Constant DirectX11 and Windows crashes while playing FFXIV

[RexItaliae]

Hi guys,

Since I bought the computer below, I have experienced several problems while playing Final Fantasy XIV, namely many DirectX11 crashes and, sometimes, even Windows crashes, with no Blue Screen of Death: it just freezes for a few seconds, and then reboots. On this link you can see a thread on the official FFXIV forums where I describe the various problems and what I've tried to do to solve them.

The strange thing is that not even replacing the GPU solved this problem. I haven't overclocked anything (I wouldn't even know how to do it, so I'd rather avoid tinkering with these things), the new GPU is a Zotac which is NOT overclocked by the factory, I monitor all temperatures and everything has always been fine, Windows is up to date and so are all the drivers. I should say that, when I received the PC, I immediately performed a complete format of the PC and reinstalled Windows from scratch. In fact, I have formatted Windows completely several times, trying to solve this issue, but to no avail. I'm starting thinking that it might be a hardware problem with something else; the fact that my build stayed in Test phase for almost a week is also not exactly reassuring. Is there anything else I can do?


Case
CORSAIR 275R AIRFLOW TEMPERED GLASS GAMING CASE
Processor (CPU)
Intel® Core™ i7 Eight Core Processor i7-10700F (2.9GHz) 16MB Cache
Motherboard
ASUS® TUF GAMING B460-PLUS: ATX, LGA1200, USB 3.2, SATA 6GBs - RGB Ready
Memory (RAM)
16GB Corsair VENGEANCE DDR4 2400MHz (2 x 8GB)
Graphics Card
4GB NVIDIA GEFORCE GTX 1650 - HDMI Replaced around two weeks after receiving the PC with:
6GB NVIDIA GEFORCE RTX 2060 - HDMI, DP - VR Ready!
1st Storage Drive
250GB Samsung 860 EVO 2.5" SSD, SATA 6Gb/s (up to 550MB/sR | 520MB/sW)
1st Storage Drive
1TB SEAGATE BARRACUDA SATA-III 3.5" HDD, 6GB/s, 7200RPM, 64MB CACHE
Power Supply
CORSAIR 550W CV SERIES™ CV-550 POWER SUPPLY
Power Cable
1 x 1 Metre UK Power Cable (Kettle Lead)
Processor Cooling
PCS FrostFlow 240 Series RGB High Performance Liquid Cooler
Thermal Paste
ARCTIC MX-4 EXTREME THERMAL CONDUCTIVITY COMPOUND
Sound Card
ONBOARD 6 CHANNEL (5.1) HIGH DEF AUDIO (AS STANDARD)
Network Card
10/100/1000 GIGABIT LAN PORT (Wi-Fi NOT INCLUDED)
Wireless Network Card
WIRELESS 802.11N 300Mbps/2.4GHz PCI-E CARD
USB/Thunderbolt Options
MIN. 2 x USB 3.0 & 2 x USB 2.0 PORTS @ BACK PANEL + MIN. 2 FRONT PORTS
Operating System
Windows 10 Home 64 Bit - inc. Single Licence
Operating System Language
United Kingdom - English Language
Windows Recovery Media
Windows 10 Multi-Language Recovery Image - Unlimited Downloads from Online Account
Office Software
FREE 30 Day Trial of Microsoft 365® (Operating System Required)
Anti-Virus
NO ANTI-VIRUS SOFTWARE
Browser
Microsoft® Edge (Windows 10 Only)
Warranty
3 Year Standard Warranty (1 Month Collect & Return, 1 Year Parts, 3 Year Labour)
Delivery
STANDARD INSURED DELIVERY TO UK MAINLAND (MON-FRI)
Build Time
Standard Build - Approximately 15 to 18 working days
Welcome Book
PCSpecialist Welcome Book - United Kingdom & Republic of Ireland
Logo Branding
PCSpecialist Logo
Price: £0.00 including VAT and Delivery

Unique URL to re-configure: https://www.pcspecialist.co.uk/saved-configurations/intel-z490-pc/FCAMGhVrnQ/

Processed Date	27-11-2020
Pre-Production Date	04-12-2020
Build Date	10-12-2020
Test Date	10-12-2020
Awaiting Dispatch Date	16-12-2020
Dispatch Date	17-12-2020

 

[RexItaliae]

Given that Windows is also having issues, the first thing I would do is a complete clean Windows reinstall from USB (not from within Windows itself as anything done that way may still leave stuff somewhere)...that way we have a clean slate to work from to work out if it is software or hardware related. Here's the link to download it..note you will need a USB drive 8GB minimum

Download Windows 10

Once you have done that, run Windows Update as many times as necessary to update all your drivers etc, then download the graphics card drivers direct from NVIDIA. At this point I would not download anything else at all except for your game....obviously if it needs to run through Steam then you will need to donwload that. Then see what happens...if it is still happening then it would point to a likely hardware fault; if it stops it, then there was a software conflict somewhere or some setting

Thank you for your reply!

I had already done all of that: when I reinstalled Windows I've always done it through a USB stick, by first formatting all disks and then installing Windows afresh. Immediately after I ran Windows Update until nothing was found, installed the game, and ran it. I did install some other programs, such as a browser, antivirus, Skype, Discord--which I need, really. I'm aware that game overlays provided by Discord and Windows "game mode" can be the cause of the problem, which is why I immediately disabled them. Same for the NVIDIA GeForce Experience. It didn't solve it.

 

[Bhuna50]

When did you replace the graphics card, before or after the clean install?

 

[RexItaliae]

I did a clean install the moment I opened up the PC, to get rid of all the stuff that PCS installed to do their testing. Realising I should've been savvier and get a more decent GPU, I decided to buy a new one (from PCS also, via "upgrade your system"). When I received it, I swapped it in. Then I thought it would be more proper to actually uninstall and reinstall the drivers, which I did. I think that for a couple of days it was relatively fine, but the crashes reappeared nonetheless. When they became too frequent, I did another clean install (again, via USB stick).

 

[RexItaliae]

Which anti-virus program are you using? I ask as some AV programs can cause issues with performance and can also cause crashes. Windows Defender (built-in to Windows itself) is more than ample for AV needs. I'd uninstall whatever AV you use, even temoprarily

The problem with installed programe, even disabled, is they can still cause problems as the software is installed. I realise they may be needed but we can't rule them out unless a clean system without them installed still causes the problems.

Norton AV. Also, I tried to run the game by performing a clean boot, as described here, so everything apart from Microsoft services and the antivirus were disabled. Can it be Norton? It seems weird...

 

[ubuysa]

TBH the only way to be sure products like Norton are completely gone is to clean install Windows and simply not install Norton again....

 

[Bhuna50]

I did a clean install the moment I opened up the PC, to get rid of all the stuff that PCS installed to do their testing. Realising I should've been savvier and get a more decent GPU, I decided to buy a new one (from PCS also, via "upgrade your system"). When I received it, I swapped it in. Then I thought it would be more proper to actually uninstall and reinstall the drivers, which I did. I think that for a couple of days it was relatively fine, but the crashes reappeared nonetheless. When they became too frequent, I did another clean install (again, via USB stick).

Have you checked inside the machine again to make sure that you did not dislodge anything when swapping the cards over. I would go through all components and reseat them again. Then perhaps clean install and see what happens from there (no AV)

 

[RexItaliae]

Have you checked inside the machine again to make sure that you did not dislodge anything when swapping the cards over. I would go through all components and reseat them again. Then perhaps clean install and see what happens from there (no AV)

This morning I decided to open up the computer, remove and reinsert the GPU. I also gently made sure that all the other cables were properly seating in their "sockets" (not sure how to call them, sorry). We'll see what happens tonight, if it happens again I'll again clean install Windows and not install Norton, which by the way I had in my old machine, with FF installed, and I never had a problem. But yeah, I'll try that way, thank you!

 

[ubuysa]

Check to see whether a file called C:\Windiws\Memory.dmp exists, if it does upload it to the cloud with a link to it here (it will be around 1.5GB).

Also check the folder C:\Windows\Minidumps and upload any .dmp files in there to the cloud with a link to them here (these will be small files).

 

[RexItaliae]

There is indeed a Memory.dmp file and also there are 2 minidumps files. The timing of their creation is consistent with the Windows crash I had 2 days ago and yesterday. I uploaded them here:

Memory dumps – Google Drive

drive.google.com

Thank you so much guys for your help! I think I'll also uninstall Norton with its uninstaller now.

 

[ubuysa]

There is indeed a Memory.dmp file and also there are 2 minidumps files. The timing of their creation is consistent with the Windows crash I had 2 days ago and yesterday. I uploaded them here:

Memory dumps – Google Drive

drive.google.com

Thank you so much guys for your help! I think I'll also uninstall Norton with its uninstaller now.

Thanks for these, I'll let you know what I find.

 

[ubuysa]

This is a Norton problem. The kernel dump shows issues with two Norton drivers...

fffff807`6805c5f0  fffff807`7ca57800Unable to load image \??\C:\Program Files\Norton Security\NortonData\22.20.5.39\Definitions\IPSDefs\20210209.061\IDSvia64.sys, Win32 error 0n2
 IDSvia64+0x157800

fffff807`6805c498  fffff807`7b930f72Unable to load image \SystemRoot\System32\drivers\NGCx64\1614050.027\symnets.sys, Win32 error 0n2
 symnets+0x40f72

There is also an issue with the Intel Rapid Storage Technology driver...

fffff807`6805dae8  fffff807`7a2f1e03Unable to load image \SystemRoot\System32\drivers\dump_iaStorAC.sys, Win32 error 0n2
 dump_iaStorAC+0xf1e03

....though that may be an effect of the Norton issue.

I've not looked at the minidumps but you should Dump Norton and then see how things are.

 

[RexItaliae]

How bizarre: why would Norton not install itself properly?!? Anyway, I have indeed uninstalled it. If the problem persists I'll reinstall Windows from scratch yet again. I'll let you know if the game or Windows crashes again. Thank you!!!

 

[ubuysa]

How bizarre: why would Norton not install itself properly?!? Anyway, I have indeed uninstalled it. If the problem persists I'll reinstall Windows from scratch yet again. I'll let you know if the game or Windows crashes again. Thank you!!!

It's not that Norton didn't install properly, it most likely did. The problem is more likely to be flaky Norton drivers or Norton user code, or possibly system conditions it doesn't know how to handle. This is why we all avoid Norton.

 

[SpyderTracks]

Also, when uninstalling gpu drivers, uninstalling them in the usual method through programs and features won’t actually fully uninstall it, you need to use ddu

 

[Bhuna50]

It's not that Norton didn't install properly, it most likely did. The problem is more likely to be flaky Norton drivers or Norton user code, or possibly system conditions it doesn't know how to handle. This is why we all avoid Norton.

This is now why we avoid most AVs and the recommendation is that Windows Defender is just as good as any now

 

[RexItaliae]

There is also an issue with the Intel Rapid Storage Technology driver...

fffff807`6805dae8  fffff807`7a2f1e03Unable to load image \SystemRoot\System32\drivers\dump_iaStorAC.sys, Win32 error 0n2
dump_iaStorAC+0xf1e03

....though that may be an effect of the Norton issue.

I've not looked at the minidumps but you should Dump Norton and then see how things are.

Do I actually need to have the Intel Rapid Storage Technology driver, given my spec? The only reason I downloaded it was because ASUS Armoury Crate software (which comes preloaded with the motherboard, and first thing after you install Windows it pops up and tells you you should install it) proposes it in its drivers' list. I just don't know what it is, but it sounds like a useful driver to have if you have Intel-made HDD or SDD, which I don't think I have.

This also prompts another question: it was suggested that I clean install Windows, let the Windows Update go until it doesn't find anything else to download, get the GPU drivers directly from NVIDIA (I assume only the driver and not the GeForce Experience software), download the game and play without installing anything else, to see if the problem is software or not. Does this mean I shouldn't even install Armoury Crate when prompted?

 

[RexItaliae]

Also, when uninstalling gpu drivers, uninstalling them in the usual method through programs and features won’t actually fully uninstall it, you need to use ddu

When I update the GPU drivers I usually use GeForce Experience. I go through "Custom installation", rather than "Express installation"--which is recommended, by the way--and select "Clean install". The process begins with the uninstallation of the previous drivers, which one can also clearly notice by the fact that the screen goes black for a few seconds while it does it. Is this not enough? Should I use DDU every time a new update to the GPU drivers is available?

 

[ubuysa]

Do I actually need to have the Intel Rapid Storage Technology driver, given my spec? The only reason I downloaded it was because ASUS Armoury Crate software (which comes preloaded with the motherboard, and first thing after you install Windows it pops up and tells you you should install it) proposes it in its drivers' list. I just don't know what it is, but it sounds like a useful driver to have if you have Intel-made HDD or SDD, which I don't think I have.

This also prompts another question: it was suggested that I clean install Windows, let the Windows Update go until it doesn't find anything else to download, get the GPU drivers directly from NVIDIA (I assume only the driver and not the GeForce Experience software), download the game and play without installing anything else, to see if the problem is software or not. Does this mean I shouldn't even install Armoury Crate when prompted?

You don't actually NEED Intel Rapid Storage Technology drivers (unless you use a RAID configuration), Windows already contains necessary drivers. However, installing IRST drivers MAY improve SSD performance, especially on Intel drives. The only way to really know is to benchmark SSD performance with and without it installed.

I would recommend installing the Nvidia driver manually rather than through GeForce. I would not install any software that you don't absolutely need in order to test it - including Armoury Crate.

 

[RexItaliae]

Hi again,
Since last time I wrote a post here, Windows crashed again with a BSOD, so I decided to do the decent thing: format yet again everything (last Saturday, 13th February) and reinstall Windows from scratch. After installation, I updated Windows via Windows Update and installed the latest NVIDIA drivers directly from website. Then I installed FFXIV. At the moment there is NO other software in my PC that does not come from Windows directly.

The game has behaved itself and hasn't crashed until last night, when it did crash (only the game, Windows was fine). I describe the error in this post in the official forums of the game. What made last night different from previous gaming sessions following last Saturday was:

1. I was playing while using the browser version of Discord, using Microsoft Edge (I intentionally avoided downloading the Discord app, of course)
2. I was playing while using a USB headset, instead of a jack-USB-powered set of speakers. I don't know if it is useful, but I was using one of the up-front USB doors. I should specify that, before the last Windows reinstallation, the game was crashing also while playing in solo, with no Discord or headset on.
3. Since, in addition to all these problems, my GPU has an annoying coil whine problem, I changed the default option in NVIDIA Control Panel for Vertical Sync from "Use the 3D Application setting" to "On". I did this change right yesterday afternoon, before logging in the game last night. After the crash, I changed the setting back to its default.

Only one crash occurred last night, which is still far less than in previous occasions prior to the clean installation of Windows without going anywhere near Norton Antivirus's website. It is possible that it is just a coincidence and the game just crashed randomly and it won't happen again for a long time, but is there anything I can do to diagnose the problem? Are there some sort of "registers" in Windows that keep track of when an application crashes? Or is this behaviour a symptom of a hardware problem (like, I don't know, RAM)?