Hey everyone, I'm reaching out for some advice regarding my Acer Predator G5900 which I bought second-hand in 2017. The previous owner had taken some parts out, replacing the original 16GB RAM with a combination of different sticks. It has been working fine until about 18 months ago, but recently, I've been experiencing a lot of blue screens with various stop codes like "SYSTEM THREAD EXCEPTION NOT HANDLED" and "DPC_WATCHDOG_VIOLATION". My PC freezes often, especially when I'm running games like Planet Zoo or The Sims 4, and I've also had issues with it hanging during startup. I'm worried that my CPU might be failing, especially considering it's an older Intel i5-650. Any advice on how to diagnose or fix these issues would be greatly appreciated, as I have important data and family photos stored on this machine!
5 Answers
Make sure to check the thermal paste on your CPU - it can dry out and cause overheating issues, leading to crashes. Also, look into cloud backup solutions to safeguard your important data while you sort this out. There are affordable options that can back up your stuff, just in case!
It sounds like you might want to start by collecting any dump files from your system. These files are generated during blue screen crashes and can help diagnose what's going wrong. Try looking in C:WindowsMinidump and see if you can find anything there. If you find some, zip them up and upload to a file sharing site so the community can take a look. Just a heads-up, they can be quite useful in pinpointing the exact issue behind your blue screens!
You could also have an issue with your RAM. I recommend running some tests to check for faulty sticks. It’s not likely to affect your data on the drives, but a bad RAM stick can definitely cause the random crashes and freezes you're experiencing!
Honestly, it might be time to think about replacing your PC. Given the age of your components and the issues you're having, this could be a sign it’s reached the end of its life. You might save some parts, but it could be more cost-effective to invest in a new system.
If you're suspecting a CPU issue, you could try increasing the voltage slightly. Over time, older CPUs can degrade and sometimes a minor voltage bump can improve stability. But tread carefully! Too much voltage can lead to frying your CPU, so do your research or consider consulting a pro before making adjustments.
I'm a bit hesitant to make any changes myself since I don't want to risk losing my files. Do you think it's worth taking it to a repair shop for a professional look?