Windows 7 BSOD + Possible hardware damage

[PerilousPear]

Hello everyone.

I was using my PC when suddenly something snapped, messing up the screen with lines, dots and swirlies and it restarted the PC, showing a BOSD every time I attempt to start it again.

I don't think it's my graphics card or power supply, since I swapped them with my backup PS & GC and the problem was still there. Could be a Motherboard problem or (unlikely) something with a monitor.

Thanks in advance.

Below are the screenshots of the situation + the BSOD itself.

 

[BIGBEARJEDI]

Hi and welcome to the forum

Generally stop errors such as this indicate a hardware failure as you already surmised. This one appears to be a Memory page fault so you need to test all your RAM sticks as here: Link Removed. If MEMTEST diagnostic returns any errors, replace all sticks that produce errors, and continue running MEMTEST until no more errors are returned. Make certain that you run MEMTEST for a minimum of 8 passes or overnight.

Once you get MEMTEST to run error-free, you can next check your Hard Drive which is the 2nd most likely cause of failure for this type of error especially if your HDD is over 3 years old. Here's the link for that: .Link Removed.

If the problem persists after replacing any failed hardware, you'll need to send us your BSOD dump so our experts can analyze it more specifically. Full hardware specs on your PC including Make/Model of your Mobo, GC card, RAM sticks, and PSU Make/Model/Wattage would also be helpful.

Here's a link on how to upload your BSOD dump to us: How to ask for help with a BSOD problem.

Post back your results and let us know how it goes. We are here 24x7x365 to answer any further questions you have.

Best,
<<<BIGBEARJEDI>>>

 

[kemical]

Hi,
Bugcheck 50 can be caused a numerous things ranging from anti virus apps, drivers and hardware. To help you further we ideally need to see your dump files. Try running the app found in this thread and posting the results:
Link Removed

Thread moved to correct location.

 

[OldGuyGeek]

My bad. I didn't see that you had already swapped out your PS and GC.

 

[kemical]

I was using my PC when suddenly something snapped, messing up the screen with lines, dots and swirlies and it restarted the PC, showing a BOSD every time I attempt to start it again.

As you have already tried changing your gpu try booting into safe mode. If you manage to enter safe mode then chances are it's a driver issue.

 

[PerilousPear]

Thanks for the feedback everybody!

Below is the attachment of W7F Diagnostic tool compressed file, a crash dump from the "minidump" folder and my system information file from msinfo32 scan which contains my PC specs.

And I can run it in Safe mode, but the screen shows pink swirlies like the ones from the second picture in the original post.

I'll run MEMTEST & Hard Drive Diagnostic Procedure and post an update on the results.

 

[kemical]

*******************************************************************************
*                                                                             *
*                        Bugcheck Analysis                                    *
*                                                                             *
*******************************************************************************

Use !analyze -v to get detailed debugging information.

BugCheck 116, {fffffa8002945010, fffff8800f1bb5f8, ffffffffc00000b5, a}

*** WARNING: Unable to verify timestamp for nvlddmkm.sys
*** ERROR: Module load completed but symbols could not be loaded for nvlddmkm.sys
Probably caused by : nvlddmkm.sys ( nvlddmkm+1545f8 )

Followup:     MachineOwner

Hi,
out of the three dump files, 2 were bugcheck 3B (data couldn't be read or passing bad gpu data to the kernel code) and one is a bugcheck 116 or TDR. TDR stands for 'timeout, detection and recovery' and was first implemented with Windows vista. Basically the system detects there is an issue with the graphics driver and tries to reset it. If the driver doesn't respond within 2 seconds then a blue screen occurs.

TDR crashes can be caused by a multitude of reasons and it can sometimes take a while to track down the route cause.

Your Graphics driver is a little old and looks like it's corrupted. Please download this application called the DDU or Display driver uninstaller
Display Driver Uninstaller (DDU) V17.0.2.0 Released. - Wagnardmobile Forum

You will need to boot into safe mode to use it best and basically it not only removes your current driver but clears out anything left behind by previous installs.

Once your back into Windows 7 you can install the most recent driver which is here:
NVIDIA DRIVERS GeForce 341.96 Driver WHQL

If your screen appears the same as the above try reseating the card and check all cables. Please update on how things are looking.




I had a look through your drivers and found a few things you may want to remove:

dtsoftbus01.sys Fri Jan 13 13:45:46 2012: Daemon Tools driver Possible BSOD issues in Win7 please remove to test.

I also found some malware:
{31a2f244-4a67-4367-b593-df9513aea360}Gw64.sys Mon Sep 22 20:01:54 2014: Adware by ClearThink.
Try running Malwarebytes or checkout this blog: How to remove ClearThink Ads (Virus Removal Guide)

Avast AV is also known to cause the odd issue so if the bsod continues then please remove Avast and run MSE as it's ultra stable.

Post any new dump files

Motherboard:
Link Removed

 

[OldGuyGeek]

If the last screenshot is of the Biostar screen when your system boots, the Windows drivers have not been loaded yet. Since you already swapped out your PS and GC, it would have to be another hardware part that is causing your problems. I would have to agree with BIGBEARDED and recommend checking out the hardware. By simply reseating memory, you can eliminate/correct some hardware failures like this. As memory heats and cools during up time and downtime, the physical connection can get a little funky. Reseating and maybe swapping memory stick positions could help.

At least that's what I would hope for. Otherwise you might have a serious motherboard problem.

 

[kemical]

Damn, I forgot to mention:
If the bsod continues then you'll need to test your RAM. Windows does have a memory testing app but it can miss errors and the best app for the job is Memtest86..
You must test for at least 12 hours unless it becomes obvious there is a problem straight away.
Memtest86+ - Advanced Memory Diagnostic Tool

Personally I think it's either a bad driver or a cable that's broken. I didn't really see enough in the dump files to say for sure it's the memory. The memory corruption might be pooled memory (dump file doesn't tell you which) Running the driver verifier should catch the culprit but as i said only try this if everything else has come to nothing.

 

[PerilousPear]

I managed to uninstall the driver, but it installed itself again afterwards, and I couldn't install the one kemical sent me, since it cannot be done in safe mode. Then I ran Malware Bytes, and it detected over 750 infected files and it quarantined them. Then I tried booting Windows up normally, blue screen didn't show up, but it froze at the "Starting Windows" screen with some kind of bar below it. I'll give memtest a try and post the results in the meantime.

 

[kemical]

I managed to uninstall the driver, but it installed itself again afterwards,

Hmm... Did you use the DDU as this automatically sets windows to not install a driver straight away. If you did and it still installed those drivers I imagine it was through Windows update? If so, download the driver I linked to then use the DDU to remove the previous driver whilst in safe mode. Now before you boot back into windows unplug your ethernet cable or whatever it is that connects you to the net. This way you'll be able to install the driver you want.

Another way I got round the auto driver install was to already have the new drivers downloaded and then as soon as I boot back into windows I install the driver ( you must install as soon as you get into windows as any deviation can give the WU time to do it's dirty deed ) and this usually stops any further driver installs.

Glad to hear the Malware has been cleaned out.

If you manage to get back to the desktop run these scans:

File scans
If you look in the all programs area for Command prompt, right click on it and run as admin. Type:
sfc /scannow
press enter and await results

Looking at your screens again it looks like the gpu might be artifacting. A couple of things can cause this although the usual culprit is issues with the VRAM such as overheating.
This app will test your Vram:
Link Removed

 

[PerilousPear]

Ok, after a 24-hour memtest, it made x13x passes and reported x33x errors. I'm not certain about the real results, since about 70% of the screen was covered by black squares. So the error count was (black square)33(black square), which could mean it got to 4 digits, or not, maybe the first covered a 0, or maybe in covered nothing at all. I had to exit using ESC, not saving any logs If you need the log, I'll try to set less passes this time, which will be a bit tricky with the screen looking like that.

The Vram test put up a warning saying how my driver reports more memory than it really exists on the card and how it will limit my memory usage to 1,024 MB, after that it said it'll temporarily change the 800x600x32 video mode to 640x480x16, after that it failed to run, saying "Trying 16bpp RGB: 565 mode... NOT SUPPORTED ..." and "Trying 32bpp BGR:888 mode... NOT SUPPORTED.." and it said 800x600x32 in the corner. I tried changing it manually, but the 800x600 is the lowest the resolution can go...

I used the DDU for the drivers, and I tried both restarting after cleaning and not restarting, and both times immediately after it said "Clean uninstall completed" the driver installed new software (graphics card). I can't find the option to disable automatic driver install, if it's in "Windows Update", then I can't access it for some reason. Now, there's a box in the DDU options menu saying "Remove C:\NVIDIA driver folders (NOT recommended)", it could be getting its' drivers from there and installing them automatically. Should I try that? I'll also try booting it up right after it uninstalls the driver, not giving it the chance to install it again..

I can't upload the report from /scannow currently. It is a text document, but with .log extension, which isn't supported.

 

[kemical]

Ok, after a 24-hour memtest, it made x13x passes and reported x33x errors. I'm not certain about the real results, since about 70% of the screen was covered by black squares. So the error count was (black square)33(black square), which could mean it got to 4 digits, or not, maybe the first covered a 0, or maybe in covered nothing at all. I had to exit using ESC, not saving any logs If you need the log, I'll try to set less passes this time, which will be a bit tricky with the screen looking like that.

Perhaps a simpler way would be to run the machine on one RAM stick at a time. See which sticks give the graphical errors and which don't. Basically though if your RAM is reporting errors then it needs changing.

The Vram test put up a warning saying how my driver reports more memory than it really exists on the card and how it will limit my memory usage to 1,024 MB, after that it said it'll temporarily change the 800x600x32 video mode to 640x480x16, after that it failed to run, saying "Trying 16bpp RGB: 565 mode... NOT SUPPORTED ..." and "Trying 32bpp BGR:888 mode... NOT SUPPORTED.." and it said 800x600x32 in the corner. I tried changing it manually, but the 800x600 is the lowest the resolution can go...

I'm afraid the application is getting a little old now and generally i try not to use it but just wondered what it would throw up with your card.

Now, there's a box in the DDU options menu saying "Remove C:\NVIDIA driver folders (NOT recommended)", it could be getting its' drivers from there and installing them automatically. Should I try that? I'll also try booting it up right after it uninstalls the driver, not giving it the chance to install it again..

Yes remove them. Inside is contained a copy of the driver your system is using now so please get rid and then remove the driver via DDU, boot back into windows and immediately install the new driver.

 

[PerilousPear]

Sorry for the long wait.

Anyway good news. I did it the "Remove NVIDIA driver folders" and restarted it afterwards, but before that, I cleaned my graphics card and also the place where you place it in on the motherboard (there was some dirt there). And the lines, along with everything else is gone, letters are now fully displayed and Windows boots up normally. Only now I get the black screen when it boots up (probably due to the graphics driver removal)...

 

[kemical]

Only now I get the black screen when it boots up

Does this black screen stay for long or is it gone within a few seconds?

Good news about the card by the way.

 

[PerilousPear]

A restart did the trick. It's a bit slow, but I was thinking of cleaning it up or reinstalling Windows anyway.

Thank you for the help dude! Very much appreciated.

 

[kemical]

Your very welcome.
To help clean up windows run these scans:
File scans
Right click on the Start menu icon and from the revealed list choose 'admin command prompt'. Type:
sfc /scannow
press enter and await results

In the same command prompt and after the above scan has finished type:
dism /online /cleanup-image /restorehealth
Press enter and await results (longer this time).

If the first scan found files it could not repair but the second scan is successful, run the first scan again using the same command prompt box and this time it should repair the files found.