Frequent BSODs that appear to be hardware issues – uncertainty about next steps
Frequent BSODs that appear to be hardware issues – uncertainty about next steps
Hey there!
Last summer I began experiencing occasional BSODs—roughly 0 to 2-3 times daily. At first, I ignored them, assuming they were just random glitches. Over time, I noticed they kept coming back, which made me consider upgrading my power supply so I could restart the PC remotely when away for RDP sessions. The crashes didn’t always trigger a full BSOD; sometimes the system would lock up instead.
These crashes seemed to be linked to unrelated factors—things like IRQL, KMODE, or Hypver-V—but the diagnostic logs provided no helpful details, just pointing to the Windows kernel or random processes.
I went through checking software, reinstalling graphics and chipset drivers, and even used Driver Verifier to narrow down the issue. It turned out a VPN tunnel driver was the culprit. After uninstalling it, the problem stopped. Then I removed several Razer drivers, but another one took its place.
So far, I’m leaning toward a hardware cause, though I’m not sure what’s going on. I also installed more RAM this summer, but tests confirmed it works fine—Windows memory checks and memtest86 passed. The CPU temperatures stayed low (under 75°C during heavy use), and the thermal paste upgrade helped.
I tried resetting the RAM and rearranging the sticks, but nothing worked. Some online tips suggested checking CPU pins, though I haven’t touched the CPU since assembly.
Any suggestions for further troubleshooting? I’ve attached a HWiNFO report with my system details.
https://drive.google.com/file/d/1pXTO6lk...sp=sharing
Thanks a lot!
I concluded that the most probable reason was a faulty CPU, so I suggest anyone experiencing this problem perform a CPU stress test.