Persistent System Crash and "DPC Watchdog Violation" on HP Victus 15 (13th Gen i5) – Need Assistance

[alifaizanwattoo]

I am writing to report a recurring issue I have been experiencing with my HP Victus 15 laptop (13th Gen Intel Core i5) since the very first day of use.

The laptop frequently becomes unresponsive during regular usage. When this happens, the system freezes completely, and if any audio is playing at the time, a glitching or buzzing sound accompanies the freeze. After a short time, the system crashes and displays a blue screen with the following error message:

😞 Your PC ran into a problem and needs to restart.
Stop Code: DPC WATCHDOG VIOLATION

Immediately after rebooting, another message appears:

"CMOS checksum is invalid"

I have already tried re-installing Windows, but unfortunately, the issue still persists even after a clean installation. This has made the device unreliable for daily use, and I am concerned it may be a hardware-level defect.

I would appreciate your guidance and a possible solution to this issue. If further diagnostics or servicing is required, please advise on the next steps.

[Hawks_Eye · Accepted solution]

Hi @alifaizanwattoo 

Welcome to the HP Support Community! We're here to help you get back up and running.

Thanks for laying out the situation so clearly—it’s genuinely frustrating to face such instability, especially on a new device. Let’s work through this together and aim for a resolution that restores reliability.

1. BIOS and Chipset Driver Update

These two updates are critical for system stability:

• Visit the HP Victus 15-fa1000 driver page
• Expand the BIOS section and install the most recent BIOS available.
• Then expand Driver-Chipset and download the latest chipset drivers.

Be sure to restart after each installation for proper effect.

2. Reset BIOS Settings

To address the “CMOS checksum is invalid” error:

• Restart the laptop and press F10 repeatedly to enter the BIOS.
• Once inside, press F9 to load setup defaults.
• Then press F10 to save and exit BIOS.

This ensures all internal configurations revert to their optimal defaults.

3. Run UEFI Hardware Diagnostics

To eliminate any potential hardware faults:

• Power off the laptop, then power it on and press Esc, followed by F2.
• Run both System Tests and Component Tests from the diagnostic utility.

If you prefer the latest version, the utility can be downloaded directly from HP PC Hardware Diagnostics page.

4. Graphics Driver Update

From the same HP driver page, locate the Driver-Graphics section:

• Download and install the latest NVIDIA graphics driver for your model.
• Avoid third-party installers; this ensures full compatibility.

If these steps don’t stabilize the system, it may point to a deeper hardware fault—possibly with the GPU or power circuit. 

Let me know how things go after trying these steps. I’ll be right here to help you through the next phase if needed.

If my response helped, please mark it as an Accepted Solution! ✅ It helps others and spreads support. 💙 Also, tapping "Yes" on "Was this reply helpful?" makes a big difference! Thanks! 😊

Take care, and have an amazing day!

Regards, 

Hawks_Eye

[alifaizanwattoo]

Hi Hawks Eye,

After troubleshooting as per your above suggestions, the problem still persists and unfortunately this time even for the worse. I will appreciate if you can advise me and help me dig down the cause of the problem as it has been so frustrating to focus on my work. 

Regards,

Ali Faizan