BSOD's, auto restarts, usable ram issues

[LaszloZ]

Hello

So I have had my Dell XPS 9000/435T pc for 3 years now with no problems. However, in the last few months I have been getting a lot of problems when I boot the computer for the first time.

Among them are:
-BSOD's
IRQL_NOT_LESS_OR_EQUAL
atikmdag.sys
PAGE_FAULT_IN_NONPAGED_AREA
and more recently System Service Exception

-auto restarts
Sometimes instead of BSOD, during boots the computer automatically restarts itself even though the option to do that if an error occurs is not selected. Sometimes it also restarts itself even after running for a few hours but that occurs rarely

-frozen screen
when booting, sometimes everything loads fine but then the computer freezes

-horizontal lines
when booting, sometimes the computer freezes and horizontal color lines come up across the screen

-usable ram
When I first boot the computer, all 9GB of RAM are usable. After the freezes mentioned above and restarting the computer a few times, the usable RAM goes down to 5.99 GB usable and then 2.99GB usable. Usually when it gets to 2.99GB usable RAM, the problems mentioned above stop. However the weird thing is that when it gets to 2.99GB usable RAM and the system "stabilizes", I can restart the computer one or more times to get 5.99GB or all 9GB usable again.

Any help would be greatly appreciated and thank you for your time

Laszlo

I have attached the most recent minidump files

EDIT: Oh and here are the CPU-Z snips

 

[TrainableMan]

I'm not a BSOD expert but ...

You mentioned atikmdag.sys so your first step is to update your video drivers to the latest from AMD. Be sure to use their uninstall tool first before installing the latest driver. And since Catalyst Control Center causes problems on some computers I suggest you install "driver only", no CCC.

You could also check for a virus as explained HERE.

It is also possible your hardware is failing. Maybe the RAM is damaged or something, just a possibility. You could test the RAM by running Memtest86+ for a day (about 8 passes).

 

[LaszloZ]

thank you for your response

I updated my video drivers as you suggested. I still had horizontal lines and auto restarting afterwards but it seemed to go to 9GB usable RAM quicker after that (not sure about that one but it seemed easier to get 9GB usable RAM anyways)

I also used tdsskiller and rkill then scanned for viruses using McAfee, Malware Bytes and the 3 free online scanners recommended in the section. Didn't find anything aside serious aside from some cookies.

I will try the memtest soon, need to find a good time to run it lol

 

[LaszloZ]

So during the cold boots today, I am still having the exact same problems as mentioned in my original post. I will try to run the memtest tonight.

Also here are the new minidump files.

 

[TrainableMan]

As I said, I'm not a BSOD expert and unfortunately we haven't had an active one around for over 2 months so you may want to try posting in another forum where you can get help from someone with more experience.

All of the DMP files mention a different cause which makes me concerned that it could be hardware failure (or a virus but you already tested for that). The most common hardware failure is a hard drive, although the lines could mean the video card or monitor.

So I think you should scan the hard drive for bad sectors using chkdsk /f from a command prompt (some bad sectors is normal but if it is a lot then you will need a new HD) and also run sfc /scannow from a command prompt. You might also turn it off and open it up and make sure the boards are all firmly in place and maybe vacuum out the dust bunnies (avoid coming in contact with the motherboard etc with anything metal or without grounding your body, as you can short it out with static electricity).

It is also possible it could be the mouse that needs replaced. You mentioned freezes and with a USB mouse if it is shorting out (wires go bad) it can loose connection and then regain it causing a studder in response as the drivers are loaded/unloaded. The easiest way to tell if this is occurring is to apply sound events to "Device Connect" and "Device Disconnect" in Control Panel > Personalization, sounds (see bottom row). Or it could just be the drivers ... keep reading.

There is also still a possibility it is just your drivers. For instance the one DMP pointed to your logitech mouse driver so you should go to Logitech and update your mouse drivers. You should also go to Dell and update your BIOS and also install all the latest drivers.

Good luck. Hope you get it worked out.

 

[LaszloZ]

thanks again for the response

I ran the chkdsk /f scan and it found no bad sectors. The sfc /scannow did find something but when I try to open the log file to read it, it keeps saying access denied and I can't seem to find a way to open it as administrator.

Oh and I forgot to mention about the dust cleaning. I cleaned out the dust a few weeks ago and for about 5 days the computer worked perfectly with no problems at all but then after that, it went back to the same old problems. Similarly, I checked and tinkered with the fans, (one near the power supply wasn't spinning well which I fixed) and then again for maybe 3 days everything worked perfectly before going back to the same problems.

I also updated the mouse drivers, working on the Dell drivers now