Long term issue - PC freezing during gameplay or immediately after closing it, without any BSODs.
Long term issue - PC freezing during gameplay or immediately after closing it, without any BSODs.
So far, I've assembled my PC in 2020 and have experienced the first freezes after about three months. I didn’t pay much attention until they started happening infrequently. In 2021, I swapped out both the motherboard and CPU because the original one failed completely due to a simple mistake I made while installing the liquid cooler (I put the RGB connector on the wrong side 😛). I thought maybe that would resolve the issue, but it kept freezing intermittently. I’m not sure anymore, but from November to February 2022, and again in January and February 2023, there were no freezes or crashes at all. I considered a Windows or GPU driver update as a possible fix, but it only worked for a month before the problem returned. Now the PC is crashing more often—sometimes I can’t even play a game for over two minutes. It also crashes while using apps like Discord, browsing the internet, or watching Netflix. Feeling exhausted, I’ve decided to embark on a long search to identify the cause. The Event Viewer consistently reported a Kernel Power error 41 (63). While searching forums with similar cases, most suggested replacing the PSU. Before that, I tested the RAM with Memtest and found no issues. Then I replaced the PSU, which lasted 20 days without problems. I ran every test with OCCT, games, apps—nothing worked. Finally, I fixed the issue? Day 21, another crash. After learning how to read crash dumps, I discovered three key points:
1) One Logitech driver from the GHUB app was flagged as the cause of the crashes (app and drivers gone).
2) It doesn’t crash in other applications or stress tests (OCCT).
3) All crash dumps point to either the nvlddmkm.sys NVIDIA driver or ntkrnlmp.exe, which seems linked to the operating system.
Some suggested changing privacy settings under the nvlddmkm.sys driver, but that didn’t help. I also updated the BIOS and chipset drivers.
Summary of actions:
- Changed motherboard
- Switched CPU
- Replaced PSU
- Tried various fixes online
- Ran Memtest—no problems found
- Reset GPU with DDU, updated BIOS and chipset drivers
- Underclocked GPU (with no effect)
- Did not change RAM, GPU, or old SSD
What I haven’t changed:
- RAM
- GPU
- Old SSD (now replaced with a new one running Windows)
Things to try next:
- I might swap my GPU with a friend’s to see if it’s the problem—hopefully, this won’t cost me a lot.
- A clean Windows installation could help.
- I’m still unsure, maybe the new PSU is faulty or the motherboard has an issue (possibly the PCIe slot), and not the CPU.
If you need crash dumps, let me know—I’ll share them here.
PC specs:
CPU: Ryzen 5 5600X
Motherboard: MSI B550 Gaming Plus
GPU: MSI GTX 1660 Super
RAM: G.SKILL 16GB
PSU: Corsair RM750
SSD: Samsung 980 Pro (the other one is unclear)
Changed Motherboard
Did you swap the board, replacing it entirely or just updating the platform? As it isn’t listed in your activities, you didn’t reinstall the operating system. What is the BIOS version for your motherboard right now?
In 2021 I updated both the motherboard and CPU because the first one failed completely due to a simple mistake while installing the liquid CPU cooler (I put the RGB connector on the wrong side 😛).
This might affect everything connected to the motherboard.
If with complete you imply altering board, cpu and ram as well, then no, because I've only changed the board and cpu. Before I had an MSI B450 with a ryzen 5 1600, RAM unchanged. I didn't reinstall the OS, after the modifications I clearly reactivated windows and then when I installed the new SSD I transferred it from the old to the new one. The BIOS version is the most recent, 7C56v1E1
Ho notato in Reliability history che i crash si verificano nello stesso momento di qualcosa chiamato Microsoft GameInput, forse per causa o solo effetto dei problemi.
I changed my 1660 model to a 1050 and everything functions properly. I think the issue might be related to my GPU, but since the 1050 is a 6-pin version instead of an 8-pin like the 1660, it uses less power. I’m still thinking about whether the problem lies with the PSU. Should I purchase a new GPU or let someone test it with a more powerful one?