Blue screen loop

[NoobsWeStand]

A friend of mine just built a computer, and is experiencing constant blue screens

He installed windows 8.1, but it blue screened every 20 minutes or so. I just tried installing windows 7 to see if that would fix it, but it is still doing odd things

 

The blue screen said something like this: dpc watchdog violation(8.1)

We formatted the hard drive before installing windows 7

 

I tried flopping the ram around to make sure it wasn't that.(it could still be the ram, but I thought it might be highly unlikely that both sticks were defective)

We tried doing the windows ram test thing, and no errors were found

We also checked the disk drive for errors, but there was none

 

I am trying to reinstall windows 7 right now to see if it was just a freak accident

 

 

Here is the full spec list:

cpu: i5 4690k

mobo: msi z97 g45

ram: pny (http://www.amazon.com/PNY-1600MHz-PC3-12800-Desktop-MD16384KD3-1600-X9/dp/B00D1IUEHW)

psu: evga 500 non-modular (http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817438012)

gpu: evga gtx 960

 

any help would be appreciated

 

 

 

edit: We re-seated everything, and took out the graphics card. Windows 7 successfully installed, and we are now installing the motherboard drivers. I will continue to update on progress

I do not think it is a problem with the graphics card, because it worked in his old system

[Stuff_]

Sounds like a driver issue.

 

Try to update all the drivers. Maybe windows installed an older one, and it's having issues.

[JefferyD90]

A friend of mine just built a computer, and is experiencing constant blue screens
He installed windows 8.1, but it blue screened every 20 minutes or so. I just tried installing windows 7 to see if that would fix it, but it is still doing odd things

The blue screen said something like this: dpc watchdog violation(8.1)
We formatted the hard drive before installing windows 7

I tried flopping the ram around to make sure it wasn't that.(it could still be the ram, but I thought it might be highly unlikely that both sticks were defective)
We tried doing the windows ram test thing, and no errors were found
We also checked the disk drive for errors, but there was none

I am trying to reinstall windows 7 right now to see if it was just a freak accident


Here is the full spec list:
cpu: i5 4690k
mobo: msi z97 g45
ram: pny (http://www.amazon.com/PNY-1600MHz-PC3-12800-Desktop-MD16384KD3-1600-X9/dp/B00D1IUEHW)
psu: evga 500 non-modular (http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817438012)
gpu: evga gtx 960

any help would be appreciated



edit: We re-seated everything, and took out the graphics card. Windows 7 successfully installed, and we are now installing the motherboard drivers. I will continue to update on progress
I do not think it is a problem with the graphics card, because it worked in his old system

 

The RAM isn't compatible with the motherboard.

 

http://www.msi.com/support/mb/Z97-G45-GAMING.html#support-mem

 

You could go into the UEFI and manually set the timings, speed, and voltage and it will probably work.

[JefferyD90]

Also, please make sure you're installing Windows correctly.  Follow this guide if you're unsure.

 

http://linustechtips.com/main/topic/324871-guide-how-to-install-windows-the-right-way/

[NoobsWeStand]

The RAM isn't compatible with the motherboard.

 

http://www.msi.com/support/mb/Z97-G45-GAMING.html#support-mem

 

You could go into the UEFI and manually set the timings, speed, and voltage and it will probably work.

I am not sure what timings, speeds, and voltages to set the ram to

also, that website does not have the gtx 960 under "vga support"

 

Otherwise, he could return the ram

 

Also, please make sure you're installing Windows correctly.  Follow this guide if you're unsure.

 

http://linustechtips.com/main/topic/324871-guide-how-to-install-windows-the-right-way/

Nice tutorial!

 

I got windows 7 installed, but it has been doing weird things(dx not able to install, explorer.exe constantly crashing, chrome not working...)

[JefferyD90]

I'll be willing to bet its either faulty memory or fault storage.

I am not sure what timings, speeds, and voltages to set the ram to

also, that website does not have the gtx 960 under "vga support"

 

Otherwise, he could return the ram

 

Nice tutorial!

 

I got windows 7 installed, but it has been doing weird things(dx not able to install, explorer.exe constantly crashing, chrome not working...)

[NoobsWeStand]

I'll be willing to bet its either faulty memory or fault storage.

I think it is the ram. The hard drive worked in his older system--unless it got messed up(it is a seagate, so you never know   )

[JefferyD90]

I'd start by setting the timings, voltage and speed of the RAM manually, then doing a memory test. If that works then do a disk check for the storage. One of the two is bad. If both check out, then you're doing something wrong in the install process.

I think it is the ram. The hard drive worked in his older system--unless it got messed up(it is a seagate, so you never know   )

[NoobsWeStand]

I'd start by setting the timings, voltage and speed of the RAM manually, then doing a memory test. If that works then do a disk check for the storage. One of the two is bad. If both check out, then you're doing something wrong in the install process.

It was the ram. He just got a compatible kit, and now it works perfectly

Thank you for pointing out the weird incompatibilities between motherboards and ram

[JefferyD90]

It was the ram. He just got a compatible kit, and now it works perfectly

Thank you for pointing out the weird incompatibilities between motherboards and ram

Im willing to bet money that if you went in and manually set the timings, voltages, and speed of the RAM it would have worked perfectly.  This is really the difference between a more expensive ASUS board and a low end Biostar board, the number of compatiable RAM modules that they work with without tinkering.