I've just put together a new PC, and everything was running smoothly at first. However, I'm experiencing a frustrating issue where the system freezes randomly. It's not linked to any specific activity, and sometimes it even freezes during restarts, causing the restart wheel to just stop spinning. When it freezes, all audio cuts out, the screen freezes, and I can't move the mouse or type. There are no warnings or stutters before it happens, just an abrupt halt. I often have to manually power it off. While I'm using the PC, it performs really well with temperatures staying between 40-60C during idle and load. The freezing can occur every few hours, but I once went seven hours without an issue.
After I built the PC, I:
- Updated the BIOS to the latest version.
- Downloaded drivers directly from the MSI and NVIDIA websites.
- Enabled EXPO in the BIOS for my RAM to run at 6000MHz.
- Disabled USB4 on the back panel and set M.2 to x4 only.
- Made sure to connect the "extra power PCIE" to the motherboard for the GPU.
As for troubleshooting, I:
- Tried different chipset drivers and uninstalled/reinstalled audio and LAN drivers.
- Reinstalled the NVIDIA driver.
- Replugged the RAM and M2 SSD.
- Ran a memory diagnostic tool.
- Searched for crash dumps (none found since there are no BSODs).
- Ensured all connections are snug.
- Updated SSD firmware.
- Adjusted power options to maximum performance.
My specs are:
- MSI Tomahawk x870e
- AMD Ryzen 7 9800x3d
- MSI Vanguard 5080
- Corsair Vengeance DDR5 6000MHZ
- Samsung 9100 Pro M2 NVME SSD
- Corsair RM1000x PSU
- Case: Lian Li Lancool 216
I'm really at a loss. If anyone has experienced anything similar or has suggestions, I'd appreciate your input! I'm considering doing a full Windows reinstall with just the basic drivers, but I'm not sure it will help any.
2 Answers
To get to the bottom of this, you'll want to check if there are any crash dump files that could give us more insight. If you can boot into Windows normally or via Safe Mode, look for files in C:WindowsMinidump. If you find any, zip them up and upload them to a file-sharing site. The more dump files you have, the better for analysis! Also, make sure that your dump settings in Windows are set to Small Memory Dump to ensure it captures those crashes. Here's a guide to help you configure that.
How much RAM do you have? It might help to double-check if all your RAM is recognized in Windows. Also, make sure XMP is enabled in the BIOS for your RAM. Since you have EXPO enabled, that should be correct for your AMD setup. Sometimes, tinkering with these settings can help stabilize things a bit!
I’ve got 2x32GB of RAM and EXPO is definitely enabled, so that part should be good.