I've been using an AMD Radeon 5700XT for about five years without serious issues other than some driver glitches. A couple of months ago, I downloaded some cracked games from sites like Steamrip and Steamunlocked, which I had done before without problems. Recently, I've been experiencing constant Blue Screens of Death (BSODs) when gaming, with errors like 'hypervisor error,' 'kernel security check failure,' and IRQ_L issues, which all seem related to memory or VRAM. I've tried everything I can think of—ran memtest86 (came back clear), updated and rolled back drivers, and ran an antivirus scan that found nothing. Is it possible that a crypto miner from those cracked games is eating up my VRAM, or is my GPU on the fritz?
3 Answers
It sounds like you're really going through it! If you suspect malware, definitely check for those dump files for more insight on the BSODs. You can find them in the C:WindowsMinidump directory. If there are files there, zip them up and upload them somewhere like catbox.moe or Mediafire so others can take a look. Getting multiple files will help with a better analysis.
I had a similar situation, but it got worse to the point where my system wouldn't boot at all. Turned out my power supply was faulty and fried my board and CPU. It might be worth checking out your power supply because power issues can lead to all sorts of errors. Maybe try borrowing one from a friend to rule it out before swapping your whole setup.
Yeah, I forgot about the power supply! I've heard others mention that, too. I'll see if I can borrow one. Thanks for the advice!
From what you’ve described, I wouldn't jump to conclusions just yet. While a crypto miner could theoretically be using up resources, your CPU might be more at fault here. Definitely get those dump files checked first for a clearer diagnostic.
Thanks! I'll look for those dump files and try to send them. Hope to get some clarity on what’s going on.