Random freeze and crash when doing something heavier

[zablablukas]

Hello!

I've ran into this problem some time ago. It first started when I installed Windows 10 (back in 2015, when my PC was quite new). It used to commonly freeze the whole system, make it unresponsive to anything (even the restart button, a hard shut down was needed). Then I clean installed Windows 10 again, the problem seemed to have become a rare one. It used to crash like once in two weeks. Recently it became much more common. Let me give you some examples. Let's say I'm playing good ol' Fortnite with my friends and talking through discord. Yesterday I played for 2-3 hours and no crash. Today it happened almost every match and I got annoyed so that's why I'm making this post. But let's say for example I'm playing Bioshock Infinite on max settings and there is NO crash whatsoever. It just happens so randomly. Things that I've tried are:

* Messing around in the power settings (turning off quick start-up and so on...)
* Running various commands (SFC, chkdsk...)
* Changing some values in the registries (The Start value for example)
* Resetting the PC
* Updating drivers (the OS itself is up-to-date)
* Checking for malware

My specs are:

* 8 GB RAM
* Intel i5-4690 3.5 GHz
* Nvidia GeForce GTX 760
* 120 Samsung SSD (on which the OS is installed)
* 1 TB HDD

The problem has been annoying me recently very much and I'd like to know if anyone has had any experience with this or know a fix. Thank You in advance!

 

[Trouble]

Download Memtest86+ from this location here. Burn the ISO to a CD and boot the computer from the CD from a cold boot after leaving it off for an hour.

Ideally let it run for at least 7 passes / 6-8 hours (overnight even better). First test system as presently configured with all RAM modules in place, If errors appear before that you can stop that particular test. Any time Memtest86+ reports errors, it can be either bad RAM or a bad Mobo slot. Perform the test on RAM sticks individually as well as all possible combinations. When you find a good one then test it in all slots.

See this Guide to using Memtest 86+

 

[Norton]

Thermal heating and cooling cycles will cause the RAM sticks to creep, if not firmly seated.
Open the PC case an make sure the memory sticks are firmly seated and the white tab fasteners are locking the memory sticks in the connectors. It would be a good idea to clean the internals, fans and screens to remove dust bunnies.

 

[zablablukas]

Download Memtest86+ from this location here. Burn the ISO to a CD and boot the computer from the CD from a cold boot after leaving it off for an hour.

Ideally let it run for at least 7 passes / 6-8 hours (overnight even better). First test system as presently configured with all RAM modules in place, If errors appear before that you can stop that particular test. Any time Memtest86+ reports errors, it can be either bad RAM or a bad Mobo slot. Perform the test on RAM sticks individually as well as all possible combinations. When you find a good one then test it in all slots.

See this Guide to using Memtest 86+

Currently don't have a free CD on my hands and have some work next week. I'll get back to you later this week with the results. Thanks for the tip!

 

[zablablukas]

Thermal heating and cooling cycles will cause the RAM sticks to creep, if not firmly seated.
Open the PC case an make sure the memory sticks are firmly seated and the white tab fasteners are locking the memory sticks in the connectors. It would be a good idea to clean the internals, fans and screens to remove dust bunnies.

I do actually do regular dust clean-ups. I guess I'll look more closely at the RAM stick part later this week. Thank you!

 

[ram1220]

Also maybe run a while with the side panel off the case if the computer is a desktop. Lockups like you are describing are usually caused by temperature issues.

 

[Trouble]

To include the fan or fans on the GPU Nvidia GeForce GTX 760, processor fan as well as the fan in the PSU.

 

[zablablukas]

Also maybe run a while with the side panel off the case if the computer is a desktop. Lockups like you are describing are usually caused by temperature issues.

I've just tried measuring the temperature on my processor while playing Fortnite. It seems that all 4 cores go up to around 78-80 degrees Celsius during the game. The average temperature while no doing anything is around 50-60. I guess they do overheat. Might need to look for a better cooling system. But I'll look into it after the previously suggested RAM tests. Thanks fort the tip!

 

[ram1220]

Check the temps of the video card too. That will also cause lockups.

 

[zablablukas]

Check the temps of the video card too. That will also cause lockups.

Will do!

 

[Tim Locke]

And to be really paranoid, how many watts can your PSU produce? Especially on the 12 volt line. And then check the power consumption of the video card. I doubt your GTX 760 is the problem but some video cards suck a LOT of amps from the 12 volt line.