Question System Freezes, reboots.

[Fletch777]

My PC has been freezing up while gaming. I updated my video drivers but that did not help. The PC also just randomly restarted this morning.

I have a Memory dmp file but I am not sure how to read it correctly to see where the problem may be.

• I updated Video Drivers
• I ran a Memory Check, no error found

Here is a link to the Memory dmp
https://files.catbox.moe/f12c1n.rar

Any help is appreciated

 

[Darkbreeze]

Full hardware specifications please.

 

[Fletch777]

Processor AMD Ryzen 7 3700X 8-Core Processor 3.60 GHz
Installed RAM 16.0 GB
System type 64-bit operating system, x64-based processor
Edition Windows 10 Home
Version 22H2
OS build 19045.2728
Nvidia Geforce gtx 1660 super

 

[Darkbreeze]

Ok, I'll be more specific. And please include EXACT model numbers if at ALL possible.

PSU model (Need exact model, no exceptions, and approximately how long the unit has been in service/use)
Motherboard model
Memory kit model
Currently installed motherboard BIOS version
Any additional expansion cards or controllers such as case integrated or third party fan or RGB controllers.

It would also be prudent/relevant to know if you have at any point bothered to GO to the product support page for your motherboard and graphics card and download/install the latest chipset, audio controller, network adapter and graphics card drivers? Or have you been relying on Windows update or some other "automatic driver utility" to keep drivers up to date?

 

[Fletch777]

Corsair RM750 (2019) 750 W 80+ Gold Certified Fully Modular ATX Power Supply (Installed new OCT 2020)

MSI MAG B550 TOMAHAWK ATX AM4 Motherboard

G.Skill Ripjaws V 16 GB (2 x 8 GB) DDR4-3600 CL16 Memory

BIOS Version/Date American Megatrends Inc. A.00, 5/15/2020

No third party fan or RGB controllers.

Only manually updated Video drivers from product site.

 

[Darkbreeze]

Does this problem happen at ALL when you are NOT gaming?

 

[Fletch777]

It only freezes when I am gaming. Not all the time though. I can play for hours sometimes before it happens. The game will freeze but I can still talk over my mic. Have to shut off the power and reboot the pc to get it to work again.

This morning the system restarted after I was done gaming. That is when I checked the Event Viewer and found the Memory dmp file I linked.

 

[Darkbreeze]

So, this would be my first suggestion but I wanted to make it doesn't freeze during normal use, only when gaming. You are on the original BIOS. Update. To the latest one, which is 7C91vAC. You SHOULD have already done this anyhow as there are some rather important security and hardware compatibility issues that have been addressed via the 13 BIOS updates for your board that there have been since the original version you have. You do not need to update incrementally however, you can simply update to the latest version.

After updating you will want to go into the BIOS and disable Secure boot however since they changed the default setting to enabled starting with BIOS version 7C91vAA. The exception would be if you already have Secure boot enabled now, then you won't want to do that. If/when you decide to upgrade to Windows 11 which you will almost certainly have to do at some point in the future, you will also want to leave it enabled since it is a requirement for 11. For 10 it is not a requirement aside from some specific configurations so it might be a good idea to simply take a look in the BIOS before updating and check to see if Secure Boot is currently enabled or not, and go with that once you update. After updating it would be advisable to first do a hard reset of the BIOS before going into the BIOS and configuring any of the settings and the reason WHY you should do that is because even after updating we sometimes see certain configuration settings that get "stuck" or more plainly simply don't change despite the new firmware. Doing a hard reset forces a recreation of the hardware tables and avoids the possibility of any such issue. Afterwards, you can then go into the BIOS and reconfigure any of your important settings such as secure boot, fan profiles, source type for fans (CPU, motherboard, VRM, GPU thermal sensors, etc.), fan type (PWM, DC) or any other settings you know you prefer to have a certain way.

BIOS Hard Reset procedure

Power off the unit, switch the PSU off and unplug the PSU cord from either the wall or the power supply.

Remove the motherboard CMOS battery for about three to five minutes. In some cases it may be necessary to remove the graphics card to access the CMOS battery.

During that five minutes while the CMOS battery is out of the motherboard, press the power button on the case, continuously, for 15-30 seconds, in order to deplete any residual charge that might be present in the CMOS circuit. After the five minutes is up, reinstall the CMOS battery making sure to insert it with the correct side up just as it came out.

If you had to remove the graphics card you can now reinstall it, but remember to reconnect your power cables if there were any attached to it as well as your display cable.

Now, plug the power supply cable back in, switch the PSU back on and power up the system. It should display the POST screen and the options to enter CMOS/BIOS setup. Enter the bios setup program and reconfigure the boot settings for either the Windows boot manager or for legacy systems, the drive your OS is installed on if necessary.

Save settings and exit. If the system will POST and boot then you can move forward from there including going back into the bios and configuring any other custom settings you may need to configure such as Memory XMP, A-XMP or D.O.C.P profile settings, custom fan profile settings or other specific settings you may have previously had configured that were wiped out by resetting the CMOS.

In some cases it may be necessary when you go into the BIOS after a reset, to load the Optimal default or Default values and then save settings, to actually get the BIOS to fully reset and force recreation of the hardware tables.



And the answer to the question that I know you want to ask is yes, it is INCREDIBLY likely for an out of date BIOS to cause the types of issues you are seeing. Does that mean it IS the answer to your problem? IDK. Maybe, maybe not, but every other thing you can try is probably a waste of time and might in fact end up circling back to updating the BIOS anyhow, until we know you've done so and it is no longer a question and can be removed from the list of possible causes.


After updating the BIOS, it would be strongly recommended that you download and install ALL of these drivers, even if you think your drivers are up to date, if for no other reason than the fact we can say it has been done and we are certain that outdated drivers are not the problem. I would install them in the order I have listed them. I would restart the system between driver installations.

Chipset driver: https://download.msi.com/dvr_exe/mb/amd_chipset_drivers_am4_wt.zip

(Alternatively, you can visit the AMD website and find/download the latest B550 chipset drivers that are available from AMD. AMD tends to have somewhat more frequent and up to date chipset drivers available for their own chipsets than the motherboard manufacturers do, but the latest one on the MSI website that I listed will likely work perfectly fine. You just don't want to be riding an old driver or a generic one that Windows update might have installed.

Realtek audio driver: https://download.msi.com/dvr_exe/mb/realtek_audio_R.zip

Realtek LAN driver: https://download.msi.com/dvr_exe/mb/realtek_pcielan_w10.zip

 

[Fletch777]

Thank you! I will give it a try. One question, do I need to download the new Bios Version to a flash drive to load it?

 

[Darkbreeze]

That would be my recommendation.

Download the BIOS file. Unzip it to a flash drive. Make sure the flash drive is inserted in the rear port shown below as "7" right next to the Flash BIOS button, and then with the power off, follow the instructions on the MSI website for using the BIOS flashback feature.

Or, insert it in ANY of those USB ports on the back panel, then go into the BIOS and use the BIOS update utility IN the BIOS. That is actually my preferred method, but using BIOS flashback is preferred by some since it's marginally simpler as a process. Either way, you should GO to the MSI website and read the outlined processes so that you are very familiar with them and THEN go to Youtube and find an instructional video or two on flashing the BIOS on the B550 Tomahawk and watch them. KNOW what you are doing BEFORE you do it. It's not rocket science, but it's also not something you want to be guessing about and making mistakes.