Windows 11 BSODs, freezing and crashes, works fine in safe mode.

Understanding and Troubleshooting Windows 11 Blue Screen and System Instability: A Step-by-Step Guide

Introduction

Experiencing frequent Blue Screen of Death (BSOD) errors, system freezes, and crashes can be frustrating, especially when the PC runs smoothly in Safe Mode. This article aims to guide you through a comprehensive troubleshooting process, using a real-world example of a high-end gaming and workstation rig. If you’re facing similar issues, this methodical approach can help identify the root cause—be it hardware, drivers, or software—and lead to an effective solution.

Case Overview

Hardware Configuration:
– Processor: Intel Core i9-14900KF
– Memory: 2x32GB A-Data RAM
– Graphics Card: PNY Nvidia RTX 4080 Super
– Motherboard: ASRock 790PG Riptide

Symptoms:
– System crashes approximately once daily after a month of use
– Starts to be unusable outside Safe Mode about a week ago
– Works fine in Safe Mode but crashes or freezes within minutes in normal mode during gaming, stress testing, or after login

Troubleshooting Steps Taken

Hardware Testing and Configuration
Switched RAM slots and tested with single and dual sticks
Replaced NVMe SSD and performed clean OS installations (Windows 11 and Windows 10)
Changed PCIe slots for drives and unplugged USB peripherals
Updated BIOS and drivers via motherboard software and Windows Update
Ran Windows Memory Diagnostic and MemTest86—no errors detected
System File and Image Repairs
Executed system repair commands:
sfc /scannow
dism /online /cleanup-image /scanhealth
DISM /Online /Cleanup-Image /RestoreHealth
No issues reported
Crash Analysis and Debugging
Collected crash dump files for analysis—focused on minidumps
Observed that many BSODs cite ntoskrnl.exe as the faulting module
Common error codes include PAGE_FAULT_IN_NONPAGED_AREA, IRQL_NOT_LESS_OR_EQUAL, CLOCK_WATCHDOG_TIMEOUT, amongst others
Identifying the Culprit
Noted that certain diagnostic tools, such as CPU-Z from cpuid.com, tend to trigger crashes consistently, indicating potential stress points
Recognized the challenge of pinpointing specific hardware components as root causes, especially when dealing with high-end