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Clock Watchdog Timeout?
One of the most difficult in identifying the causes and correcting errors in Windows 10 is the blue screen “Your PC has a problem and needs to be restarted”.
And the error code CLOCK_WATCHDOG_TIMEOUT, which can appear both at arbitrary moments.
When performing certain actions (launching a specific program, device connection, etc.).
The error itself says that the system expected interrupt was not received from one of the processor cores in the expected time, which, as a rule, says little about what to do next.
This tutorial is about the most common causes of errors and ways to fix the clock watchdog timeout blue screen in Windows 10, if possible (in some cases the problem may be hardware).
Blue screen of death (BSOD) clock watchdog timeout and AMD Ryzen processors
I decided to make information about the error in relation to the owners of computers on the Ryzen in a separate section.
Because for them, in addition to the reasons described below, there are also their own specific ones.
So, if you have CPU Ryzen installed on your board, and you encounter a clock watchdog timeout error in Windows 10,
I recommend to consider the following points.
- Do not install earlier builds of Windows 10 (versions 1511, 1607), since they may cause conflicts when working on the specified processors, which leads to errors. Were subsequently eliminated.
- Update the BIOS of your motherboard from the official site of its manufacturer.
On the second point: in a number of forums it is reported that, on the contrary, the error manifests itself after updating the BIOS, in this case a rollback to the previous version works.
Problems with BIOS (UEFI) and overclocking
If you recently changed the BIOS settings or performed the processor overclocking, this can cause the clock watchdog timeout. Try the following steps:
- Disable CPU overclocking (if executed).
- Reset BIOS to the default settings, and you can – optimized settings (Load Optimized Defaults),
- If the problem appeared after the computer was assembled or the motherboard was replaced, check whether there is a BIOS update for it on the manufacturer’s official website: perhaps the problem was solved in the update.
Peripheral and driver issues
The next most common cause is the improper operation of the hardware or drivers.
If you have recently connected new hardware or have just reinstalled (upgraded version) of Windows 10, pay attention to the following methods:
- Install the original device drivers from the official website of the manufacturer of your laptop or motherboard (if it is a PC), especially the drivers for the chipset, USB, power management, network adapters. Do not use driver packs (programs for automatic installation of drivers), nor do you take seriously “The driver does not need updating” in the device manager – this message does not mean that there are really no new drivers (they are not only in the Windows Update Center). Auxiliary system software should also be installed for the laptop, also from the official site (it is the system software, various application programs that can also be present there are not required).
- If there are devices with errors in the Windows Device Manager, try disabling them (right click with the mouse – disconnect), if these are new devices, then you can disconnect them physically) and restart the computer (just restarting, not shutting down and then , in Windows 10 this may be important), and then observe if the problem manifests itself again.
One more thing concerning the equipment – in some cases (we are talking about PCs, not laptops), the problem may appear if there are two video cards on the computer (an integrated chip and a discrete video card).
In the BIOS on the PC, there is usually an item for disabling the integrated video (usually in the Integrated Peripherals section), try disconnecting.
Software and Malware
Among other things, BSoD clock watchdog timeout can be caused by newly installed programs, especially those that work with Windows 10 at a low level or add their own system services:
- Antivirus.
- Programs that add virtual devices (can be viewed in the device manager), for example, Daemon Tools.
- Utilities for working with BIOS parameters from the system, for example, ASUS AI Suite, programs for overclocking.
- In some cases, software for working with virtual machines, for example, VMWare or VirtualBox. Applied to them, sometimes an error occurs as a result of a virtual network not working properly or when using specific systems in virtual machines.
Also, such software can include viruses and other malicious programs, and I recommend to check your computer for their presence.
Error CLOCK_WATCHDOG_TIMEOUT due to hardware problems
Finally, the cause of the error in question may be hardware and related problems. Some of them are easily corrected; they include:
- Overheating, dust in the system unit. It is necessary to clean the computer from dust (even in the absence of signs of overheating, this will not be superfluous), if the processor overheats, it is also possible to change the thermal paste.
- Incorrect operation of the power supply, voltage different from the required (can be tracked in the BIOS of some motherboards).
- RAM errors.
- Problems with the hard disk,
More serious problems of this nature are faults in the motherboard or processor.
Additional Information
If none of the above has so far helped, the following points may be helpful:
- If the problem occurs recently and the system has not been reinstalled, try using Windows 10 recovery points.
- Perform test Windows 10 system files integrity .
- Often the problem is caused by the operation of network adapters or their drivers. Sometimes it is not possible to determine exactly what is wrong with them (updating the drivers does not help, etc.), but when you disconnect the computer from the Internet, turn off the Wi-Fi adapter or remove the cable from the network card, the problem disappears. This does not necessarily indicate the problems of the network card (system components that work incorrectly with the network can also be to blame), but it can help in diagnosing the problem.
- If the error occurs when you start a particular program, it is possible that the problem is caused by its incorrect operation (perhaps, specifically in this software environment and on this equipment).
I hope one of the ways will help solve the problem and in your case, the error is not caused by hardware problems.
For laptops or monoblocks with the original OS from the manufacturer, you can also try resetting to factory settings.
