Windows 10: BSOD Freeze/Crash issue

Hi guys,

A couple of days ago, I started having issues with certain games. I was running Windows 8.1 at the time, and otherwise it was very stable, but Mass Effect 3, the first to have a problem, started crashing on launch. It was a random thing to begin with, then it happened more and more. I looked for issues but could find none. I updated to the 16.3 Radeon driver by uninstalling the 16.2 driver and using DDU, just in case. It didn't help. A day later, GTA V started doing the same thing as Mass Effect 3 - crashing on launch. These crashes drove me crazy because they were in full screen and I couldn't get back to the deskop, and no key combination would help (and yeah, task manager was set to remain on the top).

Unable to find an issue, I decided to update Windows, then said what the hell, and went and updated to Windows 10 while I was doing so. I also updated my bios to the latest version (stability improvements being the only thing listed in it). The issues disappeared as soon as I booted into Windows 10 for the first time - Mass Effect 3 and GTA V both launched properly and I had no issues while playing.

All until about an hour ago, when GTA V froze and crashed again, and I could not get to the desktop or task manager. Windows gave me a BSOD with a machine exception or some such error. It said it was collecting information, but was stuck on 0%. I had to force a reboot, whereby I came across this sub-forum and saw the tools you guys provide that might guide someone in helping me track down this irritating problem. I ran Memtest through all the tests and had no issues with the ram. I also ran sfc scannow and chkdsk and neither reported any issues.

My system is self-built and contains -

i5 4690K
16GB 1333MHz Kingston
MSI Radeon R9 390X
Asus Z97-P
Crucial BX100 250GB SSD

Any help would be greatly appreciated, this problem is driving me spare!

:)

 

Constant Crashes

Well, it was 5 days this time, but BSOD again and this time it was 5 minutes after a freeze and black screen crash.

 

Crashed? BSOD?

Crashed? BSOD? GSOD? Freeze? Restart?

 

No dumps in the zip file you uploaded. Hard to figure out what is happening without a dump. Sounds like it's only the games themselves that are crashing, not Windows 10, correct?

The first thing I noticed was a program called Cheat Engine. I thought it might be some kind of hacking program which we would not support but it looks legit. I see there is a 6.5 version available, you have 6.4. Try updating it?

Also try doing a Clean Boot, see if the problem still occurs. If not then something is starting at boot that is causing it so follow the directions in the tutorial to determine the cause>

How to Perform a Clean Boot in Windows 10 to Troubleshoot Software Conflicts

Since the problem just started happening on Windows 10, were any updates applied just before the problem started? If so, try uninstalling those updates and see what happens.

 

Hi Ztruker, thanks for replying.

The games were freezing and crashing in Windows 8.1, and I could not get to the desktop because of them. In Windows 10, I got my first BSOD after loading up GTA V and taking ten steps, so in this latest case Windows itself is also crashing. Nothing is being reported in Event Viewer other than the pc is not shutting down as it should (after I force a reboot).

Cheat Engine is just a program for altering values in games, which I usually occasionally use for certain indie games. It's not running all the time and to be honest it's very rare when it is. I haven't used it in months and probably won't for another few months again.

No updates were applied just before the crash. I'll try a clean boot and see what happens.

 

So you are not getting any dumps in C:\Windows\minidump?

 

Also, I noticed you are very down level as far as Windows 10 is concerned. You are at 10240, while the current release is 10586.164. Please apply all updates and see if that helps.

Edit: One more thing, if you are over clocking anything, please set it back to default for now until this problem is resolved.

 

Just tried a clean boot, started up GTA V and drove around for a bit. It seemed to be okay, but then it happened again - the game froze, the audio still spitting out whatever it got stuck on, and BSOD appeared with a MACHINE_CHECK_EXCEPTION. It says it's collecting some error info but it remains at 0% complete and won't go any further, just like the last time :/

There are minidumps in Windows.old but there is no minidump folder in the Windows 10 folder. I'll try updating when I reboot though I'm confused as to why I'd be far behind as afaik Windows 10 updates itself whether you want it to or not.

Edit - Apparently Windows defers large upgrades for about a month to give people a chance to downgrade back to their previous version they were using before upgrading to 10. I downloaded the latest iso from Microsoft and upgraded - I'm now on 10586.164 and all the latest updates are applied.

Again I ran GTA V and I didn't even get to gameplay, I clicked on Story Mode, it loaded for a bit, brief glimpse of a BSOD and the machine reset itself. Again nothing in Event Viewer other than the "Windows has shut down unexpectedly" bit. Hrm. Tempted to format and start again.

Edit - Looking these issues up elsewhere, someone said it had to do with the Fast Boot option on Asus motherboards, so I disabled that. After booting into Windows I ran GTA V in safe mode, then reverted to my original settings but used borderless windowed mode instead of full screen. Drove around for a bit, crashed again, screen went red then saw green vertical stripes. Uh oh...

Event Viewer shows Windows Error Reporting DMRCDeviceMetadataPackageFailure. I dunno if this has anything to do with it.

 

It's not even restarting properly now, just endlessly says it is. I'm going to go ahead and format the drive and start again with a fresh install of Windows 10.

 

What a pain. I like your attitude though *Smile

Let me know how you make out please.

 

Sorry for not getting back to you in so long, but finally my system is running stably with no more crashes. The culprit? Apparently the motherboard, as since Amazon sent me a new one all the problems have just disappeared. Thank God for Amazon and their return policies, as I was just to within about an inch of the year-long guarantee.

Thanks for all your help in the meantime *Smile

 

Great, glad you have it working again.