Windows 8.1 Pro BSOD and Reboots

I installed Windows 8.1 Pro on a 128 GB Samsung SSD 840 EVO. The PC ran ok and I could play TitanFall without
any problems, however I experienced frequent BSOD's when shutting down the PC. When this happened, the BSOD would appear and the machine froze.


When running driver verifier, the BSOD's would occur more frequently and the machine rebooted randomly. Windbg
indicated different causes which included atikmpag.sys and files relating to ASUS software which came with the ASUS motherboard.

After removing and reinstalling software and video drivers I installed Windows 8.1 Pro and nothing else to a new SSD and all was ok again, until running driver verifier. Windbg indicated atikmpag.sys was a cause. I then removed all AMD video drivers, including Catalyst Control Centre which Windows 8.1 had installed automatically. Microsoft Basic Display Adapter replaced the AMD drivers. To prevent Windows from re-installing AMD drivers I
disabled auto update.


The system had been running with driver verifier enabled, longer than previously without issues until I experienced another BSOD. Windbg indicated the crash was caused by : ntkrnlmp.exe ( nt!IopProcessWorkItem+76 ).


I have also tested my Windows installation on a HDD to rule out an SSD related cause but still experienced a BSOD. Could this be caused by an incorrect BIOS setting?


My System:


ASUS Z87 Deluxe
Intel i7-4770K CPU @ 3.50GHz
128 GB Samsung SSD 840 EVO
WD 1TB 3.5" SATA-III Caviar Black Hard Drive
ASUS R9290-DC2OC-4GD5
Creative Sound Blaster Zx
16 GB RAM

Sorry for the delay in responding. There just aren't that many people who do BSOD analysis, so at times we get a bit overwhelmed!

Do your still need help with this problem?
I will be notified if you reply to this topic and will respond within 48 hours.

Driver Verifier is only good as a diagnostic tool if the errors are being caused by drivers that are stressed by the Driver Verifier tests. If you run Driver Verifier on a system with hardware problems, you'll get verifier enabled memory dumps, but the drivers blamed won't actually be at fault.

Assuming that there are no 3rd party causes here, then BSOD's on 2 different Windows installations are suggestive of a hardware problem. We must check the 3rd party drivers first (and I've seen BSOD problems with drivers from Creative Sound Blaster cards).

If the BSOD blames ntoskrnl.exe, it's likely not the cause. Rather it's that something has corrupted ntoskrnl.exe or it's memory space - which in turn causes the system to panic and crash. ntoskrnl.exe is the kernel (core) of the operating system. If it was to blame, you'd be seeing many more problems other than just the occasional BSOD.

Start with these free diagnostics: Hardware Diagnostics

Please provide this information so we can provide a complete analysis (from the Pinned Topic at the top of the forum): http://www.eightforums.com/bsod-cra...e-screen-death-bsod-posting-instructions.html Please use Option 1 as it provides Event Viewer logs.