Occasional system crashes
Occasional system crashes
I’ve experienced occasional BSODs on my Windows 11 system since May. I attempted various fixes including SFC/DISM scans, driver reinstalls, memory testing, and BIOS updates, but the issues persisted. I also tried reformatting and reinstalling Windows 11, yet problems continued. The original build from December had looping BSODs during boot, which required replacing RAM and the motherboard. A full rebuild in February worked until my symptoms reappeared last month. Notably, the RAM has always been running without EFI enabled. Here are the minidumps from after the reformat, along with backups I previously saved: https://www.mediafire.com/file/9zbddmjm8...s.zip/file
The dump files indicate the RAM operates at 6000MT/s, matching the EXPO speed. I reviewed samples from May 3rd and June 6th, both consistent. Generally, memory isn't the only possibility, but it's the most likely cause. Windows moves low-priority RAM data to the page file and retrieves it when needed, making storage appear as memory. The memory controller resides in the CPU; failure there would cause similar symptoms. It's unusual it stopped crashing for five months despite the same problem. Based on these logs, suspect RAM or the CPU's memory controller. Test at 5200MT/s or lower—this is the maximum AMD officially supports. If issues persist, try with a single stick at a time. I'm skeptical of DDR4 and newer testers, as they often miss faulty RAM.
Hmm, you're right to be cautious with the BIOS settings after installing a new motherboard. Since you swapped in an ASRock board without the RAM, it might affect stability. If crashes happen on either stick separately, it could point to a CPU issue rather than memory problems. Consider checking for error codes or using diagnostic tools to pinpoint the source. Let me know if you need more guidance!
Prime95 is usually one of the better ways because it chews through such large amounts of memory, but if it's an electrical problem with the RAM it could be basically random when it has an error. When I say electrical, I mean something else than the memory part of the RAM. The CPU would be my main suspect if it crashes with either stick, but you can't really rule out the motherboard or PSU. It never really looks like the motherboard, it just looks like the component connected to the bad part of the motherboard. Less common than the CPU, but both are pretty rare in general. The PSU is also a candidate, but it would have to hit that sweet spot of unstable enough where it causes components to give errors, but not cause shutdowns. Also rare.