Desktop PC - cpu pegs and pc locks up

sdkidaho · Jan 30, 2024

Hello - here is what I know:

It's been a couple of months now that my pc would just randomly lock up. No error on screen, just a hard lock and no ability to ctrl-alt-del or anything - just power off and on again. The time is random - it might be 20 minutes, it might be several hours. The pc for the most part is getting used to surf the web - primarily YouTube, some word processing (very little but some, using LibreOffice).

I leave my pc on - I don't physically turn it off. Its settings will put it to sleep though. Sometimes it would lock up while I was using it, other times it would lock up before it went to sleep, others times it would lock up while in sleep mode.

I turned off everything that would allow it to sleep, or have a screen saver. I would leave the task manager running on the CPU tab so I could see if there was anything noticeable. Every time except one that it locked up like this, the CPU pegs and the system locks (I'll attach screen shots)

What I've tried:
-Updated Windows 11 Pro - latest update from their site using an ISO to install over top. It took it to the latest version, which I was a version behind on releases.
-Ran dxdiag - found nothing, no errors on any of the tabs.
-Used the Alienware diags to watch the heat readings and as near as I can tell, it's not overheating and all the fans are functioning properly - 3 system fans, video card fan and CPU fan.
-Ran the drive scan diagnostics you find under the properties tab/tools on the hard drive - no errors
-Opened the case - checked all the connections from the power supply to ensure they were seated properly - they were.
-Pulled the video card and reseated it to ensure it was tight in its slot - it was.
-Checked the CPU to make sure it was still seated. I did not take it out as I didn't have any paste to redo the fan/heatsink, but it looks like it is well seated.
-Upgraded the RAM from 8gig to 32 gig. No change, still locks up.
-I saw something about how YouTube could cause your CPU to "sweat" if you were running an ad-blocker, which I was - so I turned that off, no change, still locks up.

I'm not sure what else to try. I'm going to uninstall the ad-blockers from Chrome, completely, reboot and let the system run to see if it locks up still, jus in case there is some weird residual hanging around from them.

Other than that, I'm not sure what else to try? Power supply maybe? I can test the voltages coming out of it, I haven't done that yet, but that doesn't seem right to me for some reason where the CPU pegs and then the system locks up. I can't make the lock up happen, it's totally random. I might be able to sit there and use it for 5 hours one time, and nothing, the next it might be 20 minutes then bam! Locked up.

Thanks for looking - I appreciate any help or direction you might be able to give.

Sorry for the photo quality - not sure how else to get that info here as the system is locked up, so cell phone pic was all I could do.

Ghot · Jan 30, 2024

Hello @sdkidaho and welcome to ElevenForum.

It looks like your Ethernet is spiking too, when the CPU spikes.
I would think that would be caused by an infection maybe.

Try running an AV scan, followed by a Malwarebytes scan.
A good online scanner to run would be ESET Online Scanner...

Just run it's "One Time Scan...

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Get a free one-time online virus scan, or a free 30-day trial with unlimited virus scans from ESET. Our online virus scanner will help you identify and remove malware. Stay protected with ESET software.

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Please use screen shots, rather than camera pics.

sdkidaho · Jan 30, 2024

I do have Malwarebytes installed - about a week ago. It doesn't show anything. I keep the Kaspersky up to date as well, and it is very rare that I download anything. I'll scan with the ESET to be sure though - thank you.

Ghot · Jan 30, 2024

sdkidaho said:
I do have Malwarebytes installed - about a week ago. It doesn't show anything. I keep the Kaspersky up to date as well, and it is very rare that I download anything. I'll scan with the ESET to be sure though - thank you.

It could also be something like a hidden bitcoin miner or the like.
Might want to grab a few screen shots when not doing anything on the computer or online.

Try just disconnecting the internet and seeing what happens?

sdkidaho · Jan 31, 2024

I also ran the utility from the Dell website. It tested a few things:

HARDWARE NAME	CATEGORY	RESULT
Qualcomm QCA9377 Bluetooth	Bluetooth	PASSED
11th Gen Intel(R) Core(TM) i5-11400F @ 2.60GHz	CPU	PASSED
CPU FAN	Fan	PASSED
TOP FAN	Fan	PASSED
FRONT FAN	Fan	PASSED
PC711 NVMe SK hynix 512GB	HardDrive	PASSED
System Memory	Memory	PASSED
Killer E3100G 2.5 Gigabit Ethernet Controller	Network Card	PASSED
PCI SubSystem	PCI Bus	PASSED
NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3080	Video Card	PASSED
Qualcomm QCA9377 802.11ac Wireless Adapter	Wireless Network Card	PASSED
Intel(R) Management Engine Interface #1	Communications Controller	PASSED
High Definition Audio Controller	HDAudio Controller	PASSED
USB Root Hub (USB 3.0)	Internal Hub	PASSED
Generic USB Hub	Internal Hub	PASSED
Intel(R) 400 Series Chipset Family SATA AHCI Controller	Mass Storage Controller	PASSED
Intel(R) Shared SRAM - 06EF	Memory Controller	PASSED
Intel(R) Serial IO I2C Host Controller - 06E9	PCI	PASSED
Intel(R) SPI (flash) Controller - 06A4	PCI	PASSED
High Definition Audio Controller	PCI	PASSED
Standard NVM Express Controller	PCI	PASSED
Intel(R) Serial IO I2C Host Controller - 06E8	PCI	PASSED
Intel(R) Thermal Subsystem - 06F9	PCI	PASSED
USB Input Device	PCI	PASSED
Intel(R) Host Bridge/DRAM Registers - 4C53	PCI Bridge	PASSED
Intel(R) PCI Express Root Port #17 - 06C0	PCI Bridge	PASSED
Intel(R) PCI Express Root Port #6 - 06BD	PCI Bridge	PASSED
Intel(R) PEG10 - 4C01	PCI Bridge	PASSED
Intel(R) PCI Express Root Port #5 - 06BC	PCI Bridge	PASSED
Intel(R) LPC Controller (Z490) - 0685	PCI ISA Bridge	PASSED
PCIeStatus	PCI Status	PASSED
Intel(R) SMBus - 06A3	SM Bus Controller	PASSED
USB Input Device	USB	PASSED
USB Composite Device	USB Composite	PASSED
Intel(R) USB 3.1 eXtensible Host Controller - 1.10 (Microsoft)	USB Controller	PASSED
UsbStatus	USB Status	PASSED

It shows all my drivers are up to date.

Running a full scan from the ESET online showed everything to be clean.

Ghot · Jan 31, 2024

sdkidaho said:
Running a full scan from the ESET online showed everything to be clean.

The only other thing I can think of is the CPU temperature.
What kind of CPU temps are you seeing?

I saw where you said the Alienware Diag showed the temps as OK, but what were the temps?

This free program will show you the min., max., and current temps..

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SlicEnDicE · Jan 31, 2024

It is very possible Kaspersky is interfering with some scheduled task Windows is trying to do. Sometimes 3rd-party AVs do this...and it is not uncommon that even Windows Defender itself causes issues, blocking some task from completing. Another thing that you could try is to disable Windows Fast Startup. Sometimes the "memory" stored in between bootups gets corrupted. Also a couple of reboots, keeping the computer on for a while in between, may fix this issue.

If none of this helps, then maybe do a full log collection using the tool (set of scripts) meant to be used in BSOD issues. And then post the whole set of logs here.

sdkidaho · Jan 31, 2024

Ghot said:
The only other thing I can think of is the CPU temperature.
What kind of CPU temps are you seeing?

I ran those tests last night after I got home - started about 9pm and finished around midnight. I rebooted the pc and left it running with just task manager to see if anything weird showed up on the ethernet. Unfortunately Windows tried to run an update, which is now stuck in my task bar and will not update despite telling it to "update and restart" multiple times. 2024-01 Cumulative Update Preview for .NET Framework 3.5 and 4.8.1 for Windows 11, version 23H2 for x64 (KB5034467) is the one not wanting to install for some reason.

So I rebooted this morning while I was gone for a couple of hours and left it with just the task manager running again and came back to the system being locked up (was really hoping it had something to do with Chrome and not running it, I was hoping to find the pc not locked up). I don't see anything that stands out in the ethernet activities while it locked (pics below).

I ran the program you said to, the pc has essentially been on nonstop since yesterday, and here are the average temps:

Core Temperatures (avg) [°C]
62
58
59
58
57
57
58
56
56
58
58
59
56
58
58
56
58
58
58
58
56
58
58
59
58
59
58
69
Core Temperatures (avg) [°C]
CPU [#0]: Intel Core i5-11400F: DTS

Here are the max temps:

Core Max [°C]
66
67
67
67
64
67
66
64
64
67
67
67
65
67
67
66
67
67
67
67
66
67
67
67
67
67
67
71

The program does show some errors happening - I'm not sure what that is, but included a screen shot of that as well.

Ghot · Jan 31, 2024

@zbook

Check the 3rd pic on the far right. WHEA errors?

sdkidaho · Jan 31, 2024

Here's a bigger shot of that, and those errors are growing. @Ghot @zbook

sdkidaho · Jan 31, 2024

SlicEnDicE said:
If none of this helps, then maybe do a full log collection using the tool (set of scripts) meant to be used in BSOD issues. And then post the whole set of logs here.

I'm not sure what tool it is you are referencing to do the logs?

x BlueRobot · Jan 31, 2024

sdkidaho said:
I'm not sure what tool it is you are referencing to do the logs?

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SlicEnDicE · Jan 31, 2024

sdkidaho said:
I'm not sure what tool it is you are referencing to do the logs?

look at the post above this one (#12). There are all the instructions...

sdkidaho · Jan 31, 2024

@Ghot @zbook here is what is under the PCI that might relate to those errors:

SlicEnDicE · Jan 31, 2024

...Anyways, it seems you have some issues with your PCIe BUSes...the log collector may be able to shed a light on the problem

sdkidaho · Jan 31, 2024

BSOD Log:

Ghot · Jan 31, 2024

sdkidaho said:
BSOD Log:

Good.

Now just wait for @zbook to get a chance to analyze that.

zbook · Jan 31, 2024

Please post a share link for event viewer:

How to share event logs in case of a computer issue - Your Windows Guide

This article explains How to share event logs in case of a computer issue

www.yourwindowsguide.com

sdkidaho · Jan 31, 2024

zbook said:
Please post a share link for event viewer:

How to share event logs in case of a computer issue - Your Windows Guide

This article explains How to share event logs in case of a computer issue

www.yourwindowsguide.com