Windows 10: Various applications crashing, mostly from error 0xc0000005

Hi!

Various applications are crashing at seemingly random times. The most common culprits are video games (in my case, GTAV and JustCause2), but various windows executables also crash.

The most common exception code which caused the crash is 0xc0000005. Other codes pop up from time to time as well, such as 0xc000000d, 0xc0000409, 0xc0000374, or 0x80000003.

The time between crashes varies wildly. Sometimes a game will crash 3 times on start up. Other times it will work for 4 hours straight. Sometimes the computer is working solidly, other times critical applications hang, forcing a restart with no log of the event. Some games never experience a crash, while others love to do so. For example, XCOM hasn't crashed once in the 30 hours I've played it, while JustCause2 crashed about ~10 times in 5 hours of gameplay.

I've attached all the application error events that have occurred since I switched over to Windows 10. (I switched over on Aug 9 in an unsuccessful attempt to fix this issue, so all the logs before then are currently hidden away in a backup. But don't worry, all the logs before then are more of the same.)

I would appreciate any help to diagnose the cause!

:)

 

Application Error: explorer.exe (exception error: 0xc0000005)

Application Error: explorer.exe (exception error: 0xc0000005

 

0xc0000005 game crashes

Recently I have been getting a lot of crashes in various titles with the exact same exception code causing the crashes every time, and I have no idea how to fix them. An example of the crash log is below. Any help would be most appreciated.

Faulting application name: hitman.exe, version: 1.8.0.0, time stamp: 0x586ca90d

Faulting module name: hitman.exe, version: 1.8.0.0, time stamp: 0x586ca90d

Exception code: 0xc0000005

Fault offset: 0x00000000044ed6e0

Faulting process id: 0x2894

Faulting application start time: 0x01d27987c49e2fdb

Faulting application path: D:\Steam\steamapps\common\Hitman™\retail\hitman.exe

Faulting module path: D:\Steam\steamapps\common\Hitman™\retail\hitman.exe

Report Id: b6a9c21f-0625-4a3e-89f2-0e652a51009c

Faulting package full name:

Faulting package-relative application ID:

 

Update: Still haven't fixed the issue. Since my last post, 3 applications crashed due to c0000005.

I've tried the following so far to fix it:
1) Disabled ALL overclocking. (Went to mobo settings and loaded optimized defaults. Disabled the XMP for my RAM.)
2) Disabled Avast antivirus. Now using Windows Defender for the time being.
3) Updated all my mobo drivers. (Went to mobo manufaturer's website and downloaded the proper drivers, then installed them. For some reason Intel Driver Update Utility was not giving me the correct drivers.)

After the above steps, I've tried the following to diagnose the issue:
1) Ran MemTest86 6.0 for 4 passes, all tests + use all cores in parallel. No errors found.
2) Ran AIDA64 stress test for a short time (~15 minutes). Finished successfully, no errors.

I'm continuing to research the problem. I could still use some help for steps to take that might fix or find the issue.

 

I don't have all of the games you mention but I wonder if there's a common thread. Like do the games that crash use the same version of DirectX?

Also it would be helpful if you could list all of your hardware components and specs.

What does dxdiag say?

 

Just Cause 2 recommends DirectX 10.1, so I assume that is the version it is using.

For GTAV, I actually tried several different versions: 10, 10.1, and 11. It crashed regardless of which setting I used. It even crashed when using Safe Mode, which is 640x480, windowed, lowest graphical settings.

Updated system specs in my profile, and attached DxDiag info.

Thanks!

Edit: I should probably reiterate that it's not only games that are crashing. They are just the most obvious cases. Background applications also like to crash, although in many cases those go unnoticed. Wacom_Tablet.exe and OHub.exe (Microsoft office hub) both seems to enjoy crashing as well, but I don't actively use either of those so they go unnoticed. The only other obvious crash is when Explorer hangs or crashes, which occasionally requires a restart.

 

KScorp, did you ever find any solution to this? I've been having the same problem for a while now. I too have the issue mostly when gaming (GTA5, BF4) I should try other games too. The crashing is pretty random as well. I thought I had it fixed today because I played GTA and BF4 for about 3 hours total with no crash. Then it suddenly crashed while I was in GTA5.

Things I have tried:

• Run Memtest86, for over 24 hours. (Did this twice, no errors)
• Microsoft Memory Diagnostic (No erros)
• Tested all HDD's for bad sectors (all were good)
• Uninstalled/reinstalled Nvidia drivers with DDU (still crashes)
• Uninstalled Nvidia drivers again and moved GPU, a GTX 680, to different PCIe slot (still crashes)
• Ran OCCT PSU test for 3 hours (nothing crashed)
• Ran Driver Verifier to ensure driver integrity (ran for 16+ hours, no BSOD from misbehaving driver)

Things to try still:

• Flash BIOS to updated version
• Reinstall Windows 10 (this was happening with Windows 7 before fresh install/update to Win 10 so I don't think that was the issue)
• Any other suggestions
• Smash with hammer

 

No, I haven't. I gave up a while ago, since I moved on to other games that don't experience the crashes.

I'm surprised that the crashes still happen for you after you moved to a different GPU, since all signs on my end were pointing to a GPU/display driver issue.

Do you happen to use a program called F.lux? It's the only application I haven't tested that messes with my display.

 

I didn't get a new GPU, I just moved the same GPU to a different PCIe slot. And actually, I do use F.lux. I've been gaming today after moving to the new PCIe slot and I haven't had any crashes. I've been going for quite a few hours now. I used to not be able to make it more than 1 hour without a crash. I'm not entirely sure what to think about it. I may try to RMA the board, and my GPU is out of warranty. In a "worse case scenario", I'll look into buying a new GPU after Christmas.

 

That's very interesting. It sound like the MoBo is the issue. Have you considered that moving the card may have changed the airflow and the problem has been heat related? I've seen that kind of game crash to desktop when the CPU or GPU overheats.

Can you measure temperatures while playing?

 

I did monitor CPU and GPU temp while gaming. I have a liquid cooled CPU and it never reached over 51C. The GPU reached a maximum of 68C, so I don't believe overheating is the issue.