Hello everyone! I have a problem with a recently purchased laptop. I am a bit between a rock and a hard place, because I will move abroad for studies at the end of the month, and I need a fully functional computer while overseas.
The laptop specs are:
Acer Aspire E5-572G-5577
Intel Core i5-4210M 2.6 GHz (up to 3.2 GHz with Turbo Boost)
NVIDIA GeForce 840M 2 GB VRAM
8 GB DDR3 memory
1 TB Western Digital HDD 5400 RPM ( I know..but I was on a tight budget)
I installed Windows 7 Ultimate 64 bit on it. When doing a routine scan of the event logs, I noticed the following error:
Log Name: System
Event ID: 18
Source: WHEA-Logger
User: LOCAL SERVICE
OpCode: Info
A fatal hardware error has occurred.
Reported by component: Processor Core
Error Source: Machine Check Exception
Error Type: Cache Hierarchy Error
Processor ID: 0
I freaked out, seeing hardware errors in my new system. So I started reading up about this type of error, but I couldn't find a definite answer or fix. The people having this error experienced freezes and BSODs, while all I had was an event log. I started monitoring the event logs, and I noticed the error occurs only at startup, but not on every startup. Yesterday I had the first crash. The laptop froze at the Windows welcome screen. After I reset it, I had the dreadful message that the system recovered from a bugcheck. Of course, the damned error was also present in the logs.
Here is the bugcheck info from the logs:
And the output from Who Crashed analysis:
Perhaps more can be learned from using WinDbg on the dump file, but I am not knowledgeable enough about doing it at this time.
So, clearly it is a more serious problem than just a harmless event log event. For reference, I have a total of 20 errors of that type in the last 7 days. Even if it doesn't occur on every startup, it occurs frequently enough.
Here is what I've done to try and isolate the issue:
Regarding a potential heating issue, I monitor it with more than one program. I use Core Temp, HWMonitor, Speccy, and SpeedFan. The highest temperature I noticed in Windows was 60C, and in BIOS 67C, during the Memtest test (I read that it's normal for the temperature to be higher in BIOS, because the program is just infinite looping and utilizing 100% of the CPU). I'm not overclocking or anything (even disabled Turbo Boost to see if it helps with the error - it didn't). The laptop sits on the desk, I also tried propping it with books to elevate the fan areas, but it didn't seem to make a difference). During idle time, the temperature is under 50C. I will buy a cooling pad, because I also intend to play games on it, but I can't say there are any heating issues with the system at the moment. I also don't know what cooling pad would be best for a 30$ budget.
Some additional notes regarding the above. This is my first laptop. I am only used with desktops, and heat has never been an issue with my computers ( used custom fans in addition to the stock cooling). After using the laptop for the first time, I noticed the place where I keep my hands got warm, and I started to check the temperatures in real time. When I saw spikes to 50+, I was like "my laptop is overheating!!!!". I spoke with some friends, and they laughed at me for overreacting over normal temperatures for a laptop. On my gaming system, the highest temperature I ever noticed was 56C under intensive gaming sessions, so this was the temperature peak I was comparing the laptop with. I read some more about Intel CPUs afterwards, and found out they are running at higher temperatures than the AMD I am used to. And the max temperature for my particular CPU model is 100C, so I am well within limits.
As for drivers, I installed the latest applicable drivers from http
/www.acer.co.uk/ac/en/GB/content/drivers They say they only support Windows 8, but the drivers work fine with Windows 7 too. Even after installing all drivers, in Device Manager, I am missing the USB controller driver. Windows was unable to install it, and I haven't found which driver it is yet. The only thing I can think of, on the Acer drivers page, there are 2 types of touchpad drivers, but none of them found a suitable device, so I couldn't install any of them. But I don't know if that's related. However, there is an issue with my USB devices, I don't have the Safely Remove Hardware icon. So I still have to fix this.
I am attacking output from Speccy for more detailed hardware information. I can also provide information from other similar programs, like CPU-Z, or any other that might be useful. Just didn't want to make this post even more gigantic with information that might not be necessary.
CPU
RAM
Motherboard
I have the latest BIOS, but I don't have access to BIOS readings, there is only some basic information, security and boot options. On my desktops, I have tons of options in the BIOS. I couldn't find a way to enter a more advanced version.
I can't easily RMA it without being sure that it is indeed a fault with the hardware. I bought it on a special deal, and this product is no longer available in the retailer's stock. I also thought about servicing it, but there is only one local service for Acer products available, and I heard some horror stories about it. Just online reading and my experience with computers weren't enough for me to solve this or understand it, so I thought I should ask for help here.
Thanks in advance and sorry if this post was too big, I wanted to include as much relevant information as possible.
EDIT: I replaced the ugly XML with normal text.
The laptop specs are:
Acer Aspire E5-572G-5577
Intel Core i5-4210M 2.6 GHz (up to 3.2 GHz with Turbo Boost)
NVIDIA GeForce 840M 2 GB VRAM
8 GB DDR3 memory
1 TB Western Digital HDD 5400 RPM ( I know..but I was on a tight budget)
I installed Windows 7 Ultimate 64 bit on it. When doing a routine scan of the event logs, I noticed the following error:
Log Name: System
Event ID: 18
Source: WHEA-Logger
User: LOCAL SERVICE
OpCode: Info
A fatal hardware error has occurred.
Reported by component: Processor Core
Error Source: Machine Check Exception
Error Type: Cache Hierarchy Error
Processor ID: 0
- System
- Provider
[ Name] Microsoft-Windows-WHEA-Logger
[ Guid] {C26C4F3C-3F66-4E99-8F8A-39405CFED220}
EventID 18
Version 0
Level 2
Task 0
Opcode 0
Keywords 0x8000000000000000
- TimeCreated
[ SystemTime] 2014-09-10T09:12:46.985652400Z
EventRecordID 7809
- Correlation
[ ActivityID] {36FE311E-9C34-434E-9590-2E90DD66A20E}
- Execution
[ ProcessID] 1752
[ ThreadID] 5556
Channel System
Computer Wintermute
- Security
[ UserID] S-1-5-19
- EventData
ErrorSource 3
ApicId 0
MCABank 5
MciStat 0xae0000000040110a
MciAddr 0xfef87340
MciMisc 0x78a0000086
ErrorType 9
TransactionType 2
Participation 256
RequestType 0
MemorIO 256
MemHierarchyLvl 2
Timeout 256
OperationType 256
Channel 256
Length 928
RawData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
I freaked out, seeing hardware errors in my new system. So I started reading up about this type of error, but I couldn't find a definite answer or fix. The people having this error experienced freezes and BSODs, while all I had was an event log. I started monitoring the event logs, and I noticed the error occurs only at startup, but not on every startup. Yesterday I had the first crash. The laptop froze at the Windows welcome screen. After I reset it, I had the dreadful message that the system recovered from a bugcheck. Of course, the damned error was also present in the logs.
Here is the bugcheck info from the logs:
- System
- Provider
[ Name] Microsoft-Windows-WER-SystemErrorReporting
[ Guid] {ABCE23E7-DE45-4366-8631-84FA6C525952}
[ EventSourceName] BugCheck
- EventID 1001
[ Qualifiers] 16384
Version 0
Level 2
Task 0
Opcode 0
Keywords 0x80000000000000
- TimeCreated
[ SystemTime] 2014-09-09T10:34:12.000000000Z
EventRecordID 6522
Correlation
- Execution
[ ProcessID] 0
[ ThreadID] 0
Channel System
Computer WINTERMUTE
Security
- EventData
param1 0x00000124 (0x0000000000000000, 0xfffffa8008d018f8, 0x0000000000000000, 0x0000000000000000)
param2 C:\Windows\Minidump\090914-23540-01.dmp
param3 090914-23540-01
And the output from Who Crashed analysis:
On Tue 09/09/2014 10:33:51 GMT your computer crashed
crash dump file: C:\Windows\Minidump\090914-23540-01.dmp
This was probably caused by the following module: ntoskrnl.exe (nt+0x4ADB3C)
Bugcheck code: 0x124 (0x0, 0xFFFFFA8008D018F8, 0x0, 0x0)
Error: WHEA_UNCORRECTABLE_ERROR
file path: C:\Windows\system32\ntoskrnl.exe
product: Microsoft® Windows® Operating System
company: Microsoft Corporation
description: NT Kernel & System
Bug check description: This bug check indicates that a fatal hardware error has occurred. This bug check uses the error data that is provided by the Windows Hardware Error Architecture (WHEA).
This is likely to be caused by a hardware problem problem. This problem might be caused by a thermal issue.
The crash took place in the Windows kernel. Possibly this problem is caused by another driver that cannot be identified at this time.
Perhaps more can be learned from using WinDbg on the dump file, but I am not knowledgeable enough about doing it at this time.
So, clearly it is a more serious problem than just a harmless event log event. For reference, I have a total of 20 errors of that type in the last 7 days. Even if it doesn't occur on every startup, it occurs frequently enough.
Here is what I've done to try and isolate the issue:
Memtest 86+, 8 passes, no errors
Windows Memory Diagnostics, no errors
HDD scan, no errors
Intel Processor Diagnostic Tool, all tests passed
sfc /scannow found nothing
Full system scan with Kaspersky Antivirus 2015 (maybe not relevant, but included it nonetheless)
Regarding a potential heating issue, I monitor it with more than one program. I use Core Temp, HWMonitor, Speccy, and SpeedFan. The highest temperature I noticed in Windows was 60C, and in BIOS 67C, during the Memtest test (I read that it's normal for the temperature to be higher in BIOS, because the program is just infinite looping and utilizing 100% of the CPU). I'm not overclocking or anything (even disabled Turbo Boost to see if it helps with the error - it didn't). The laptop sits on the desk, I also tried propping it with books to elevate the fan areas, but it didn't seem to make a difference). During idle time, the temperature is under 50C. I will buy a cooling pad, because I also intend to play games on it, but I can't say there are any heating issues with the system at the moment. I also don't know what cooling pad would be best for a 30$ budget.
Some additional notes regarding the above. This is my first laptop. I am only used with desktops, and heat has never been an issue with my computers ( used custom fans in addition to the stock cooling). After using the laptop for the first time, I noticed the place where I keep my hands got warm, and I started to check the temperatures in real time. When I saw spikes to 50+, I was like "my laptop is overheating!!!!". I spoke with some friends, and they laughed at me for overreacting over normal temperatures for a laptop. On my gaming system, the highest temperature I ever noticed was 56C under intensive gaming sessions, so this was the temperature peak I was comparing the laptop with. I read some more about Intel CPUs afterwards, and found out they are running at higher temperatures than the AMD I am used to. And the max temperature for my particular CPU model is 100C, so I am well within limits.
As for drivers, I installed the latest applicable drivers from http

I am attacking output from Speccy for more detailed hardware information. I can also provide information from other similar programs, like CPU-Z, or any other that might be useful. Just didn't want to make this post even more gigantic with information that might not be necessary.
CPU
CPU
Intel Core i3/i5/i7 4xxx
Cores 2
Threads 4
Name Intel Core i3/i5/i7 4xxx
Code Name Haswell
Package Socket 947 rPGA
Technology 22nm
Specification Intel Core i5-4210M CPU @ 2.60GHz
Family 6
Extended Family 6
Model C
Extended Model 3C
Stepping 3
Revision C0
Instructions MMX, SSE, SSE2, SSE3, SSSE3, SSE4.1, SSE4.2, Intel 64, NX, VMX, AES, AVX, AVX2, FMA3
Virtualization Supported, Enabled
Hyperthreading Supported, Enabled
Bus Speed 99.8 MHz
Stock Core Speed 2600 MHz
Stock Bus Speed 100 MHz
Average Temperature 49 °C
Caches
L1 Data Cache Size 2 x 32 KBytes
L1 Instructions Cache Size 2 x 32 KBytes
L2 Unified Cache Size 2 x 256 KBytes
L3 Unified Cache Size 3072 KBytes
Cores
Core 0
Core Speed 798.1 MHz
Multiplier x 8.0
Bus Speed 99.8 MHz
Temperature 49 °C
Threads APIC ID: 0, 1
Core 1
Core Speed 798.1 MHz
Multiplier x 8.0
Bus Speed 99.8 MHz
Temperature 49 °C
Threads APIC ID: 2, 3
RAM
RAM
Memory slots
Total memory slots 4
Used memory slots 2
Free memory slots 2
Memory
Type DDR3
Size 8192 MBytes
Channels # Dual
DRAM Frequency 798.1 MHz
CAS# Latency (CL) 11 clocks
RAS# to CAS# Delay (tRCD) 11 clocks
RAS# Precharge (tRP) 11 clocks
Cycle Time (tRAS) 28 clocks
Command Rate (CR) 1T
Physical Memory
Memory Usage 31 %
Total Physical 7.90 GB
Available Physical 5.44 GB
Total Virtual 16 GB
Available Virtual 13 GB
SPD
Number Of SPD Modules 2
Slot #1
Type DDR3
Size 4096 MBytes
Manufacturer Kingston
Max Bandwidth PC3-12800 (800 MHz)
Part Number ACR16D3LS1KFG/4G
Serial Number C722D3B8
Week/year 16 / 14
Timing table
JEDEC #1
Frequency 381.0 MHz
CAS# Latency 5.0
RAS# To CAS# 5
RAS# Precharge 5
tRAS 14
tRC 19
Voltage 1.350 V
JEDEC #2
Frequency 457.1 MHz
CAS# Latency 6.0
RAS# To CAS# 6
RAS# Precharge 6
tRAS 16
tRC 22
Voltage 1.350 V
JEDEC #3
Frequency 533.3 MHz
CAS# Latency 7.0
RAS# To CAS# 7
RAS# Precharge 7
tRAS 19
tRC 26
Voltage 1.350 V
JEDEC #4
Frequency 609.5 MHz
CAS# Latency 8.0
RAS# To CAS# 8
RAS# Precharge 8
tRAS 22
tRC 30
Voltage 1.350 V
JEDEC #5
Frequency 685.7 MHz
CAS# Latency 9.0
RAS# To CAS# 9
RAS# Precharge 9
tRAS 24
tRC 33
Voltage 1.350 V
JEDEC #6
Frequency 761.9 MHz
CAS# Latency 10.0
RAS# To CAS# 10
RAS# Precharge 10
tRAS 27
tRC 37
Voltage 1.350 V
JEDEC #7
Frequency 838.1 MHz
CAS# Latency 11.0
RAS# To CAS# 11
RAS# Precharge 11
tRAS 30
tRC 41
Voltage 1.350 V
Slot #2
Type DDR3
Size 4096 MBytes
Manufacturer Kingston
Max Bandwidth PC3-12800 (800 MHz)
Part Number ACR16D3LS1KFG/4G
Serial Number C422DCB8
Week/year 16 / 14
Timing table
JEDEC #1
Frequency 381.0 MHz
CAS# Latency 5.0
RAS# To CAS# 5
RAS# Precharge 5
tRAS 14
tRC 19
Voltage 1.350 V
JEDEC #2
Frequency 457.1 MHz
CAS# Latency 6.0
RAS# To CAS# 6
RAS# Precharge 6
tRAS 16
tRC 22
Voltage 1.350 V
JEDEC #3
Frequency 533.3 MHz
CAS# Latency 7.0
RAS# To CAS# 7
RAS# Precharge 7
tRAS 19
tRC 26
Voltage 1.350 V
JEDEC #4
Frequency 609.5 MHz
CAS# Latency 8.0
RAS# To CAS# 8
RAS# Precharge 8
tRAS 22
tRC 30
Voltage 1.350 V
JEDEC #5
Frequency 685.7 MHz
CAS# Latency 9.0
RAS# To CAS# 9
RAS# Precharge 9
tRAS 24
tRC 33
Voltage 1.350 V
JEDEC #6
Frequency 761.9 MHz
CAS# Latency 10.0
RAS# To CAS# 10
RAS# Precharge 10
tRAS 27
tRC 37
Voltage 1.350 V
JEDEC #7
Frequency 838.1 MHz
CAS# Latency 11.0
RAS# To CAS# 11
RAS# Precharge 11
tRAS 30
tRC 41
Voltage 1.350 V
Motherboard
Motherboard
Manufacturer Acer
Model EA50_HWS (U3E1)
Version V1.01
Chipset Vendor Intel
Chipset Model Haswell
Chipset Revision 06
Southbridge Vendor Intel
Southbridge Model ID8C49
Southbridge Revision 05
BIOS
Brand Insyde Corp.
Version V1.01
Date 30/05/2014
PCI Data
I have the latest BIOS, but I don't have access to BIOS readings, there is only some basic information, security and boot options. On my desktops, I have tons of options in the BIOS. I couldn't find a way to enter a more advanced version.
I can't easily RMA it without being sure that it is indeed a fault with the hardware. I bought it on a special deal, and this product is no longer available in the retailer's stock. I also thought about servicing it, but there is only one local service for Acer products available, and I heard some horror stories about it. Just online reading and my experience with computers weren't enough for me to solve this or understand it, so I thought I should ask for help here.
Thanks in advance and sorry if this post was too big, I wanted to include as much relevant information as possible.
EDIT: I replaced the ugly XML with normal text.