I've been dealing with persistent PC problems and have run out of ideas. The computer randomly restarts, even while browsing files; games frequently crash, fail to load textures, or stop simulating; Chrome tabs sometimes crash; and Windows Update often reports errors or fails to download automatically.
The system runs Windows 11 Home 64-bit on an Intel Core i7-9700K with 32 GB of DDR4 memory, an ASUS PRIME Z390-P motherboard, an AMD Radeon RX 9070 XT, and several SSDs plus a 4 TB hard drive. I've replaced or added an SSD, graphics card, power supply, and RAM, but these issues began before those part 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. What other component or setting should I investigate? Could faulty or unstable memory be responsible for all of these different crashes?
2 Answers
Run a proper bootable memory test such as MemTest86 rather than relying only on Windows diagnostics. Let it complete several passes. Any errors point to a bad memory module, incompatible settings, or possibly a motherboard or CPU memory-controller problem. Testing one stick at a time can identify the failing module. Also check Event Viewer and the Windows Minidump folder for crash records; those may reveal whether the restarts are producing stop codes or driver-related dumps.
The combination of random restarts, browser crashes, game corruption, and failed Windows updates strongly suggests memory instability. Since RAM was added, check whether the modules are from different kits or whether all four slots are populated. Disable XMP in the BIOS first and see whether the system becomes stable. If it does, test with only one matched pair installed in the recommended slots, usually A2 and B2, then test each module individually if necessary.
Thanks, I’ll start by checking the RAM and disabling XMP.