Windows 11 Home Desktop keeps randomly hard freezing. At my wits end.

The Something Awful Forums > Discussion > Serious Hardware/Software Crap > Haus of Tech Support > Windows 11 Home Desktop keeps randomly hard freezing. At my wits end.

Zogo: Jul 29, 2003

I'd run https://www.hdsentinel.com/hard_disk_sentinel_trial.php to check the health of all the drives.

If the drives all look okay then I'd use onboard GPU temporarily and see if the freezing continued or not.

# ¿ Jan 11, 2024 06:49

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# ¿ May 10, 2024 03:33

Zogo: Jul 29, 2003

Artadius posted:

Could this be causing this type of freeze that I've reported? It is not my OS HD, it is basically a tertiary drive that I use for installing games so I don't overload the OS drive.

Yes, it's possibly the culprit.

I'd just disconnect the SSD from the machine temporarily and see if the freezes continue or stop.

# ¿ Jan 12, 2024 06:04

Zogo: Jul 29, 2003

Artadius posted:

(I did not disconnect the power to the drive though, not sure if that mattered).

Probably not but I'd do it anyway.

Artadius posted:

Is it enough to disable the Nvidia card via Device Manager or should I remove the card completely from the motherboard as part of the next step of troubleshooting?

It's better to fully remove it to be 100% sure.

# ¿ Jan 13, 2024 22:07

Zogo: Jul 29, 2003

Artadius posted:

I am no longer under warranty with dell so I'm probably hosed there. The computer is just over 2 years old... is there an Nvidia warranty that I could pursue?

It looks like that one may have a three year warranty. You'd have to contact them to be sure though.

Artadius posted:

Anything else you would recommend at this point?

Nothing at this point.

# ¿ Jan 17, 2024 00:24

Zogo: Jul 29, 2003

Artadius posted:

Anything else you can recommend I try at this point? Any gpu settings either via Nvidia's software or bios? Best to try a full system wipe and reinstall of Windows? Just pursue the warranty claim with Nvidia?

Thanks.

I doubt a reinstall of Windows would fix the issue.

I'd just try the warranty route but you could try undervolting/underclocking the GPU and see if it becomes more stable.

# ¿ Jan 19, 2024 23:41

Zogo: Jul 29, 2003

Artadius posted:

What tool is best for undervolting / underclocking?

I'd just try following this guide: https://www.wepc.com/how-to/underclock-gpu/

# ¿ Jan 21, 2024 00:03

Zogo: Jul 29, 2003

Artadius posted:

Going back to the previous recommendation, I downloaded Afterburner and as soon as I started messing with underclocking / setting a custom fan profile, I started immediately getting the freezes... like just a minute into setting the new values so it has to be the 3060 right?

It's a very good bet.

Artadius posted:

I've ordered a new card... pretty much the only thing my power supply can take in the 4 series is the 4060 ti. I suspect this will eliminate the freezes. In the off chance it does not though, I'll simply return the new card and I'll just be at a loss at that point.

If the problems continue with another card then I'd suspect the PSU or the motherboard next. But it could theoretically be any piece of hardware.

# ¿ Jan 29, 2024 22:28

Zogo: Jul 29, 2003

Artadius posted:

New card arrives later today. Is there a preferred method to go from one nvidia card to another?

My assumption:
1. Run the Wagnardsoft DDU to completely remove nvidia drivers/software
2. Shutdown computer and remove 3060 ti
3. Install 4060 ti
4. Boot and reinstall nvidia drivers/software

I don't need any other intermediate steps right like rebooting first back into windows between step 1 and 2 or needing to switch over to onboard intel graphics or anything right?

Yeah, that should be fine.

If it was me I'd just install the new card and see if it worked. If any issues arose then I'd just run DDU with the 4060 installed and reinstall the GPU drivers.

# ¿ Jan 30, 2024 21:05

Zogo: Jul 29, 2003

Artadius posted:

New card installed and it happened again

Very strange because I could never replicate when I completely removed the video card from the system previously.

A degraded PSU could have trouble handling the card. Also, the motherboard could have an issue with the GPU slot etc.

Artadius posted:

I'll do another memtest tonight. Any other ways to check the RAM? I'll reseat the modules also.

Over the weekend I'll run on just one module at a time and see if I can narrow down to a specific chip. Not really sure what else I can do at this point.

Let Memtest run overnight at some point.

Yes, using one stick of RAM could narrow things down more. e.g. if you get freezes with one stick or slot but not another one.

# ¿ Jan 31, 2024 22:26

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# ¿ May 10, 2024 03:33

Zogo: Jul 29, 2003

Artadius posted:

Speaking of which, what would be next steps? I would really like to go back to 32 GB of RAM... but if the issue is that one module... is it worth putting it back in and trying to underclock/undervolt etc... ?

If the one stick of RAM is the issue then I wouldn't bother. It depends on your patience. If you're okay with doing weeks more of troubleshooting then you could try it.

Artadius posted:

If I decide to replace that stick, should I buy the exact same brand / model? Ok to get an equivalent of a different and more well regarded brand?

It's recommended to use pairs of RAM that are sold together. Sometimes mixing and matching works and sometimes not.

# ¿ Feb 8, 2024 22:22

The Something Awful Forums > Discussion > Serious Hardware/Software Crap > Haus of Tech Support > Windows 11 Home Desktop keeps randomly hard freezing. At my wits end.