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So I ever since I put my PC together I have noticed that every so often after using the PC for a good few hours it just freezes completely and I can't click anything or make any keyboard shortcuts like CTRL-ALT-DEL.

This usually happens after using the PC for up to 3-4 hours straight. I don't use it for gaming, just standard web browsing nothing out of the ordinary.

I have updated drivers, updated Windows and I don't use any additional peripherals. I have an MSI Intel Z270 GAMING PRO CARBON 7th/6th Gen USB2 Motherboard, a 480GB SSD and an ASUS Radeon RX460 DUAL OC 2 GB GDDR5 AMD Graphics Card.

I have disabled fast startup as other suggested online it could help however I still experience the freezing, I've tried literally everything before posting but to no avail.

Can anyone help with this?

Oh I'm not sure if this makes much of a difference but I've connected 2 monitors using HDMI.

    OS Name Microsoft Windows 10 Pro
    Version 10.0.17134 Build 17134
    Other OS Description    Not Available
    OS Manufacturer Microsoft Corporation
    System Name DESKTOP-6EB9P0R
    System Manufacturer MSI
    System Model    MS-7A63
    System Type x64-based PC
    System SKU  Default string
    Processor   Intel(R) Core(TM) i5-7400 CPU @ 3.00GHz, 3000 Mhz, 4 Core(s), 4 Logical Processor(s)
    BIOS Version/Date   American Megatrends Inc. 1.50, 27/06/2017
    SMBIOS Version  3.0
    Embedded Controller Version 255.255
    BIOS Mode   UEFI
    BaseBoard Manufacturer  MSI
    BaseBoard Model Not Available
    BaseBoard Name  Base Board
    Platform Role   Desktop
    Secure Boot State   Off
    PCR7 Configuration  Binding Not Possible
    Windows Directory   C:\WINDOWS
    System Directory    C:\WINDOWS\system32
    Boot Device \Device\HarddiskVolume2
    Locale  United States
    Hardware Abstraction Layer  Version = "10.0.17134.1"
    User Name   DESKTOP-6EB9P0R\Shabaz
    Time Zone   GMT Daylight Time
    Installed Physical Memory (RAM) 16.0 GB
    Total Physical Memory   15.9 GB
    Available Physical Memory   12.5 GB
    Total Virtual Memory    18.3 GB
    Available Virtual Memory    13.3 GB
    Page File Space 2.38 GB
    Page File   C:\pagefile.sys
    Kernel DMA Protection   Off
    Virtualization-based security   Not enabled
    Device Encryption Support   Reasons for failed automatic device encryption: TPM is not usable, PCR7 binding is not supported, Hardware Security Test Interface failed and device is not InstantGo, Un-allowed DMA capable bus/device(s) detected, TPM is not usable
    Hyper-V - VM Monitor Mode Extensions    Yes
    Hyper-V - Second Level Address Translation Extensions   Yes
    Hyper-V - Virtualization Enabled in Firmware    Yes
    Hyper-V - Data Execution Protection Yes

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  • "Tried literally everything"... be specific. Have you checked for malware and coin miners?
    – DrMoishe Pippik
    Aug 5, 2018 at 18:27
  • Yep, from looking at the CPU usage. There is nothing out of the ordinary.
    – user3574492
    Aug 5, 2018 at 18:35
  • How long does it freeze for? Do you really only have a SSD? Do you have network drives mapped? Do you have iSCSI drives connected?
    – Daniel B
    Oct 7, 2018 at 14:30
  • @DanielB It just freezes for eternity. I can never perform any action once it freezes. I have to hard reboot. I only have a single SSD. No other drives are mapped.
    – user3574492
    Oct 24, 2018 at 14:24

1 Answer 1

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0

tl;dr The basic principle is

  • (at least temporary) replacement of components until the problem stops. Then perform additional tests on suspected component. Start with most suspected and most easily swappable ones.

    • Should you suspect software, try to boot and use your computer with different OS.

  • Also re-check connections between the components (often this is the first thing to do).

So I ever since I put my PC together...

I started having the same symptoms some two years after I put my PC together. They did include totally random freezes of the PC – also without Windows, if I did let my computer stay for a few days in BIOS setup utility. Finally it was found that thermal paste on CPU needed to be re-applied, obviously I did not do it properly when "I put my PC together".

Troubleshooting:

Temporarily using components from different PC like power supply (also a frequent cause of random freezing) or memory sticks did not help. Software or HDD was ruled out as the problem happened also without booting the OS, with HDD disconnected, when after some testing time, BIOS setup got always frozen, too. Since I did not have spare CPU/motherboard, I took the PC to a professional computer service company and they found possible thermal paste problem yet before testing the motherboard with different CPU. After that, they tested it for a week and it ran without a freeze. Actually, if that wouldn't help, then the problem will be the motherboard or the CPU - as I said, it would be needed to separate them and test with different compatible CPU in the motherboard.

The most misleading symptom was that the problem was happening even if the CPU was without load.

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7
  • Mmm interesting, how did you find out it was the thermal paste? Was it fine after you re-applied it?
    – user3574492
    Aug 5, 2018 at 19:44
  • @user3574492 - I extended the answer.
    – miroxlav
    Aug 5, 2018 at 20:01
  • These freezes are extremely hard to debug properly. There are so many variables. What is the storage use in general and (if possible to log) before the freeze? Is there any possibility, the is e.g. newer firmware for the SSD? I know, the old Crucial M4 had a problem, where the SSD would freeze completely after 5184 hours, I also have seen other freezes (mostly with hard disks) when a sector couldn't be read correctly. As I said, the reasons can be numerous. Maybe try a burn-in using something like an Ubuntu Live-CD with openssl speed test on all cores and something for the GPU over night.
    – AdamKalisz
    Aug 5, 2018 at 22:07
  • @AdamKalisz – if these freezes are happening frequently enough and the machine can be missed from serious use for some time, the cause can be found relatively quickly. With infrequent freezes, this can be a pain as you describe and the most viable option can be getting some other machine for the meantime.
    – miroxlav
    Aug 5, 2018 at 23:32
  • @miroxlav This is why I do hardware burn in before I start using it seriously or at least make sure, the whole device is under NBD warranty so I get a replacement on time, while using some backup laptop or desktop. It helps a lot, when you have a good backup, automated bootstrap and a few devices you can stand in extended use with a modern web browser and many tabs open :-)
    – AdamKalisz
    Aug 5, 2018 at 23:51

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