The PC has been experiencing crashes for more than eight months – I've done everything possible!
The PC has been experiencing crashes for more than eight months – I've done everything possible!
Hello there. I've exhausted my options on this one and I'm close to caving here and ship the pc to where I bought the parts for technical support. There are two things left i haven't tried, one of which is to inquire here and beg for some help.
There's going to be quite a lot information, but I will try to keep only the most relevant. I'm able to answer most questions you may have of course.
First of all, the hardware specifics of my PC.
Case: Phanteks Eclipse G500A D-RGB Fanless Edition
Motherboard: Asus Tuf Gaming B760-PLUS Wifi
CPU: Intel Core i7-13700 (neither K or F)
GPU: Gainward GeForce RTX 4060 Ti
Memory: Kingston Fury Beast RGB DDR5 5600Mhz 32GB
PSU: Asus Tuf Gaming 850w Gold
I have 3 m.2 drives, two of which holds 1TB each and one which holds 250GB. The 250gb m.2 is the one where I have windows.
Additionally there is an old HDD from 2017 installed.
I recently upgraded to windows 11, so I'm using that now, but I was on 10 at first.
I built this pc myself in September 2023. The blue screen has been with me since the very beginning. I was pretty convinced that this was a hardware problem so I've basically replaced everything - literally everything. The only thing that I have no replaced is the case and the m.2's and I'm probably going to buy a new m.2 soon to replace the windows drive, do a clean install on that as a last ditch effort. That's the only thing I can think of that I haven't tried. I've done many clean installs in the past but they didnt fix the problem.
The bluescreens comes with two seperate stopcodes:
CRITICAL_ PROCESS_DIED and SYSTEM_SERVICE_EXCEPTION. The bluescreens happens mostly in a window of 5-30 minutes after turning on the PC for the day, so always in the morning. I seldom get 2 bluescreens in a day. Sometimes I've had no bluescreens at all for almost a week, but just when I think things have taken a turn for the better, it comes back to make me miserable again. Event viewer lists kernel power 41, of course. Not that this tells me very much. When the crashes happen, the screen freezes for 1 second, then it either goes to black or a bluescreen and restarts immediatly. Sometimes its literally insantly, other times the bluescreen wants to collect some info first and there's a percentage that goes up to 100%.
I was convinced it was a driver issue, but after I paid a small sum for a program that checks for all my drivers and updates (or installs if they are missing completely), it found quite a lot of missing drivers. And I didnt crash for at least 5 days after that update. But it came back, unfortunately.
I also used another program to remove some pesky windows apps like the xbox app and game bar, but that has not improved anything either.
I also updated my BIOs recently, as I was missing an update there. It didnt help me.
I've also been debugging the minidump files to try to squeeze some information out of them that could lead me to a more solid conclusion on whether this is a hardware or software problem. But I still have no clue., it was pointing to driver problem but I did that so.... I've scanned all kinds of hardware without finding anything faulty, I just don't understand what this is or how to attack it anymore.
If anyone has a clue on where to go from here....maybe revisit something? I'm assuming someone is going to tell me to reseat the hardware but I've done that multiple times. I can of course check it again. At this point I'm willing to try almost anything. If there is any information you need I will be happy to provide it.
Thank you in advance.
I also refreshed my BIOs recently, since I was missing an update there. It didn’t assist me.
For clarity, what BIOS version are you currently using?
I just upgraded to Windows 11, so I’m running that now, although I started with Windows 10. Did you reinstall your operating system after what I assume is an internal upgrade from Windows 10 to Windows 11? If not, you should create a bootable USB installer for Windows 11 and install the OS in offline mode. After installation, manually add all relevant drivers in an elevated command—right-click the installer and run as Administrator.
Just a note, disconnect all drives from your system, keeping only the one you plan to install the OS on.
I thought it might be a driver problem, but after paying a small fee for a program that checks and updates all my drivers, I’m not sure anymore.
Please avoid using third-party apps to tell you about pending updates. If necessary, compare your version with the one listed on your device manufacturer’s support site.
Hello,
Have you reviewed the event viewer for any particular error codes or trends? It might offer some hints. Also, did you attempt a stress test on the CPU and GPU to determine if they cause the blue screen? This could assist in identifying whether the problem lies with hardware or software. Furthermore, have you kept an eye on temperatures while using the device to exclude overheating as a potential reason? Hope this is useful.
Armoury Crate last in the list proves very useful for asus drivers.
https://www.asus.com/motherboards-c...do...-PLUS-WIFI
Who crashes
https://www.resplendence.com/downloads
Just checking if the RAM frequency is correct??
The current BIOS version is 1646. I haven’t reinstalled Windows after upgrading to 11; it remains high on my priorities. I’m likely to try it next week, but I’m currently relocating and surrounded by banana boxes. Still, I plan to purchase a new M.2 before proceeding with the clean installation.
Do I really need to disconnect all other M.2 drives? That sounds like a hassle. But I suppose I can give it a try.
What exactly makes using third-party applications problematic?
If you could provide a step-by-step guide for your suggestion, that would be very helpful.
I’ve been monitoring the Event Viewer for some time. It has sections for Critical, Error, and Warning. Before replacing the motherboard and PSU (using identical products), I experienced numerous errors in this section daily—hundreds of errors each day. After the replacement, those errors nearly vanished. I still occasionally see a few, usually just 4 or 5. I also use HwInfo064 to monitor temperatures; it was mostly used before, but it tracks PCI-E bus errors too. Before switching the motherboard, those errors dropped to zero, and I haven’t had any since then. I can’t completely eliminate overheating concerns, but if this is the issue, it suggests something causes the CPU to spike rapidly in seconds. My temperatures are quite stable, so it doesn’t seem very likely. Unfortunately, even though the errors are mostly gone, I still encounter crashes.
I previously used Armoury Crate on my PC, but after researching, many people say it’s unreliable and often causes crashes. During my last clean reinstall, I chose not to install Armoury Crate to see if it would help. So it’s not installed now.
How can I confirm if the RAM is set correctly? The only thing I know is that they are seated properly and XPM is enabled.