CRITICAL_PROCESS_DIED after machine running for an hour or so

Hi,
Since a recent windows update my machine dies every hour or so with BSOD CRITICAL_PROCESS_DIED on Windows 10 (version 20H2 OS Build 19042.685). It always stays stuck on 0% and I never get any dump files created. I couldn't see anything obvious in the event log either to suggest what might be wrong. It even happens when I boot into safe mode with networking. The first thing I tried was to reinstall windows from scratch (formatted hard drive) but it still happens. Also rried removing the graphics card to use the standard Intel display driver from my motherboard (Gigabyte GA-H67A-USB3-B3, Intel H67), running memtest, scandsk, dism but everything appears fine. Running out of ideas, hard to know if it was a coincidence but it does only seem to have started happening since the last big windows update. Here is a link to the output from the logs collector. Would appreciate any feedback.

Thanks,
goldenc

Hello and welcome to TenForums

A safe mode crash tends to suggest there is a hardware problem. What method do you use to connect to the internet? There were a lot of problems associated with the Netgear Wireless adapter back in December which may have caused crashes. You have also had a number of App crashes associated with the ATI hotkeys but these would not normally cause the Critical Process Died BSOD.

At this stage I would suspect hard disk might be failing.

Diagnostics Test

 HDD TEST

Run HDTune to

• check the health,
• scan for errors, no quick scan but full scan
• run a benchmark.

It may take some time, but please take the time you need to perform it properly.
When above is done please make screenshots of the following

• the health,
• the error scan,
• the benchmark incl. following
  
  • transfer rate,
  • access time,
  • burst rate,
  • cpu usage.

Hi,
Thanks for the reply. I do indeed use a Netgear WNDA3100v2 USB dongle for wireless. I also tried removing that but it still crashes after an hour with the same error. I have recently installed an internal PCI-E wireless card from TP-Link but it hasn't changed the crashing behavior (I have stopped using the Netgear one).

Here are the reports from running the HDDTEST, seems to look ok Attachment 313859Attachment 313860Attachment 313861

I guess I could try reinstalling Windows on another hard disk and see if I get the same behavior.

What do you think?

Cheers,
goldenc

Yes the disk tests look fine. It is now a case of exploring other possible hardware issues.

Diagnostic Test

 RAM TEST

Run MemTest86+ to analyse your RAM. MemTest86+ - Test RAM - Windows 10 Forums

   Note

MemTest86+ needs to be run for at least 8 complete passes for conclusive results. Set it running before you go to bed and leave it overnight. We're looking for zero errors here. Even a single error will indicate RAM failure.

Make a photo of the result and post it.

Addition:
If errors show up you can stop the test, remove all sticks but 1 and test this single stick in each slot for 8 passes or until errors show, switch sticks and repeat. You can find which module or slot is faulty in this way.

Do you think its possible it could be a Windows bug? I have ran memtest before for about 20 hours or so and don't remember seeing any errors. Not sure I got to 8 complete passes so I will try again.

If the memtest86+ also passes your idea of trying a different disk and a fresh install of Windows is a good way to verify if it is hardware related. Make sure you remove the other disks and perform a clean install of W10 on the new disk using USB installation media. There is a great tutorial on doing a clean installation here: Clean Install Windows 10 | Tutorials (tenforums.com)

Is this good enough as a memory test?

Attachment 314079

goldenc said:

Is this good enough as a memory test?

Attachment 314079

Yes, this is a good result.

Quick update on this:

I swapped to an old spinny disk to install Windows on and I don't get the same error anymore.
I noticed the following:

1. With both disks plugged in I didn't get any blue screens before Windows Update forced a restart
2. After the Windows Update I started getting BSOD DEVICE_POWER_STATE_FAILURE
3. When I disconnect the SSD I don't get the BSOD

It still seems like an update bug to me, if the hardware was faulty it should also fail before the update. I have a dump file now, should I upload it somewhere?

Thanks,
goldenc

I wonder if there is a firmware update for the SSD? It might be worth contacting the SSD manufacturer and asking.

Sometimes the WIndows updates make use of new features that require the firmware to be modified. Not sure if this is the reason in your case. It will be interesting to see the dump file - you can just upload a new set of logfiles.