I've been experiencing a frustrating problem over the past few weeks where my PC freezes unexpectedly while I'm gaming, browsing, or even just watching videos. After a brief moment, it restarts on its own. This can happen once or twice a day, at random intervals from a few minutes to several hours apart. I've conducted RAM tests, fresh installations of GPU drivers using DDU, checked temperatures, and analyzed my SSDs with CrystalDisk. Nothing unusual has appeared. My reliability reports indicate all crashes are categorized as 'Windows didn't shut down correctly' or 'hardware issues.' The error codes I've seen include 141, 1b8, 117, 116, and 133, with 141 and 117 popping up the most. I've also received some ArmourySocketServer errors (BEX64) intermittently. I'm at a loss for what to do next and would appreciate any help!
4 Answers
Have you tried turning off fast startup and link state power management? Disabling these settings can sometimes help resolve random freezing issues. Let me know if it works for you!
Maybe check your fans and airflow? Try running your PC with the case open to see if that helps. Continuous logging with HWiNFO can help diagnose sudden issues like voltage drops or overheating. If that doesn't work, consider updating BIOS and drivers. You could also try booting with minimal components—remove all non-essential drives and RAM modules and see if it stabilizes. If it still fails, swapping out the PSU might be your best bet.
Try running some commands to check for system issues. Open a command window and type:
sfc /scannow
If it finds errors, run:
DISM /Online /Cleanup-Image /RestoreHealth
It's situations like this that remind me of how much I appreciate using a Mac, where the OS is UNIX-based.
You might want to check for any BIOS updates for your motherboard. I had similar freezing issues with my 13900k, and it turned out to be a known bug affecting newer CPUs. An update resolved it for me.
I had it off in Windows, but just turned it off in BIOS too. I wasn’t even aware it was back on! I'll update if that helps, thanks!