PC experiences various BSODs?
PC experiences various BSODs?
Will defer to @ubuysa et al, concerning memory dumps and RAM. If feasible, capture a few screenshots of the Reliability History/Monitor window. Widen the window to display all relevant information. Choose a few representative dates with errors or warnings, then take the images and share them via imgur (www.imgur.com).
Note: Event Viewer needs more time to navigate and understand. The data can be useful, but details may vary in usefulness.
Also, remember: seconding the need for solid backups—make sure they are recoverable and readable.
Don't worry about the RAM speed. The CPU spec value is merely the maximum limit, it doesn't imply the system won't run smoothly at 3600MHz. It's just a consideration if stability is maintained without XMP and with native RAM speed. As a simple test, try disabling XMP and check for stability. One step at a time.
Hello everyone, I'm back with new updates. I'm proceeding to test the RAM using Memtest again, ensuring XMP is enabled, disabled, both sticks tested, and separate sticks compared. In the meantime, I completed the Sysnative file collection and here are some screenshots of the reliability monitor (downloads from Imgur were hard to name properly). Regarding Event Viewer, I managed to identify an ASSLOAD of events from several installations three days ago, including many warnings and errors. There were also unusual occurrences just before critical shutdown events. If you need specific details from the event viewer or want screenshots of those events, let me know. Would you like a description of these unusual events instead?
Growing numbers of mistakes and inconsistent errors, in my opinion, indicate a weakening and deteriorating PSU. This might seem early, but I believe more information is necessary. For instance, is this PSU original, new, refurbished, or used? Have you used it heavily for gaming, video editing, or even mining?
First, note that you swapped RAM modules and tested them—this is typical. While doing so, could you also confirm that all cards, connectors, jumpers, and case connections were securely installed? Also, clean the system thoroughly, removing dust and debris, and check for any signs of damage such as exposed wires, corrosion, discoloration, swollen parts, missing or loose screws, or moisture.
[Note: Certain motherboards require the first RAM stick to be placed in a particular slot. For example, your AM4 Gigabyte B550 AORUS ELITE AX V2 doesn’t seem to have this rule, but verify.]
Second, refer to Tom’s guide on Event Viewer and continue working with it. It may take some time to understand the full picture. One approach is to clear the Event Viewer logs so you can focus on more recent and relevant events.
Third, in Reliabiilty History/Monitor, you can capture screenshots. Expand the window to view all events clearly and select a few representative days that reflect the overall error trends. Pay attention to any days with unusual patterns or notes like “I noticed strange things.”
Screenshots should be shared here via imgur (www.imgur.com). Don’t worry too much about labeling them; just add brief explanations to clarify what each image shows.
...Sorry, did you miss the screenshot and Sysnative links I posted, or...? I hyperlinked them in the first paragraph.
...........And I seriously wish it's not the PSU, I went through an entire list of the best and most reliable PSUs and made sure it was a 1000W one to even be future-proof with it and not care about wattage anymore, lol. It's a brand new one, and I played a lot of games and some video editing, no bit mining...but I've no idea what would constitute as "heavy".
The MB does specify the first DIMM slots to fill is A2 and B2, which I did and also currently do. I tried A1 and B1 for a bit too and there was still a BSOD then. As for any damage or improper connecting, I didn't really notice any. And it's been dusted with compressed air, can't do any better than that really.
The link for the event viewer is blocked for me for whatever reason. But I found some guides elsewhere and I got a better sense of it, but what SHOULD I be looking for in it specifically? Again, would you like screenshots of Event Viewer as well?
The event logs are in the Sysnative file upload so I already have them. I can see the BSODs in the System log but I also see at least one restart that wasn't caused by a BSOD. These are usually good indicators on a hardware cause because the system failed in a way that Windows wasn't able to catch.
In the Application log there are a handful of application error messages with memory related exception codes. These are not uncommon even in a happy system but there are more than I'd like in your log, especially since it only goes back for two and a bit days. This might hint at possible RAM problems.
The five dumps do all look to be memory related, however the RAM was clocked at 2133MHz, it's native speed, in all of the dumps, so XMP is already disabled and the RAM is at SPD speed. The failures are...
Three of the dumps fail on the nt!RtlpHpLfhSlotAllocate+0x1cb function call
One fails on the nt!IopAllocateIrpPrivate+0x224 function call
One fails on the nt!ExAcquirePushLockSharedEx+0x118 function call
All these a memory (RAM) related operations, hence my focus on RAM at first, and there are no third-party drivers called in the lead-up to these bugchecks - another common indicator of a hardware cause.
However, you are still getting BSODs at SPD speeds so we definitely need to check that the RAM is good. Memtest86 can uncover about 95% of potential RAM problems, a better and more reliable test would be to remove one stick for a week and see how things go. If you get BSODs then swap sticks and run on just the other stick for a week. Check the manual to ensure that one stick is in the correct slot, but if it BSODs on both sticks on their own then it's not RAM.
There are other things we can try, but I really want to concentrate on making 100% certain that your RAM is not responsible.
Last night I ran Memtest for both sticks XMP on and then XMP off, both tests gave 0 errors. Now I'm about to do single stick Memtest checks, but before I do that, just to be sure, I'm supposed to have the A2 DIMM slot populated, right? No need to try the other DIMMs or should I arrange them differently? The MB manual and the MB itself claim A2 and B2 should be "first".
When the guide doesn't mention a slot for a single stick, I'd assume it's A2.
The Memtest has been completed and no errors were detected in any case. Should I continue with five more tests or should I stop now? It seems reasonable to switch to single sticks if a BSOD appears, as that’s when it’s safe to replace the stick. The first BSOD usually happens when I’m ready to swap, which suggests it’s best to try again. I also retrieved the previous 250GB NVME installation and will share the Sysnative file collection from that if any new issues arise.