Random BSOD Crashes on HP 15-ef2126wm - Possible due to RAM Incompatibility?

[Hectornauta]

Hello there

I'm experiencing random BSOD crashes on my HP 15-ef2126wm exclusively in Windows, and I'm hoping to get some advice if this is due to incompatible parts. This began after the one year warranty expired, and the laptop began to be used more regularly (I almost didn't used it the first year, and assumed the BSOD to be just Windows shenanigans).

Here are the many things that I did trying to diagnose and the results:

• The crashes are "random". They do not have a  "trigger" and could occur many times a day to never happen during a session. They tend to occur when Windows updates itself or some software as simple as Steam or Office
• Crashes occur across all versions of Windows 10 and 11 (20H2, 21H2, 22H2, 23H2, 24H2, etc.), regardless of whether Windows is freshly installed or updated.
• I've tried numerous driver combinations, using both HP's provided drivers and those directly from AMD, with no success. I've also disabled the Windows option that tries to force old drivers instead of the HP ones.
• The BIOS is up to date (the issue was also present in previous BIOS versions).
• Multiple malware scans (Malwarebytes, Windows Defender, etc.) have been performed, with no threats found.
• Crashes are not related to temperature/high load, as they occur even during light tasks or when the laptop is idle.
• Did many RAM tests with memtest86+ and memtest86, both with dual and single stick configurations, and no errors were detected.
• I've replaced the original SSD with a new one, but the crashes persist (they occurred with the original one from the laptop).
• The laptop runs relatively stable on Linux Mint 22, with only three or five possible crashes in a year (which may have been unrelated).
• Even the messages from the BSOD aren't regulars: SYSTEM_THREAD_EXCEPTION_NOT_HANDLED, SYSTEM_SERVICE_EXCEPTION, DPC_WATCHDOG_VIOLATION, MEMORY_MANAGEMENT, KMODE_EXCEPTION_NOT_HANDLED, CRITICAL_STRUCTURE_CORRUPTION, ATTEMPTED_WRITE_TO_READ_ONLY_MEMORY, STORE_DATA_STRUCTURE_CORRUPTION, FLTMGR.SYS, Ntfs.sys, msrpc.sys, win32kfull.sys

Possible Cause

When I purchased the laptop, I requested a RAM upgrade at the store (to 2x8GB), some HIKVISION HKED4082CAB1G4ZB1. I've included CPU-Z info for the RAM sticks, as I couldn't find exact specifications online (part number or serial number).

Spoiler

Memory SPD
-------------------------------------------------------------------------

DIMM # 1
SMBus address 0x50
Memory type DDR4
Module format SO-DIMM
Module Manufacturer(ID) (7F7F7F7F7F7F7F7F7F7F7F2C00000000)
SDRAM Manufacturer (ID) Samsung (CE000000000000000000000000000000)
Size 8192 MBytes
Max bandwidth DDR4-3200 (1600 MHz)
Part number HKED4082CAA1G4SB1
Serial number 11505434
Manufacturing date Week 22/Year 22
Nominal Voltage 1.20 Volts
EPP no
XMP no
AMP no
EXPO no
JEDEC timings table CL-tRCD-tRP-tRAS-tRC @ frequency
JEDEC #1 10.0-11-11-24-34 @ 733 MHz
JEDEC #2 11.0-11-11-26-37 @ 800 MHz
JEDEC #3 12.0-12-12-28-40 @ 866 MHz
JEDEC #4 13.0-13-13-30-43 @ 933 MHz
JEDEC #5 14.0-15-15-34-48 @ 1033 MHz
JEDEC #6 15.0-16-16-36-51 @ 1100 MHz
JEDEC #7 16.0-17-17-38-54 @ 1166 MHz
JEDEC #8 17.0-17-17-40-57 @ 1233 MHz
JEDEC #9 18.0-18-18-42-60 @ 1300 MHz
JEDEC #10 19.0-19-19-44-63 @ 1366 MHz
JEDEC #11 20.0-21-21-47-68 @ 1466 MHz
JEDEC #12 21.0-22-22-50-71 @ 1533 MHz
JEDEC #13 22.0-22-22-52-74 @ 1600 MHz
JEDEC #14 24.0-22-22-52-74 @ 1600 MHz

DIMM # 2
SMBus address 0x51
Memory type DDR4
Module format SO-DIMM
Module Manufacturer(ID) (7F7F7F7F7F7F7F7F7F7F7F2C00000000)
SDRAM Manufacturer (ID) Samsung (CE000000000000000000000000000000)
Size 8192 MBytes
Max bandwidth DDR4-3200 (1600 MHz)
Part number HKED4082CAA1G4SB1
Serial number 11505434
Manufacturing date Week 22/Year 22
Nominal Voltage 1.20 Volts
Temperature Limit 0.0 degC (critical limit)
EPP no
XMP no
AMP no
EXPO no
JEDEC timings table CL-tRCD-tRP-tRAS-tRC @ frequency
JEDEC #1 10.0-11-11-24-34 @ 733 MHz
JEDEC #2 11.0-11-11-26-37 @ 800 MHz
JEDEC #3 12.0-12-12-28-40 @ 866 MHz
JEDEC #4 13.0-13-13-30-43 @ 933 MHz
JEDEC #5 14.0-15-15-34-48 @ 1033 MHz
JEDEC #6 15.0-16-16-36-51 @ 1100 MHz
JEDEC #7 16.0-17-17-38-54 @ 1166 MHz
JEDEC #8 17.0-17-17-40-57 @ 1233 MHz
JEDEC #9 18.0-18-18-42-60 @ 1300 MHz
JEDEC #10 19.0-19-19-44-63 @ 1366 MHz
JEDEC #11 20.0-21-21-47-68 @ 1466 MHz
JEDEC #12 21.0-22-22-50-71 @ 1533 MHz
JEDEC #13 22.0-22-22-52-74 @ 1600 MHz
JEDEC #14 24.0-22-22-52-74 @ 1600 MHz

DIMM # 1
SPD registers
00 01 02 03 04 05 06 07 08 09 0A 0B 0C 0D 0E 0F
00 23 11 0C 03 85 21 00 08 00 60 00 03 01 03 00 00
10 00 00 05 0D F8 FF 02 00 6E 6E 6E 11 00 6E F0 0A
20 20 08 00 05 00 A8 14 28 28 00 78 00 14 3C 00 00
30 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 2C 16 2D 04
40 2C 16 2D 03 00 00 2B 15 04 2D 2C 0C 2D 03 00 00
50 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00
60 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00
70 00 00 00 00 00 00 9C 00 00 00 00 00 E7 00 43 EF
80 11 11 40 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00
90 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00
A0 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00
B0 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00
C0 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00
D0 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00
E0 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00
F0 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 C3 B9
100 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00
110 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00
120 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00
130 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00
140 0B 2C 00 22 22 11 50 54 34 48 4B 45 44 34 30 38
150 32 43 41 41 31 47 34 53 42 31 20 20 20 02 80 CE
160 FF 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00
170 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00
180 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00
190 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00
1A0 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00
1B0 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00
1C0 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00
1D0 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00
1E0 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00
1F0 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00

DIMM # 2
SPD registers
00 01 02 03 04 05 06 07 08 09 0A 0B 0C 0D 0E 0F
00 23 11 0C 03 85 21 00 08 00 60 00 03 01 03 00 00
10 00 00 05 0D F8 FF 02 00 6E 6E 6E 11 00 6E F0 0A
20 20 08 00 05 00 A8 14 28 28 00 78 00 14 3C 00 00
30 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 2C 16 2D 04
40 2C 16 2D 03 00 00 2B 15 04 2D 2C 0C 2D 03 00 00
50 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00
60 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00
70 00 00 00 00 00 00 9C 00 00 00 00 00 E7 00 43 EF
80 11 11 40 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00
90 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00
A0 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00
B0 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00
C0 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00
D0 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00
E0 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00
F0 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 C3 B9
100 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00
110 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00
120 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00
130 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00
140 0B 2C 00 22 22 11 50 54 34 48 4B 45 44 34 30 38
150 32 43 41 41 31 47 34 53 42 31 20 20 20 02 80 CE
160 FF 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00
170 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00
180 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00
190 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00
1A0 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00
1B0 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00
1C0 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00
1D0 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00
1E0 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00
1F0 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00
-------------------------------------------------------------------------

DMI Memory Device
designation Bottom - Slot 1 (left)
format SODIMM
type DDR4
total width 64 bits
data width 64 bits
size 8 GB
speed 3200 MHz
manufacturer Unknown
part number HKED4082CAA1G4SB1
serial number 11505434
voltage 1.200000
manufacturer id 0x2C0B
product id 0x0

DMI Memory Device
designation Bottom - Slot 2 (right)
format SODIMM
type DDR4
total width 64 bits
data width 64 bits
size 8 GB
speed 3200 MHz
manufacturer Unknown
part number HKED4082CAA1G4SB1
serial number 11505434
voltage 1.200000
manufacturer id 0x2C0B
product id 0x0

-------------------------------------------------------------------------

BIOS
-------------------------------------------------------------------------

UEFI Yes
BIOS Date 09/23/24
AMD AGESA CezannePI-FP6 1.0.1.1

Chipset
-------------------------------------------------------------------------

Northbridge AMD Ryzen SOC rev. 00
Southbridge AMD FCH rev. 51
Bus Specification PCI-Express 3.0 (8.0 GT/s)
Graphic Interface PCI-Express 4.0
PCI-E Link Width x16 (max 16x)
PCI-E Link Speed 8.0 GT/s (max 16.0 GT/s)
Memory Type DDR4
Memory Size 16 GBytes
Channels 2 x 64-bit
Memory Frequency 1598.5 MHz (1:16)
CAS# latency (CL) 22.0
RAS# to CAS# delay (tRCD) 22
RAS# Precharge (tRP) 22
Cycle Time (tRAS) 52
Bank Cycle Time (tRC) 74
Command Rate (CR) 1T
Uncore Frequency 1604.9 MHz
-------------------------------------------------------------------------
Processors Information
-------------------------------------------------------------------------

Socket 1 ID = 0
Number of cores 6 (max 6)
Number of threads 12 (max 12)
Number of CCDs 1
Manufacturer AuthenticAMD
Name AMD Ryzen 5 Mobile 5500U
Codename Lucienne
Specification AMD Ryzen 5 5500U with Radeon Graphics
Package Socket FP6
CPUID F.8.1
Extended CPUID 17.68
Core Stepping
Technology 7 nm
Core Speed 2066.4 MHz
Multiplier x Bus Speed 20.75 x 99.6 MHz
Base frequency (cores) 99.6 MHz
Instructions sets MMX (+), SSE, SSE2, SSE3, SSSE3, SSE4.1, SSE4.2, SSE4A, x86-64, AES, AVX, AVX2, FMA3, SHA
Microcode Revision 0x8608108
L1 Data cache 6 x 32 KB (8-way, 64-byte line)
L1 Instruction cache 6 x 32 KB (8-way, 64-byte line)
L2 cache 6 x 512 KB (8-way, 64-byte line)
L3 cache 2 x 4 MB (16-way, 64-byte line)
Max CPUID level 0000000Dh
Max CPUID ext. level 80000020h
FID/VID Control yes
# of P-States 3
P-State FID 0xA69 - VID 0x35 (21.00x - 1.219 V)
P-State FID 0xC66 - VID 0x60 (17.00x - 0.950 V)
P-State FID 0xE62 - VID 0x66 (14.00x - 0.912 V)

PStateReg 0x80000000-0x454D4A69
PStateReg 0x80000000-0x44580C66
PStateReg 0x80000000-0x43998E62
PStateReg 0x00000000-0x00000000
PStateReg 0x00000000-0x00000000
PStateReg 0x00000000-0x00000000
PStateReg 0x00000000-0x00000000
PStateReg 0x00000000-0x00000000

Package Type 0x0
Model 00
String 1 0x0
String 2 0x0
Page 0x0
Power Unit 0.0
SMU Version 55.93.00
TDP/TJMAX 0x0
TCTL Offset 0x0
PMTV 00370005
VID Limit 1.4250 Volts
PBO Scalar 1
Package Power Tracking (PPT) 27.0 W (current)
Thermal Design Current (TDC) 33.0 A (current)
Thermal Design Current SoC (TDC SoC) 13.0 A (current)
Electrical Design Current (EDC) 70.0 A (current)
Electrical Design Current SoC (EDC SoC) 17.0 A (current)

Temperature 0 46 degC (115 degF) (Package)
Temperature 1 43 degC (110 degF) (Cores (Max))
Temperature 2 43 degC (108 degF) (Core #0)
Temperature 3 43 degC (110 degF) (Core #1)
Temperature 4 42 degC (108 degF) (Core #2)
Temperature 5 42 degC (108 degF) (Core #3)
Temperature 6 42 degC (107 degF) (Core #4)
Temperature 7 42 degC (108 degF) (Core #5)
Temperature 8 43 degC (108 degF) (L3 Cache #0)
Temperature 9 42 degC (108 degF) (L3 Cache #1)
Voltage 0 0.71 Volts (VID)
Voltage 1 1.04 Volts (CPU VDD)
Voltage 2 0.78 Volts (SoC VDD)
Power 00 2.57 W (Package)
Power 01 1.91 W (Cores)
Power 02 0.13 W (Core #0)
Power 03 0.78 W (Core #1)
Power 04 0.11 W (Core #2)
Power 05 0.23 W (Core #3)
Power 06 0.22 W (Core #4)
Power 07 0.08 W (Core #5)
Power 08 27.00 W (PPT Limit)
Clock Speed 0 2066.38 MHz (Core #0)
Clock Speed 1 3360.99 MHz (Core #1)
Clock Speed 2 3360.99 MHz (Core #2)
Clock Speed 3 2066.38 MHz (Core #3)
Clock Speed 4 3360.99 MHz (Core #4)
Clock Speed 5 3360.99 MHz (Core #5)
Clock Speed 6 99.58 MHz (CPU BCLK)
Clock Speed 7 n.a. (SOC BCLK)
Core 0 max ratio (effective) 40.50
Core 1 max ratio (effective) 40.50
Core 2 max ratio (effective) 40.50
Core 3 max ratio (effective) 40.50
Core 4 max ratio (effective) 40.50
Core 5 max ratio (effective) 40.50

And a screenshot from HWinfo with only one stick connected

I suspect a potential RAM incompatibility issue because, for example, the Crucial website indicates compatible RAM for this model: https://www.crucial.com/compatible-upgrade-for/hp/hp-15-ef2126wm#memory

Question

Given that my laptop is out of warranty, is it likely that these BSOD crashes are caused by my incompatible RAM?
Would purchasing compatible RAM from Crucial likely resolve the issue?
Although Linux runs well, I would like to be able to use Windows as well from time to time.

[erico]

I would use a utility titled WhoCrashed? to determine what is causing the crashes. It is a safe and free utility that I and other enthusiasts have been using for years when we run into perplexing BSOD events.

What the Whocrashed? utility  uses is the crashdump files that you will have to enable in your operating system.

https://www.resplendence.com/whocrashed

Enable crashdumps.

https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/troubleshoot/windows-client/performance/generate-a-kernel-or-compl...

[Hectornauta]

Hi, thanks for replying.

I forgot to add that I already use WhoCrashed and even with DriverVerifier enabled the crashdumps don't provide more info aside from the random .sys files mentioned (that sometimes appears and sometimes don't) and/or the crash codes already mentioned.

Another file/driver that appeared in WhoCrashed is amdkmdag.sys (and looks that it is from a driver). But that BSOD appears, as I said, in a fresh Windows install, with HP drivers, with default Windows drivers or with recent AMD drivers (with or without using DDU to uninstall). So I couldn't get more info than that (and some people even suggested that was probably triggered by Driver Verifier instead of the real problem).

I could provide some of the .dmp files here: Crashes (managed to get the more recent ones and some old ones, lost the ones from last year). Some of the recent ones are with Driver Verifier enabled.

EDIT: also didn't keep the original RAM. Forgot to add that to the thread

[erico]

F the laptop runs Linux without issue that would logically mean that it is an operating system or driver issue.

DDU could be the root of your issue. I would not use it because I don't trust it.

[Hectornauta]

The thing is that it is more stable on Linux, but still freezes/crashes (much less of course). But on Windows I've tried almost every version and combination of drivers (also used AMD Cleanup Utility, not only DDU).

Now I'm trying to only use one stick of RAM at time (on Windows, not only on memtest86+) and then mix the slots. At least to rule out the RAM issue.

[Hectornauta]

So after some tests (let's call the items sticks and slots A/B):

* Stick A was stable on slot B (almost two weeks and no BSOD)

* Stick B was unstable on slot A and slot B

* Currently using the machine with Stick A on slot A

In the best of cases, stick B is the culprit. Do you recommend sticking with the Crucial parts from my first post?

* Regarding BSODs and WhoCrashed. These were the logs (the one that says SPECIAL POOL DETECTED was when DriverVerifier was enabled, so I wouldn't know if that one is really valid for this):

Spoiler

LINK TO IMAGES 

[Hectornauta]

So I guess after all the tests Stick A works flawlessly in both slots, and Stick B fails eventually in any of the slots.

I still have one question regarding the sticks I need to buy

I've found this post
https://h30434.www3.hp.com/t5/Notebook-Hardware-and-Upgrade-Questions/RAM-compatibility/td-p/8911951
and this one

https://h30434.www3.hp.com/t5/Business-Notebooks/i-have-15-ec1025AX-with-existing-8gb-ddr4-ram-3200m... 

that talks about certain compatibility problems with Crucial RAM sticks that are (supposedly) compatible. Is this applicable to my model too (HP 15-ef2126wm and the spare part is 937236-855 for the 8GB version)?

There are affordable CT8G4SFRA32A (from Crucial) in my country, so I prefer to be sure before buying them (want to buy 2x8GB to be sure), I don't know if that compatibility problem of different ranks (1x8, 2X8, 1x16) is being relevant here.

[TzortzisG · Accepted solution]

Hello Hectornauta.

I see that you started a separate thread on this matter, but I'll just reply here. The manual for your system is worthless, since it's only about the previous GENs with the older AMD cpus. This spec sheet about an almost identical laptop from this product line gives us the info we need. Your HP laptop has the AMD cpu working with the DDR4 RAM at its max (3200) speed. The "SFRA32A" Crucial modules that come at various ranks and chip organizations (dual or single, x8 or x16) have been reported problematic on systems that were sold a while back and had processors that clocked the memory at the lower speeds of 2133 or 2400. Your relatively new system that natively runs memory at 3200 will work with any kind of "normal" DDR4 rank. This is why Crucial offers these modules as compatible for your product, and Kingston offers both dual and single rank, x8 and x16 so that one can choose what he/she prefers.

I have to say though, I'm not a fan of playing the lottery when purchasing computer parts for an upgrade. If the CPU is the brains of the system, then RAM is the second most important aspect, and these Crucial modules that often come with the cheaper chip organizations (hence the lower VFM prices) are always slower than their more expensive counterparts. Especially the x16 chips have been reported as being especially slow. The chances of a compatibility issue are very slim, however it's more than likely that if you upgrade your machine to two "SFRA32A" x16 8GB modules you will discover that the x16 RAM is actually slower than before and somewhat of a bottleneck.

[Hectornauta]

Hi TzortzisG

Thank you so much for your reply, now I understand that issue.

I saw the Kingston parts you mentioned are available in my country (in the 1RX8 configuration) so I think I will buy them just to be sure.

Again, thank you very much

[Hectornauta]

Just in case anyone reads this thread in the future.

More than one month after buying and installing 2 of the Kingston sticks, with the model part being KCP432SS8/8, not a single BSOD occured. Everything was fixed.