PC crash due to Windows issues - frozen system, blue screens, unexpected restarts - how should I handle it?
PC crash due to Windows issues - frozen system, blue screens, unexpected restarts - how should I handle it?
I didn't realize it before when I checked the motherboard manual, but does your motherboard have a flea power light or LED (it typically lights up when power is still being supplied to the motherboard)? If yes, remove everything except the motherboard, CPU and power, then turn it on and observe if the light flashes on and off. If that happens, you can identify which component is the source.
It seems you're correct about the situation - I simplified it to just three parts. I was concerned about the PSU given its behavior and stable performance otherwise. On a close look, all three parts appear okay. My guess is the motherboard, but since I need to take the PC apart, I'm planning to return the product for exchange. Good luck!
It's great you now have the RMA option after two years. Best of luck!
Unfortunately I found out I don't have that option. I think I'll send the PC to a nearby repair shop to check the motherboard and CPU, which they can do tomorrow, and then I'll need to replace the bad part.
I regret saying more than what's already discussed, but wish you success at the repair shop. Please inform me once the problem is resolved and describe the cause.
Hello, it has been a while but here are some updates on the situation.
The repair shop tried the PC with another boot drive and found no problems—everything else seems fine. The problem isn’t with the drive itself; I replaced it and the issue continues, even without any error messages from the drive.
There’s been some improvement though. Reboots and freezes are now less frequent, and I’ve successfully reinstalled Windows. The computer still freezes or restarts after about 10 to 20 minutes, but I can now access error logs.
I suspect the problem lies with the drive rather than the drive itself—possibly due to the M2 port, voltage settings, temperature, or something similar. I’m currently looking into these possibilities. If you have any suggestions or fixes, please share. In the worst case, I might reset my games SSD and install Windows there to see if the issues remain.
I've been working on the PC for a few more hours and tried several approaches—no freezes or reboots have occurred in the last 90 minutes while using it to browse or play games, which is great. I think this situation is now resolved. For anyone facing similar issues later: I switched back to an older BIOS version (from 2022) because the freezes began around the time of the update. I also adjusted several BIOS settings:
- RAM clock speed set
- Disabled Memory Fast Boot
- Turned off Precision Boost Overdrive and Core Performance Boost
- Set Power Supply Idle Control to Typical
Additionally, I updated the CPU and chipset drivers since some were reporting errors.
Edit: It turned out that disabling CPU C-States eliminated many of the freezes and reboots—since the PC only froze while idle now, not during gaming, suggesting the C-states were causing unnecessary voltage reduction.
Hello, I need assistance fixing a problem with my computer. Recently, it keeps restarting unexpectedly while idle and displays a "Cache Hierarchy Error" in the Windows Event Viewer. I've attempted various solutions without success. This appears to be related to the CPU, though my unit is no longer under warranty, so I'm hoping to find a workaround instead of replacing the CPU entirely.
Details about the system:
Specs
MSI X570 GAMING EDGE WIFI Motherboard
Ryzen 5800X CPU
GTX 3080 Ti GPU
bequiet! 850W Power Supply
2 x Kingston Fury 8GB 3200Mhz DDR4 RAM
Samsung 970 EVO 1TB NVM.e
Samsung 870 EVO 2TB SSD
Seagate Barracuda 4TB HDD
I've tried:
Restarting Windows
Reinstalling most drivers and ensuring the correct chipset drivers are installed
Disabling C-States, Core Performance Boost, and Precision Boost Overdrive in the BIOS
Adjusting CPU core voltages in the BIOS
Setting Windows power settings to 100% minimum processor state and high performance
Inspecting the power source and checking temperatures (normal)
Running memtest to verify memory integrity
No problems have been encountered during BIOS or boot processes.
When running demanding applications, such as high-end video games, the crashes are minimal.
Any additional advice on how to resolve this would be greatly appreciated!
The latest BIOS version is here.
I regret choosing to post this myself, as I wasn't familiar with the proper etiquette. To be clear, most of the PC problems were resolved, making it satisfactory in terms of usability, which is why I ended the discussion.
I don’t use a 1000W power supply—this was an error on my end. I’ve updated the original post to fix that.
I’m still using the same hardware as before, except for the hard drive I referenced in the earlier thread.
Edit: Also, I downloaded the OS installer onto another laptop’s USB drive from Microsoft’s site if you need more details.