I've had my PC for about nine months, and while it worked fine initially, I've been experiencing serious issues lately. It started with the blue screen of death (BSOD) happening occasionally while I was just idle, and now it's gotten worse. My browser tabs crash every few minutes, and although the BSODs happen less frequently, they still occur. I've noticed that the most common error I see during a BSOD is 'IRQL_NOT_LESS_OR_EQUAL'.
I reinstalled Windows, but I had to do it on a new drive since it wouldn't install on the original drive, which still seems to work fine. Whenever I tried to back up files to my SSD, the transfers would unexpectedly undo after refreshing the folder, which was strange. I've reinstalled Windows, replaced the RAM and GPU, cleaned out the PC, uninstalled and reinstalled all drivers multiple times, updated the BIOS, and even ran complete stress tests on the RAM, GPU, and CPU. I've tried adjusting XMP settings and disabled secure boot, but nothing seems to help. Honestly, I'm out of ideas and I'm starting to wonder if I need to replace the whole machine.
2 Answers
You should definitely check for BSOD dump files, which will help us diagnose what's going wrong. If you can boot into Windows (or Safe Mode), look for dump files in C:WindowsMinidump. If you find any, copy them to your desktop, zip the folder, and upload it to a file-sharing site like catbox.moe or mediafire.com. If you only have one dump file, that’s okay, but having multiple will give us a better picture.
Also, follow this guide to change the settings for your dump files to ensure they’re consistent and useful for troubleshooting.
It sounds like you're dealing with some frustrating issues! First off, try running your PC with a minimal hardware setup: just one stick of RAM and a different drive than the one that gave you issues. If your CPU has integrated graphics, remove the GPU and plug your monitor into the motherboard. Make sure to keep XMP disabled and do a fresh OS install. Test your RAM with something like Memtest86 to check for errors.
If everything passes, then gradually add your components back one at a time – start by enabling XMP, then add the second RAM stick, and finally, the GPU.
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