In February 2022, I built an ITX server for online gaming with friends, using PVE 8 with Windows Server as the operating system. The machine specifications are as follows: CPU: Intel Core i9 10900t-es, memory: dual 16GB DDR4 RAM, storage: Kingston 120GB SATA SSD and Samsung 256GB M.2 SSD, motherboard: ROG Strix z490i-gaming, case: NZXT H1 ITX vertical case.
In July, I noticed that the server would randomly freeze, with no errors or warnings reported. The PVE system would become unresponsive, and I could not access the web UI. After restarting the server, I thought it was a temporary glitch, but the issue persisted. I tried upgrading PVE, but it did not resolve the problem.
I suspected that the issue might be related to the network card, as the motherboard does not automatically recognize or install drivers under Windows Server. Downloading drivers from Intel's website did not solve the problem, and I had to use a USB network adapter to connect to the internet. However, even with the USB adapter, the machine would still freeze occasionally.
I also considered the possibility of a faulty hard drive, but using DiskInfo software, I confirmed that the disk is healthy. The CPU, as the es version, might have some unknown issues, but I reassure that qtb0 is a well-established es version.
I also ruled out overheating as a cause, as I removed the side panel of the case to ensure good airflow and checked the CPU temperature using AIDA64 software, which showed temperatures below 70°C.
The server would freeze even after a forced shutdown and restart, but I was able to run some tests, including FPU testing and memory testing with memtest, both of which reported no errors. The most likely cause of the problem is still unknown, but I hope that someone can help me solve this issue.