Computer randomly freezes up at times, no BSOD

[Zyfler]

Hello! This computer was built about a month ago, and only recently in the past two weeks, the crashes started to happen. There are no BSODs, and I was unable to obtain a dump file from the crashes, the computer simply freezes up and everything becomes unresponsive (computer screen freezes, keyboard and mouse unresponsive, sound frequency stuck in that one tone). At times, the computer does not start up at all (stuck in a boot loop), it POSTs normally with 1 beep, but restarts and gets stuck until I hard reset the computer. I ran memtest86 on the PC to check for any memory issues with the RAM, the PC passed 7 times with no errors. I've changed the settings for saving crash dump files in the advanced system settings, but the PC still does not write any dump files into "Windows\Minidump".

These are the specs of the PC:

• OS: Windows 7 Home Premium, 64-bit
• Motherboard: ASUS B150M-C D4 (https://www.asus.com/Motherboards/B150M-C/)
• Power Supply: Cooler Master V650 Semi Modular 80+ GOLD
• GPU: ZOTAC GTX 1060 Mini
• CPU: I5-6600 (not unlocked)
• RAM: G.Skill Ripjaws V 2400MHz 8GB (2x4GB)

 

[Megahertz07]

It could be for many reasons. Hardware failure (PS, MB, memory and even CPU). Install a hardware monitor (HWiNFO64 is very good) to look at temperatures and voltages. Update your BIOS. Try to take off the GPU and run with the Intel IG. Software: Update your drivers. Have a look at Device Manager to see if all hardware drivers are set properly. See if it freezes under safe mode.

 

[Digerati]

it POSTs normally with 1 beep, but restarts

The 1 beep suggests the CPU and RAM are good. Where does it restart? Is it always at the same point?

I agree with MHz017 to check your temps and voltages and HWiNFO64 is one of my favorites. But sadly, it does not have a system tray applet for full time easy monitoring of temps. I use and recommend CoreTemp to monitor my CPU temps. I also like Speccy (from the makers of CCleaner) which provides much more "System Information" and now has a system tray applet too.

Are you using the OEM cooler? Did you remove the plastic cover over the TIM (thermal interface material) pad? Sorry if that is an obvious question, but it has happened before. And are you sure the cooler is securely mounted? A loose cooler will not cool properly and a CPU can overheat (and shutdown) in just a few clock cycles. And at 3.3 giga-cycles per second (3.9 for Turbo mode), a few clock cycles is pretty quick.

When there are no dump files or Events listed in Event viewer, that indicates the halt was so quick, the OS had no time to write an Event error. First thing I would do it make sure all the power connections were tightly connected. If they are, then I would swap in a known good PSU and see what happens. Since EVERYTHING in the computer depends on good stable power, when troubleshooting potential hardware problems, you start at the wall. Is it plugged in? Is it turned on? Is the power good? And since most users don't have oscilloscopes or proper power supply analyzers at their disposal to properly and conclusively test their supplies, swapping in a known good spare (or borrowed) supply is their only option.