Problem with PC failing to boot on startup in Windows 10
Problem with PC failing to boot on startup in Windows 10
I improved my custom PC a few months ago, and since then it keeps crashing (BSOD) every time it starts. My old setup was reliable for years, and I haven’t experienced any crashes or BSODs in its 3-year life. Specs: R5 5600X → R7 7700X (with MasterLiquid ML240L V2) RTX 4070TiS Teamgroup 2x8GB DDR4 → G.Skill Flare X5 DDR5 2x16GB (CL36-36-36-96 1.35V) Gigabyte B550M DS3H → ASUS TUF Gaming B650-Plus Wifi Samsung 990 PRO 2TB Boot Drive EVGA 650BS OS Installation: It was originally copied from a HP Envy Prebuilt Desktop around 2020. Crash patterns: After repeated crashes, it often works again after a while (details below). BSOD messages vary greatly each time, with common codes like Memory Management Error and Memory Overflow. Honestly, I’ve stopped focusing on the codes since they happen so often. But there are about ten types that loop, none of which relate to memory issues. Right after the upgrade, stability problems were worse than now. Previously, games would crash within 10–30 minutes in-game. To investigate, I ran Afterburner to check temperatures, power usage, and activity—nothing out of the ordinary at the time. After some troubleshooting, using prime95 revealed persistent CPU and RAM errors that sometimes triggered BSODs during tests. Reseating the RAM resolved the issues for a week. However, after that, startup crashes returned, but tests on prime95 stayed clean, and crashes became less frequent. Now, the most frequent crash is 2–30 seconds after logging into Windows. I can often tell if it’s about to go BSOD by seeing my browser loop. Less often it happens at the login screen (10–20% chance). The rarest is when pressing power turns it on for a second before shutting down completely. Then I have to restart and it usually boots normally, though BSODs can still appear. Every time I start up, one or more of these crashes happen. Also, sometimes after logging in, a popup about permission to access ASUS or AMD framework appears and causes a quick BSOD. *As I mentioned earlier, after several crashes and restarts (usually 2–5 times), it works almost perfectly.* I’m not sure if the laggy loading icon during login or slow Task Manager is the cause, but games still crash occasionally. The least frequent crash is when pressing power—just a brief flash, then shutdown, requiring another restart. *Although I’ve noticed the loading window icon feels sluggish, and sometimes Task Manager takes a moment to open, my games occasionally crash (not BSOD) after long sessions (maybe every 40–60 hours).*
I tried several fixes:
- Ran prime95 on RAM and CPU; errors disappeared after reseating RAM.
- Installed clean graphics drivers via GeForce Experience.
- Checked R7 7700X stability with various tweaks (CPU Load-Line Calibration, PBO, RAM over/undervolting, EXPO).
- Updated BIOS to version 3072 and refreshed chipset drivers.
- Used sfc scannow; found two issues but they were resolved.
- Installed AMD Privacy View and AMD Software Adrenaline Edition.
- Ran OCCT tests; results were clean after a few hours.
- Downloaded and ran AMD Privacy View and AMD Software: Adrenaline Edition; outdated drivers were updated but didn’t help.
- Examined Event Viewer logs over the past 30 days; found 3,893 events, mostly within 10 minutes of boot.
- Considered cleaning Windows, swapping RAM, uninstalling software, using DDU to remove drivers, and even removing programs since the upgrade.
What I haven’t tried:
- Performing a full Windows install/repair.
- Swapping components or getting a different RAM kit.
- Deeply analyzing Event Viewer logs.
- Using DDU to fully uninstall graphics drivers.
- Uninstalling all installed software after issues arose.
If anyone has experience with these problems, any advice would be greatly appreciated. My PC is functional but waiting 5 minutes for a stable boot is really annoying. If you have any files or data logs to share, please let me know so I can help further!
Visit C:\Windows\Minidump and verify the presence of any minidump files. If found, return to the Windows directory and transfer the entire Minidump folder to the Downloads folder (use your desktop if needed for file syncing). Compress the copied folder and include it in a post. Please adhere strictly to the guidelines provided by Windows, even though this may be difficult. It really bothers me.
It looks like memory from the dump files. Memory doesn't have to mean RAM, but it's usually the main suspect. Windows puts low priority data from RAM into the page file and loads it back in when needed so storage can look like memory (And memory can look like storage). The memory controller is in the CPU and if this fails it will just look like memory. When it's storage about half of the dumps will usually blame storage or storage drivers. You only had one that looks like storage, but that showed an inpage error (Which should mean that the error occurred while it was in the page file) which is one of the key errors we look for when determining if it's storage or something else. So I'm 85% sure it's not storage because it's just one error showing this, but I won't completely rule it out. If anything is overclocked or undervolted, remove it. Even the EXPO profile you have on the RAM while testing. Also find Precision Boost Overdrive in the BIOS and make sure it's on Disabled/Off. Also check for other automatic overclocking things like a "Gamer" or "Extreme" profile to disable. To test the RAM, use the machine normally with one stick at a time. If just one of the sticks cause crashes, faulty stick. If it crashes with either stick it's probably the CPU, but we also have that low chance for storage. Memory testers miss faulty RAM fairly often with DDR4 and newer so I don't trust them.
I checked my RAM step by step, starting with just the first stick in its original slot, then moving it to the other channel position (0100 then 0001). It worked without any issues. After swapping it with the second module and repeating the process, everything functioned properly. Once both were reinstalled, the system operated correctly and displayed 32GB as expected. This matches what happened before when I reinserted it, but problems reappeared about a week later. I’m worried this might happen again. Could be a similar issue. If it starts crashing again, I’ll remove one RAM stick to test further. Thanks a lot for your help so far!
You don't receive alerts when you remain silent. I looked at this by accident. It seems the motherboard might have reinitialized the BIOS upon spotting a new setup—make sure the RAM speed is correct. Still, RAM failures can cause unpredictable crashes. I've noticed instances where systems crash continuously for weeks, then suddenly stop and restart repeatedly.