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Windows 10 BSOD
Hello Everyone,
I've recently encountered recurrent blue screen errors on my Windows 10 system. This is my first time posting on any forum and have been lurking here for a while, and despite my efforts to troubleshoot, including analyzing memory dumps with WinDbg, I haven't been able to pinpoint the root cause, so i will try to be as descriptive as possible.
I don't specifically remember when I started to have these recurrent BSOD, but I thought it was caused by some malware or virus. I didnt do much about it and started not to mind it, partly because dealing with potential virus removal or cleaning my laptop seemed like a hassle. And the frequency of those BSODs wasn't that high, making them a them more of a minor inconvenience than a pressing concern. As time went on the frequency increased and started to outright prevent me from doing any work. So out of sheer frustration, I reset my PC, with the keep my files removing all the programs but not the files. Upon restarting, I download the programs that I use often, those being chrome and brave. Some how RiotClient survived the reset and i was able to download Valorant using that without giving it much thought.
Despite the reset, the BSODs continued. In trying to sort out my system glitches, I figured it might be a driver issue. So, I went ahead and ran SFC /scannow, checked for Windows updates, but no luck—everything seemed normal. I also tried analyzing memory dumps with WinDbg, which pointed me towards ntkrnlmp.exe and amdkmdag.sys. Believing my graphic drivers to be the cause of my problem, I ran DDU in safe mode during which I faced multiple BSODs, but after few tries I was successful in removing it. After which I installed AMD Adrenalin version graphics driver. I also turned off fast startup to prevent further corruption of my drivers, but do my surprise my boot up time increased substantially like upwards of 2 minutes, which previously was only 30 seconds. Yet the BSOD never stopped, upon visiting the lenovo support, I figured I was running a different graphic driver as opposed to the one recommended by Lenovo, which led me to then remove my graphics driver using DDU in safe mode and then reinstalling the ones provided by the manufacturer. After which my boot up time has gone back to what it previously was, even with fast startup turned off.
Despite all this, I am still getting BSODs. The frequency of which has gone down substantially, 1 every hour or so, or 2 consecutive every 2 hours. I havent yet gotten a BSOD for the past 2 hours while I am writing this.
BSOD
These are the BSODs that I usually encounter:
- KERNEL SECURITY CHECK FAILURE
- DRIVER OVERRAN STACK BUFFER
- IRQL NOT LESS OR EQUAL
- ATTEMPTED EXECUTE OF NOEXECUTE MEMORY
- UNEXPECTED KERNEL MODE TRAP
- PAGE FAULT IN NONPAGED AREA
Troubleshooting and Patterns
SFC /scannow comes clean and my windows is upto date. I should have ran Driver Verifier for the minidump which would help pinpointing the faulty driver, but I am hesitant to do so, as my previous attempt at resetting it or disabling it was not working, it eventually did but it scared me enough to not try it again. Windows also seems to crash and restart without the BSOD. BSOD occurs most of the time when watching a youtube video, idling, while playing valorant or on startup. It also occurs more often when it is plugged in as opposed to running on battery.
Event Viewer
While going through Event Viewer, I got the following warnings leading upto most of the BSODs:
1.The driver \Driver\WudfRd failed to load for the device ACPI\AMDI0080\1.
2.The driver \Driver\WudfRd failed to load for the device ROOT\SYSTEM\0002.
3.The driver \Driver\WudfRd failed to load for the device ROOT\SYSTEM\0001.
3.The driver \Driver\WudfRd failed to load for the device SWD\DRIVERENUM{1d7f5858-08a3-446f-830a-766a146ebf3a}#Micron_MTFDHBA512QFD_Think_component&6&66f7d86&0.
4.The driver \Driver\WudfRd failed to load for the device USB\VID_27C6&PID_55B4\6&2858997c&0&3.
Here's the link to minidump files: https://www.dropbox.com/scl/fo/ajt92ls4in2bu6c14ftt3/h?rlkey=a07aytx7sucfb83xxc282d0v5&dl=0
I'm seeking guidance on any additional steps to identify and resolve the root cause of the crashes. Your insights or recommendations would be greatly appreciated. I understand that BSODs can result from both software and hardware issues. I want to ensure my software is in good shape before considering hardware assistance, so any advice on identifying and resolving software-related causes would be invaluable.
System Info: Lenovo IDEAPAD Flex 5
Windows for home | Windows 10 | Performance and system failures
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15 answers
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Anonymous
2023-11-24T09:16:37+00:00 Hello again Dave,
Just saw your reply as I was going through the dump file, vgk.sys seems to be the issue. My BIOS is up to date. Will be uninstalling Vanguard and get back to you if I face any other issue.
Thank you so much.
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DaveM121 868K Reputation points Independent Advisor2023-11-24T08:57:15+00:00 Driver Verifier indicates it is a virtual driver associated to the Vanguard anti-cheat game engine that is causing the system to crash, that is known to cause BSOD's.
Go to the support page for your PC to ensure your BIOS is fully up to date, then re-install that Vanguard anti-cheat software.
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Anonymous
2023-11-24T08:47:11+00:00 Hey Dave,
Thank you for the quick reply. I was honestly wondering if I could ping you while writing my initial post, cause I have seen you debug dump files and pinpoint the issue with such ease that I wanted your help in this. It feels like a stroke of luck that our paths crossed.
Coming to the issue in hand, while setting up the Driver Verifier I was welcomed by another BSOD. I eventually setup the driver verifier. Despite the instruction in the link you provided which suggested to only test 3rd party, I tested all the drivers as suggested by you in another post. I let the Driver Verifier run for 3-4 times after which tried to load Advanced Repair Options and then disabled it using command prompt in safe mode. Just before the reboot to apply the changes, my system froze and crashed-without the BSOD.
Despite letting it BSOD many time l only got a single dump file, which I thought was weird, or is this what is supposed to happen?
Here's the link to minidump: https://www.dropbox.com/scl/fo/g3af43ojayhkcx9zy90xm/h?rlkey=stmwpntslkppefiwl6ua7szo4&dl=0
The one ending with 14906-01 is the one before I ran the Driver Verifier and the one ending with 4437-01 is the one I got after running the verifier.
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DaveM121 868K Reputation points Independent Advisor2023-11-24T07:38:28+00:00 Hi, I am Dave, I will help you with this.
Your minidump files just indicate generic memory (RAM) corruption no specific driver is listed
I understand you are hesitant to run Verifier, but to try to force Windows 10 show any faulting drivers, the best option would be to turn on Driver Verifier, let your PC crash 3 times, then you must turn off Driver Verifier, and finally, upload any newly created minidump files
Before you run Driver Verifier, please create a new System Restore Point
https://answers.microsoft.com/en-us/windows/for...
Note, if you have any difficulty getting into Windows with Driver Verifier enabled:
Start your PC, just as Windows attempts to load (spinning dots), press and hold Power Button for 5 - 10 seconds to perform a Hard Shut Down
Do this twice
On the third start Windows will boot into the Recovery Environment and from there you can access System Repair, Safe Mode, Command Prompt... etc.
Go to Troubleshoot - Advanced Option - Startup Settings and click Restart
Upon restart, press 4 to enter Safe Mode
Open Command Prompt as Administrator and run these two commands, then restart your PC.
verifier /reset
verifier /bootmode resetonbootfail