I've been playing Palworld through Steam for about two weeks, but it recently started crashing unexpectedly. At first only the game closed, but after a few crashes the entire PC displayed a blue screen and rebooted. Since then, crashes happen roughly every 30 minutes, either stopping the game or causing another BSOD. Eventually the computer became stuck in a cycle of blue screens and recovery screens, even after trying to uninstall updates and reset Windows, until it shut down completely.
I've already updated my drivers, attempted Windows updates, run System File Checker, and tested the RAM. The first test reported an issue with one memory stick, but reseating it allowed both sticks to pass two tests. My system has an RTX 1660 Super, Intel i5-12400, 32 GB of RAM in two sticks, a 1 TB Samsung SSD, and a 650 W MSI power supply. What should I check next, and how can I determine whether a specific hardware component is failing?
2 Answers
The most useful next step is to find the BSOD dump files rather than guessing at parts. If you can boot normally or use Safe Mode, check C:WindowsMinidump and copy any files there. Those crash logs can identify whether the failures point to a driver, memory, storage, or another component. If there are no files, enable Small Memory Dumps and reproduce the crash if possible. Also note the exact stop code shown on the blue screen, since that can narrow down the cause.
Before replacing parts, check the CPU and GPU temperatures under load and make sure the cooler is mounted properly. Overheating can cause both game crashes and BSODs. Also reseat the RAM and graphics card, check the power connections, and test the system with one RAM stick at a time. If the problem continues, a clean Windows installation from a USB installer can help rule out corrupted system files. If crashes remain after that, you’re probably looking at a hardware fault rather than a software issue.
If it turns out to be hardware, is there a way to identify which part needs replacing instead of changing everything?