I've been dealing with persistent problems on my Windows 11 PC and have run out of ideas. The system randomly restarts, sometimes while I'm only browsing files. Games crash regardless of how demanding they are, with missing textures or simulations stopping unexpectedly. Chrome tabs also crash, and Windows updates frequently fail or refuse to download automatically.
The system has an Intel Core i7-9700K, ASUS PRIME Z390-P motherboard, 32 GB of DDR4 memory, a Radeon RX 9070 XT, and several SSDs plus a 4 TB hard drive. I've already replaced or upgraded the SSD, graphics card, power supply, and RAM, although the problems started before those changes.
So far I've updated the drivers, performed a clean Windows installation on the newer SSD, formatted the previous system drive, and run CHKDSK. Could another component—especially the memory, motherboard, or memory controller—be failing? What should I test next?
3 Answers
That combination of random restarts, browser crashes, game errors, and failed Windows updates strongly suggests unstable or faulty memory. Since additional RAM was installed, check whether the kits are different or whether all four slots are populated. Mixed kits and four DIMMs can be unstable on this platform even if the system still boots.
Start by disabling XMP in the BIOS. If the crashes continue, test with only one matched pair installed in the recommended slots, usually A2 and B2. You can also run MemTest86 from a bootable USB drive. If it reports errors, test each stick separately to identify whether one module is defective.
MemTest86 is a good way to confirm this. Even a small number of errors means the memory configuration or hardware needs attention.
If Windows is producing crash dumps, check C:WindowsMinidump. Copy any files there, compress them, and analyze them with a debugger or a trusted crash-dump tool. Multiple dumps can reveal whether the same driver or hardware component is involved. If the folder is empty, enable Small Memory Dumps in the Startup and Recovery settings before the next crash.
Also check Windows Event Viewer around the time of a restart. Look for critical events and hardware-related errors, especially Kernel-Power, WHEA-Logger, disk, or display-driver entries. Those may help distinguish memory or CPU instability from storage, graphics, or power problems.
Thanks, I’ll start by testing the RAM and checking whether disabling XMP makes a difference.