Struggling to figure out why your PC freezes? Let me help you pinpoint the problem.
Struggling to figure out why your PC freezes? Let me help you pinpoint the problem.
She has been experiencing freezing problems on her PC for over a year. Occasionally it freezes micro, but more often it completely freezes and needs to restart before showing the BIOS or requiring several attempts to see it. At first, it seemed like the cooling system was throttling during intense gaming sessions. We spent a lot of time searching online and eventually replaced the GPU’s thermal paste, which helped for a while. We purchased high-quality paste with good reviews, but after some time it started causing fans to throttle again, pushing temperatures above 90°C. We tried various temporary fixes to manage the fans and temps, but the frustration grew—especially since her PC would freeze completely until restarted. Now, even at cooler temperatures, she keeps freezing, which makes me think something is wrong. It seems like a hardware issue might be affecting performance. Her hard drives are fine after scans. The situation is becoming harder to handle with schoolwork, so I’m looking for advice or help before resorting to more replacements. It’s a newer system (2070 Super) with a Ryzen 5 2600, and I can share more details if needed. Thanks for any assistance you can provide.
Start by installing HWiNFO. Allow the system to run for a short period before capturing all parameter screenshots—from temperature up through various settings. Obtain the 3D mark demo and test a free trial. I expect it to display some core statistics highlighting underperformance areas. Next, we'll review essential checks: ensuring proper cooling installation, confirming the cooler maintains good contact, verifying no pagefiles are present on the HDD, and so on. It should be a straightforward issue, as electronics typically function correctly or not at all.
It appears you're experiencing several common problems: storage drive capacity is nearly full, freezing, failed boot attempts, and general sluggish performance. If your drives exceed 75% utilization, these issues will likely occur, particularly if the drive hosts your operating system. Consider cleaning unnecessary files or upgrading to a larger-capacity drive. AOMEI Backuper can help transfer the entire drive without errors, though some partition adjustments may be needed when moving from smaller to larger drives. Overheating is another concern—GPU, CPU, or storage components can slow things down. Monitor temperatures; if they exceed 90°C during moderate use, investigate further. Download Crystal Disk or HWINFO to check drive temps. If idle temps surpass 60°C, it may indicate a cooling issue. You’ve likely already taken steps to address cooling, so consider upgrading your CPU cooler (AM4 socket) or adding case fans for better airflow. Nactua fans are popular choices. Outdated drivers or BIOS updates can improve stability and cold-start performance. Windows sometimes stops functioning after prolonged use; a clean reset—keeping essential files on a separate drive—can resolve this, though it’s time-consuming. If none of these apply, the problem is probably software-related or thermal. Let me know if you need more guidance!