I've been facing a persistent issue with my PC crashing and displaying a blue screen of death (BSOD) with the stop code 'CRITICAL_PROCESS_DIED.' It started after a mishap when I was reapplying thermal paste to my CPU; I accidentally dropped it, bent a few pins, and two pins ended up falling off completely. After fixing the bent pins, the system would reliably crash during gaming under heavy load, leading me to buy a new CPU. Initially, the new CPU worked fine for a couple of weeks, but then the same crashes began to recur.
I suspected my Windows installation might be corrupt and reinstalled it twice, but that didn't solve the problem. I also thought it might be an SSD issue, but I'm using the SSD from another system that had zero problems. I considered the motherboard a possible culprit and sent it to ASUS for repairs; they only updated the BIOS, which resolved things temporarily for about two weeks.
All drivers are current, but surprisingly, I can't find any useful crash logs. The Event Viewer simply states 'The previous system shutdown was unexpected' without providing more details. I also ran a Memtest86 with no errors after four passes, and all BIOS settings are default.
I'm at a loss here. Does anyone have any ideas on what might be causing this recurring crash? I'd appreciate any assistance!
4 Answers
First off, it’s crucial to gather dump files from your crashes, as they contain logs that can help pinpoint the issue. If you can boot into Windows or Safe Mode, check the C:WindowsMinidump directory for any files. If there are dump files, zip them up and upload them to a file-sharing site like Mediafire or Catbox.moe. More than one dump file is preferred for better analysis, so if you only find one, follow a guide to set up your system to create smaller memory dumps.
It might be worth running a tool we've created that gathers detailed information about your system and logs. That could help us identify any underlying issues. You can download it from the link I’ll provide, and it will guide you through the steps to share your system info with us. This can give us a clearer picture for troubleshooting!
After having a CPU-related mishap, it’s not unheard of for Windows to behave erratically. A fresh install of Windows might help—try it on another SSD or a separate partition. Use a bootable USB to ensure everything’s clean. If you need help creating the installation media, just holler!
Given your description, it sounds like your system drive might be failing intermittently. This can cause the CRITICAL_PROCESS_DIED crashes, and since Windows can't access the disk to write the crash dump, it's unable to provide more detailed info. It could be worth checking the health of your SSD and making sure all connections are secure. If possible, try using a different drive to test if it resolves the issue.
Yeah, definitely give that tool a try! Just follow the prompts, and we can take a closer look once you upload the report. It should give us a lot more insights.