Windows 8.1 experiences crashes and system hangs.
Windows 8.1 experiences crashes and system hangs.
Hello everyone, I’m not entirely certain if I’m running Windows 8.1, but my research suggests it might be. To give you a clearer picture, I’m currently using the most recent updates on my system. My setup includes all hardware linked in my profile, though I suspect it’s not the source of the issue. I’ve replaced every component and double-checked all connections just to rule out physical problems. My graphics card is an Nvidia model with the latest driver update installed as well, but I doubt that’s the cause either.
During my attempts to fix the GPU driver, I kept encountering a hanging error. Over the past ten days, my computer has started acting strangely—programs crash unexpectedly, and I can’t access the task manager with CTRL+ALT+DEL. Even opening the Command Prompt via Windows Key + X doesn’t work, and I’m stuck using the power button to restart. The problem seems unrelated to any single app; it happens even when I launch Chrome, Corsair’s CUE software, or play games like WoW.
I’ve tried several fixes online, but nothing has helped. I’ve changed the Task Manager settings, run system scans, and used tools like Dism.exe, yet issues persist. My thoughts are now on reformatting the boot drive and reinstalling Windows 8.1. I’ve backed up my games and files to separate SSDs and plan to disconnect them during the reformat process. These drives were from an old machine and worked fine without reinstalling everything.
I haven't experimented with a different layout yet. I was trying to skip this but believe it could be the next option. Or maybe my Windows 10 upgrade is available and I've considered that too, though the latest notes suggest problems with Win 10 and SLI (my second 980 Ti is due today), so I'm hesitant. I'm also not sure how challenging it would be to revert back to 8.1. I have the OEM disk and key, which means it should behave similarly if I were starting over.