Are Windows getting broken up many times every single day?
Are Windows getting broken up many times every single day?
Hi, my Windows 11 PC has been crashing for over a year and I don't know how to fix it. To date, I tried everything: I replaced RAM, replaced the power supply, replaced the graphics card, updated the BIOS, updated chipset drivers, uninstalled and reinstalled GPU drivers using DDU, ran SFC scans, did check disk scans, and ran memory diagnostic tests. Every single issue I tried to fix seemed pointless. A couple days ago, I also did a clean install of Windows after wiping my hard drives. It feels like nothing is working anymore.
I keep getting Blue Screen of Death errors related to IRQL_NOT_LESS_OR_EQUAL or security violations. Sometimes the screen just goes black. Sometimes the whole system freezes up. Sometimes it randomly restarts, but by far the most common thing is a BSOD crash. For some reason, my PC rarely crashes when I play games; usually, it only crashes when watching videos (YouTube, Netflix, Prime), or when I'm at work or asleep.
I've posted to the Microsoft forums and received no help there. Any assistance would be great. Currently, my next step is to buy a new SSD and reinstall Windows because replacing the storage drive will probably be the cheapest fix. I also don't know if this might be related but recently, Chrome tabs started crashing with an error code called STATUS_STACK_BUFFER_OVERRUN. I'm not sure what that means exactly.
Here are my current specs:
CPU: Ryzen 3600
GPU: EVGA RTX 3060ti
RAM: Corsair Vengeance 16gb rated for 3466mhz but the XMP setting is currently disabled
PSU: EVGA 1000GQ
Motherboard (MOBO): X470 AORUS GAMING 7 WIFI
I didn't download any .dmp files because there are no previews and I thought it was too risky. = = = = Will using a wired connection stop or fix these issues? Please turn on the wired network and turn off wireless just to test this out. = = = = Go to Reliability History/Monitor to see the error codes, warnings, and other messages. Check for patterns too. Look at Task Manager, Resource Monitor, and Process Explorer (Microsoft, free). It might be a buggy or corrupt process that is causing all these problems. Work to find everything running on your system. https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/sysint...s-explorer Manually download, reinstall, and reconfigure every driver. Make sure you are downloading drivers directly from the manufacturer's official website only. No third party tools or installers needed. Sketch out a diagram of your computer that shows all extra things like monitors, speakers, cameras, etc. Also list audio, visual, USB, electrical, network connections. Check for surge protectors, power strips, UPSs, and outlets. Include where the wires connect together in a loop: A connects to B, then B to C, then C to D, then back to A again? That this problem has been going on for over a year despite all my attempts shows that there is a fundamental issue with your PC. Set up a simple basic Windows 11 installation as much as possible. Put in few games, viewers, apps, and utilities. The goal is to make the system work stably. Then add other software one at a time, giving it time between additions. Watch how things perform on your machine. Keep an eye on the logs too. If the problems come back then the cause is probably the last thing you did.
Here are some things to try: Update your BIOS, go back to the default settings, check if RAM sticks work best on the second and fourth slots, put just one stick of memory in the second slot from the CPU, loosen up a few screws holding the CPU cooler down, and then look for bent pins on the CPU. If all those steps don't help, try something else first.
Hi, is there another way to upload dmp files so they stay safe? I only use ethernet with my computer right now because wifi seems to always be on inside the board. Should I try turning off that wifi part? Crashes usually change codes. I haven't found any patterns yet since I'm in and out of the house today, but I will check the process explorer when I get back. The only drivers I manually installed were chipset, gpu, and audio. Everything else came with windows. Should I try reinstalling the Windows drivers? Driver verifier didn't crash my system (I had it running for about 12 hours yesterday), but turning it off caused the computer to crash three times overnight. The only things connected to my pc are a monitor (using DVI, tried HDMI since people said that causes crashes though no dice there), a mouse, a keyboard, an ethernet cable, and a power cable (I swapped power cables too). I also have a wireless transmitter for headphones but removing it all day didn't stop the crashes. I changed between surge protectors and wall plugs with no difference. Not exactly sure what you mean by loops, but when I built my PC others never had crashing issues. Everything else was connected like one way to any peripheral. Right now only parts left are mobo, cpu, and ssd. Some crashes say ram is bad while other say gpu driver is bad. One time it said gpu lost power. I have a hunch the mobo might be faulty but I don't have proof for that claim. Is there a way to test the mobo? So far on my fresh windows install I only downloaded Chrome, Steam, CSGO, Discord, Python, VS code, ICUE, geforce experience, nvidia drivers (via geforce), realtek audio driver (from mobo site), and chipset drivers (via AMD site). Every night I go to sleep hoping the system works. I recently started running code 24/7 on my pc which is a huge headache when it turns off for 8+ hours while I'm at work. To clear things up, my pc also crashed before I started running code so I doubt that's related too. I wrote everything myself so no viruses in the code. Thank you!
BIOS is already recent enough that updating it won't help much. I am going to reset my memory settings back to factory defaults just in case. Do I do this from within the BIOS menu or by physically clearing the CMOS battery? A long time ago I swapped out my 32GB of RAM and messed up the slots, putting two sticks into positions one and three (lol). When I tried to move them to their right spot, which were two and four, I realized where they were wrong. I'll just test one stick at a time. Could the CPU pins bend because it's been sitting in that socket for several years without being moved?
I downloaded those files, and both the old hard drive test and the new one really smell like memory problems. If you want more details later but I think your best move right now is to get Memtest86 (it's free), use the imageUSB.exe tool from the download to make a USB stick that starts up, then boot onto that stick. When Memtest86 starts running, it will go through those tests. If there are no errors after four rounds of 13 different checks on the free version, just restart Memtest86 and do another four rounds. Let me know how things turn out.
Ram is often the main problem here. I suggested checking bent pins just in case other fixes don't work now, because this issue has been going on for a while. But if you've had it since putting in the new CPU, the old wires are probably already bad. Please check your RAM sticks instead.
I will run the memtest right now. I've tried two different sets of RAM on this PC. Is it possible the motherboard isn't reading or writing the RAM correctly? It feels more likely than both kits being broken. I will do the memtest anyway, but I want to know the details you shared. Thanks! edit: Thanking about it, I had many crashes before I swapped my RAM kit (like black screens and random restarts from my first post). Now it's mostly BSOD errors. Maybe I had multiple issues that got fixed, and this old kit just has problems? Regardless, I'm downloading the memtest now. Thanks!
I just came across this link: https://www.reddit.com/r/Amd/comments/j7...en_5_3600/. My most common crashes are DPC_WATCHDOG_VIOLATION and IRQL_NOT_LESS_OR_EQUAL. So, I might try to buy a new CPU. I admit I made quite a rookie mistake. When I booted up memtest it told me I was on a single channel. Turns out when replacing my ram with my old kit I misread the manual and ended up putting both sticks on a single channel. Fixed that now. However, I think my old ram was set in properly and I mistook it to be on a single channel. I will see how the system performs in dual channel. If I get more crashes I will run memtest. If memtest passes then I will upgrade to a 5600 and see how it performs. I am now reading about the finicky memory controllers within the 3600 (especially early revisions) and the issues seem very relatable to my system. I appreciate all the support and I will update the thread with the results of my troubleshooting. Thank you everyone for such detailed support!