Error displayed: Blue screen followed by CPU light indication.
Error displayed: Blue screen followed by CPU light indication.
Hi! Welcome to the forum. I’m here to help you with your PC issues. You mentioned using it for university projects and gaming, and yesterday it froze unexpectedly after about 30 seconds. When you tried to restart, it shut down but didn’t turn back on. You noticed the CPU light was always on while the GPU lights stayed off. It seems like the problem started after a BSOD, possibly linked to the GPU. You’ve tried several fixes—like using less RAM, changing slots, removing the card, and even backing up your BIOS—but nothing worked. The motherboard might be damaged. Your specs are: CPU I5-7500, MSI B250, Windows 10 Pro, GPU GTX 1060, 6GB RAM, Corsair 4x4GB, 2400MHz, and storage including a 1TB NVMe SSD and a 1TB WD Blue HDD. I hope someone can guide you through this. Thanks for reaching out!
If you've had to fix the same bluescreen multiple times before, there is likely a deeper problem you need to address. Looking online, nvlddmkm.sys blue screens arn't just caused by GPU issues. It can be a driver conflict, incorrect memory timings or voltages, overheating, corrupted driver installed, or a faulty graphics card. Can you tell me exactly what model of RAM you have? As for the current issue at hand, it is either the motherboard, or it is the CPU, and (to my knowledge) there isn't a good way to tell which. Plus even if there were, replacing a B250 motherboard is going to be very bad value for money. (You might be able to pick up a cheap used 7th gen CPU to use as a replacement, but I'm not sure that is great value for money either) You could try reseating the CPU... but I doubt it will help. As I can't see any other troubleshooting steps that you havn't already taken, it would be my recommendation that you replace your CPU and Motherboard. It would likely also be a good idea to replace the RAM and start a fresh install of windows (using a new windows installation media) to try and solve the long term repeated bluescreen issue with nvlddmkm.sys. Should that fail to resolve the bluescreening, do let us know. Sorry I couldn't be of more help.
I suspect the issue lies with my adblocker on Firefox that I use mainly for blocking ads on a popular music site. It sometimes freezes the computer briefly when it blocks ads. I tried ignoring those ads and fixing a broken file, but everything worked until I re-enabled the adblocker. My system has four RAM sticks: CMK16GX4M4A2400C16 (DDR4 C16 4X4GB Corsair Vengeance LX). I was considering buying used PCs in Italy, but there aren’t many good deals. I reached out to nearby companies for old machines, but they only offered them at low prices or said they discarded thousands of euros worth of PCs last week. They even mentioned giving them away for free if I asked sooner. On Amazon, I searched for affordable options under 300€ and wanted to know if the AMD R5 7600 is a solid CPU choice or if there are better alternatives, such as Intel 14th Gen. Thanks for your advice!
Intel's 14100 appears to be a solid value option currently, though stability concerns persist for 13th and 14th generation processors. The absence of upgrade possibilities is particularly frustrating. On the AMD side, their AM5 series feels limited at this price point, offering few affordable choices. Even the R5 7600 chip would require an additional €200 for a motherboard and DDR5 RAM, pushing the total past budget. The R5 8600G is available at €176, but it still exceeds the budget by €76. If staying within limits is your goal, an AM4 setup would be ideal—such as the AMD Ryzen 7 5800X 3.8 GHz 8-core processor (€166 at Amazon Italia), paired with the ASRock B550M Phantom Gaming 4 Micro ATX AM4 board (€88.53), and G.Skill Aegis 16 GB DDR4-3200 memory (€35.54). Combined, this totals €290.07, including shipping and taxes. Prices reflect current offers from PCPartPicker as of September 2024.