring the heat with Speedfan and the heat generally sits around 40-45 degrees, which is fine.

Edit: After searching around, several people have reported the 0x00000109 stop error as a RAM issue. One even specifically said it was a Crucial Ballistix module. Looks like that really has something to do with it...

 

Thank goodness, although, if I were in your shoes, I might consider switching brands, especially if this turns out to be a widespread problem.

 

I was thinking about upgrading to 8GB (http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820231122) anyway. I've been looking around at Blue Screen errors with the set that I have, and it seems to be more widespread than I thought (http://forum.ncixus.com/forums/inde...97972&pagenumber=2&product_id=24378&subpage=2). Some people said they have had to RMA their set multiple times. Then others say they've been using it for years with no problems. It also came highly recommended by an expert I was talking to when building my PC, so I don't know. Do you think it's worth changing it out completely?

 

Or would this be better?: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820231277

Seems to be a little more powerful and is only slightly more expensive.

 

I've heard nothing but good things about G.Skill memory.

If it were my machine, I'd still go through the process of elimination, try to determine if one or both of the Ballistix are bad.

 

Well, I'm pretty sure it's one of the modules that has a serious error, and I've pulled it out and have been running okay for a few hours, but I've done that before in the past and errors have eventually cropped up again, so I really don't feel safe about any of them. $178 for 8GB of RAM that I know will be better than what I have and am about 99% confident will solve the problems I've been having isn't a big deal. I'm just ready to be done with these issues and I've heard too many bad things about Crucial and too many good things about G.Skill, so I'm going to give that a try and hope for the best. Thanks for your input and I'll reply here once I've thoroughly tested the new RAM.

 

Copy - good luck, and keep us posted. :major