BSOD issues Nitro 5 AN515-54

We could look at running some tests to see if we find something that could be causing it, some of which you may have done already maybe buy I'd like you to run them again, for good measure.

First thing I'd like to know is the full model number of your Nitro, we know the series for now, an AN515-54, but we don't really know what processor is in there for example, the letters and/or numbers that follow that would tell us the sub-model. For example, I have an A515-54G-70Y9, that last part is enough to know what my laptop had out of the box.

Now, I'd like to know details on those RAM sticks you have, because you said you added 8 GB to the other 8 you already have and I just want to double check that they're actually compatible, or mostly compatible at some level. Sometimes getting mixes like those can cause problems, which is why I always tend to upgrade using matched pairs and end up selling the one I had before.

It may be nothing, they may be perfectly compatible, but it doesn't hurt knowing more stuff about them. Download Thaiphoon Burner (the free version suffices and you can disregard the warning you'll get whenever you start the program, it's just telling you can't hack the memory so to speak) and post a screenshot of the data it reads of each of the sticks:



Next, I'd like you to check that your Windows installation is "healthy", not my term, but the next command runs some sanity checks. Open an administrative command prompt or PowerShell (if you right click the Start Menu it's in that list) and run the following command (highlighted in yellow):



That's the output I'd like to see, no problem at all. Because you'd be running it in an SSD the second command will complete rather quickly, but otherwise it could take a while, it's normal.

We'll then proceed from there and see what's up

Aha! While I can't tell you what that thicker pink paste is, it's just another thermal interface between the memory chips (if I were to hazard a guess) and the cooling solution. It is thicker probably because the distance between the two was longer, that's why some employ pads, but the paste should perform much better.

Full disclosure, I have yet to try those pads that have some graphite in them, but generally speaking thermal compounds in paste form are easily better at conducting heat. Hell, I bet even if you went overboard with the same paste you used for the dies in those parts it would work as well.

And I'm glad the RAM sticks were compatible after all! You had all of the chances since they were bought in the same shop on the same day, they probably come from the same batch so same pieces. But yes, finding companions for RAM chips can be tricky.

Now that's puzzling, because the Crucial stick is on its own, so it doesn't have to play nice with anybody else and it certainly matches the specs the processor wants (it's a DDR4-2666 module), plus it's nowhere near the theoretical limit of that memory controller.

Could it be that the stick is malfunctioning? Or somehow incompatible with those systems?

Is it possible to run a memory test program for some hours while you sleep? I'll give you instructions on how to make a bootable USB with one such program if it is, we could see if it shows anything odd.

The BSODs, can you make out what are they showing? How big are the minidumps (at C:\Windows\minidump, may be hidden) Maybe you could upload them (compressed) so I can take a look. There used to be a nice service to analyze them online, but it's been shutdown. We're now limited to WhoCrashed and a couple other programs.

Oh Crucial system check... how I dislike that utility haha, or rather we have a love-hate relationship.

Don't get me wrong, it may work fine many times, but I've found it unreliable. In my case for example it tells me to "upgrade" to an SSD that is slower than what I'm currently running, but it's Crucial branded of course. And wrongly tells me that I have 4 GBs of memory soldered to the motherboard when there's no such thing... but the terms we agree to before using the app already state that it can be wrong and insecure (and they wash their hands responsibility-wise, don't even state which data they collect, everything is too hush hush for my taste, doesn't even comply with GDPR for European countries).

If it were brand agnostic for example, something developed by a 3rd party that not only suggested things from a brand but gave various options (and was more accurate) I could get behind it, but in its current state I'd just stay out of it. But I see things from my perspective, I understand all of the things that one has to take into account are too much for the average Joe so I see the appeal and usefulness of that app too.

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Anyway, I'm a night owl too haha although I keep trying not to, but it's like I'm wired up this way, nights are much more calm and peaceful. Maybe I should just relocate, move to a place where my usual bed time is the regular one over there

I suggested overnight because those kinds of apps are run without OS or anything, barebones, so the computer can't be used while it's doing the testing. But it could be anytime you don't need to use the computer, it's just that it takes a couple of hours because runs several patterns through the whole memory and reads them back to see if there's a "mistake". If I remember correctly I think you could specify the number of cycles you want it to run, or it was endless, but the testing can be stopped at any time. I'll get you some details tomorrow on how to do it with screenshots and the like, maybe it isn't needed this time but if you ever suspect a RAM chip could be failing, that'd be a way to know.

Size for the USB would be minimal, hell I think old versions even fit in floppy disks so while there are several versions of it (and I think Windows comes with one too, I'll look into that first because there may not be a need for anything), even an old 64 MB USB stick would do.

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For the minidumps yep, it would have to be from the system that is failing, preferably hers because it is the one that only has the Crucial stick and nothing else. They vary in size, if they are too big maybe we have to abandon the idea, but I'll tell you how to look for anything useful over there if it's even possible.

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That downbin... complicated to know without working in the industry, but I can give you an educated? guess. My take on it is that there were imperfections in the memory chips that make up that RAM stick during manufacturing (as in, they were intended to be used in a stick that was rated for higher clock speeds for example, like 3200 MHz) so instead of discarding them, they're set to be run at a lower speed in which they run well and per spec.

Defects in manufacturing of semiconductors are common, for example when switching to a new manufacturing process or a new node the yield could be very low (see the lack of Ice Lake processors when they were announced for example, I bet Intel had trouble getting them made), there could be many that don't perform up to spec. There's something that's called "risk production" before the mass production phase in which no real production ready chip is made, but the process is already being tested. Even in mass production, at the testing phase is when products are binned or grouped according to how they perform. Some may be discarded, others destined for different products. Maybe that's what downbin means.

It's happened in processors before, I think it was AMD but I may be mistaken so take it with a grain of salt; some quad core processors had defective cores so instead of just discarding the things they were labeled and sold as dual core processors with those cores disabled. Back in the day people would try to hack their firmware to "enable" those defective cores, but nowadays when that happens the cores are physically disabled instead.

And it's not misleading by the way, because you get what you buy, it's as if you were buying an i5 from Intel, it would be labelled as such and perform as expected, but in reality the chip could be an i7 that just didn't perform as expected in its range. This analogy is purely hypothetical, but you get the drift.

And there goes another monster of text to be read (facepalm emoji)