Most PC users will find it difficult to troubleshoot why a computer keeps crashing since pop-up messages and exception codes are not shown on your monitor. Windows utilities can however prove most useful for detecting the root cause of this fault.

In spite of the fact that the exception is not shown on screen, it may still be getting logged in your event viewer log file (start, run, type in eventvwr.exe). Check the log entries whenever you crash PC components during the lead up to the system shutting down. What you’re looking for signs of any exception codes or error messages which could indicate what hardware component was having difficulties or which software programs were developing faults. These codes are especially useful for researching online.

A more general check that can be done is to inspect all your hardware components. The Device Manager utility will be able to present real-time data on what state your hardware peripherals are in. It is especially useful when a PC crash occurs for pinpointing driver issues, system conflicts, etc. which can cause erratic behavior with the operating system.

The device manager cannot however do a full scan of your hard drive. This should also be checked using the error checking tool (Windows Explorer, go to one of your hard drives, properties, tools tab) to scan for and repair bad sectors. Most software related faults can be rectified using this tool. Any PC crash caused by physical damage may not however be repairable using the tool.

Finally, when the computer keeps crashing as your logging in then your last resort option is to revert back to the BIOS menu. This would at least be able to identify if hardware is not being detected correctly (by the BIOS) and provide additional diagnostic information. Some key settings to check the CPU temperatures and fan speeds since you want to make sure the computer is not overheating (many computer crashes can be caused by the CPU/hard disk overheating).

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