I built my own gaming PC about a year ago, and it's recently started crashing randomly with a Blue Screen of Death, usually citing different stop codes like IRQL_NOT_LESS_OR_EQUAL and MEMORY_MANAGEMENT. The crashes seem to happen under load during gaming but also occasionally at idle. I've run the Windows Memory Diagnostic tool, which found no errors, and my GPU drivers are up to date. For others who have troubleshooted persistent BSODs, what was your systematic approach to isolating the faulty component? Did you find software like WhoCrashed helpful, or was physically testing components like the RAM with MemTest86 or checking the PSU the key to finding the root cause?
You're not alone—BSODs are frustrating. Start by confirming it's not a software/OC issue: reset BIOS to defaults, disable XMP, run at stock speeds for a day or two, see if crashes persist. If yes, move to hardware tests.
Hardware sweep: do MemTest86 on each RAM module individually for at least 6–8 passes; swap sticks to pinpoint bad RAM. Check RAM timings and voltages in BIOS; set to safe defaults if you had overclocked memory. For the PSU, check the 12V rails under stress with a PSU tester or a power meter while running a stress test; if you notice droops, that's suspect. GPU memory tests: run a GPU stress test (FurMark/OCCT GPU) for 20–30 minutes with monitoring; watch for memory errors or driver resets. Try swapping to a different GPU or using onboard video if possible and see if BSOD stops.
Dump analysis: configure Windows to generate full memory dumps; collect a few crash dumps; use BlueScreenView to identify module; better: use WinDbg to analyze the stack traces and determine faulting driver. If you find a driver, update or roll back and re-test. You can use Driver Verifier to intentionally crash with a problematic driver; if it triggers, that's your culprit—but use with caution and have a backup plan to boot safely.
Preventative actions: ensure temps are good using HWInfo; check motherboard VRMs; ensure BIOS up to date; disable overclock; update chipset drivers; ensure Windows updated; check for overheating; ensure power settings; monitor event viewer error codes.
Would you like help with a 2-week diagnostic plan? If you share your PC specs, OS version, and a couple of dump files (if you have), I can tailor a step-by-step plan and a swap plan for RAM/PSU/GPU.