Recently, my Lenovo Thinkpad X1 Extreme Gen 4 started acting up. It would randomly freeze—sometimes after 10 minutes, sometimes after 30. When it did, the cursor stopped moving, and the fan was completely silent. It was eerie. There were no blue screens or warning sounds, so it didn’t seem like a typical CPU or RAM issue. I was puzzled. What could it be?
Troubleshooting Steps
I tried several things to fix it:
Checked for malware: I ran Malwarebytes, and it found nothing.
Ran Windows scans:
- sfc /scannow – No issues here.
-
DISM (dism /online /cleanup-image /restorehealth) – All clear.
Cleaned temp files and disabled startup apps to clear any potential clutter.
Hardware scans: I used Lenovo’s Commercial Vantage tool to scan hardware, which showed no issues.
Stress tests:
- OCCT tool – One crash during the CPU + RAM test.
- Intel Processor Diagnostic Tool – Passed.
Still, my laptop kept freezing. I noticed some WHEA errors in the Event Viewer logs, but the error details weren’t helpful—they were just code.
Using Event Viewer Efficiently
To make checking logs easier, I created a custom filter in Event Viewer. Each time the laptop froze, I’d do a hard restart and check these filtered logs to save time.
Final Steps
Since nothing worked, I decided to reset the OS while keeping my data. I used the factory image on the laptop instead of downloading a fresh OS.
After updating Windows, the freezing issue finally stopped, though my laptop started overheating (something I’ll tackle in another post). I also had the laptop professionally cleaned for dust and applied fresh thermal paste. Now, it’s running smoothly and is usable again.
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