[SOLVED] System freezing and locking up

[jordow47]

I require some assistance in trouble shooting a frustrating issue with my brothers system, which has been working flawlessly since he built it in 2019.
Windows recently started random locks-up/hangs where it requires him to manually power it down. It allows him to move the mouse and click apps but doing this freezes those apps.
The Windows task bar freezes and wont let you do anything, no keyboard shortcuts work and the mouse pointer becomes the blue loading circle indefinitely.
These can occur literally at any point with no pattern, it could be logging in, opening an app, gaming, web browsing etc.

Things he has tried:
-Windows update fully up to date
-HCIDesign MemTest pro (Ran this for 5 hours no errors)
-Updated Bios
-Updated chipset drivers
-Updated GPU drivers
-Updated all other drivers with DriverEasy (also rolled them back to test)
-Windows C: drive error checking (no errors)
-Removed all CPU/GPU underclocks (ITX build)
-Ran sfc /scannow (Fixed some file corruption, but not my issue)
-Formatted and Fresh installed Windows 10 on NVME drive (I updated all drivers again and windows updates, still the same issue)


Things he hasnt yet tried:
-Installing Windows 10 on the SSD and removing the NVME

Any ideas?

Specs-
Motherboard: MSI B450I gaming plus AC
CPU: AMD Ryzen 7 3700x
GPU: MSI Nvidia GeForce GTX 1080 Ti
RAM: Kingston HyperX Predator 2x16 GB DDR4-3600
NVME:Samsung SSD 970 EVO 1TB (Windows boot drive)
SSD: Samsung SSD 860 EVO 1TB
PSU: Corsair SF600 Platinum

 

[Ralston18]

Look in Reliability History and Event Viewer.

What error codes, warnings, or even informational events do you see? Especially any that are being captured just before or at the time of the lock-ups, hangs, and freezes.

Start with Reliability History. Much more end user friendly and the timeline format can prove very revealing.

Event Viewer is more difficult to navigate and understand. However, there is no rush per se and no harm in just looking around to get a sense of it all.

Just to help (from this Forum):

https://forums.tomshardware.com/faq/how-to-use-windows-10-event-viewer.2752289/

Also: is that Corsair SF600 the original PSU? History of heavy use for gaming, video editing, or even bit-mining?

 

[rickypicky5]

-Updated all other drivers with DriverEasy (also rolled them back to test)

Not a good idea.

Have you checked CPU/GPU temperatures? I use hwinfo to monitor my temperatures.

 

[jordow47]

Look in Reliability History and Event Viewer.

What error codes, warnings, or even informational events do you see? Especially any that are being captured just before or at the time of the lock-ups, hangs, and freezes.

Start with Reliability History. Much more end user friendly and the timeline format can prove very revealing.

Event Viewer is more difficult to navigate and understand. However, there is no rush per se and no harm in just looking around to get a sense of it all.

Just to help (from this Forum):

https://forums.tomshardware.com/faq/how-to-use-windows-10-event-viewer.2752289/

Also: is that Corsair SF600 the original PSU? History of heavy use for gaming, video editing, or even bit-mining?

Checked both Reliability History and Event Viewer and cant see any indicators of anything that would cause it to freeze. Only thing it showed was the power off that I have to do in order to force restart the PC.

The PSU is about 3 years old and was bought new, and is used daily for work and gaming etc, and I think it's platinum rated?

Hope this helps!

 

[jordow47]

Not a good idea.

Have you checked CPU/GPU temperatures? I use hwinfo to monitor my temperatures.

Yeah, just thought it was worth seeing if it would help with anything.

My temps seem good, even under load and when doing the tasks that cause it to crash. This goes for all components, so I don't think anything is overheating :l

 

[Ralston18]

Power down, unplug, open the case.

Clean out dust and debris.

Verify by sight and feel that all connectors, cards, RAM, jumpers, and case connections are fully and firmly in place.

Use a bright flashlight to inspect for signs of damage: bare conductor showing, melted insulation, kinked or pinched wires, browned or blackened areas, swollen components, signs of liquids, loose or missing screws. Any sort of damage, discoloration, etc..

Objective being to ensure that the freezes and locks are not being caused by a loose connection. Connections do wiggle loose over time due to heat related expansion/contraction along with vibrations.