Computer freezes mostly during games :(

mr_dismal

Distinguished
Oct 28, 2011
14
0
18,510
Hey guys,
Yet another PC crash post.
Looking to find out what is causing these crashes to my Windows 10 PC during games (hopefully this one's simple to rectify).


Symptoms include:

Start a game (any game), within minutes the game will crash.
AMD Crimson Settings program stops responding and needs to be restarted.
Get random error messages like 'Display driver amdkmdap stopped responding'.
On fewer occasions I'd just be on the desktop with Chrome open and the whole PC will lock up, and have to do a manual reset.
I've even seen brown colored vertical lines cover my whole screen (I can't remember if this was during a game or not).

The only way to solve this (most of the time) is to (from a fresh windows boot-up) start up a game, it crashes within minutes of game play to desktop. I'll kill AMD Settings Crimson program and run the game again.
This usually gives me a good amount of game play time. Sometimes I'll have to do these steps twice.

System Specs:


  • Windows 10 Home
    Radeon Software Version 17.1.1 (Crimson ReLive)
    Intel Core i7 960
    Gigabyte GA-X58A-UD3R MB
    RAM: Kingston 2GB, PC3-10600 DDR3
    RAM: Kingston 2GB, PC3-10600 DDR3
    RAM: Kingston 8GB, PC3-12800 DDR3
    XFX AMD R9 280x black edition (factory overclocked)
    Antec 750W TruePower ATX Power Supply (From what I've read it's a good PSU


Things I have tried:


  • Downgraded from latest AMD driver to a 'more stable one' using a driver cleaner etc.
    Ran CHKDSK on HDD
    Ran MemTest v5 and did 4 passes with 0 errors. It thankfully created a log file which I have attached in case I'm reading incorrectly. (link below)
    Turned off power saving modes for HDD and other stuff
    Turned off Link State Power Management off for PCI-E in Power Options
    BIOS up-to-date
    Virus / Malware scanned
    Not running any heavy firewall stuff, just basic windows Defender

Log file:
http://s000.tinyupload.com/index.php?file_id=90226650934804713237

Are there any other things to try?

I'm thinking I'm going to have try a full reformat and fresh install of windows and install all drivers suitable to windows 10. I expected this would of worked automatically from my upgrade from 7.
Just seeing if there's anything to try before doing this.
 

Kiril_Petkov

Commendable
Feb 15, 2016
218
0
1,760
Check your RAM settings in BIOS. Using two types of RAM with different clock speed/timings is not recommended. Remove the two 2x2GB ram sticks and leave the 8GB only. Then try if the issue occurs again.
 

mr_dismal

Distinguished
Oct 28, 2011
14
0
18,510
I managed to run sfc /scannow in Safe Mode to 100% no issues there. After that I ran chkdsk C: /f /r /x and missed what the screen said but it booted me back into windows without any error messages so I'm guessing that it was all good.