My Windows 11 PC freezes and crashes to a grey screen with thin blue vertical lines a few times a day. After rebooting, the AMD graphics driver is often broken or missing, so I have to clean it up and reinstall it.
Graphics stress tests haven't reproduced the crash, and an older driver didn't fix it. The PC has an RX 9070 XT, a Ryzen 7 7800X3D, and 32GB of DDR5 RAM. What should I check next?
Check whether Windows Update is replacing the AMD display driver. That could explain why the driver looks different or stops working after a reboot, though it doesn't prove what's causing the grey screen.
Note the installed driver version, then check it again after a crash and look at the Windows Update history. You could also try disabling automatic driver downloads through Windows device installation settings, then reinstall the AMD driver and see if the behavior changes.
Don't rule out the card just because a stress test passes. A crash with vertical lines can point to a GPU or graphics memory problem, but the screen alone can't confirm it.
If you have access to another compatible GPU, try it in this PC. Testing the 9070 XT in another suitable system would also help separate the card from the rest of the hardware.
Have a look at the GPU power connections too. Shut down, switch off and unplug the power supply first, then inspect the plugs and sockets for discoloration, melting or damaged pins. Also check that the power supply is adequate for the card and the rest of the system.
If anything looks scorched or melted, don't keep using that connection until it's been assessed. The marks need a closer look before assuming they're damage.
Try to pin down what the PC is doing when it happens. A stress test is only one kind of workload, so note whether crashes occur during games, video playback, idle time or a transition between them.
Check Reliability Monitor and Event Viewer around the time of a crash for display driver errors or other clues. Those logs may not name the faulty part, but they can help narrow down what to test next.
Answers are reviewed before publication.
!somewhat+portable:
That setting may not prevent every driver update, so checking the version and update history is still useful.