Various BSODs - ntoskrnl.exe seems to be at fault

courageouscoos · 03 Jan 2016

Hi there,

I've recently built a new computer, and everything seemed to be working fine up until a few weeks ago when I got a BSOD - okay no biggie I'll look it up and, oh, a different BSOD. This was the beginning. Since then I can't seem to use my computer for long periods, or play games (intensive and not intensive, doesn't seem to matter which).

I tried to see if it was my graphics card, so I ran Furmark and OCCT, both of which said it's absolutely fine, but I did a clean install of my AMD drivers just in case, unfortunately this didn't solve the problem.

I also stressed the CPU and PSU using OCCT, which also returned negative.

I then decided to use MemTest, and left that running for 14 passes (overnight), and again no negatives.

Frustrated I decided to get a BSOD dump viewer, "Blue Screen View" which showed me that every single BSOD had been related to the ntoskrnl.exe (ntoskrnl.exe+ 142760).

I tried using driver verifier both on 'all drivers' and specifically on this ntoskrnl.exe, but apart from giving me Driver Violation Detected BSODs, it didn't seem to help me much at all because I'd no idea how to chase up the results.

Here's a list of BSODs I can remember getting since the issue started:

Page fault in non-paged area
IRQL not less or equal
Memory management
Bad pool header
Special pool detected memory corruption
Driver verifier detected violation

I'm really running short on ideas here as I've no idea how to proceed in tracking down the problem.

And so, I turn to you guys for help - please find attached the dump zip as requested in the sticky. And please let me know if there is any more information I can provide that would help you in helping me.

Thanks in advance!

axe0 · 04 Jan 2016

Hi courageouscoos,

Welcome to the 10forums.

Have you checked the memory compatibility of your mainboard?
It doesn't look like the module is supported by your mainboard.
ASRock > H170M-ITX/ac

Code:

[Physical Memory Array (Type 16) - Length 23 - Handle 000eh]
  Location                      03h - SystemBoard/Motherboard
  Use                           03h - System Memory
  Memory Error Correction       03h - None
  Maximum Capacity              33554432KB
  Memory Error Inf Handle       [Not Provided]
  Number of Memory Devices      2
[Memory Device (Type 17) - Length 40 - Handle 000fh]
  Physical Memory Array Handle  000eh
  Memory Error Info Handle      [Not Provided]
  Total Width                   64 bits
  Data Width                    64 bits
  Size                          8192MB
  Form Factor                   09h - DIMM
  Device Set                    [None]
  Device Locator                ChannelA-DIMM0
  Bank Locator                  BANK 0
  Memory Type                   1ah - Specification Reserved
  Type Detail                   0080h - Synchronous
  Speed                         2133MHz
  Manufacturer                  Kingston
  Serial Number                         
  Asset Tag Number                        
  Part Number                   9905625-029.A00G

courageouscoos · 04 Jan 2016

Thanks for the reply, axe0!

I've just compared the part # given my the retailer (KVR21N15D8/8) for the module and according to that list it's supported, so I don't think that was the issue.

Fortunately however I believe I may have fixed the issue by updating my BIOS to the latest version - I checked the manufacturer's site and saw that some of the BIOS updates improved DRAM compatibility.

That was a quick and painless process, and after running games on my PC (which would usually fail to halted graphics or a BSOD, so pretty easy to replicate) for a while, it looks like everything's running sound.

I also (though it may be unrelated) realised that I had no driver installed for my 'ethernet controller', and so I went and got one of those too (Intel® Ethernet Connection I217-V).

Since it took me absolutely ages searching the net about this issue to even find a hint of a suggestion to update my BIOS, if someone is experiencing similar problems perhaps this is the solution.

Note however that I haven't tested this exhaustively as I've only recently updated the BIOS, but for now all seems normal.

axe0 · 04 Jan 2016

Let me know how it goes :)

It is kinda strange, my given part number is not the same as your part number.
When you open the case, what does it say on the module?

courageouscoos · 04 Jan 2016

Everything's going fine still, but I'm obviously not counting my chickens before they've hatched, so to speak.

I'll reply to this soon (likely tomorrow) with what the RAM says on the actual module (I suppose it'd be good to know, regardless of whether the issue is solved), I've got a mini ITX case and understandably it'll be a bit of an effort to look inside!

axe0 · 04 Jan 2016

Take the time you need, there is no rush :)