Hey folks, my computer keeps freezing randomly and requires a hard reset to get it running again. This usually happens when I'm away from my desk, and I find it stuck once or twice a day. I'm using Windows 11 and I've checked the Event Viewer, but it doesn't show any errors since I manually restart it rather than getting a BSOD (blue screen of death). I logged my system with HWInfo before the last freeze, but I'm not sure how to share that information.
My setup includes a 3080 TI graphics card, an ASUS ROG Dark Hero motherboard, and a 5950X CPU, all powered by a Corsair RM1000x power supply. I haven't changed any hardware in over three years.
Gemini looked over my HWInfo log and mentioned that my memory, temperatures, and power supply voltages are fine; however, it seems there's a big issue with the PCIe connection (where the graphics card connects to the motherboard). They pointed out problems with PCIe Link Speed Transitions (ASPM).
So far, I've tried:
* Turning off PCIe Link State Power Management in Windows
* Reseating the GPU and fixing any sag
* Updating the motherboard BIOS, firmware, and NVIDIA drivers
* Forcing my PCIe to run in Gen 3 mode to see if it helps (still waiting to see if it crashes again).
If doing this does resolve the issue, does that mean something might be wrong with my motherboard?
1 Answer
It sounds like you're addressing this head-on! Before jumping to motherboard issues, double-check that Event Viewer for any logs related to the freezes. If there’s nothing but your force restarts, that might hint that it's not just hardware failing. Sometimes, weird software bugs can cause these issues too, especially with recent updates. Keep digging!
I checked the event viewer and found nothing critical except messages about the force restart. The only error logged was from .NET, which seems unrelated. I'm starting to think it's not a software problem.