Windows 10 Frequent, Semi-random BSODs (Thread stuck in device driver)

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SpaceKitkat

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As the title says, almost* every time I launch a video game (specifically, a minecraft mod), I get a BSOD with the error "THREAD_STUCK_IN_DEVICE_DRIVER".
I'm also getting them more and more frequently just using google chrome, even just now while trying to get minidump log.
Checking the log, there was something about atikmdag.sys, and my problem seems to be very similar to this thread:
However, that thread's main solution was when someone checked the logs, they listed drivers that needed to be removed, and I don't think I have any of the same drivers.

After a bit of googling, a couple "easy" solutions were to update my BIOS and reinstall GPU drivers.
So I uninstalled all of my display drivers, deleted everything AMD, used DDU (Display Driver Uninstaller), restarted into my BIOS, updated my BIOS successfully, installed the new GPU drivers (Radeon Crimson edition software, for an R9 290), and restart my computer.

I've also performed several Windows diagnostics, including a RAM check, disk checks on all of my hard drives, and a "sfc /scannow" via CMD. All have come up with no errors.
I tried to add the minidump W7F log, but it said the file size was too large.. lol (RIP).
I've uploaded it to
but if it needs to be uploaded elsewhere, just let me know.
If any other logs are needed, I'll supply them ASAP. Any help is very much appreciated, as I work from home and this is currently my only available computer!
 
Solution
C
I had a look through your thread and signed up to chime in.

I have an R9 290 and the exact same problem, it has plagued me for the majority of the year. You may stop butchering your PC now.

It is categorically a result of AMD's drivers.

I am not exactly sure at what point the issue arose, but the same very frequent yet erratic BSOD/crashes on wake up have been present for the last dozen or more driver versions.

A poster on another forum found a BIOS altering solution that I didn't want to replicate, but this is what he discovered. It seems related to a new driver based power saving system that lowers the clock speeds of your card during idle situations. This was "improved" at some point over the 16.xxxx series of...
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Well, as expected, crashed immediately this morning, so yeah 15.12 is still the only solution I know of. The latest drivers are still busted. Shame.
 
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kemical said:
Hi Sven,
can you also post your system spec's including make and model of PSU?
Click to expand...
I have an Intel 4790k
with Asus Z97-A motherboard
16 GB of Kingston memory
XFX R9 290x graphics card.
The PSU is the S12 Emergy plus 650 W from Seasonic.
It should deliver up to 52 A on 4x 12V rails. (Seasonic S12 Energy Plus: Efficient Power for Connoisseurs | silentpcreview.com)
In the review they were able to draw up to 40 A from a single rail. The PSU should be sufficient.

OS is Windows 8.1 64 bit

Kemical: Can you get more information from the dump than the bluescreenview analysis that i posted ?

All components run on stock frequencies.

BR
 
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My dump file was 900 MB, could compress it down to 100 MB.
I tried to downgrade to 15.2 driver now going back to my Radeon R9 290x.
See what happens.
I didn't had a crash now for 5 days using Intel HD 5600 Graphics.


BR
 
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Sounds like a memory dump... If it won't load up here try a file sharing site and I'll take a look see.

Have you tried using your gpu with reduced clocks?
 
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kemical said:
Sounds like a memory dump... If it won't load up here try a file sharing site and I'll take a look see.

Have you tried using your gpu with reduced clocks?
Click to expand...

I did not try that. It does not make sense as the BSODs did not happen under full load but under light load or idle use case.
It seems more logical that it is related to DVFS (dynamic voltage frequency scaling).
I currently try the old 15.2 driver that was suggested.

Uploading the memory dump is too large here. It is about 160 MB compressed.

I will now need about a week to verify if the downgrade driver solution is working.
 
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Hello Kemical,

yes I have another PC but it does not have the PSU to run the GPU. It is much smaller (like 400 W) as this PC is designed from me for living room.
It also would be a lot of work and i would be butchering 2 PC, one of them perfectly running (Reliability index of 10) right now. I will consider it maybe as a last option. Buying a new video card would be more easier i guess, than half disassemble both PCs (rip out GPU + PSU) and change all the software driver setup (one currently runs with Nvidia one with AMD) and change it back again.

I currently stick to the downgraded driver test suggested by Circinae as it was much less work and I do not need to mess around with the hardware.
I already tested that changing the GPU stopped the error, as there was no error using Intel HD 4600 internal GPU during 5 consecutive days (Before every day at last one BSOD).
I also checked the AMD forum and there were other people that stated to have the same thing. It seems to have started one year ago for them. The 15.2 driver is around 10 months old.

BR

Sven
 
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I checked the release history of the driver after 15.2 and i found some fix they did regarding DVFS.
In driver 16.3 they fix an issue that popped up in previous drivers:
AMD Radeon Software Crimson 16.3 driver
Resolved Issues
  • Core clocks may not maintain sustained clock speeds resulting in choppy performance and or screen corruption (Fixed with new Power Efficiency feature toggled to off)
In previous driver they identified an issue there. This could be the one.
Driver 16.2.1:
AMD Radeon Software Crimson 16.2.1 driver Download
Known Issues
Core clocks may not maintain sustained clock speeds resulting in choppy performance and or screen corruption.

@Circinae: Did you try which driver release started to crash or is 15.2 the last one working ? Is there maybe a switch in ccc to enable/disable the feature ?

BR

Sven
 
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Yes i used DDU and installed the drivers clean.
Until now no crash with the old 15.12 drivers.
I did everything as usual and no crash till now. It is still too early but my reliabilty index just touched the 5 for the first time!
 
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I think i will try the next higher release to determine which driver release breaks it and try then to give it back to XFX or AMD customer support.
 
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Good luck! Also remember to use the DDU..

Actually just about to post an update for the DDU, See the update section of the forum.
 
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Hey Sven, I hadn't updated my drivers in a long time and when I did, the crashes began to happen. I went back a few driver versions and they kept happening and as I'd forgotten the number of my previous ones, so I thought back to the first Crimson drivers that I'd remembered working fine (15.12) and went back to them. That's the only reason I ended up with those ones. There are probably more recent versions that still work and your find is probably correct on that AMD fix note.

I also came across the ClockBlocker post, but haven't tried it yet. I might give that a go as I'm actually running the latest drivers despite the crashes.
 
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Hello Circinae, please keep me updated if you have any new information. If you could try that clockblocker and check if it can prevent the crashed, this would be a very valuable information.
It is not actually designed for that purpose and in the default case will only block the clock in a game. I don't know what happens if you block the clock during desktop use. Maybe the GPU will heat up and the Fan spin up but maybe it does not happens as the clockblocker load is very light.

I already send my information to XFX support and also connected him with this thread. I hope we can somehow solve the issue.

BR Sven
 
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