blue screen memory dumps

[RAIST]

could also be a driver issue causing a memory read fault...something in the message will say something along the lines of being unable to read from 0x12345678, faulting module pol.exe or something like that. FFXI and FFXIV are running some devices through different methods in WIN7/Vista (goes through the Alchemy layer first vs direct to the DirectX HAL in XP), and it thunks through the DX9 dlls and does not go directly through DX8 dlls either as they are typically not there by default.

Two things you could try:

Install the latest DX9 Runtime library--FULL INSTALL, not the web. If you go to the DirectX download page, the link at top is for the online installer--at the bottom of the page is a link in a section about an offline installer. This just copies everything in the library list without doing any precheck for which components are installed. This often fixes Vista/Win7 installations that don't fall back to DX8 gracefully.

Make a backup of your system first if you have a means, or at least make sure you have access to the installers of your current driver versions and then try to update those drivers--Video, Sound, Mouse, Network card, and if on a laptop your power management controller. Also...if on a laptop, disable the Infrared Controller if one is installed.

Otherwise, run Prime95 overnight to stress the CPU and RAM seperately (smallest sample size is CPU/cahce, mid-range pulls in RAM also, largest will hammer the hard drive too). Run it first on smallest, then next night to the middle size. If it tanks on small--your CPU config isn't optimal and you need to check it's cooling system and/or adjust the bus speed, multiplier (slower speed) or adjust the voltage paramaters (several things, better to follow the overclocking guide you used if you tweaked these yourself). If it fails on the second run, then the same goes for the RAM. Often times the automatic settings detected for RAM aren't quite right and they need to be tweaked a bit. For a more definitive test of the ram, you can make a bootable CD that runs memtest86 or soemthing to hammer the memory outside of windows to confirm it is stable. More often then not, RAM instability can often be overcome dropping the bus sped one notch, but you loose more efficiency than if you just notch a ram timing (latency and such that pops up when you disable SPD option in BIOS) one step slower (larger number=slower) or by increasing voltage one step (just be sure not to overvolt it--there will be a rating on the stickers on each card).

Raist