Issues with repeated BSODs after installation
Issues with repeated BSODs after installation
This seems like the best approach initially. If you check each stick separately and only one fails, just discard the kit. If both fail, it might not always indicate a CPU/mobo issue, but it could be a separate concern given your experience with other kits. It also depends on the cooler model and how the mounting is handled. Generally, you should tighten the screws carefully and ensure proper tension.
When encountering memtest errors with default configurations, it suggests the RAM might be faulty.
I tested memtest86 on each RAM stick separately. One worked, the other didn’t, so I sent them back for replacement. The new ones arrived and I checked them together using memtest86. They passed. Then I used the timings from the video since many comments said it fixed their problems. I ran memtest86 again with custom timings and it passed.
Windows installed smoothly, along with all drivers and updates. I then downloaded HCI memtest and ran it without issues (32 instances per core, RAM split among each instance, 400% coverage without errors).
Later, while downloading a game from Steam, the system crashed and rebooted. After that, I kept seeing BSODs quickly after booting (related to memory management, system service exceptions, irql not less or equal). I reset the RAM timings to defaults and managed to get into Windows again. Since there were no errors during HCI memtest, I thought the issue might be with NVMe. I downloaded samsung magician, ran its diagnostic scan, which showed a BSOD (corrupted PFN list). I tried the scan again and samsung magician crashed. I attempted it a third time, but the system hard-crashed and rebooted. Also, Firefox would crash often, making it hard to download samsung magician without the browser freezing.
After a full day, I’m still unsure. On one side, returning the RAM settings to default seemed to help stabilize things, even though the custom timings passed HCI. On the other, the crashes during the NVMe scan point to a drive problem. Should I replace the NVMe module, or is there another reason?
Installed new windows on my second nvme drive, along with drivers and updates. Performed HCI memtest at 200% coverage without any issues. Ran the diagnostic scan using Samsung Magician, which detected a BSOD within seconds. Attempted the same twice and consistently received the same result. Tried running sfc /scannow and DISM restore health via command prompt, but encountered a BSOD again. It's difficult to believe either drive is faulty, nor that my RAM or CPU are the cause after completing the tests. At this stage, replacing the motherboard seems like the only viable option.
Sorry if it’s considered rude to raise a new thread for an old one, but my system issues came back and I wasn’t sure whether to start fresh. In February I returned my MSI board and purchased an asrock x670e steel legend. After a full rebuild, I managed to get w11 running and used the system without problems until May when the issues started again.
This time the crashes were not continuous but intermittent, sometimes causing BSODs and other times displaying black screens of death (though event viewer and blue screen viewers still recorded them as BSODs). I ran both memtest86 and HCI memtest without errors, performed SFC and DISM scans which showed nothing, reinstalled chipset and GPU drivers (including a DDU wipe in safe mode), updated the BIOS, but still experienced occasional BSODs. I reformatted and reinstalled w11, yet the problems persisted.
I saved the minidumps before reformatting and uploaded them here along with those generated after: https://www.mediafire.com/file/9zbddmjm8...s.zip/file
Any assistance in identifying the problem would be greatly appreciated. Seven months after the initial build and still facing these issues is frustrating. Thanks.