My five-year-old PC recently started crashing with several different BSOD messages, including DRIVER_OVERRAN_STACK_BUFFER, PAGE_FAULT_IN_NONPAGED_AREA, and KERNEL_AUTO_BOOST_LOCK_ACQUISITION_WITH_RAISED_IRQL. After a crash, it sometimes restarts several times, gets stuck around the Windows loading screen, then shows a black screen while the fans keep spinning and the CPU debug light turns on.
The problem first appeared about three weeks ago. I reseated the RAM and CPU, checked the cables, updated and reset the BIOS, and replaced the CPU cooler after noticing high temperatures. The system then worked normally for three weeks, but the crashes have returned. I also installed an NVIDIA driver update recently and installed a Windows 10 update yesterday, although the PC continued working normally for a while afterward.
The system has a Ryzen 5 3600, RTX 3060 12GB, 16GB of DDR4 RAM, a 500GB SSD, a 1TB hard drive, and two monitors. I have already tried swapping the RAM sticks, but that did not solve the issue. What should I test next, and how can I determine whether the RAM, SSD, power supply, motherboard, or another component is failing?
3 Answers
The black screen and CPU debug LED after repeated failed boots could indicate more than a Windows problem, especially since the system previously had high temperatures. Check CPU temperatures under load, inspect the cooler mounting and power connections, and test with the minimum hardware needed: one RAM stick, one monitor, and the system drive. If the issue continues outside normal Windows operation, the motherboard, power supply, or CPU may need to be investigated.
Back up your important video-editing files immediately while the machine is still usable. Different BSOD codes can point to unstable memory, storage problems, drivers, or broader hardware instability, so the codes alone do not prove that the RAM is the cause. Run a proper memory test, check the SSD's health and Windows drive errors, and review the dump files before replacing parts.
If you can reach Windows or Safe Mode, check C:WindowsMinidump for crash files. Those dumps can identify whether a particular driver or system component is triggering the BSODs. Collect several of them rather than relying on one crash, and configure Windows to create small memory dumps if the folder is empty.
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