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Lately I have been experiencing a weird issue. My PC will hang for a second and then BSOD - it stays there, so I have to reboot. Once Windows starts again and I'm logged in, after 1-10min it freezes again, this time without BSOD.

RECAP:

  • 1 second freeze
  • BSOD, hangs there
  • I have to force-reboot
  • Once PC rebooted, I log back into Windows
  • second freeze between a 1-10min range, no BSOD

  • (alternatively, I get a freeze with a constant sound/noise, no BSOD)

I contacted my PC provider, who told me my graphics-card might be flawed (Quadro 4000), so I used a Quadro 2000 that they lend me. The issue still occurred.

The issue now seemed to belong to a flawed RAM module. Following my provider's steps, I removed all but the first from the left column and kept using my PC for a week or so without any issues. I then added the bottom-right module, and so on, until all modules were back inside - I had no problems. Now it seemed that a simple take-out-put-back-in of the RAM modules had fixed the issue. However, after a few months, the issue was back.

I redid all the RAM-swapping I had done before, and concluded that the lower-right module was flawed. My provider changed it for another, and everything was great until now. My PC froze again for barely a second, hanged on a BSOD, I rebooted it, logged-in to Windows to get a freeze (without BSOD or reboot) 40 seconds later.

Something worth noting, is that every time I reboot after the BSOD, it is something within Chrome that freezes my PC (e.g. this time I clicked the "restore" button as Chrome mentioned it had exited unexpectedly - from the previous freeze obviously - and it instantly froze). Finally, the Event Viewer lists 2 critical events in the past hour as "ID: 41, Type: Kernel-Power".

I would like to thank anybody in advance for your help. You're great.

UPDATE 1: I realized that I did not mention an awkward fact about this issue. After I have gotten the 1-sec freeze followed by a BSOD, after I rebooted because the BSOD hanged, and after I logged back in to get another (this time, eternal) freeze and rebooted once again, the PC does not boot back up. The power-light is on, but my monitor says "no signal", as if the PC wouldn't really be turned on. This truly seems a like a power-related issue, doesn't it?

UPDATE 2: I just got a freeze, but without BSOD. My screen froze (while on Chrome, which is starting to seem suspicious to me) with an ongoing sound/noise. I had to force-reboot my PC. I would say this is a graphics-card issue, but this issue also happened when I was using the Quadro 2000 from my provider.

UPDATE 3: I just got a BSOD while trying to render something (quite heavy, actually) in 3ds Max 2012. I left the BSOD "running", as it said it was writing dump files to disk. However, the percentage number stayed at 0, so after 15 minutes I force-rebooted. I then used the software WhoCrashed (thank you Dave) which reported the following from the C:\Windows\Memory.dmp file:

On Thu 22.11.2012 22:13:45 GMT your computer crashed
crash dump file: C:\Windows\memory.dmp
uptime: 01:05:27
This was probably caused by the following module: Unknown () 
Bugcheck code: 0x124 (0x0, 0xFFFFFA80275AC028, 0xF200001F, 0x100B2)
Error: WHEA_UNCORRECTABLE_ERROR
Bug check description: This bug check indicates that a fatal hardware error has     occurred. This bug check uses the error data that is provided by the Windows Hardware Error     Architecture (WHEA). 
This is likely to be caused by a hardware problem problem. This problem might be caused     by a thermal issue. 
A third party driver was identified as the probable root cause of this system error. It     is suggested you look for an update for the following driver: Unknown . 
Google query: Unknown WHEA_UNCORRECTABLE_ERROR

UPDATE 4: It seems very obvious to me now, that the system crashes when I put it under stress. I tried rendering a heavy 3ds Max scene to get a BSOD after 2-3 minutes.

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    Still sounds like a RAM issue to me. You should run memtest overnight (might not even take that long), it's an easy test to run. Possibly unrelated, but you can try updating your BIOS, I noticed you're at revision 1.00. My X79 is constantly getting bios updates, I'd assume that board has had at least one since it was released. Nov 22, 2012 at 16:08
  • @DaveRook Hey, thank you. I just got that product, and will make sure to analyse my latest dump files with it. I'll see what it says.
    – cr0z3r
    Nov 22, 2012 at 21:39
  • @Kyle I just burned Memtest to a CD and plan to run it overnight. I just checked my motherboard's site, and the current BIOS is Revision 1.0b. Do you think this will make a difference? I ask because I know that altering your BIOS can have bad consequences.
    – cr0z3r
    Nov 22, 2012 at 21:41
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    @cr0z3r I would definitely update... worst case scenario you clear your CMOS and revert back, it takes less time than upgrading. However I really wouldn't worry about it, the chance of it breaking something is very small, there is a better chance of it fixing the problem... In fact on the asus website (my vendor) it updating bios is #1 on the list of troubleshooting for random freezes. support.asus.com/Troubleshooting/… Nov 23, 2012 at 3:10
  • @cr0z3r Is your PC overclocked? And does the BSOD not give you a file path?
    – Dave
    Nov 23, 2012 at 8:22

1 Answer 1

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My suggestion is to get who's crashed (Google it) and then see what that reports.

Based upon your update, you need to log on and view Event Manager; Windows Logs; System. Look for both errors and warnings but hopefully it will let you know which component is failing.

My guess is CPU (this can happen if you're over clocking which if you are, I suggest you stop).

Sometimes it can also be due to a RAID configuration so ensure your RAID is up to date (if using).

Either way, this error of 0x124 typically is some type of hard ware - if you can't get onto your machine, then remove all hardware where possible (eg no DVD/CD, 1 hard drive, 1 CPU, 1 ram chip only). Getting to the event log is your best bet at working out what went wrong.

You can see more details about your error here (and WHEA error in general).

enter image description here

Source and more details about WHEA errors

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  • Dave, thank you! 1. I am checking the Event Viewer, but where exactly should I look for the failing component? 2. As far as I know my CPU is not overclocked. However, because I've purchase this system from an external company, can I check whether it's overclocked or not? 3. I'm using a RAID system (Intel® RSTe). With update, do you mean update this driver, or let it update/check my RAID itself? It repairs and verifies my RAID automatically every now and then. 4. Thanks for the image. I plan on running memtest86+ with only 2 sticks of RAM, and so on, to discard RAM issues.
    – cr0z3r
    Nov 23, 2012 at 12:40
  • My post shows where in event viewer to look. In your BIOS you should be able to see if it is overclocked there. Ensure all aspects of your RAID are up to date.
    – Dave
    Nov 23, 2012 at 12:43
  • I am there, Event Viewer > Windows Logs > System, but I see a bunch of Critical, Error, Warning and Information type-of items. Please view this: screenr.com/z7U7 - there, you see I find an Error of source WHEA-Logger that says "Component: Memory".
    – cr0z3r
    Nov 23, 2012 at 12:55
  • So it is RAM issue or the motherboard slots for RAM ... Try just 1 stick for a day and see how it goes, if bad swap the stick.
    – Dave
    Nov 24, 2012 at 22:17

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