PC freezing regularly every few days can be frustrating.
PC freezing regularly every few days can be frustrating.
I've been assisting a colleague with his PC troubles for roughly two weeks. Even with my tech expertise and extra troubleshooting steps, we haven't managed to resolve the problem.
Background: The computer is new, purchased from Origin PC. It functioned well initially but began freezing recently. We performed a fresh OS installation after several consistent issues (repeated BSODs, failed updates). We suspected an external drive was the cause but those were removed and freezing continued. We swapped out an old mouse and headset, excluded those drives, but the issue remains.
After a recent OS upgrade (Windows 10 from Origin flash), BIOS was updated to the latest version. All drivers and hardware (SSDs, CPU, GPU, RAM) were verified through Samsung Magician software. Windows Event Viewer and Task Scheduler logs showed no critical errors until the freezes started. We disabled unused audio devices, turned off Wi-Fi, and checked for sleep settings—no sleep or hibernation issues detected.
Despite these efforts, a hard freeze occurs every 2–3 days, usually between 4–9 AM. The freezes seem to happen after inactivity but don’t align with typical sleep cycles. The PC never enters sleep mode, and display lights remain on even when idle.
Current specs: AMD Ryzen 9 5950X, Gigabyte X570, 64GB RAM, NVIDIA RTX 3070, 500GB SSD. No RAID drives or external storage detected.
What’s happening? It feels like a delay after inactivity, but that doesn’t match the timing. I’m not sure if the watchdog violation has been resolved or if it persists in another form. Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated.
Updates: The system froze at 5 AM and again at 8 AM today, after two days without freezing. This pattern seems linked to early morning use. The WATCHDOG VIOLATION code disappeared since there were no BSODs, but it’s unclear if the fix worked.
Please share any leads that could help us get this resolved!
Event viewer displays the same messages right before and after freezing. PBO is enabled by default; ensure it remains active. RAM frequency exceeds 3200MHz, so apply the DOCP/XMP profile and set it to auto. Clarify the behavior of the WD 14tb external disk and why the PC froze upon its connection.
No overclocks were made, XMP was actually off; I turned it on to 3200Mhz, though I thought we’d already adjusted it after the BIOS update. It’s worth mentioning this wasn’t active during the problems, and I’m unsure if it was enabled by default when Origin delivered it. I remember it had a V30 BIOS, about two years ago—so who knows? Regarding disabling PBO, it was set to Auto and is now off. The external WD drives (14TB and 12TB) were suspected for the WATCHDOG VIOLATION BSOD, since no other devices seemed involved, though this was mostly based on logic. Both drives have been taken out of consideration for testing now, as they’re no longer part of the investigation. The only peripherals still in use are a C920 webcam and a blue Yeti mic—both common models, and I’m using both on an AMD system (5900x). We’ll replace them just to be safe, but we’re still hoping for a quicker resolution since waiting 4–6 days to test them feels too long.
I’ve got some unusual suggestions. Have you considered updating the monitor firmware? I faced some frustrating problems that were fixed by that. The DPC issue appears to be software-based, so a clean Windows install without the extra bloat might help. Also, running chkdsk, sfc, and dismis could be useful if the drive is failing. DDU just in case.
I reviewed the monitor model on the BenQ website and found no available options—they don’t provide plug-and-play monitors. I’m looking for a detailed software guide to compare. I ran SFC and chkdsk, and the Samsung Magician checks came back clean. I thought about using DDU, but since we performed a clean install and updated drivers via GeForce Experience, it seems unlikely DDU would assist further.
I've experienced this before switching from a temporary R9 390 to my current build (originally from a laptop without a GPU for some time). It wasn't difficult, just a bit time-consuming. I'll note it as something we might consider. We've already run chkdsk, sfc, and dismis, all passing without issues. Even with Origin software that heavily used CPU and RAM for 30 minutes, we plan to run Memtest86 overnight or soon, since he has 64GB and it's likely a bad sector within that size can take some time, especially when using only 16-20GB, which is usually for video editing.