Experiencing issues with your computer freezing or stopping unexpectedly.
Experiencing issues with your computer freezing or stopping unexpectedly.
I've been using this PC for a while now, around 2018-2019. It comes with a 9th gen Intel i5, an RTX 2060, and 16GB DDR4 RAM. Over time, I've noticed some odd problems—sometimes the screen would disconnect unexpectedly, fans would spin up rapidly, and I could still connect USB devices for audio or chat on Discord. Recently, PEAK, A Way Out, Content Warning, and other games stopped working properly. I thought it was probably a GPU issue since everything else seemed fine, but the display problems and strange fan behavior were the main issues.
I've tried reinstalling Windows, updating drivers, BIOS, and even took it to a repair shop, but nothing resolved the problem. When I disconnected all USB devices, I could still play games and talk on Discord, but the screens wouldn't stay on or the fans wouldn't behave normally. I’m not sure if it’s a hardware fault or just a personal issue.
I’ve been looking for advice from others who’ve faced similar problems. Any suggestions or experiences would be really helpful. This isn’t about being dramatic—it’s just that this machine has been my passion project, especially since I was into tech and YouTube content creation. I’m hoping someone can help me figure out what’s going on before I decide to upgrade.
It's tough to tell if the problem is still there or if it was resolved properly. You could check the Event Viewer around the crash time, looking for any mentions of nvlddmkm or WHEA events—this suggests a possible GPU driver issue. If nothing appears, run stress tests separately: use Prime95 for CPU and FurMark for GPU to see if crashes occur under load.
Hey there, let's go through this step by step. First, check Event Viewer, go to Windows Logs, then System, and scroll down to the latest crash time. You should see many nvlddmkm entries that stopped working but recovered. It’s normal for the graphics card to fail to fully recover, which is why the screen stays blank.
To figure out what’s wrong, consider these points:
1. Check your GPU temperatures using HWInfo—look at core and VRAM temps as well.
2. A faulty power supply might be the issue; try swapping it with another unit to see if it helps.
3. If possible, test the GPU on another PC or with a friend to confirm.
Since you reinstalled Windows, it’s unlikely a driver problem is the cause. Before diving deeper, clear any custom RAM settings and run the system with just one stick of RAM (though that might limit performance). Also, consider removing any unusual settings or configurations.
Good luck with troubleshooting!
Thank you for your reply. I'm still unsure if the issue is related to a component. When I mentioned it crashing repeatedly in one area of A Way Out, it would even stop working after a fresh start, but it functioned normally when I brought it to the repair shop. Regarding XMP, we're all fine with that. I haven't attempted overclocking due to concerns about damaging my PC. To be honest, I'm using a method of elimination to figure out what the problem isn't, rather than trying to pinpoint the cause. It's been confusing for everyone involved so far.
Sure thing! Glad you're checking. I managed to run a stress test on the GPU alone without any crashes, so I'll compare it to the CPU results.