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Help, daily/hourly BSOD’s and I can’t figure out the cause.

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Tags: Hardware, Software, Windows

Alright, I haven’t posted to a forum before.

Recently, my PC has frequently been blue-screening, occasionally even during start-up. I’ve seen a variety of error codes, the most frequent being CRITICAL_PROCESS_DIED, but I’ve also seen Memory Management, Unexpected Store Exception, and more that I can’t name at the moment. A bunch of kernel errors. I’ve done my best to troubleshoot it from answers online, though I’m not the most fluent in tech. I don’t know how to find/attach readable crash logs either. Any help would be greatly appreciated.

Current suspicions:
– My Wdf01000.sys file has frequent ISR’s, but I don’t know how to help it

Specs:
OS: Microsoft Windows 10 Pro (latest build)
Motherboard: Gigabyte Technology Z170X-Gaming 7
CPU: Intel Core i7-6700K (4.00GHz, 4 cores)
RAM: 24GB (3 sticks of 8GB)
GPU: Nvidia 4070Ti RTX
Storage: 3.5GB (3 SSD’s, 1TB, 500GB, 2TB, all have at least 100GB space)
Display: Ultrawide 3440×1440
PSU: Corsair 850W

Things I’ve tried so far
– Updated drivers
– Plugging my PC into the wall instead of my surge-protected powerboard
– Memtest 86 (passed fine)
– LatencyMon (showed me that my Wdf01000 file was acting up)
– Run sfc /scannow and DISM multiple times, it insists there’s nothing wrong with it
– Run malware scans (windows defender)
– Used CCleaner to generally clean up device
– Tried switching browsers/not using certain apps in case they were the cause (Discord and Google Chrome, but they didn’t affect crash rates)
– Checking that my PC isn’t overclocked (it is not, neither CPU nor GPU)
– Checked that my PSU is suitable for my GPU (it should be, 850W for a 4070Ti)
– Checked Task Manager for any intense activity (none)
– Turned off Discord enhanced visual features
– Turned off Kernel DMA Protection
– (more that I may have already forgotten)

Characteristics of crashes:
1. Total system freeze except for mouse cursor – cannot access windows menu, cannot interact with any windows nor taskbar
2. Black screen
3. BSOD
4. Reboots automatically
4a. (Optional) occasionally it doesn’t recognise the boot device, so I have to hard restart it/ctrl+alt+del and del.
5. Successful reboot
– Note: another odd characteristic while I’ve been having this issue is that sometimes peripherals haven’t been registering/receiving power, even though they are connected. They then work again after a restart with no changes to ports or cables.

Topic

Re: frequent crashes

In reply to Help, daily/hourly BSOD’s and I can’t figure out the cause.

Something is wrong, that’s clear.

What I would do is to go back to the minimum hardware. That’s one stick of RAM, no video card (use the onboard video), only the SSD that has Windows (the c:-drive), BIOS set to defaults. If that’s OK for a few days, gradually build up. Probably somewhere it goes wrong again. Then you know it’s either the last thing added or a general overload. To check the last possibility: try another (more powerful) PSU.

Reply To: Help, daily/hourly BSOD’s and I can’t figure out the cause.

In reply to Help, daily/hourly BSOD’s and I can’t figure out the cause.

let’s see if we can pinpoint the issue further. Here are some additional steps you can take:

Check Event Viewer: Windows Event Viewer can provide more detailed information about the crashes. Look for critical errors or warnings around the time of the crashes. This might give you more insight into what’s causing the problem.

Check for BIOS/UEFI Updates: Ensure that your motherboard’s BIOS or UEFI firmware is up to date. Sometimes, updating the BIOS can resolve compatibility issues or other problems that lead to frequent crashes.

Check for Firmware Updates: Make sure that your SSDs have the latest firmware updates installed. Firmware updates can sometimes address stability issues.

Check System Health: Monitor your system temperatures and voltages using a tool like HWMonitor or Open Hardware Monitor. Overheating or power supply issues can cause crashes like the ones you’re experiencing.

Check for Faulty Hardware: Although Memtest86 passed fine, it’s still worth considering the possibility of faulty hardware. Try running a stress test on your CPU, GPU, and RAM separately to see if any component fails under load.

Check Power Supply: Even though your PSU is 850W, it’s possible that it’s not delivering stable power. Try using a different power supply if you have one available, or consider testing your current PSU with a multimeter.

Check for Driver Conflicts: Sometimes, conflicts between drivers can cause crashes. Try disabling or uninstalling unnecessary drivers or devices to see if that resolves the issue.

Check for Software Conflicts: If the crashes started happening after installing new software, try uninstalling that software to see if it resolves the problem.

Perform a Clean Windows Install: As a last resort, you may want to consider performing a clean install of Windows. This can help rule out any software-related issues that may be causing the crashes.

If none of these steps resolve the issue, it may be worth seeking assistance from a professional computer technician who can diagnose and repair the problem for you.

About that PSU.

In reply to Help, daily/hourly BSOD’s and I can’t figure out the cause.

My fairly new PC with a 850W PSU started doing that when I installed a RTX 3070. I’m a bit seasoned so I changed the PSU up to a 1,000 new PSU and the problems vanished. I can’t assure you this is your fix but given the age of the components the PSU can’t be ruled out.

Hardware issues like the PSU rarely are diagnosed with error logs. Just ask any seasoned tech.

Thanks to all who answered, it is solved

In reply to About that PSU.

Turns out it was only a 750W PSU, and the problem did completely stop after changing out all of my hardware simultaneously (new PC with 1000W PSU), so I am pretty sure it was the power that was the problem (software was exactly the same). Thanks to all who replied, I didn’t get to try all the other methods, so I hope anyone else with the same issues can give those a try too.

Help, daily/hourly BSOD’s and I can’t figure out the cause.

In reply to Help, daily/hourly BSOD’s and I can’t figure out the cause.

Frequent blue screens (BSODs) with various errors plague your PC. You’ve tackled common fixes like driver updates and scans, but the problem persists. While Wdf01000.sys acting up in LatencyMon is a clue, the culprit could be faulty hardware (RAM, storage, PSU) or driver conflicts.

Next steps: focus on hardware troubleshooting by testing RAM with individual sticks and checking event viewer for crash details. Consider replacing potentially failing components like the PSU. Investigate Wdf01000.sys online and see if there are known issues with this driver.

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