Hardware

Hey guys!

Whenever I play starcraft II, my PC justs suddenly after a random period of time (usually 10min into the game) crashes completly and starts a 'so called' physical dump. (=BSOD)

I've searched hours on google and it's pretty much almost always solved with a simple graphics driver update, well, that just isn't the case with me. My nividia GTX 285 graphics driver is up to date, so that couldn't be the problem - But what is causing this to happen then?

(I'm no techy, but I guess starcraft is intense for the computer which makes something snap - When I browse the web do other things than starcraft, it doesn't crash (I haven't tried other games though)).

Ps: Ik you need me guys to upload some stuff to help you find the problem, please tell me!

Thanks for the help

EDIT: I added a Dxdiag.txt file, I don't know if this is needed for this particular problem, but I know techies have asked me this in the past for other problems so there it is.



This post has been edited by Soulless One: Jun 6 2010, 18:18 PM

First google the code that the bsod screen gives:
Rightclick computer, beheren, logboeken, windows logboeken en controleer systeem en toepassing.

See exception code:


Google the code and it should give you a solution, check the microsoft websites first.

What case and power supply do you have? (if you dont know this, what system do you have brand and model). In case of a custom pc, what memory do you have, in strategy games, settings of the memory are very important otherwise your system will be unstable.

Starcraft II is still in the beta so it might not be your computer which is causing these problems.

Thanks for the help:

The exeption code I get is: 0xc0000005
A google search learned me that this can mean a whole bunch of things (some even involving IE, which I don't even use). So this doesn't really help me that much - Or am I reading this wrong?

Screenshot:



All the information you ask for can be found in the dxdiag-file, no?

Anyway:
------------------
System Information
------------------
Machine name: SIL-PC
Operating System: Windows 7 Ultimate 64-bit (6.1, Build 7600) (7600.win7_gdr.100226-1909)
Language: Dutch (Regional Setting: Dutch)
System Manufacturer: System manufacturer
System Model: System Product Name
BIOS: BIOS Date: 07/06/09 22:13:26 Ver: 04.06
Processor: AMD Phenom™ II X4 810 Processor (4 CPUs), ~2.6GHz
Memory: 4096MB RAM
Available OS Memory: 4096MB RAM
Page File: 1651MB used, 6537MB available
Windows Dir: C:Windows
DirectX Version: DirectX 11
DX Setup Parameters: Not found
User DPI Setting: Using System DPI
System DPI Setting: 96 DPI (100 percent)
DWM DPI Scaling: Disabled
DxDiag Version: 6.01.7600.16385 32bit Unicode

---------------
Display Devices
---------------
Card name: NVIDIA GeForce GTX 285
Manufacturer: NVIDIA
Chip type: GeForce GTX 285
DAC type: Integrated RAMDAC
Device Key: EnumPCIVEN_10DE&DEV_05E3&SUBSYS_82E81043&REV_A1
Display Memory: 2797 MB
Dedicated Memory: 1005 MB
Shared Memory: 1791 MB
Current Mode: 1920 x 1080 (32 bit) (59Hz)




This post has been edited by Soulless One: Jun 7 2010, 12:00 PM

I've already checked the dxdiag file.

You could try this:
1. Click Start , type cmd in the Start Search text box, and then
press ENTER.
2. Type the following command, and then press ENTER:
netsh winsock reset
3. Restart the computer.

So this is a software problem, this would mean that there is nothing wrong with your system.
Don't forget to disable all toolbars in Internet Explorer, these will just use bandwidth and make IE unstable.

You could also look for firefox: http://www.mozilla-europe.org/nl/firefox/
It is the most used browser besides internet explorer.

As I said in my previous post, I don't use IE, never will, and I'm using Firefox while I'm typing this, actually.

Anyway, do you still want me to type in the code into the cmd or not?

Thanks.

EDIT:

More google taught me this:

"The error 0xC0000005 is generated by an illegal "memory access violation". This can be caused by anything from faulty RAM, an incorrect/corrupt device driver, poorly written/updated software and more commonly under Windows XP Service pack 2, malware/adware installations.

Usually you get this error message when performing a specific task, and if that happens you need to check the corresponding 3rd party's website/support department to see if they are aware of the problem"

So in other words, it could be RAM, Graphics (-> More believable as it happens DURING a game, which relies on my graphics card), IE.

Hope this helps in understanding the issue. Thanks again!

This post has been edited by Soulless One: Jun 8 2010, 09:23 AM

Ok, it just happened again while playing Warcraft 3 (which isn't a graphic intensive game I would say)...


This post has been edited by Soulless One: Jun 12 2010, 21:13 PM

Ok, now it even happened while playing a youtube video?

As you said yourself, this BSoD could be caused by a number of things. The fact that this has started spreading beyond SC2 may indicate an underlying hardware issue.

However, before going on a rampage trying to eliminate hardware issues, there is one more thing you can do to help shed some light on this. Follow the instructions below.

• Access Control Panel->System->Advanced system settings
  
• On the Advanced tab click on the "Startup and Recovery" Settings button
  
• Make sure you deselect "Automatically restart" and keep in mind the "Dump file" textbox contents. %SystemRoot% translates to your Windows installation folder, usually C:\Windows.
  
• Whenever the systems halts again note down the complete BSoD text. In addition to that upload the MEMORY.DMP file here (you may have to compress it first, since GR.org won't allow this file extension as an attachment).

This post has been edited by aramonkg: Jun 16 2010, 18:43 PM

Thanks so much for you're help!

I've followed you're guidlines but I still have one question if my system halts again.

How or where can I find the BSoD text IF this happens again?

+

Should I upload the memory.dmp file now?

Thanks again!




This post has been edited by Soulless One: Jun 17 2010, 18:33 PM

IMPORTANT
Something I forgot to mention. I need you to change the type of the memory dump to Small memory dump (256 KB) instead of Kernel memory dump (3rd picture, under Write debugging information). This will take effect whenever the system halts again. The file will be called minidump[+timestamp].dmp instead of MEMORY.DMP


Assuming you have disabled the "Automatically restart" option, the BSoD won't go away unless you use your power/reset button to start your machine. So you will have ample time note down the text there. Actually this step is more of a safeguard, since this information is already contained in the memory dump file.Actually, on second thought, just get me those minidump files. If there is an issue I 'll let you know. This means you don't have to mess with the "Automatically restart" option, leave it as-is.

Well, I 'll need the first small memory dump (minidump), see the IMPORTANT part of this post. With this setting, each time your system crashes a new minidump file will be created, so you may want to keep uploading those, provided we haven't figured anything out by then.

This post has been edited by aramonkg: Jun 17 2010, 19:41 PM

I uploaded the Memory file BEFORE you made that other suggestion, should I still change that and upload again when the crash happens again? (I can force a shut down by playing a game or watching some youtube video's).

I uploaded the file here btw:
http://www.2shared.com/file/FtnfpSZd/MEMORY.html

On another note: I don't always have a BSoD. It seems that whenever I played SC2 it was 90% of the time a BSoD, but now while playing warcraft III and watching youtube video's I'd say only 10% of the crashes show BSoD.

Other crashes simply blacken my screen and show nothing. I have to manually shut down my PC.

I hope this extra information helps. Thanks again!

Yes that is the desirable setting since it will decrease the file size without losing the information that is really essential for debugging purposes.


And here is what I found...

This is what seems to be happening to your system, at least for that crash. Let me state that there is no indication of a specific driver being responsible for the crash. That being said, what really happens is that the operating system (OS), i.e. Windows tries to write on read-only memory owned by the OS itself. This is a fatal error and leads to termination, the BSoD.

The most usual, but not the only, causes of such errors are OS bugs, memory corruption due to faulty memory modules or overheating issues. So, what I suggest you do is the following.

• Make sure your OS is up-to-date, by running Windows Update
• If you have over-clocked your processor or RAM speed, set it back to normal. Make sure there is no overheating issue by monitoring temperatures with a suitable application.
• Assuming you have performed the OS update and eliminated overheating but you are still getting crashes, try testing a memory configuration in which modules are successively removed. For example, if you have 2x2GB memory DIMMs, remove 1 and get the system running. If it crashes repeat with the other module till you eliminate them all.
• In addition, I want you to give me the exact make and model of your motherboard and your power supply wattage, since I can't figure those out from either the DxDiag log or the dump file.
• Last but not least, whenever the system crashes upload the corresponding dump file, since comparative analysis of those files may prove invaluable.

This could be a symptom of overheating or insufficient power output from your power supply. But I can't be sure.

Seeing this is a OS-issue, wouldn't it be better to re-install the OS alltogether?

If not, then I would gladly persue your guidelines. Thanks again, man!

Well, it manifests itself as such, but it doesn't mean that the root of the error is the same. Not many things in the dump file and the research I performed later on the "signature" of the crash strongly imply that the OS, i.e. the software, is at an unstable state.

As for your idea, well, if you can afford the time investment and hassle of the process, sure you could try that. However, keep in mind that if this is a hardware issue, the integrity of the new installation itself cannot be guaranteed.

Ok, then I'll re-install the windows OS. (I can get a 'new' version from my university, so that won't be a problem).

If the problem persists, then I'll let you know. I'm in the midsts of my exams. My last exam is on the 30th of june. I'll be re-installing the OS then, as I don't have much time at the moment.

Thanks again for your guidance, you've been really helpful!

Hi everyone. i have just bought the game today and i have a simular problem like this bsod. 2 months ago i had the same problem playing warcraft 3`s dota. than i google and found that it could be caused of my Memory. i have 2x1024 DDR3. than i chacked them bouth and it found an error. separately they were ok. than i chacked them bouth again and it didnt find any error. after that the bsod for warcraft 3 was fixed... now its the same with SC2 but the dumping memory error wasnt fixed. could it be from my graphic card Nvidia 9800Gt or the cause of the memory?

here is the crash txt file. i did the steps shown above.
http://rapidshare.com/files/414910735/2010...16291_Crash.txt

Thanks alot!

make a new topic.

http://www.maximumpc.com/article/features/...error_explained

Try that link.