Unusual system failures in software after hardware changes New equipment setup leads to strange game crashes
Unusual system failures in software after hardware changes New equipment setup leads to strange game crashes
Since I upgraded my CPU, RAM, motherboard, and power supply about a month and a half ago, I’ve faced game crashes after just 10 to 45 minutes, depending on the title. Occasionally the system restarts without a blue screen, though this is uncommon. The BSODs display various codes such as IRQL_NOT_LESS_OR_EQUAL and KERNEL_SECURITY_CHECK_FAILURE. This problem continues even after swapping out RAM and the motherboard to different models. Regarding the graphics card, I’ve been using it since December 2024 without any issues. I haven’t enabled overclocking, undervolting, or XMP/EXPO settings. There’s also a new issue where websites like YouTube cause the screen to briefly flicker black during video playback—this hasn’t occurred before. I suspect these problems relate to Live Kernel Events 1a8 and 1b8 in the event viewer. Interestingly, when I moved it to another location—either a friend’s house or a repair shop—the machine functions perfectly, with no crashes or flickering. My apartment building, constructed in 1937, might be contributing, though I’ve never experienced anything similar. Recently, an electrician replaced the outlet and confirmed the wiring was intact, but the issue remains. I attempted a battery backup to stabilize power, yet the flickering continues even when unplugged. Admittedly, such a setup isn’t ideal for this setup. I’ve tried several troubleshooting steps: updating GPU drivers, reinstalling them from NVIDIA’s site, adjusting registry settings, modifying TDR delay, updating BIOS, changing virtual memory size, performing clean installs of Windows, swapping RAM and motherboard, using a different power adapter, adjusting HDMI connections, and more. Despite these efforts, the problem persists.
Consider checking RAM problems by booting MemTest86 from a USB drive. You mentioned swapping the RAM and motherboard—maybe it wasn’t the RAM. Also, when you performed a clean Windows installation twice, did you use a fresh USB stick? The built-in reset option isn’t very helpful.
The BSOD dump resembles memory patterns. Live kernel logs appear as GPU or driver crashes (black screen alerts and video engine timeouts). It seems these might be connected. UE logs don’t give clear details, possibly making more sense if you’re comfortable with UE concepts. Memory isn’t always RAM, but it’s usually the main focus. Windows stores low-priority RAM data in the page file and retrieves it when needed, giving storage a memory-like appearance. The CPU’s memory controller failure would simply present as memory issues. Could you verify if you have any WHEA events? The Sysnative collection’s event log didn’t display anything, though I’m unsure about its functionality. In Event Viewer, go to Windows Logs → System, select “Filter Current Log,” choose “WHEA-logger” from the dropdown, and click OK. If you find WHEA events, highlight them, right-click, and save. Upload the .evtx file here.
The main issues seem to revolve around power supply and the motherboard.
I successfully played Far Cry 4 for about an hour without issues. Later, I tried Tower Unite for roughly an hour before it crashed to the desktop accompanied by a strong static sound. The error code matched previous ones (0xc0000005 – access violation, invalid pointer read). This seems linked to the graphics driver reinstallation while keeping the NVIDIA audio driver active. I removed the NVIDIA audio driver from Device Manager to avoid similar problems in the future.
Memory issues can occur due to drivers, though typically the system would alert the user if something is wrong.