Constant BSOD Crashes

[dylanmoody]

For the past week I keep getting BSOD. Most of them say memory management but some of them just have random codes. Windows can try to update and it will crash again during the restart. Now it's at the point where I am getting BSOD crashes 6-7 times day. My IT friends thinks that it may be a Windows problem. I have tested my memory and other hardware and they all seem to be fine. Would a factory restore solve this problem?

 

[nitrium]

Try Safe Mode and see if the crashes stop. If so, you might have some sort of driver incompatibility or malware etc.

 

[dylanmoody]

I tried doing that and then I just tried restoring to factory and it crashed in the middle of that. Now it comes back on and my Windows Defender is off. I tried to turn it back on and it crashed again. It'll crash now, as I'm logging back into Windows, it'll crash again. I'm almost out of options.

 

[nitrium]

I tried doing that and then I just tried restoring to factory and it crashed in the middle of that. Now it comes back on and my Windows Defender is off. I tried to turn it back on and it crashed again. It'll crash now, as I'm logging back into Windows, it'll crash again. I'm almost out of options.

Download a Linux distro that you can boot off a USB key and see if that crashes too. If that's too much bother (or you don't have a properly working PC to make that happen), just reinstall Windows fresh. If it crashes during installation you have a hardware problem.
BSODs at the hardware level are more often than not RAM related (e.g. poorly seated, or failing), although sometimes defective CPUs and GPUs can be the cause. You have tried MemTest86, and let that run for a few hours?

 

[dylanmoody]

I would rather not go the Linux route. How would I go about doing a clean installation of Windows. This is a pre-built PC and I don't have a CD or anything.

And yes, I've tried the memtest and it came back with no errors.

 

[nitrium]

I would rather not go the Linux route. How would I go about doing a clean installation of Windows. This is a pre-built PC and I don't have a CD or anything.
And yes, I've tried the memtest and it came back with no errors.

The Linux route is non-destructive to the data on your hard drive. It is a completely self-contained OS that exists solely on the USB key, so IF your problems are hardware related you don't waste time reinstalling Windows for no reason.
Anyway, to reinstall Windows just download the ISO from Microsoft (depending on which version you're on).
https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/software-download/ and make a bootable USB key with Rufus. Set BIOS to boot from USB and follow the prompts.

 

[dylanmoody]

Thank you. It's a fairly new computer, just a few months old, so I don't mind doing a clean install. So like you said, if it continues after a clean install, it's almost guaranteed a hardware problem?

 

[nitrium]

Thank you. It's a fairly new computer, just a few months old, so I don't mind doing a clean install. So like you said, if it continues after a clean install, it's almost guaranteed a hardware problem?

I'd say yes.

 

[dylanmoody]

Okay, thanks again. I picked up a cheap, 16GB flash drive tonight at work and I'll try it when I get home. I am curious though, I have a MSI X99 SLI plus motherboard but I'm not too sure how to get it to boot from USB. I know how to get into the mobo panel but not sure where to go from there.

 

[nitrium]

Okay, thanks again. I picked up a cheap, 16GB flash drive tonight at work and I'll try it when I get home. I am curious though, I have a MSI X99 SLI plus motherboard but I'm not too sure how to get it to boot from USB. I know how to get into the mobo panel but not sure where to go from there.

Just whip into BIOS (usually by holding the DEL key during polling), and change the boot priority to USB (instead of SSD/HDD). As soon as Windows forces a reboot during the install, remove the USB stick (else it will boot from there again obviously).