Kids desktop is freezing but he can still hear the game going on through his headset?

Likely causes? He just recently reset the system to factory specs due to his screen going black constantly which fixed the black screen problem…but now the freezing issue?

FatZilla said:

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Gfx drivers would be my first guess. Worst case, the gfx card itself it going kaput.

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Yuuuuup.

Just went through this myself. Got a new gtx 3050 and started getting complete system lockups. Turns out the new drivers are garbage and keep getting nvklm errors. Common according to their forums.

Roll back the drivers several versions and see if that works, OP. Current one for the 3050 is like 512.79 I think. I'm rolling 511.65 I think it is and haven't had a lockup in two days now.

You can also download a dump report reader from Microsoft, OP. See if there are dump logs in your Windows folder and scan them to see what the problem is exactly. But your problem is common right now in a couple of Nvidia cards. Roll back the drivers seems to be the common fix for now.

I had this issue with a brand new Alienware system out of the box in the first couple of weeks. GTX3080. Was on the phone with tech support for about 10 minutes diagnosing the issue before they dispatched a tech with a new card. Fixed the issue completely.

I think its a known issue with the cards.

Has he had this system/card for awhile and it just started happening or is it a new build?

Could the power supply voltage be sagging?

System is a year old, he got back to college after spring break to the black screen issues, did a factory reset and now has the freezing issue.

System was working fine before spring break. Unfortunately I don't have access to it until Easter

GoAgs92 said:

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System is a year old, he got back to college after spring break to the black screen issues, did a factory reset and now has the freezing issue.

System was working fine before spring break. Unfortunately I don't have access to it until Easter

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Need system information. Sometimes hardware erata is a pain. My CPU has a hardware erata that causes it to lockup on "an extremely specific set of circumstances where the MWAIT instruction is passed". Usually more just a GPU/PSU/OS issue though. I do know someone who had issues with their house's circuit breaker showing an Arc fault from his computer. He found out somehow the NVME drive was shorting out every month or so.

He rolled back the drivers and system is running slower with the same problems…anyone have a peferred log reader?

GoAgs92 said:

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System is a year old, he got back to college after spring break to the black screen issues, did a factory reset and now has the freezing issue.

System was working fine before spring break. Unfortunately I don't have access to it until Easter

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I don't want to stir up a hornets nest, but the computer needed for college should be a Mac.

I've known a few friends who really shot themselves in the foot playing too much TF2 or CS. I played a bunch but knew when to stop and focus. Not everyone can self-ration

Plus you get far better stability on a Mac system.

Kid has a laptop for school but your Mac advise is true.

He is a junior, has a job and decent grades.

He manages his time well as far as I can tell.

He should do more networking stuff for future jobs but overall I'm happy.

GoAgs92 said:

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He rolled back the drivers and system is running slower with the same problems…anyone have a peferred log reader?

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I used WINDbg. It's free and the UI is simple to use and clean. Diagnosed my issues immediately.

Thing worked fine at Easter.

Next day it's freezing again, put in an older video card, same issues…blah.

Fixed!

Turns out when he went back to his dorm he simply plugged his mouse into a usb on the front of his case vs a usb in the back.