Quote:
Originally Posted by alfred.s
Memtest was running for 15 hours, completing 10 full passes without any error.
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Good, that gives more confidence in the hardware.
One thing to note: as itimpi said it is not possible for a user-level application to directly cause a BSOD. Those come from the operating system. A user-level application can trigger bugs in the OS, but if that happens and it isn't caused by hardware, then (again as itimpi said) it is an OS software bug or a corrupted windows install where the data on the disc has been changed.
The candidates for OS software bugs consist mostly of device drivers. The windows kernel is very stable, but the same cannot be said for third-party drivers such as those for graphics, network, or any other exotic hardware you might have.
A hardware candidate not checked by memtest is an external disc. Sometimes the cables or the enclosure are approaching faulty, generating errors under heavy load. It could be something like a failing power supply that cannot supply enough current to handle the max load such as when all the cores are running. Lastly, as theducks said it could be heat. This too would be load sensitive, failing when the machine is under heavy load and generating more heat than normal. It could also be due to local environmental factors such as the temperature in the room containing the computer or even a pet cat sitting on the computer, reducing the amount of heat radiated by the case. (Yes, I know, this happens almost never, but it did happen once to me. She liked being warm.)
There are programs available that push all the CPUs to 100% and keep them there, testing both power supply and cooling capacity. These two articles discuss stress testing and suggest tools.
http://www.zdnet.com/blog/hardware/h...y-faults/16438
http://www.pcworld.com/article/20288...-hardware.html