Windows 10: BSOD Constantly happening after switching to Win11 - is it the drivers?

I've had a recurring issue with constant BSODs happening regularly, I've tried updating the drivers, looked up solutions from different sources, but it's gotten nowhere, I'm uploading my dump files in hopes that I can get some help over here.DumpI think it's important to note that this only happens when my laptop is not in heavy use i.e gaming, but when I'm doing small tasks such as watching a video, working on homework and such, it may even happen twice in a row.I've tried identifying the problem myself but the only root I've found is references to the kernel.Thank you in advance to anyone wh

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CLOCK_WATCHDOG_TIMEOUT (BSOD) happening on Windows 10 constantly

I built this computer back in 2015 and it's been as powerful as it has been frustrating to maintain and constantly troubleshoot. I'm using it as a gaming PC, and lately it has started freezing then crashing to a BSOD with a "CLOCK_WATCHDOG_TIMEOUT". Anecdotally, it seems to happen after it has gone to sleep and then woken back up. However, restarting does not bypass this issue.

I can't specifically recreate it other than just playing a videogame for 15-20 minutes. It's not limited to a single game, either. When it freezes, I'll hold down the power button and restart the computer. Often it'll crash again on startup, but then load to the desktop after that (and then eventually freeze again).

Some more (possibly red-herring clues):

• A few years ago I used OBS to record my gameplay and it would cause a freeze like this- however, at the time I had always restarted it not knowing it would eventually trip to a BSOD, so I can't say for sure it was a CLOCK_WATCHDOG_TIMEOUT. But it looked exactly the same as what's happening now.
  
• I stopped using OBS, but Nvidia GeForce has since introduced a feature that records gameplay. Even though I've disabled it, I have a hunch in the back of my mind that it could be the culprit.
  

If I just let Windows sit at the desktop (or do normal computer-related things), this problem will never happen- it appears to only be when gaming.

What I've done to troubleshoot this (this is the part where I complain about how awful Windows is):

• I've tried booting into Safe Mode, but apparently all the USB ports on my computer don't work on the screen where it asks what number I want (in order to finish booting into Safe Mode). My wired keyboard is completely unrecognized on this screen.
  
• I ran "sfc /scannow" and it found corrupted files, but could not fix, so I tried DISM but it could not find the source files... So a tutorial said to configure it in the Local Group Policy Editor, but apparently my computer doesn't have that...? (May be a non-issue- see below)*
  
• I just finished completely reformatting and reinstalling Windows 10 and I thought that solved the problem because the computer lasted for hours afterwords. However, after coming back to it (after it had gone to sleep) it froze and crashed just like before (15ish minutes into gaming).
  
• *I've since ran another "sfc /scannow" after re-installing Windows and this time it says it did not find any integrity violations.
  

Since I've reformatted, I'm certain my drivers are all up-to-date, but I'm open to other suggestions there. I really don't want to install third-party tools all willy-nilly unless it's absolutely necessary.

Any idea how to narrow this issue down? My complete guesses are that it's either Nvidia's software or something to do with Windows 10 sleep. If it's hardware, what parts are typical culprits?

I'll try to answer any follow-up questions as best as possible. My primary computer is a Mac, so admittedly I'm not very intuitive (or patient) with Windows. I'm trying to enjoy gaming as a stress-reliever, but instead it only spikes my stress levels.

Here are the specs of this PC:

• Intel Core i7-4790K
  
• Gigabyte GA-Z97X-UD7 TH Motherboard
  
• Crucial Ballistix Sport 16GB RAM (2x8GB)
  
• Samsung 850 EVO SSD (x2)
  
• 3TB HDD
  
• Gigabyte GeForce GTX 970
  
• Corsair Carbide 500R Case
  
• Corsair 760 Power Supply
  

Edit: To add to it, I got a SYSTEM_SERVICE_EXCEPTION the last time it froze/crashed to BSOD.

Edit 2: I re-flashed the BIOS, but the error still happens. I also tried disabling broadcasting in Steam just for good measure. Still no luck. I'll keep updating this as I try other things in case it could possibly help anyone else sometime.

 

BSOD- atikmpag.sys

This is most likely due to an installation/upgrade error with ATI driver's. I suggest doing DriveSweeper and the following:

• Drivesweeper all drivers & in Safe Mode
• Unistall all drivers that aren't used in DriveSweeper (CCC Profiler Updates, MSI AfterBurner, anything related to ATI that use's it's drivers.)
• After you do this, the first thing you need to do is go into Device Manager and Unistall your ATI Drivers

Once your done, restart the PC and then try installing the latest drivers.


I had several issues with this in the past, but I overcame it with logical reasoning and whenever I have a driver issue, I just use these steps and I always overcome the problem.

Best of luck! *Toast :toast:

 

Random BSOD, started happening today

Just did all the steps. I suppose there's no way to tell if that solved the issue without using and waiting to see if another BSOD occurs, so I will come back later in case anything happens.