What could be causing this repeatable hard crash?!

[Buddhaz Priest]

So ever since about a month after I upgraded to Windows 10 (I haven't had time to do a fresh blank install of Windows 10) When I want to play a video game, I will play for about two or three minutes and then my system will completely lock. The sound does a distorted skipping effect, and the game completely freezes, and I have to shut down the system manually and restart. But this is where it gets weird: After I restart the system and play the game again, it runs just fine. It's as if my system thinks it needs to do one hard crash before I can play. This happens with every game, doesn't matter, as long as it is a somewhat graphically complex one. The more graphically intense ones tend to do it more often, but that might just be me jumping to conclusions because I can't be sure of that.

 

It feels almost like my graphics card or something needs to warm up before it gets going but if it doesn't get to warm up nice and slow, it crashes, and when I restart it's warm and that's why it runs fine (I am fully aware that this sounds a little ridiculous but I'm out of ideas). I have tried checking all my RAM, it's all fully functional, I'm not overclocking my CPU and it never has issues any other time, I just don't know what it could be. Other than doing a fresh install of Windows 10, because frankly I don't have the time for it right now and need to get a new external to backup my stuff, anyone have any ideas? I'm at a loss.

 

My system specs:

ASRock X79 Extreme 6/GB

Intel i7 3820

16 GB G.Skill Ripjaws Z series @ 2133 MHz

Galaxy GeForce GTX 680 2GB

120 GB Intel 730 SSD boot drive

60 GB Corsair Accelerator drive (which most of my games are installed on)

2TB Seagate Barracuda 7200RPM/64MB Cache for mass storage

ASUS Xonar sound card

[iamdarkyoshi]

<-- Windows 10 seems to hate the x79 platform. I have a 3930k and have had problem after problem with it.

[Buddhaz Priest]

I really hope that the x79 platform isn't the problem. I really don't have the cash for a brand new mobo and CPU since my accident. I'll be honest though, I'm hoping its a GPU issue lol. My wife gave me the clearance to get a new GPU if it's the problem.

[iamdarkyoshi]

I really hope that the x79 platform isn't the problem. I really don't have the cash for a brand new mobo and CPU since my accident. I'll be honest though, I'm hoping its a GPU issue lol. My wife gave me the clearance to get a new GPU if it's the problem.

try running memtest perhaps. Wait, arent you the same user with the distorted audio?

[Buddhaz Priest]

I did have the distorted audio. But then I purchased the Asus Xonar and that problem is resolved. It was a driver issue on Realtek's end and I didn't feel like waiting on them to fix it.

[iamdarkyoshi]

I did have the distorted audio. But then I purchased the Asus Xonar and that problem is resolved. It was a driver issue on Realtek's end and I didn't feel like waiting on them to fix it.

so, perhaps try backing up your existing OS and trying a fresh installation. See if you can replicate the crash still. If not, I blame the installation. If so, I blame either a hardware issue or driver issue.

[Buddhaz Priest]

Yeah... I'm afraid that's what I'm going to have to end up doing. I haven't done a fresh OS install in about a year, so I'm just dreading having to deal with backing up all my wife's school docs and crap. I was looking for an easy way out to see if anyone had a clue as to what might be causing it without me having to do a fresh install

[iamdarkyoshi]

Yeah... I'm afraid that's what I'm going to have to end up doing. I haven't done a fresh OS install in about a year, so I'm just dreading having to deal with backing up all my wife's school docs and crap. I was looking for an easy way out to see if anyone had a clue as to what might be causing it without me having to do a fresh install

I forgot if you answered this, but have you run memtest overnight? Bad RAM was a part of my issues.

[JWMutant]

It sounds more like you have a driver issue more than a hardware issue to me.

 

One thing I can tell you however is it is not due to having a x79 platform. I have a x79 sabertooth as my gaming rig which boots up in under 5 seconds and runs bf4 with max settings for hours on end.

 

Windows 10 upgrade created alot of drivers issues across the board due to alot of generic drivers being used in the upgrade process. So there is a very good chance you have a driver conflict. So yea do a fresh install or remove drivers one by one starting with your GPU and update to the latest driver.

[Buddhaz Priest]

Only real problem is I've been checking pretty much weekly since Windows 10 launch for updated drivers on the asrock page and they still haven't updated 90 percent of my mobo drivers etc for Windows 10. I'll have to go hunting myself one by one for latest drivers. Do I have to do anything crazy to do a fresh clean install of Windows 10? I mean can I just go to Microsoft's page and get an installer, or am I gonna have to Jerry rig a bootable install? I haven't done a clean one since launch on 10. Os installs are those rare things where I miss physical media.

[iamdarkyoshi]

Only real problem is I've been checking pretty much weekly since Windows 10 launch for updated drivers on the asrock page and they still haven't updated 90 percent of my mobo drivers etc for Windows 10. I'll have to go hunting myself one by one for latest drivers. Do I have to do anything crazy to do a fresh clean install of Windows 10? I mean can I just go to Microsoft's page and get an installer, or am I gonna have to Jerry rig a bootable install? I haven't done a clean one since launch on 10. Os installs are those rare things where I miss physical media.

If you use magicaljellybean on your existing installation, you can use that key for a new installation. Just use the windows media creation tool thingy to make a bootable flash drive. Oddly, my motherboard was "windows 10 certified"

 

I call B/S

 

my brothers PC works perfectly fine though. he used windows 10 with an asrock motherboard, but its a z77 chipset. not too far off though