BSODs. No Warning. No known triggers. Many Browser crashes

[Ryder]

I installed the latest. It wouldn’t occur to me to do incremental upgrades.

 

[axe0]

Some recommend an incremental for a few reasons, but IMHO directly should be fine.

After flashing and rebooting, did you go back to the BIOS to reset everything to the default settings?

 

[Ryder]

I set nothing because I don’t know jack about any BIOS stuff. I did struggle through one issue where it failed for CPU fan, but as I’m liquid, I found the setting to ignore CPU fan speed... other than that, nothing changed.

I guess we can assume all of the settings are generic/factory now?

 

[axe0]

After rebooting from a BIOS update, it is good practice to reset everything to the default settings and then change anything if needed.
It has, recently, occured a few times that flashing the BIOS undid going to stock from overclocking what caused problems.

Please make sure the BIOS settings are resetted to the default settings.

 

[Ryder]

Ok. How do I do that?

thank you!

 

[axe0]

Boot into the BIOS and press F5.

 

[Ryder]

OK, your suggestion worked. System is back up. I guess we need to backtrack a bit now... run memtest again?

Again, thanks for all your help.

 

[Ryder]

OK, I've gone back into BIOS and manually set the memory profile/voltage/speed to the ratings on the kit.
One thing about CPU-Z that I don't understand is the "Max Bandwidth" on the SPD tab. It says PC3-10700 (667 Mhz)...
WHAT is this saying to me? That the memory stick is reporting to CPU-Z that it has a 667MHz limit? That CPU-Z is testing to measure the actual limit? That the MoBo is TELLING CPU-Z that the socket bandwidth it only 667MHz?

If so, I probably purchased memory that totally outperforms what my MoBo can handle.... but I really don't understand what "Max Bandwidth" is telling me. If someone might fill me in... much appreciated. In the meanwhilst, here are the SPD reports currently:

 

[axe0]

Bandwith is how fast the data can be transfered to the CPU, this is shown as single data rate which means you have to multiply it with DDR.

 

[Ryder]

Bandwith is how fast the data can be transfered to the CPU, this is shown as single data rate which means you have to multiply it with DDR.

What is the source of the limitation? Why isn't it the rated speed of the memory???

Many thanks!

 

[axe0]

What you see is single data rate, multiply it and you have the Dual Data Rate bandwith.

In my screenshots of CPU-Z you see 1200MHz, this is shown as single data rate. I know this is shown as single data rate since I know it runs at 2400MHz which is the DDR speed.

It is NOT a limitation, it is shown as single data rate, multiply it and you get the Dual Data Rate, the rate you want.

 

[Ryder]

I take it you mean multiply by two... but this is still wrong... that’s approx. 1200. My memory runs at 2400... so that’s doubling *again*, 4X the shown speed.

644 makes no sense for 2400 rated memory if I follow what you are saying.

it should be indicating twice as fast, yes?

 

[axe0]

Boot into the BIOS and go to the 'Ai Tweaker' part.
What does 'DRAM Frequency' say?

FYI, I checked the specs of the motherboard and CPU. I wouldn't recommend to overclock your hardware parts until it is guaranteed that your system is stable without overclocking.

 

[Ryder]

OK, I went into Ai Tweeker, and DRAM Frequency is listed as 2400...

So why is CPU-Z reporting 667 as "Max Bandwidth"?

And I still don't know what Max Bandwidth is specifically referring to.

Is it referring to the memory sticks self reporting bandwidth?

Is it referring to actual measured memory bandwidth from active testing?

Is it referring to limitations self reported by the motherboard?

Is it referring to actual measured bandwidth limitations on the mobo due to active testing?

Again, thank you for your kind help...

 

[axe0]

Here is a tutorial that may explain a few things for you regarding your question.
Understanding, Identifying and Upgrading the RAM in your PC

The tutorial is aimed as guidance for non-technical users and explains a lot about RAM.

 

[Ryder]

I didn't find anything to help in that link, but I did find something at the CPU-Z web site. Problem is, I don't understand it, nor do I understand the implications of the "misreporting". Does any of this make sense to you? what are the implications? It says that it could mean that the "SPD information on the module is not correctly programmed". again, not sure what it means, but if something is misprogrammed, what are the implications?

"Why does CPU-Z misreport my memory module specification ? For example, my DDR2-800 is reported as DDR2-667.

The memory theorical bandwidth is computed using the module access time information for the maximal CAS# latency value, included in the SPD area. If the computed bandwidth is lower than the one specified on the memory module, that means that the SPD information on the module is not correctly programmed, or most likely that the bandwidth is not given at the default memory voltage, but at a voltage defined in an extended profile (EPP or XMP)."

 

[axe0]

The memory theorical bandwidth is computed using the module access time information for the maximal CAS# latency value, included in the SPD area.

How fast information can be retrieved from the module.

this means that at the default voltage, your RAM may run at different speeds, or that it is not represented correctly because it would need you to tweak the voltage.

What you probably need to do is tweak the RAM settings in the BIOS using either of the XMP profiles.

No offense, but the link provided explaining things about the RAM would help you to understand.

 

[Ryder]

I'm marking this as solved as my system seems stable... though I still am not able to understand if my memory is configured/reporting correctly, nor what to do about it next.

Thanks for your kind help.

 

[Ryder]

Well, I'm back! I sure wish I wasn't... but the memory change does not seem to have actually solved the problem. Or maybe it's a different problem? BSODs in the last week or so have been frequent. Even as much as a couple times in an hour.

Apparently, the memory was not the root issue.

No obvious triggers.... running software I have run for many years... suddenly crashing. Crashing when browsing the internets. Crashing during boot. In other words... seems random. The boot BSOD from today mentioned MEMORY MANAGEMENT as the cause. BSOD never mentions the same cause.

Here is the zip file from today:

I thank you so much for your kind help.

 

[axe0]

Could you run the memory test in post BSODs. No Warning. No known triggers. Many Browser crashes again.