I've been dealing with an issue where my Intel NUC Hades mini PC keeps crashing randomly, and it's getting worse over time. Occasionally, I can watch a two-hour movie without any problems, but often it shuts down and reboots after a few minutes. Interestingly, it usually doesn't crash while I'm playing games, especially the more demanding ones. However, smaller games have started causing crashes recently. Before crashing, I notice some signs: my video player will stutter or freeze while the audio continues for a bit, and in games, elements seem to glitch before it completely goes down. I used to see a blue screen error that showed 'CRITICAL_PROCESS_DIED'. This issue has been ongoing for a while, but at first, it was quite sporadic—now it's just constant. I've tried updating and reinstalling drivers, restoring BIOS settings, and even swapping out the RAM and thermal paste, but nothing seems to help. Here are my specs: Intel NUC8i7HVK, running Windows 11, with an Intel Core i7-8809G CPU, 2x16 GB RAM, and Radeon RX Vega M GH Graphics.
2 Answers
Have you checked the temperatures while gaming or right before crashes? Those NUCs can overheat, causing issues. At my workplace, we've had our share of problems with them overheating. It's worth keeping an eye on those temps to see if there's a pattern.
It sounds like you're having a frustrating time with those crashes! You should definitely look into gathering your crash dump files. They contain logs from the BSODs that can help diagnose the problem. If you can get into Windows, check the C:WindowsMinidump directory for any existing dump files. If you find any, zip them up and upload them to a file-sharing site like mediafire or catbox, since Reddit often blocks file uploads. The more files you have, the better chance we have of spotting the issue!
That’s a solid suggestion! Just make sure that your system is set to create the minidumps properly; you might need to tweak some settings to get more consistent dumps.
I just checked, and my GPU was at 34°C before crashing, with nothing else running. It's weird because it usually doesn't crash while gaming, but does when I'm idling.