This guide is for diagnosing a Windows gaming PC that freezes shortly after starting a game, particularly when Discord is also running.
The goal is to determine what is causing the freeze before attempting repairs or replacing hardware.
This is extremely important.
For each test:
Do not perform several tests or make several changes at once.
If the problem disappears after changing five things, we won't know which change actually fixed it.
For each test, write down:
Example:
Test 1: Froze after approximately 4 minutes. Picture stopped moving, but game/Discord audio continued.
We'll start with Discord because the problem appears to occur very quickly when gaming with Discord running.
Discord normally uses the graphics card for some of its work. Disabling Hardware Acceleration lets us determine whether that interaction is contributing to the problem.
Do not change anything else.
Launch the same game that normally causes the computer to freeze.
Use Discord normally while playing.
Since the problem normally occurs within approximately 2–5 minutes, try playing for at least 15–20 minutes.
Record:
Finish this test before continuing.
This test determines whether Discord needs to be running for the problem to occur.
Before starting, turn Discord Hardware Acceleration back ON.
This returns the setting changed during Test 1 to its original state. That is important because we only want to change one variable at a time.
Play the game for at least 15–20 minutes.
Do not open Discord during the test.
Record:
Finish this test before continuing.
We're not changing anything during this test.
Windows records information about many application crashes, hardware errors, and unexpected shutdowns. We're going to see what Windows recorded around the times the computer froze.
Click Start.
Type:
Reliability
Select View reliability history.
Wait for the graph to load.
Look at the dates when the computer froze.
You may see red X symbols indicating critical events.
Click the day containing the most recent freeze.
Take screenshots showing:
If selecting an event displays additional technical information, take a screenshot of that as well.
Do not try to fix anything listed in Reliability Monitor.
We're gathering information, not making changes.
Send the screenshots to the person helping you troubleshoot the computer.
Now we're checking whether the processor or graphics card is overheating.
We'll use HWiNFO64 for this test.
Download HWiNFO64 only from the official HWiNFO website.
Look for readings similar to the following.
Leave HWiNFO running.
Start the same game and play normally for several minutes.
If possible, return to HWiNFO before the computer freezes.
HWiNFO records maximum values while it is running, so the Maximum column is particularly important.
Take screenshots showing the CPU and GPU temperature sections.
Make sure the Maximum column is visible.
Send the screenshots to the person helping you.
Do not change anything in HWiNFO.
Do not:
For this test, HWiNFO is being used only to measure temperatures.
The computer contains both an SSD and a hard drive.
A failing storage device can sometimes cause severe system hangs, so we'll check the health information reported by both drives.
We'll use CrystalDiskInfo.
Download CrystalDiskInfo only from its official website.
The program may report statuses such as:
Check every drive, not just the Windows C: drive.
Take a screenshot showing the health information for each drive.
Send the screenshots to the person helping you.
Do not:
We're only checking the reported health.
For this test we're only determining which NVIDIA driver is installed.
Right-click the Start button.
Select Device Manager.
Expand Display adapters.
Double-click:
NVIDIA GeForce RTX 2080 SUPER
Select the Driver tab.
Make sure the screenshot shows:
Send this screenshot to the person helping you before changing the graphics driver.
Depending on everything we've learned from the previous tests, the next step may be to:
Do not use third-party "driver updater" programs.
We'll decide what to do with the driver based on the evidence collected so far.
Only perform this test if you've been instructed to continue after the previous tests.
Windows includes a basic memory-testing utility called Windows Memory Diagnostic.
Save anything important.
This test will restart the computer.
Click Start.
Type:
Windows Memory Diagnostic
Open Windows Memory Diagnostic.
Select:
Restart now and check for problems
The computer will restart and test its RAM.
Afterward, Windows should restart normally.
Record or photograph any errors that appear.
Do not attempt to remove, rearrange, or replace the memory yet.
Report the results first.
If the computer freezes:
Do not immediately unplug it from the wall.
First try holding the computer's physical power button continuously for approximately 5–10 seconds.
A desktop computer should normally perform a forced hardware shutdown.
Only disconnect power if the computer absolutely cannot be shut down another way.
Repeatedly removing power while Windows is running can cause filesystem corruption and potentially create additional problems.
The computer currently being diagnosed has approximately the following hardware:
| Component | Hardware |
|---|---|
| CPU | Intel Core i7-9700K |
| Graphics | NVIDIA GeForce RTX 2080 SUPER |
| Memory | 16 GB |
| Primary Storage | 512 GB SSD |
| Secondary Storage | 2 TB HDD |
The reported problem currently looks like this:
These symptoms can have several possible causes.
We're investigating:
The computer has 16 GB of RAM, which isn't particularly large for a modern gaming PC. However, simply having 16 GB of memory should not normally cause the entire computer to freeze in the manner described.
That's why we're diagnosing before buying anything.
Keep the screenshots and results from each test.
The results that seem insignificant can sometimes be the ones that identify the problem.
ONE change → TEST → RECORD the result → CONTINUE
Do not replace hardware just because it appears on the list of possible causes.
Diagnose first. Fix second.