I have a Skytech gaming PC with a Ryzen 7 5700, RTX 5050 8GB, 16GB DDR4-3200, and a 1TB NVMe SSD running Windows 11. It has been randomly crashing or restarting during games, while using Discord, and sometimes shortly after startup. Before reinstalling Windows, I saw PAGE_FAULT_IN_NONPAGED_AREA and KERNEL_MODE_HEAP_CORRUPTION errors, along with occasional Kernel-Power events.
Skytech remotely stress-tested the system and recommended a clean Windows installation. I backed up my files, deleted the existing partitions, and installed Windows 11 from scratch. The crashes stopped temporarily but have now returned. Recent bugchecks include SYSTEM_SERVICE_EXCEPTION, several DRIVER_POWER_STATE_FAILURE crashes, an EXRESOURCE TIMEOUT live dump, CACHE_MANAGER, and others. The repeated 0x9F DRIVER_POWER_STATE_FAILURE is the one I'm most concerned about.
WhoCrashed sometimes points to nt.sys or says a third-party driver may be involved, but it has not clearly identified a specific driver. CHKDSK completed successfully with no bad sectors, and DISM and SFC now report no problems.
I have two wireless adapters: a built-in Realtek 8821CE PCI-E adapter and a TP-Link Archer TXE5100UH USB Wi-Fi 6E adapter, which is currently being used. The TP-Link driver is from September 2025, while Windows lists the Realtek driver as much older. Since Ethernet is inconvenient in my rental, I would prefer not to change too much while the PC is still under warranty.
Could either Wi-Fi adapter or its driver cause repeated DRIVER_POWER_STATE_FAILURE crashes? Would disabling or removing one adapter at a time be a useful test, and would testing with Ethernet be better? Do the different bugchecks suggest a particular hardware or driver problem? Should I examine anything else in the minidumps before changing drivers, and is the CACHE_MANAGER crash likely related? I'm also considering an overnight memory test and have sent the crash information to the manufacturer for warranty support.
2 Answers
The variety of stop codes makes it difficult to blame one driver based only on WhoCrashed’s summary. Repeated 0x9F errors can involve a device that fails during sleep, shutdown, restart, or other power-state transitions, and a USB wireless adapter is a plausible thing to isolate. However, inconsistent memory corruption and heap or cache-related crashes can also point to unstable RAM, a motherboard issue, storage problems, or another low-level driver. An overnight bootable memory test is worthwhile, preferably with multiple passes.
With two wireless devices installed, testing them separately is a reasonable first step. Disable one adapter completely in Device Manager, use the computer normally for a while, and then switch to the other if the crashes continue. If practical, testing with Ethernet—or temporarily running without the USB adapter—would help distinguish a Wi-Fi power-management or USB-driver issue from a broader system problem. Avoid making BIOS or disk changes while the machine is under warranty.
I’d start with the least invasive tests: disable one wireless adapter, keep notes on when the crashes happen, then test the other adapter or Ethernet. If the crashes continue with both adapters removed, that makes the Wi-Fi theory less likely and strengthens the case for warranty diagnostics.