I've been experiencing some weird issues with my PC for about 4 days now. I was gaming in Warframe while listening to Twitch when suddenly, my PC shut down and restarted on its own. Ever since the weekend, I've noticed crackling audio and slowdowns, especially when running a game alongside Opera, or even just Opera by itself.
Here's what I've tried so far:
- Cleaned everything out, took out the GPU and PSU to clean them.
- Reseated both the power supply and GPU, and changed the cable connected to the GPU.
- Downgraded from Windows 11 25H2 to 24H2, which was a challenge since I was outside the 10-day rollback window.
- Ran a system file check through command prompt, which reported some repairs, but the issues persist.
- Reverted to a previous save point on my SSD.
To make things even trickier, I'm unable to access the BIOS or recovery environment because Windows seems to have messed that up as well. I feel like I've done everything except a full reset of my SSD.
Here are my PC specs:
- Intel Core i5 10th Gen
- Zotac Gaming RTX 3050
- 32GB DDR4 RAM
- Silverstone Gold 850W Power Supply
- Crucial SATA 1TB SSD
I know my system is on the lower end, but I've managed to troubleshoot issues myself for the past two years. This time, I'm really stumped. Any help would be greatly appreciated!
3 Answers
It's great that you've done antivirus scans and ruled those out! Keep an eye on your system's performance and temperatures, especially if you're attempting updates or making hardware changes. Sometimes, it can take a bit of trial and error to narrow down the issue, so keep trying things out and don't hesitate to ask for more help if needed!
Random shutdowns often point to overheating or faulty hardware. Start by checking if your CPU is overheating; you can use HWinfo64 to monitor temperature ranges. Ideally, your CPU shouldn't idle higher than 50-60°C and should never hit 90°C. Overheating could be due to a bad cooler pump, clogged fans, or dried-out thermal paste. For drive health, Crystaldiskinfo and Crystaldiskmark are great tools. I personally use Geekbench 6 for CPU and GPU testing, which can help you compare scores too.
Definitely check your power supply too! If it's older or has been pushed hard, that might be causing issues as well. Good luck!
One thing to consider is ensuring your drivers are all up to date. Sometimes, audio issues like cracking can be linked back to outdated or corrupted drivers. You could also try reinstalling the audio driver specifically; it might resolve the crackling sound. Good luck with your troubleshooting!
While gaming, my CPU temp hovers around 50-65°C. I'm planning to buy new thermal paste next week, so I hope that'll help with the problem. Thanks for the tips! I’ll check back after applying the paste.