BSOD on AMD X3 440 running Windows 7 with 4GB RAM in dual channel

[vanderluzt]

I have a system running AMD Athlon II X3 440 on MSI 880GMA-E45 motherboard with 2X2 GB Corsair DDR3 RAM (1333MHz). The OS is Windows 7 Ultimate Ed. 32bit. There were several instances of BSOD [Blue Screen of Death] on this system within a few days of assembling in the month of September. Each instance of BSOD was accompanied by generation of a dump file. However, I was unable to read them. I am attaching the dump files of all the BSOD instances here.

Subsequently, I ran the system on a single 2GB RAM chip for several days and it worked fine without any instance of BSOD. But when I inserted the second RAM chip, I encountered the BSOD on the second day. I consulted a colleague, who said that the memory may be running specified voltages and timings and may not be set up correctly. I ran CPUz software on the system and compared the RAM settings under the Memory tab to the settings under the SPD tab in the 667MHz column. My current settings are as under:

Memory tab:
DRAM Frequency-666.7 MHz, FSBRAM-3:10, CL-9.0, tCRD-9, tRP-9, tRAS-24, tRC-34, Command Rate -1T

SPD tab under the 666 MHz column:
CL-9.0, tCRD-9, tRP-9, tRAS-24, tRC-34, Voltage – 1.50V

Since, the settings in both tabs are identical, I wasn't sure what changes to make. Then, I tried to compare these settings with the specifications set forth by Corsair for the particular part number of the RAM. However, when I visit the Tech Support section of the Corsair Website, the part number of my RAM [part no: VS2GB1333D4] is not listed in the drop-down menu.

Then, someone else suggested to go to BIOS setup and set Spread Spectrum to { Disabled } and also set Auto Disable DRAM/PCI Frequency to { Enabled }. I have done the same today. In addition, today I went to the MSI Website and performed a Live Update of the BIOS drivers of the motherboard on my system. It’s been a just few hours now and I haven’t got the BSOD yet. However, I cannot be sure if this would solve the BSOD problem permanently.

It would be great if someone in this forum could analyze the attached dump files, evaluate what I have done so far, and suggest a permanent solution to the BSOD problem?

 

[TorrentG]

Hello and welcome to w7f...

Update your video card driver from here:

atipmdag atipmdag.sys Wed Feb 10 21:52:23 2010

Drivers & Support | GAME.AMD.COM

--------

Update your very old Realtek lan driver from the following link:

Rt86win7 Rt86win7.sys Thu Feb 26 04:04:22 2009

http://www.msi.com/index.php?func=driverfile&dno=2474&i=0

---------

Uninstall Avast! in safe mode using the tool found here:

AV Uninstallers - Windows 7 Forums

Reboot and install MSE to replace it.

-----------

If you have any further crashes after these things, please post them and we shall see what we can do. Good luck.

 

[vanderluzt]

Thanks for the response. I will do as suggested and then get back to you. I have one question though. If the drivers are the problem, then why is it that when I run this system on a single 2GB chip, there is no BSOD.

 

[TorrentG]

Thanks for the response. I will do as suggested and then get back to you. I have one question though. If the drivers are the problem, then why is it that when I run this system on a single 2GB chip, there is no BSOD.

One thing at a time....

 

[mike3rdof5]

You could have a bad ram stick, I just went thru the same thing and had to replace one of my 4 1 gig sticks. If your BSOD reports irq less than or not equal, or something similiar, it is likely a bad ram stick. As Torrent says, update all your drivers to be sure its not a driver Issue.

Run the Windows Memory Diagnostic tool. Use only 1 ram stick, if that one reports as ok, swap it out for the other stick and run the diagnostic again. If you have a bad ram stick, that will find it.

Hope this was some help.

 

[vanderluzt]

You could have a bad ram stick, I just went thru the same thing and had to replace one of my 4 1 gig sticks. If your BSOD reports irq less than or not equal, or something similiar, it is likely a bad ram stick. As Torrent says, update all your drivers to be sure its not a driver Issue.

Run the Windows Memory Diagnostic tool. Use only 1 ram stick, if that one reports as ok, swap it out for the other stick and run the diagnostic again. If you have a bad ram stick, that will find it.

Hope this was some help.

Thanks for the response. I have run the Windows Memory Diagnostic tool earlier, but it did not report any errors.

Yesterday, I used a software called "Blue Screen View" to check out the details of my dump files. The first 2 dump files display a bug check string "Bad Pool Caller/Header" while the remaining 4 dump files display "IRQL Not Less or Equal"

I also updated the BIOS drivers to ver 17.6 (latest available for this board) from the MSI website but still experienced BSOD once this morning!

Today, I ran Memtest 86+ on the system. It ran for over 7 hrs, 45 mins and displayed 2 errors in 8 passes. I was given to understand that the rule is a minimum of 7 Passes; the more Passes after 7, the better.

As I've already reported earlier, when I run the system on the RAM sticks individually [one stick at a time], there is no instance of BSOD. BSOD occurs ONLY with both RAM sticks together. I could not find any support or specs for the model of RAM [Part no.: VS2GB1333D4] on the Corsair website!

So what could be the problem?

 

[TorrentG]

Same as above...

If you have any further crashes after these things, please post them and we shall see what we can do. Good luck.

 

[shadowalk]

I have a similar system and had the same BSODs with Starcraft 2 as well as other games. After updating drivers and eliminating what is not needed and such, I was still getting BSODs so I decided to increase my RAM's voltage to 1.7v and it seem to have worked. I am currently running my system fine with no BSODs for the second day now. Maybe you ought to try it out.

 

[vanderluzt]

I have a similar system and had the same BSODs with Starcraft 2 as well as other games. After updating drivers and eliminating what is not needed and such, I was still getting BSODs so I decided to increase my RAM's voltage to 1.7v and it seem to have worked. I am currently running my system fine with no BSODs for the second day now. Maybe you ought to try it out.

Thanks for the response. But is increasing the RAM's voltage a safe option?

 

[TorrentG]

You can use CPU-Z to check on the exact model number of your RAM. Then visit the manufacturer's site for exact timings and voltage it needs. Set the motherboard bios manually for this (VDIMM=voltage).

If you still have errors shown in Memtest86+ after, simply replace the RAM and set the bios to default automatic settings.