BSOD after about an hour

chrishuh

New Member
Messages
6
Hi,

I've built myself an HTPC running Windows 8 and it's been running fine since about October, but for the last few weeks it's been showing the Blue Screen of Death ("Your pc ran into a problem...") after about 40-70 minutes of use.

I've run memory tests and defragemented the hard drives, and also refreshed Windows 8 (meaning i had to reinstall almost everything), but that didn't do anything.

I've turned on minidump files but can't see a C:\Windows\Minidump folder; however I've have been able to run the SF Diagnostic Tool and have attached the zip, even if it doesn't show anything useful.

Windows is installed on a 64GB SSD and then I have some HDDs for storage. Other specs are:


  • CPU - AMD Athlon II X3 450 3.2GHz Socket AM3 95w 1.5MB L2 Cache
  • Motherboard - Asus M5A78L-M/USB3
  • Memory - Kingston 4GB DDR3 1066MHz Memory Non-ECC CL7 1.5V
  • Graphics - Asus HD 6450 Silent 1GB DDR3

I haven't updated the BIOS for the motherboard as i haven't done that before so was a little cautious about doing it if it wasn't likely to fix it. I have downloaded and installed the latest drivers for the graphics card.

Does anyone know what i can try next?

Thanks so much
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Windows 8
    Computer type
    PC/Desktop
    CPU
    AMD Athlon II X3 450 3.2GHz Socket AM3 95w 1.5MB L2 Cache
    Motherboard
    Asus M5A78L-M/USB3
    Memory
    Kingston 4GB DDR3 1066MHz Memory Non-ECC CL7 1.5V
    Graphics Card(s)
    Asus HD 6450 Silent 1GB DDR3
Your BIOS dates from 2011. Please check at the manufacturer's website to see if there are any BIOS updates available for your system. Also check the readme file to see if they apply to the problems that you are having. Please be advised that flashing the BIOS is a very unforgiving process - and one mistake can physically damage your motherboard.

We've seen a number of BSOD issues with SSD's. Here's the information that I've compiled so far:
There's not a whole bunch available to test SSD's. The "easiest" test is to remove the SSD, install a platter-based hard drive, install Windows and test for stability that way.

Here's some suggestions:
- Update the SSD's firmware to the latest available version (VERY IMPORTANT!!!)
- Update the motherboard controllers drivers to the latest available version from the controller manufacturer (NOT the mobo manufacturer unless you can't find any on the controller manufacturer's website). Be sure to update ALL controllers on the motherboard! I STRONGLY suggest not using controller drivers older than mid-2012 with SSD's.
- Slow the memory (RAM) down to the next slower speed (I've only seen one person who claimed that this worked for them).
- Use any manufacturer's utilities that you may have. If you don't have any, then try this free one (I haven't used it myself): Crystal Dew World
....NOTE: Recently (Nov 2011) we had BSOD issues with the Marvell 91xx controller and an SSD. You may have to switch controllers also.
- Replace the SSD with a platter based hard drive and see if that stops the BSOD's. If it does, then it's likely that there's a problem with the SSD OR an incompatibility with your system.
06 Dec 2011 - This post tends to confirm issues with certain SSD chipsets and certain controllers - [SOLVED] cant find the cause of BSOD F4 - Tech Support Forum
05 Jan 2013 - very interesting post about difficulties with the Marvell controllers even when not connected to the SSD drives: https://www.eightforums.com/bsod-cr...-pc-reboots-when-waking-sleep.html#post169956
27 Feb 2013 - I'm starting to see much better reliability with SSD's using current (mid-2012 and later) storage drivers. I have withdrawn my objections to using these devices in everyday systems.

Only 36 Windows Updates installed. Most systems have 47 or more. Please visit Windows Update and get ALL available updates (it may take several trips to get them all).

C: drive only has about 10% free space. Windows likes 15% free space in order to perform stuff "behind the scenes" without adversely affecting the system's performance. Please free up 15% on ALL hard drives.

There are unexpected shutdowns in the event viewer logs. But no BSOD information. This can be caused by:
- holding the power button down to turn off the system
- hardware problems (especially overheating)
- power supply issues

Have you monitored the temps in the system when it shuts down? I suggest this free tool: HWiNFO, HWiNFO32 & HWiNFO64 - Hardware Information and Analysis Tools
Also, what's the make/model/wattage and age of your Power Supply?
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Win8.1Pro - Finally!!!
    Computer type
    Laptop
    System Manufacturer/Model
    Samsung/NP780
    CPU
    Came with the laptop (i7 of some sort)
    Motherboard
    Pretty sure that it has one, but haven't checked inside the case!
    Memory
    upgraded to 12 gB from 8 gB
    Graphics Card(s)
    has switchable - Intel/ATI - Used wrong drivers, now ATI card is inop :( Will have to fix it soon!
    Sound Card
    I'm nearly deaf, so this isn't used often
    Monitor(s) Displays
    Touchscreen on laptop/32" Toshiba on HDMI (laid the Sharp TV on a mouse and cracked the screen!)
    Screen Resolution
    800x600
    Hard Drives
    One Samsung 1tB drive - 5400 rpm. Gonna switch to a 7200/10000 rpm or an SSD (if I can find $500 for a 1tB SSD!)
    - Switched to 500 gB Samsung 840 series SSD - WOW!!!
    PSU
    Why do we ask this for laptops?
    Case
    Silver with a neat Samsung logo
    Cooling
    sub-par, gotta get around to working on it soon Worked on it - still sub-par! :(
    Keyboard
    Microsoft Natural - the same one I've used since it orignally came out around 1995
    Mouse
    no Mouse - Trackball!!!!
    Internet Speed
    too slow when I'm waiting for a download to finish
    Browser
    Yes, I use this (Firefox mostly, w/IE next most)
    Antivirus
    Windows Defender and Windows Firewall
    Other Info
    I'm handsome and a snappy dresser :0)
Thanks usasma,

I've updated the BIOS, which was much easier than i thought it would be.

I've also used DriverScanner (Uniblue DriverScanner 2013 - Download Software, Update PC Drivers) to determine what drivers needed to be updated. I had about 5 out of date, which i've updated apart from one - USB xHCI Compliant Host Controller. I'm not sure what that is but it appears to be a Windows 8 thing. Either way i can't find the latest version for it (apparently 1.16.4.0).

I've also updated the firmware for my SSD drive (Crucial m4 64gb).

I used HWiNFO to check some stuff including the temperature. I haven't noticed any real fluctuations in the logs and definitely not anything just before a BSOD. I've attached a screenshot of the summary page and the log file that ends just before the BSOD. (I've also attached the latest SF zip.)

I ran Windows update a few more times - it seems the Windows 8 metro-style one missed a load of things, whereas the good ol' fashioned Control Panel one didn't.

I also cleared up the SSD drive (there was a Windows.old folder left over from the Windows refresh) so now there is about 25% free space.

When it comes to updating the SSD driver all i have done is run the Crucial firmware update i downloaded from SSD Support (selecting m4 2.5" from dropdown). Was there a way to update the driver as well?? When i look in device manager the driver i have associated with the SSD drive (below the Disk drives tree) is a Microsoft driver from 2006 (v6.2.9200.16384).

Oh, and my PSU is a Rasurbo PSU ECO&Power EAP550 - 550 watts that I bought in June 2012. I also have a Hauppauge Win Nova-T 500 dual TV tuner if that makes any difference (i've updated the drivers for that too). The system as a whole never appears to be too hot. Only the graphics card seems to give off any actual heat - CrystalDiskInfo gives 30-32 degrees C for the HDDs.

I might try finding a spare HDD and installing windows to that to see if it is the SSD. Other than that i'm not sure...

Thanks so much for the help though
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Windows 8
    Computer type
    PC/Desktop
    CPU
    AMD Athlon II X3 450 3.2GHz Socket AM3 95w 1.5MB L2 Cache
    Motherboard
    Asus M5A78L-M/USB3
    Memory
    Kingston 4GB DDR3 1066MHz Memory Non-ECC CL7 1.5V
    Graphics Card(s)
    Asus HD 6450 Silent 1GB DDR3
Are you still having BSOD's after doing all this?
If so, are the reports that you uploaded from after you made all the changes?
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Win8.1Pro - Finally!!!
    Computer type
    Laptop
    System Manufacturer/Model
    Samsung/NP780
    CPU
    Came with the laptop (i7 of some sort)
    Motherboard
    Pretty sure that it has one, but haven't checked inside the case!
    Memory
    upgraded to 12 gB from 8 gB
    Graphics Card(s)
    has switchable - Intel/ATI - Used wrong drivers, now ATI card is inop :( Will have to fix it soon!
    Sound Card
    I'm nearly deaf, so this isn't used often
    Monitor(s) Displays
    Touchscreen on laptop/32" Toshiba on HDMI (laid the Sharp TV on a mouse and cracked the screen!)
    Screen Resolution
    800x600
    Hard Drives
    One Samsung 1tB drive - 5400 rpm. Gonna switch to a 7200/10000 rpm or an SSD (if I can find $500 for a 1tB SSD!)
    - Switched to 500 gB Samsung 840 series SSD - WOW!!!
    PSU
    Why do we ask this for laptops?
    Case
    Silver with a neat Samsung logo
    Cooling
    sub-par, gotta get around to working on it soon Worked on it - still sub-par! :(
    Keyboard
    Microsoft Natural - the same one I've used since it orignally came out around 1995
    Mouse
    no Mouse - Trackball!!!!
    Internet Speed
    too slow when I'm waiting for a download to finish
    Browser
    Yes, I use this (Firefox mostly, w/IE next most)
    Antivirus
    Windows Defender and Windows Firewall
    Other Info
    I'm handsome and a snappy dresser :0)
Yeah, sorry i should have made that clearer.

I'm still getting BSODs just as frequently as before and the three files uploaded (logs, SF and screenshot) are all taken after i had completed those tasks.

thanks
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Windows 8
    Computer type
    PC/Desktop
    CPU
    AMD Athlon II X3 450 3.2GHz Socket AM3 95w 1.5MB L2 Cache
    Motherboard
    Asus M5A78L-M/USB3
    Memory
    Kingston 4GB DDR3 1066MHz Memory Non-ECC CL7 1.5V
    Graphics Card(s)
    Asus HD 6450 Silent 1GB DDR3
Not a problem, it just makes it easier for me to scan all the reports if I know that it's been done.

No overheating issues spotted - so I'd start by suspecting either the SSD or the PSU.
Can you try another (preferably more powerful) PSU? If you don't have one, maybe you can purchase one from a store that will let you return it for a full refund if it's not needed?

If you try a platter based hard drive - don't bother to activate Windows as you're only doing it for testing purposes. If you choose to keep the platter based install of Win8 later on - you can activate it then.

The only unusual thing that I saw was this error:
Event[486]:
Log Name: Application
Source: Application Error
Date: 2013-03-10T15:46:31.000
Event ID: 1000
Task: Application Crashing Events
Level: Error
Opcode: Info
Keyword: Classic
User: N/A
User Name: N/A
Computer: upandatom
Description:
Faulting application name: rundll32.exe, version: 6.2.9200.16384, time stamp: 0x50109e4e
Faulting module name: BUNNDL~1.DLL, version: 2.2.0.0, time stamp: 0x50c65c2a
Exception code: 0xc0000005
Fault offset: 0x00020dd9
Faulting process ID: 0xd50
Faulting application start time: 0x01ce1da65ded5511
Faulting application path: C:\WINDOWS\SysWOW64\rundll32.exe
Faulting module path: C:\Users\UPANDA~1\AppData\Local\Temp\Bunndle\BUNNDL~1.DLL
Report ID: ad64f564-8999-11e2-be69-c86000096c2d
Faulting package full name:
Faulting package-relative application ID:
I have to wonder why it's on your system (is it deliberate, or is it malware?) and why it's running stuff out of the AppData\Local\Temp directory (not a recommended method of running programs - as what happens when you clear your Temp files?)

If you suspect malware, try these free scans: Free Online AntiMalware Resources
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Win8.1Pro - Finally!!!
    Computer type
    Laptop
    System Manufacturer/Model
    Samsung/NP780
    CPU
    Came with the laptop (i7 of some sort)
    Motherboard
    Pretty sure that it has one, but haven't checked inside the case!
    Memory
    upgraded to 12 gB from 8 gB
    Graphics Card(s)
    has switchable - Intel/ATI - Used wrong drivers, now ATI card is inop :( Will have to fix it soon!
    Sound Card
    I'm nearly deaf, so this isn't used often
    Monitor(s) Displays
    Touchscreen on laptop/32" Toshiba on HDMI (laid the Sharp TV on a mouse and cracked the screen!)
    Screen Resolution
    800x600
    Hard Drives
    One Samsung 1tB drive - 5400 rpm. Gonna switch to a 7200/10000 rpm or an SSD (if I can find $500 for a 1tB SSD!)
    - Switched to 500 gB Samsung 840 series SSD - WOW!!!
    PSU
    Why do we ask this for laptops?
    Case
    Silver with a neat Samsung logo
    Cooling
    sub-par, gotta get around to working on it soon Worked on it - still sub-par! :(
    Keyboard
    Microsoft Natural - the same one I've used since it orignally came out around 1995
    Mouse
    no Mouse - Trackball!!!!
    Internet Speed
    too slow when I'm waiting for a download to finish
    Browser
    Yes, I use this (Firefox mostly, w/IE next most)
    Antivirus
    Windows Defender and Windows Firewall
    Other Info
    I'm handsome and a snappy dresser :0)
I installed Windows 7 (then upgraded to windows 8) onto an HDD i had lying around. I tried to install Windows 8 directly but i couldn't find the hard drive (maybe a sata driver issue, but i couldn't find a driver that worked). But anyway, i got Windows 8 onto the HDD and it worked fine, no BSODs or anything. This makes me think it is more likely a problem with the SSD, not the PSU.

I have just now tried to install windows 8 onto the SSD again as a completely fresh install. It installed, but then about half an hour later it blue screened. So it must definitely be something with the SSD. I bought it second hand off eBay about 6 months ago and didn't have any problems with it until recently. Do you think it could have just gone bad?? Or do you think a windows update may have broken the driver associated with it?

I think i might try just running Windows 7 off of the SSD to see if it could actually be a physical problem with it. If it is then Win7 should fail too, if it is a driver issue i'm guessing it's Win8, and (hopefully) will be able to fix with a new driver/firmware if i can find one.
Does that sound like a worthwhile idea?
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Windows 8
    Computer type
    PC/Desktop
    CPU
    AMD Athlon II X3 450 3.2GHz Socket AM3 95w 1.5MB L2 Cache
    Motherboard
    Asus M5A78L-M/USB3
    Memory
    Kingston 4GB DDR3 1066MHz Memory Non-ECC CL7 1.5V
    Graphics Card(s)
    Asus HD 6450 Silent 1GB DDR3
a ha - 5000+ hour m4 bug confirmed by Crucial

I'm pretty sure i've passed the 5000 hour mark, probably at about the time it started blue screening. I thought i had updated the firmware, but maybe not properly. I'll look into this
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Windows 8
    Computer type
    PC/Desktop
    CPU
    AMD Athlon II X3 450 3.2GHz Socket AM3 95w 1.5MB L2 Cache
    Motherboard
    Asus M5A78L-M/USB3
    Memory
    Kingston 4GB DDR3 1066MHz Memory Non-ECC CL7 1.5V
    Graphics Card(s)
    Asus HD 6450 Silent 1GB DDR3
Wahay, that was it. The windows 8 firmware updater thing from crucial hadn't worked properly. So i installed windows 7 and used that one. It's now working and hasn't gone to BSOD.

Thanks for all your help, i'm not sure where i would have been otherwise.
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Windows 8
    Computer type
    PC/Desktop
    CPU
    AMD Athlon II X3 450 3.2GHz Socket AM3 95w 1.5MB L2 Cache
    Motherboard
    Asus M5A78L-M/USB3
    Memory
    Kingston 4GB DDR3 1066MHz Memory Non-ECC CL7 1.5V
    Graphics Card(s)
    Asus HD 6450 Silent 1GB DDR3
AFAIK, the OS isn't a factor when using SSD's - rather it's the firmware of the SSD and the storage controller drivers on the mobo.
I never thought that the actual updater could be to blame! Thanks for sharing this!

Just FYI:
The M4 was the favored SSD early on, and it had BSOD issues that did require firmware updates.

The storage controllers are a bit trickier, but I've found that storage controllers dating from mid-2012 and later are the most reliable with SSD's.

Are you going to try Win8 again? If so, please keep us posted!
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Win8.1Pro - Finally!!!
    Computer type
    Laptop
    System Manufacturer/Model
    Samsung/NP780
    CPU
    Came with the laptop (i7 of some sort)
    Motherboard
    Pretty sure that it has one, but haven't checked inside the case!
    Memory
    upgraded to 12 gB from 8 gB
    Graphics Card(s)
    has switchable - Intel/ATI - Used wrong drivers, now ATI card is inop :( Will have to fix it soon!
    Sound Card
    I'm nearly deaf, so this isn't used often
    Monitor(s) Displays
    Touchscreen on laptop/32" Toshiba on HDMI (laid the Sharp TV on a mouse and cracked the screen!)
    Screen Resolution
    800x600
    Hard Drives
    One Samsung 1tB drive - 5400 rpm. Gonna switch to a 7200/10000 rpm or an SSD (if I can find $500 for a 1tB SSD!)
    - Switched to 500 gB Samsung 840 series SSD - WOW!!!
    PSU
    Why do we ask this for laptops?
    Case
    Silver with a neat Samsung logo
    Cooling
    sub-par, gotta get around to working on it soon Worked on it - still sub-par! :(
    Keyboard
    Microsoft Natural - the same one I've used since it orignally came out around 1995
    Mouse
    no Mouse - Trackball!!!!
    Internet Speed
    too slow when I'm waiting for a download to finish
    Browser
    Yes, I use this (Firefox mostly, w/IE next most)
    Antivirus
    Windows Defender and Windows Firewall
    Other Info
    I'm handsome and a snappy dresser :0)
Back
Top