BSODs and now shut downs outside of BIOS

Here is the timeline of events, I have no idea what happened or how it got to this point. I could really use a hand, I have assignments to focus on

1. My gaming rig begins to crash a few minutes after logon each time, I am thinking it might be GPU overclock related. The BSODS range from WHEA UNCORRECTABLE, IRQL NOT LESS EQUAL and some related to specific .sys files and even the KERNEL. I install some Windows updates, clean the video drivers, update and reset the BIOS to factory settings and get rid of all overclocks.
2. Problem then shifts to reboots mostly instead of BSODS, just black screen and PC restarts a few minutes after logon. This does not happen in SAFE MODE at all, so I discount it being a hardware problem. SFC, CHKDSK dont detect any problems, and Windows Reset fails to work.
3. I opt to wipe Windows and do a fresh install from a USB drive, however the install fails around the copying files/installing mark with the PC just restarting itself every time. Tried other ports and USB media but same outcome.

So now I am stuck in the BIOS where its stable. Cannot install Windows and bootable recovery tools like acronis fail with kernel errors so I am unable to restore my backups. I have checked the RAM, moving to another power outlet, using built in graphics instead of GPU, removing all drives but the SSD but reboots are still present.

What are my next steps and how do I diagnose this thing?
Can it really be a hardware error when it was working fine in SAFE mode for extended periods of time?

It looks more like a software related problem since you can get it working in Safe mode. If you can still start in safe mode I would recommend the Clean Boot method of troubleshooting. Please follow the tutorial: https://www.tenforums.com/tutorials/4...conflicts.html

I dont want to jinx it but Windows was installed succesfully now. I will now see if its stable within the OS.

The culprit looks like it was the RAM settings, after resetting the BIOS they defaulted to very low, and this RAM is very beefy so it probably wasnt getting the power it needed.

Changing the overclock profile from auto to xmp seems to have done the trick. Now to restore my backups and crack on.

Phew!

That's good news, hope it remains stable. Yes the BIOS settings are critical to good performance, the default settings are generally fine but using XMP for the memory will get the best data rates for good performance.