BSOD Bad Pool Header

[Jenksie]

Hi all,

I've just built a new PC and have installed Win 7 Home Premium. When i turn on my PC i get a BSOD listing the error as Bad Pool Header. Normally after a reset or two it loads and is generally good for the rest of the day. I ran a memtest for about 12 hours with zero errors, swapped the ram into different slots and repeated the memcheck and again got zero errors. Someone has suggested that it might be a driver error and i might need to delete every driver and start from scratch. Is this really the case or is there an easier way of identifying the problem? I've attached the minidump in case that helps.

Many thanks

 

[TorrentG]

Someone has suggested that it might be a driver error and i might need to delete every driver and start from scratch.

Hi. lol Please tell this person to stay away from pcs or not to make suggestions at all. That's one of the funniest things I've seen about drivers, ever. lol

Uninstall the software (or looks to be malware) associated with this old driver:

hmonitor45 hmonitor45.sys Sat Jul 26 09:29:37 2008

Then scan the system with Malwarebytes after updating definitions in it.

Post a new crash dump later on if still needed. Enjoy.

 

[Jenksie]

Ok thanks, that software is what i use to check system temps, but i'll remove immediately. It might be tomorrow that i post the next dump. Bizzarely once i get the machine into windows it stays working for the day and then i get a BSOD at the next boot up the following day!

 

[TorrentG]

Yeah, the memory could need the VDIMM (voltage) raised, but one thing at a time. Let's see what a new crash dump may show after doing the above.

 

[Kalario]

Yeah, the memory could need the VDIMM (voltage) raised, but one thing at a time. Let's see what a new crash dump may show after doing the above.

I gotta commend you for your patience, TorrentG. Cheers!

 

[Jenksie]

I'm really fortunate i found the site and really appreciate your help, i'm glad there are good people out there who will help those with a lesser amount of knowledge. The malaware scan brought up no problems.

My memory is VS2GB1333D3 - 2GB Corsair Value Select, DDR3 PC3-10600 (1333) Non-ECC Unbuffered, CAS 9-9-9-24 currently running at 1.5v on a gigabyte GA-870A-UD3.

If my machine BSOD in the morning i will post again to let you know.

Update: After leaving the machine for a few hours i turned it on and got a blue screen. Not sure if it was a bad pool header as it was only displayed for a split second before the machine reset. This happened twice before i could get into windows. Having done some searching, a few people on the corsair forums are having similar problems with this memory type where you get a number of blue screen errors on a cold boot.

 

[Jenksie]

I had multiple BSODs this morning on a cold boot, here are the 3 minidumps that were generated. Any suggestions would be appreciated

 

[TorrentG]

All your drivers look good, so this very likely means there is an issue with the RAM possibly being defective.

Test with Memtest86+ overnight. Sometimes you have to test modules isolated while others removed to find errors. Other times, they show immediately as is.

If any errors show, RMA the modules with the manufacturer.

You could try removing Avast in safe mode with this tool but I don't think it was a problem:

AV Uninstallers - Windows 7 Forums

If you do, boot to normal mode and install MSE.

 

[Jenksie]

I'll give it a try. i have run memtest for a total of 20 hours so far, do you think i need to run it on each stick individually and should i run from cold to try to replicate the issue?

 

[TorrentG]

Since you've ran it that long already, I'd do the antivirus suggestion then first. If that doesn't help, then post the new crashes and also test the modules individually.

Updating the bios to latest is always good.

 

[Jenksie]

Ok thanks. do you think its worth tinkering with the voltages at this stage?

 

[Jenksie]

Hi Guys. Got home from work last night and turned on the pc with the intention of uninstalling Avast, unfortunately i couldn't get in to windows because i was constantly getting BSOD. I ran a Memtest and got no errors. In a last ditch attempt i pulled out one on my ram sticks and now the PC seems to work fine. Turned on this morning and has booted perfectly (first time its turned on after a cold boot!) Is it safe to assume a bad memory stick?

 

[TorrentG]

It could also be a bad memory slot on the motherboard but that would be a lot more rare than a bad stick of RAM.

You could try installing the stick again and then setting the VDIMM voltage to 1.6v to see if that stabilizes. If not, remove the RAM you think is bad and test again with 1.5 v.

If all is well like this then, simply replace the one bad RAM stick.

 

[clifford_cooley]

Hi Guys. Got home from work last night and turned on the pc with the intention of uninstalling Avast, unfortunately i couldn't get in to windows because i was constantly getting BSOD. I ran a Memtest and got no errors. In a last ditch attempt i pulled out one on my ram sticks and now the PC seems to work fine. Turned on this morning and has booted perfectly (first time its turned on after a cold boot!) Is it safe to assume a bad memory stick?

Before throwing away or returning the RAM stick, you could try cleaning the contacts with a pencil eraser. It is possible there is dirty contacts on the module and cleaning could help. I was having similar problems when I first built this system.

If you do try this, be sure to place the stick flat down on something to prevent flexing the module (flexing the module can break the little wires within the stick).

 

[Jenksie]

Thanks for the suggestions guys. I'll spend a big chunk of time this weekend getting it all worked out.

UPDATE: Managed a quick play tonight, with one stick of ram the PC boots perfectly, with the other stick the machine won't give a video signal. Fortunately I'm on good terms with the shop owner where the memory was purchased so I'll get a replacement tomorrow. Thanks again for all of your help.