Windows keeps locking up randomly when under light load or idle

Romeo T 1 Reputation point
2023-01-21T19:22:47.6166667+00:00

My Windows 10 PC keeps freezing randomly when under light load or idle. Windows stops responding completely, I can't move my mouse cursor, sometimes I can hear sound glitches in a loop (if I was watching a video before my PC locked up), I have to hard-reset my PC. It can happen from 0 to 3-4 times a day, usually when I'm watching a youtube video or a Twitch stream or when I'm reading something. I think it all started after I got a new CPU: Intel i7-7700 instead of my old Intel G4620, but it could be a coincidence.

My PC never locked up before when playing a game with GPU and CPU being under heavy load (70-95%). Windows Event Viewer shows me that my system rebooted unexpectedly and that it COULD be a power issue, but my PC doesn't seem to lock up when I'm gaming and I have a 450W PSU, which is on a low end, but should be enough.

I updated all drivers I could find (though some PC components are old and don't have new drivers), flashed mainboard BIOS to the latest version. I tried turning off "USB Selective suspend" and "Turn off Hard Disk" in power options, it didn't help. I also tried unplugged all my USB devices (mouse+keyboard) and plugged-in different ones, because I had some issues with PC refusing to go into sleep mode some time ago. It didn't help too. I run "sfc /scannow", no issues found.

My system doesn't seem to overheat. I don't overclock my PC in any way.

The only other issue I have with my PC at the moment is that my 3.5mm headphones keep disconnecting and reconnecting randomly sometimes.

How can I troubleshoot this problem?

My System:

  • Windows 10 (21H2) - all updates installed
  • Mainboard: Gigabyte GA-B250-HD3P (rev. 1.0) with latest BIOS
  • CPU: Intel i7-7700 - (using "balanced" power mode in windows)
  • GPU: Zotac Geforce GTX 1660
  • System SSD: Samsung 850 EVO 250GB (HDSentinel shows: Health: 73% / Status:PERFECT )
  • One more SSD and HDD
  • RAM: 48GB (16+16+8+8 Patriot Memory, 16GB and 8GB are slightly different)
  • PSU: AeroCool VX-450 (450W)
Windows 10
Windows 10
A Microsoft operating system that runs on personal computers and tablets.
10,660 questions

2 answers

Sort by: Most helpful
Most helpful Newest Oldest
  1. Romeo T 1 Reputation point
    2023-01-22T03:42:37.6866667+00:00

    Yes, I tried windows clean boot, it didn't help. I'm not sure what you mean with "CPU Drivers", but I have "Intel Driver Support Assistant" installed and it downloaded all the latest Intel drivers it could find for my system.

    Yes, my motherboard is flashed with the latest firmware.

    I also tried Windows Memory Diagnostic, it didn't find any problems.

  2. Limitless Technology 43,951 Reputation points
    2023-01-23T16:47:14.3066667+00:00 
    Hello

Thank you for your question and reaching out. I can understand you are  having query\issues related  to Windows 10 PC keeps freezing.

1. Disable any Antivirus program or Windows firewall you may have for temporary purpose.

2. Cleanup below Temp folders location -> Open Start -> Run -> Type below location one-by-one and press enter 
     C:\Windows\Temp
     %USERPROFILE%\AppData\Local\Temp

3. Run Disk Cleanup from Select C:\ Drive from Properties- > General -> Disk Cleanup - >Cleanup system files

4. Run sfc /scannow from elevated prompt.

5.  Run below DISM commands  from elevated prompt.

DISM /Online /Cleanup-Image /CheckHealth
DISM /Online /Cleanup-Image /ScanHealth
DISM /Online  /Cleanup-Image /RestoreHealth

6. Update Graphics drivers and BIOS firmware from vendor website.

--If the reply is helpful, please Upvote and Accept as answer--