[SOLVED] Crashes and BSODs since BIOS and Chipset drivers update

[phlave]

Hi, I've had this configuration on my pc for about a year (http://speccy.piriform.com/results/nhq1CnQWXKTwKls0doYlhgB) and I've not had issues aside from Firefox acting weird, which I mostly tolerated.

Anyways, today I decided to update the BIOS on my Asrock Steel Legend x670E from version 2.02 to the latest stable version, 3.10.

On the first boot, my pc had already started acting weird, seemingly forgetting which drive to boot from, and since then, I haven't been able to make it start automatically with this drive (I have another with an old and dead installation of Windows) and every time it boots up it asks me for confirmation on which drive to start from.
After that, my pc starts like normal, but it's incredibly unstable. Programs such as Discord and Firefox crash constantly; Discord restarts itself, Firefox's tabs crash or the whole browser goes down. I tried reinstalling every one of the programs that give me issues, but that did nothing.
And then the BSODs started, every time with a different error message. The last one is the only one I managed to record, and unfortunately I don't remember the others. This one's error message was: "ATTEMPTED TO WRITE READONLY MEMORY".

I'll start posting this and edit it later because this tab's already crashed once and I had to start writing this message from scratch.

 

[phlave]

• Laptop or Desktop?
  Desktop pc
• OS?
  Windows 10 Pro x64
• What was original installed OS on system?
  Windows 10 Pro
• Is the OS an OEM version (came pre-installed on system) or full retail version (YOU purchased it from retailer)?
  I installed Windows from a pendrive made with Microsoft's tools, and activated it with a purchased license
• Age of system? (hardware)
  mixed. MOBO, CPU and RAM are around 1 year old. NVME is around 2 years old. This pc is a ship of Thesius.
• Age of OS installation?
  It's pretty old, and I migrated it with Samsung's Magician from an SSD to the NVME with 0 problems.
• Have you re-installed the OS?
  No, and I really wish to avoid doing so. I'm pretty OCD and I really like my pc the way it is without needing to start from scratch.
• CPU
  AMD Ryzen 7800X3D
• RAM (brand, EXACT model, what slots are you using?)
  VENGEANCE® 64GB (2x32GB) DDR5 DRAM 6000MT/s CL40 Memory Kit
• Video Card
  Gigabyte RTX 3080
• MotherBoard - (if NOT a laptop)
  Asrock Steel Legend X670E
• Power Supply - brand & wattage (if laptop, skip this one)
  Corsair RM750 (2021) 750 Watt 80 Plus Gold
• Is driver verifier enabled or disabled?
  I don't really know
• What security software are you using? (Firewall, antivirus, antimalware, antispyware, and so forth)
  Windows Defender. I tried installing Malwarebytes as the guide suggests, but my pc BSOD'd soon after I started the quick scan
• Are you using proxy, vpn, ipfilters or similar software?
  Cloudflare Warp
• Are you using Disk Image tools? (like daemon tools, alcohol 52% or 120%, virtual CloneDrive, roxio software)
  no
• Are you currently under/overclocking? Are there overclocking software installed on your system?
  no

 

[xrobwx71]

Keep to this post until it's finished. 1 post at a time, please.

 

[ET_Explorer]

Your processor only allows 5200 MHz of ram, yet you have 6000 MHz ram.
The ram information in your sysnative file collection shows 4800 MHz of ram.

 

[phlave]

Your processor only allows 5200 MHz of ram, yet you have 6000 MHz ram.
The ram information in your sysnative file collection shows 4800 MHz of ram.

Honestly, I didn't know the limits of my CPU. I tried using online tools to choose this build, but admittedly I have messed up.
Then again, I saw 4800 MHz too in the BIOS when I first booted it up, and it confused me, because my RAM is most definitely the CMK64GX5M2B6000C40W. Not only that, but I've kept it at 6000 MHz for the last year with 0 issues.

Keep to this post until it's finished. 1 post at a time, please.

Sorry, you're absolutely right. I was going to delete the other one since I had the BSODs and made this post, but then I BSOD'd again, it got late, and frankly, I forgot.

 

[phlave]

I wanted to edit the last post, but apparently the timer ran out, so please excuse my double posting.

Fingers crossed, I might have fixed the issue. Thanks to ET_Explorer's comment I realized that I only set the ram to the correct value yesterday when I saw it read at 4800... but I completely skipped on activating the XMP profile. Yes, I am an idiot, thanks for asking.
Anyways, I've fixed this major mistake now, set the ram frequency back to AUTO, and it now reads 6000 MHz in the task manager performance tab.
If my pc remains stable, I'll mark this post as solved. Hopefully, this is the last you hear from me for a good long while :)

Again, thank you for your time.

 

[ubuysa]

You have bad RAM. The bugcheck of two the three dumps from 1st and 2nd December is a 0x12B FAULTY_HARDWARE_CORRUPTED_PAGE, which is pretty conclusively bad RAM...

FAULTY_HARDWARE_CORRUPTED_PAGE (12b)
This BugCheck indicates that a single bit error was found in this page.  This is a hardware memory error.
Arguments:
Arg1: ffffffffc00002c4, virtual address mapping the corrupted page
Arg2: 0000000000000d82, physical page number
Arg3: 0000026e0c8ac9a0, zero
Arg4: ffff9d00d1c88000, zero

The third dump is a 0x3B SYSTEM_SERVICE_EXCEPTION with an exception code of 0xC0000005,m indicating an invalid memory reference - almost certainly because you have bad RAM.

The dump from the BSOD on 14th Nov is a 0x1A MEMORY_MANAGEMENT, also probably down to bad RAM. Even the dump from the BSOD on 22nd June (a 0xA IRQL_NOT_LESS_OR_EQUAL bugcheck) fails trying to free a PTE lock - another likely bad RAM issue. You may have had this RAM issue for some time, and it's gradually getting worse.

The easiest way for you to test your RAM is to remove one stick for a few days, or until you get a BSOD. Then swap sticks and run on just the otyher for a few days, or until you get a BSOD. See how that goes.

 

[phlave]

You have bad RAM. The bugcheck of two the three dumps from 1st and 2nd December is a 0x12B FAULTY_HARDWARE_CORRUPTED_PAGE, which is pretty conclusively bad RAM...

FAULTY_HARDWARE_CORRUPTED_PAGE (12b)
This BugCheck indicates that a single bit error was found in this page.  This is a hardware memory error.
Arguments:
Arg1: ffffffffc00002c4, virtual address mapping the corrupted page
Arg2: 0000000000000d82, physical page number
Arg3: 0000026e0c8ac9a0, zero
Arg4: ffff9d00d1c88000, zero

The third dump is a 0x3B SYSTEM_SERVICE_EXCEPTION with an exception code of 0xC0000005,m indicating an invalid memory reference - almost certainly because you have bad RAM.

The dump from the BSOD on 14th Nov is a 0x1A MEMORY_MANAGEMENT, also probably down to bad RAM. Even the dump from the BSOD on 22nd June (a 0xA IRQL_NOT_LESS_OR_EQUAL bugcheck) fails trying to free a PTE lock - another likely bad RAM issue. You may have had this RAM issue for some time, and it's gradually getting worse.

The easiest way for you to test your RAM is to remove one stick for a few days, or until you get a BSOD. Then swap sticks and run on just the otyher for a few days, or until you get a BSOD. See how that goes.

Hi, thank you so much for the time you spent helping me on this.
I'm not sure if you read my last post, but I had definitely messed up my settings in the BIOS, setting the ram to 6000 MHz manually since it was defaulting to 4800, and forgetting to activate the XMP profile.
This morning after sleeping on it, it became really obvious to me that I should have done that, and since setting the frequency back to auto, and activating the XMP, all problems seem to be solved, as I haven't had a single crash. Not a tab, not a program, zero video issues on YouTube compared to the occasional datamoshing I was seeing, and so far 0 BSODs.

So I really, really hope that the "bad ram" in your diagnosis was actually just badly configured ram. Swapping DDR5 RAM would be much more expensive than accepting my own stupidity.

 

[ubuysa]

I'm not entirely convinced that activating an XMP profile (which overclocks the RAM) has solved your problems. But what matters is that you seem to be stable.

If it does BSOD again then please run Meemtest86 to thoroughly test your RAM...

1. Download Memtest86 (free)
2. , use the imageUSB.exe tool extracted from the download to make a bootable USB drive containing Memtest86 (1GB is plenty big enough). Do this on a different PC if you can, because you can't fully trust yours at the moment.
3. Then boot that USB drive on your PC, Memtest86 will start running as soon as it boots.
4. If no errors have been found after the four iterations of the 13 different tests that the free version does, then restart Memtest86 and do another four iterations. Even a single bit error is a failure.

If Memtest86 runs clean (twice) then run the Sysnative data collector app again and upload the new output file.

 

[phlave]

I'm not entirely convinced that activating an XMP profile (which overclocks the RAM) has solved your problems. But what matters is that you seem to be stable.

If it does BSOD again then please run Meemtest86 to thoroughly test your RAM...

1. Download Memtest86 (free)
2. , use the imageUSB.exe tool extracted from the download to make a bootable USB drive containing Memtest86 (1GB is plenty big enough). Do this on a different PC if you can, because you can't fully trust yours at the moment.
3. Then boot that USB drive on your PC, Memtest86 will start running as soon as it boots.
4. If no errors have been found after the four iterations of the 13 different tests that the free version does, then restart Memtest86 and do another four iterations. Even a single bit error is a failure.

If Memtest86 runs clean (twice) then run the Sysnative data collector app again and upload the new output file.

I'll absolutely keep an eye on the situation, that's for sure.
As of now though, my pc has been running perfectly. Actually, even better than before the BIOS update: I tested this fairly quickly playing Stalker 2 and I seem to have earned quite a bit of frames.

I'm clearly not an expert, but when I select the XMP profile with this motherboard, when I go to save and exit, it shows me a really long list of settings that get changed by doing so. I'm guessing that combination of settings is what allows my system to run in a stable matter.
That said, I have some RAM marketed as 6000 MHz which doesn't even get detected right when the XMP profile is turned off.

Just for reference I'll attach another Sysnative data collection app report and the Speccy (http://speccy.piriform.com/results/OGBJDf24intexkWlB3tVjBr) snapshot. I won't claim to understand any of it, but I figured that you it might find it interesting or maybe even useful to compare the two with just the 2 settings in my motherboard changed.

Once again, thank you very much for your time and help.

If anything changes for the worse, I'll be sure to do the memtest and use this thread, unmarking it as solved.

Cheers!

 

[ubuysa]

Your RAM is clocked at 4800MHz, so no XMP profile has been applied. It's true that the RAM is certified to 6000MHz but if you're happy with the existing performance I would leave things alone.

 

[phlave]

Your RAM is clocked at 4800MHz, so no XMP profile has been applied. It's true that the RAM is certified to 6000MHz but if you're happy with the existing performance I would leave things alone.

That is weird. Yeah, I can see in the ram info in the Sysnative zip that it reads as 4800, but everywhere else it's reading as 6000.

I am happy with the performance, but I still find this weird to say the least.

 

[ubuysa]

You're right! And that's curious. I check in the dumps for the definitive speed, and the RAM is running at 6000MHz...

[Memory Device (Type 17) - Length 92 - Handle 001ah]
  Memory Error Info Handle      0019h
  Total Width                   64 bits
  Data Width                    64 bits
  Size                          32767MB
  Form Factor                   09h - DIMM
  Device Set                    [None]
  Device Locator                DIMM 1
  Bank Locator                  P0 CHANNEL B
  Memory Type                   22h - DDR5
  Type Detail                   4080h - Synchronous Unbuffered (Unregistered)
  Speed                         4800MHz
  Manufacturer                  Unknown
  Serial Number                        
  Asset Tag Number              [String Not Specified]
  Part Number                   CMK64GX5M2B6000C40
  Attributes                    2
  Extended Size                 32768
  Configured Memory Speed       6000
  Minimum Voltage               1100
  Maximum Voltage               1100
  Configured Voltage            1100

 

[phlave]

You're right! And that's curious. I check in the dumps for the definitive speed, and the RAM is running at 6000MHz...

[Memory Device (Type 17) - Length 92 - Handle 001ah]
  Memory Error Info Handle      0019h
  Total Width                   64 bits
  Data Width                    64 bits
  Size                          32767MB
  Form Factor                   09h - DIMM
  Device Set                    [None]
  Device Locator                DIMM 1
  Bank Locator                  P0 CHANNEL B
  Memory Type                   22h - DDR5
  Type Detail                   4080h - Synchronous Unbuffered (Unregistered)
  Speed                         4800MHz
  Manufacturer                  Unknown
  Serial Number                       
  Asset Tag Number              [String Not Specified]
  Part Number                   CMK64GX5M2B6000C40
  Attributes                    2
  Extended Size                 32768
  Configured Memory Speed       6000
  Minimum Voltage               1100
  Maximum Voltage               1100
  Configured Voltage            1100

Well, at least I know I'm not crazy!
It is indeed curious. And if my understanding is correct, it's also not very nice of Corsair to sell RAM marketing it for its overclocked speed, in my opinion.
It is clearly stated that the speed is 4800 but "tested up to" 6000, but the filter options are for that parameter at the end of the day, and that's what they market. It's probably industry standard, but I'm not a fan.

VENGEANCE® 64GB (2x32GB) DDR5 DRAM 6000MT/s CL40 Memory Kit — White

Anyways, so far so good. Haven't had a single problem, and I'm very happy about it!

 

[ubuysa]

That's how memory is sold these days. There's nothing underhand about it, 6000MHz RAM is certified stable at 60000MHz, so you'd have a warranty claim if it wasn't stable.