PC Tech At my wit's end - Random PC crashes

[Chest_Rockwell]

I must appeal to this board's magnanimous nature and ask for help for a recent problem that has cropped up for me. Recently (last two weeks), I have been experiencing random crashes in Windows 10 (this is after six months in my computer's current configuration without issue). They often occur while I am playing a game, though I have also had it happen when I was updating graphics drivers. When the crash occurs, I am able to move my mouse and the caps lock button still turns on and off but I am not able to select anything on the screen. If I wait long enough, a BSOD occurs which mentions one of two errors "Critical Process Died" or "Unexpected Store Exception". I then have to reset the computer using the reset button or holding the power button down for a few seconds. It generally will reboot fine and work for another 30 minutes to an hour before it crashes again.

 

After researching the problem a bit, I have tried various solutions:

• Antivirus scan - no problems detected
• System File Checker - there were some errors but I was able to have the system repair them and the errors no longer appear
• DISM - ran this without issue
• Checked drivers - all drivers appear to be up to date
• Updated BIOS - no issue
• Ran MemCheck86 - no errors detected
• Used a program to check my hard drives (I can't remember the name of the program - Crystal something) - all hard drives seemed fine (all were 100% except for the C Drive which showed 96% "health"
• Reset Windows - reinstalled fine but received a critical process died error while updating nvidia drivers

 

At this point, I am not sure exactly what to do since I can't seem to narrow down what is causing the problem. Is it worth it to complete reformat my primary drive and reinstall Windows from scratch? Could it be the hard drive that the OS is installed on that's the issue?

 

Thanks in advance for any suggestions you all might have.

[Commissar SFLUFAN]

This sounds like a failing HDD is my first inclination.

[dualhunter]

Try the hard drive test again and see if the health of the C Drive is the same or getting worse.

[Chest_Rockwell]

Thanks for the suggestions! I will try testing the hard drive again. (It is a SSD - not sure if that makes a difference but forgot to mention it earlier).

[AbsolutSurgen]

If you have corrupted drivers/settings, reinstalling Windows (vs. a reset) may solve your issue -- keep in mind that this will require you to reinstall all drivers/settings/software.

[cusideabelincoln]

Monitor the temperatures of every component.

 

I'd run MemTest again, and make sure it completes multiple full passes.

 

Was your SSD new just six months ago?  For it to lose 4% health in six months seems quite fast, unless it is small and you use it constantly which can explain that phenomenon.  Otherwise, this seems like a problem.

 

I would open up the case and reseat the memory.  Reseat and try different SATA cables.  Clean out any dust.  Make sure any power cables are secure.

 

Obviously if you have anything overclocked, return to stock.  And then verify your motherboard is running your RAM at the proper specs.

 

See if you can run just a GPU stress test.  Then if you can test a different video card - preferably equally as powerful, do so, or test your card in a different system.

 

If your video card, memory, and SSD check out as fine, then I'd consider replacing the power supply as a first step.

 

[Chest_Rockwell]

I tried MemTest again and it came back fine after multiple full passes.

 

I tried a GPU stress test tonight and that also was fine.

 

I cleaned out the case last weekend but did not try reseating the memory or SATA cables. I will do that this weekend.

 

Nothing is currently overclocked so I should be good on that front.

 

The SSD that my OS is on is not new (I think I purchased it several years ago and it is 120GB). The power supply is even older though. (In fact, you mentioned this when I asked for assistance in upgrading my computer last fall so perhaps that is the culprit and you can say I told you so  )

 

Thanks again for everyone's help. I am sure providing tech support is not anyone's idea of a good time so I am especially grateful!

[cusideabelincoln]

Yeah, power supplies simply don't work as well as they age.  They'll get less efficient and stop delivering stable voltage.  It's possible under a heavy load, like your GPU being used since the GPU uses the most power in your system, is causing the PSU to hit its limits.

 

It's also possible the video card has an issue itself, since you said the PC crashed during your Windows reset installing the video drivers.

[Spork3245]

9 hours ago, BlueAngel said:

PSU's have a good 3 years if you're lucky.

 

Unless you buy a quality one from the getgo, then you’ll have 8-10+  

[Keyser_Soze]

14 minutes ago, Spork3245 said:

 

Unless you buy a quality one from the getgo, then you’ll have 8-10+  

 

 

[Spork3245]

16 hours ago, Keyser_Soze said:

 

 

 

I mean, EVGA G Series PSUs have a 10 year warranty 

[Spork3245]

5 minutes ago, BlueAngel said:

I've always purchased good ones, after about 3 years they start getting weird and weird shit starts to happen. I'm about ready for a new one.

 

What brand were you previously buying? All of mine have lasted 10 years or more

[Keyser_Soze]

10 hours ago, Spork3245 said:

 

What brand were you previously buying? All of mine have lasted 10 years or more

 

He's the guy with the self proclaimed potato of the board, maybe his shit PSUs are part of it.

[Chest_Rockwell]

So I tried reseating the memory and SATA cables, as well as completely wiping my C: drive and reinstalling Windows. Still have experienced crashes. Unfortunately, I don't really have a means of testing my GPU in another system currently so I think I am just going to try ordering a new SSD and PSU. Here is my current build:

 

PCPartPicker Part List: https://pcpartpicker.com/list/LXsJCb

CPU: AMD Ryzen 5 2600X 3.6 GHz 6-Core Processor  ($145.89 @ OutletPC)
Motherboard: Asus ROG STRIX B450-F GAMING ATX AM4 Motherboard  ($119.89 @ OutletPC)
Memory: G.Skill Ripjaws V Series 16 GB (2 x 8 GB) DDR4-3200 Memory  ($79.99 @ Newegg)
Storage: Crucial M4 128 GB 2.5" Solid State Drive
Storage: Crucial MX500 1 TB 2.5" Solid State Drive  ($96.99 @ Amazon)
Storage: Western Digital Caviar Black 1 TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive  ($49.59 @ Amazon)
Storage: Western Digital Caviar Blue 1 TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive  ($44.48 @ Amazon)
Video Card: Asus GeForce RTX 2070 8 GB STRIX GAMING OC Video Card  ($419.99 @ Newegg)
Operating System: Microsoft Windows 10 Home OEM 64-bit  ($99.89 @ OutletPC)
Monitor: BenQ XL2411Z 24.0" 1920x1080 144 Hz Monitor
Monitor: Dell S2716DG 27.0" 2560x1440 144 Hz Monitor  ($629.99 @ Walmart)
 

In terms of an SSD, I was thinking about a second of these: Crucial MX500 1 TB 2.5" Solid State Drive to replace the Crucial M4 128 one.

 

As for a PSU, would this one be a good choice: EVGA SuperNOVA G3 650 W 80+ Gold Certified Fully Modular ATX Power Supply ? I think 650 W should be enough but could go with a 750 W if that would be better.

[Spork3245]

39 minutes ago, BlueAngel said:

 

Hardly a potato 

4790K 4.6GHz

16GB DDR3 1866MHz

AMD Radeon RX480 8GB

256GB SSD

480GB SSD

 

Currently using an evga, it's about 3 years old. I'll give it another year or replace it when I upgrade next year. I forget the brands I've used previously but they were all quality brands.

 

Something isn’t right on your end if your PSUs continually only last 3 years. I would get your wall outlet checked. Also, your EVGA PSU should still be under warranty.

[Spork3245]

59 minutes ago, BlueAngel said:

I'm not particularly having issues right now, sometimes things get weird though. I lean towards my motherboard though, it's an ASUS Z97AR and it's not exactly what you would come to expect in quality from ASUS. One of my pci-e x16 slots is dead for no reason so I don't know I've had this build since 2015, almost time to upgrade to a ryzen system.

 

The PCIE slot dying isn’t necessarily the fault of the PSU. You should check the warranty on that motherboard, it might still be good. All manufacturers/brands occasionally have a bad piece of hardware that slips through QC. 

[Spork3245]

BTW, it may not be the worst idea to invest in an outlet/voltage tester. I think they’re only around $12-15.

[Spork3245]

18 minutes ago, BlueAngel said:

I don't think my psu has anything to do with it but yeah warranty is long over, not a big deal i'll be building a new system in the next year or so.

 

Except for their budget lines, I thought ASUS motherboards typically had a 5 year warranty?

[darkness35]

On 8/23/2019 at 9:34 PM, Spork3245 said:

 

Unless you buy a quality one from the getgo, then you’ll have 8-10+  

... Either I'm lucky or my OCZ PSU is actually decent quality. 

[Spork3245]

47 minutes ago, darkness35 said:

... Either I'm lucky or my OCZ PSU is actually decent quality. 

 

OCZ PSUs, second gen and onward (2010+), were highly regarded alongside Corsair’s TX line and Antec’s Earthwatts line.

But, you’re not really “lucky” either because a PSU should last quite awhile in general  

[cusideabelincoln]

On 8/25/2019 at 12:02 PM, Chest_Rockwell said:

So I tried reseating the memory and SATA cables, as well as completely wiping my C: drive and reinstalling Windows. Still have experienced crashes. Unfortunately, I don't really have a means of testing my GPU in another system currently so I think I am just going to try ordering a new SSD and PSU. Here is my current build:

 

PCPartPicker Part List: https://pcpartpicker.com/list/LXsJCb

CPU: AMD Ryzen 5 2600X 3.6 GHz 6-Core Processor  ($145.89 @ OutletPC)
Motherboard: Asus ROG STRIX B450-F GAMING ATX AM4 Motherboard  ($119.89 @ OutletPC)
Memory: G.Skill Ripjaws V Series 16 GB (2 x 8 GB) DDR4-3200 Memory  ($79.99 @ Newegg)
Storage: Crucial M4 128 GB 2.5" Solid State Drive
Storage: Crucial MX500 1 TB 2.5" Solid State Drive  ($96.99 @ Amazon)
Storage: Western Digital Caviar Black 1 TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive  ($49.59 @ Amazon)
Storage: Western Digital Caviar Blue 1 TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive  ($44.48 @ Amazon)
Video Card: Asus GeForce RTX 2070 8 GB STRIX GAMING OC Video Card  ($419.99 @ Newegg)
Operating System: Microsoft Windows 10 Home OEM 64-bit  ($99.89 @ OutletPC)
Monitor: BenQ XL2411Z 24.0" 1920x1080 144 Hz Monitor
Monitor: Dell S2716DG 27.0" 2560x1440 144 Hz Monitor  ($629.99 @ Walmart)
 

In terms of an SSD, I was thinking about a second of these: Crucial MX500 1 TB 2.5" Solid State Drive to replace the Crucial M4 128 one.

 

As for a PSU, would this one be a good choice: EVGA SuperNOVA G3 650 W 80+ Gold Certified Fully Modular ATX Power Supply ? I think 650 W should be enough but could go with a 750 W if that would be better.

 

As long as you aren't going to overclock 650W is fine, and EVGA units are pretty good.

[Spork3245]

On 8/25/2019 at 12:02 PM, Chest_Rockwell said:

So I tried reseating the memory and SATA cables, as well as completely wiping my C: drive and reinstalling Windows. Still have experienced crashes. Unfortunately, I don't really have a means of testing my GPU in another system currently so I think I am just going to try ordering a new SSD and PSU. Here is my current build:

 

PCPartPicker Part List: https://pcpartpicker.com/list/LXsJCb

CPU: AMD Ryzen 5 2600X 3.6 GHz 6-Core Processor  ($145.89 @ OutletPC)
Motherboard: Asus ROG STRIX B450-F GAMING ATX AM4 Motherboard  ($119.89 @ OutletPC)
Memory: G.Skill Ripjaws V Series 16 GB (2 x 8 GB) DDR4-3200 Memory  ($79.99 @ Newegg)
Storage: Crucial M4 128 GB 2.5" Solid State Drive
Storage: Crucial MX500 1 TB 2.5" Solid State Drive  ($96.99 @ Amazon)
Storage: Western Digital Caviar Black 1 TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive  ($49.59 @ Amazon)
Storage: Western Digital Caviar Blue 1 TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive  ($44.48 @ Amazon)
Video Card: Asus GeForce RTX 2070 8 GB STRIX GAMING OC Video Card  ($419.99 @ Newegg)
Operating System: Microsoft Windows 10 Home OEM 64-bit  ($99.89 @ OutletPC)
Monitor: BenQ XL2411Z 24.0" 1920x1080 144 Hz Monitor
Monitor: Dell S2716DG 27.0" 2560x1440 144 Hz Monitor  ($629.99 @ Walmart)
 

In terms of an SSD, I was thinking about a second of these: Crucial MX500 1 TB 2.5" Solid State Drive to replace the Crucial M4 128 one.

 

As for a PSU, would this one be a good choice: EVGA SuperNOVA G3 650 W 80+ Gold Certified Fully Modular ATX Power Supply ? I think 650 W should be enough but could go with a 750 W if that would be better.

 

650 is good for the PSU. My 3770k ran OCed to 4.5ghz with SLI 980 Tis on a 650watt Seasonic PSU without issue for years.

 

1 hour ago, cusideabelincoln said:

 

As long as you aren't going to overclock 650W is fine, and EVGA units are pretty good.

 

See above. Unless a 2600x is super power hungry...?

 

Also, @Chest Rockwell don’t pay that price for Win10. You can get a (legitimate) key off eBay for $5-10.

 

As for SSD, are you looking solely for a boot drive? If so, get an m.2 from Crucial, ADATA (XPG Series), or Samsung. If it’s a gaming drive get an ADATA su800 as the 2tb version frequently goes on sale for under $180 (lowest I’ve seen is $173).

[Chest_Rockwell]

I ended up going with the 750W version just because the price was cheaper on Amazon than the 650W and I had a gift card I could use. As for the SSD I decided on the 500GB Crucial MX500 model since my other MX500 has been working well. 

 

31 minutes ago, Spork3245 said:

Also, @Chest Rockwell don’t pay that price for Win10. You can get a (legitimate) key off eBay for $5-10.

 

Oh, I didn't - I was just using PCPartPicker as a way to catalog what I currently have.

 

I will see if this fixes the issue. If not, I will see if I can find a way to test my video card in another computer.

 

Thanks again for all the help! You guys are the best .

[Chest_Rockwell]

As a quick update, I replaced the SSD and power supply last Thursday and my computer has worked flawlessly since. I am happy to have that issue behind me and to get back to DCS and Rainbow Six:Siege.

 

Thanks again!