My PC has been randomly freezing and restarting. It started mostly during games, but now it happens more often regardless of what program I'm using—even while the computer is idle. Occasionally, running a game is the only situation where it stays stable. The screen freezes, goes black, and then returns to the Windows lock screen a few moments later, without showing a blue screen or error message. Temperatures appear normal, and I already cleaned out the dust, reapplied thermal paste, and replaced my older power supply with a newer, better-rated one. Windows Memory Diagnostic also reported no problems. I'm wondering whether the GPU, RAM, motherboard, or another component could be responsible. What troubleshooting steps can help identify the faulty part without replacing most of the system unnecessarily?
2 Answers
Check whether Windows is creating crash dumps or logging an unexpected shutdown. Look in C:WindowsMinidump and review Event Viewer around the time of the restart. If there are dump files, they may point to a driver or hardware problem. Also make sure automatic restart is disabled temporarily so a brief blue-screen error doesn’t disappear before you can read it.
Overheating is worth checking, but it sounds less likely if the CPU and GPU temperatures stay normal under load and you’ve already cleaned the system and replaced the thermal paste. Monitor both temperatures, clocks, and voltages while the problem occurs rather than relying only on idle readings.
I suspected overheating too, but the temperatures looked normal. I’ve already cleaned out the dust and reapplied thermal paste, so I’m going to focus on logs, drivers, and component testing next.