Troubleshooting freeze/boot problems. At my wits' end

Bartpabicz

Hi all,

I've been researching solutions for my problem for the past three months and it got me nowhere, so perhaps I'll have better luck here.

It's a huge wall of text, so here's a tl;dr:

Computer freezes during normal work, sometimes recovers, but most of the time hard reset is needed. Also, weird, irregular behaviour during POST at boot-up - long POST or problems with boot-up loops of powering down and powering up. For the list of things I've tried already, scroll down to the next section.

Now, for a more descriptive version:

After moving computer to another room in June I noticed weird behaviour. Computer usually works fine, however sometimes when working in windows (writing mail, browsing internet, listening to music from foobar) screen goes black (as in monitor stops receiving signal), sounds in the background (i.e. music being played) start 'stretching' to the point when one sound gets looped and produces something similar to white noise and computer becomes completely unresponsive. About one in three times it recovers all by itself after about 5 seconds, screen lights up again, all applications are still open as they were and I can continue to work. Most of the time however computer doesn't recover, this white noise can be heard from the speakers continuously (IF I was listening to music at that time of course, otherwise it's complete silence), no keystrokes are being registered (task manager, soft reset combinations, alt-tabbing - nothing works), mouse doesn't do anything either. Hard reset works as intended, but the other part of the problem starts here. A word of introduction first though.
Around the same time I moved computer to another room I noticed increased Power-On Self Test (POST) times. The wait time between initial black screen with single line of text on top 'Version 2.02.1205. Copyright (C) 2010 American Megatrends, Inc.' and the rest of the self-test, memory count and boot-up device scanning procedure that fills up the remainder of the screen, can take up to 20 seconds and can vary between boots. After the abovementioned freeze, POST process sometimes doesn't complete properly. Following hard reset all hardware is still powered up by default - hard disk and fans are still spinning, just waiting for computer to boot up. However, at odd times, computer doesn't even go to POST, screen remains black (unpowered) for several seconds, after which computer turns itself off completely - fans stop etc. Then after 3-4 seconds it restarts automatically and either powers down again (to restart once again after a few seconds and repeat the loop) or it proceeds to POST and continues with booting up the system.

Interesting fact - computer never freezes when I'm playing games, even gpu-intensive ones.

Things that have changed after moving to another room:

- started using WIFI usb dongle again (previously I've been using same dongle, then moved to direct connection to the router by cable)
- connected the computer to different wall socket

Now, those are the things that I have tried already:

- Tried using different power sockets in the wall, or the same one as before
- Bios is up to date
- Replaced PSU with a new seasonic one
- checked if components are seated properly
- dusted CPU fan, checked temperatures - all nominal
- Tried benchmarking/stress testing video card, cpu, memory
- scanned both hdd and ssd for errors and performed surface tests
- scanned computer for viruses, trojans, malware with different programs
- updated my gpu drivers
- tried using single memory stick, changed banks used

My configuration is as follows:

Processor Intel i7-2600K
Cooler stock
Mainboard ASRock Z68 Pro3 Gen3
Memory Kingston 2x4GB DDR3-1600
Video Card nVidia GeForce GTX 770 2GB RAM
HDD SSD2 Crucial M4-CT128
Samsung HD502IJ 500GB SATA 3GB/s 16MB DRAM
Sound Card integrated
Power Supply Seasonic S12-II 620W 80+
Computer Case Antec Three Hundred
Monitor 27" LG M2732

System Windows 10 64bit


I literally run out of options and ideas what might be causing this behaviour. If you have any tips, I would sincerely appreciate any and all help. Thanks!

whizbang

Biggest common denominator here is GPU. Remove it, use the built in for a while.
Don't rule out the Monitor either...

If there's a post problem its down to GPU, RAM, MOBO, CPU. mainly in that order.
PSU -replaced, but maybe something is pulling it down.
CPU Fan (all fans)- if its slow to start, mobo may halt.
HDD - unplug power

SSD and Sata conflict
Hi Power Usb charging enabled? - conflicts with something iirc.

Maybe reload bios, but I don't know if that's possible or even wise, given the instability.

Bartpabicz

Hi.

Thank you for your reply. I'm currently observing uninterrupted usage since roughly when I posted this message here (how typical), so whenever I see another crash, I'll start with removing GPU and follow with the rest of the steps.

Johnboy1951

The plugs to the motherboard ...... check that there are no loose connections there ....... either a wire not properly crimped, or the connector 'open' a bit too much for the pin.

Is there any way during POST that you can observe when it delays?
I previously was able to observe the individual devices being accessed and listed, and had a delay before one HDD came up, so was able to locate my problem.

Keplar240B

I have a PC with very similar fault symptoms,

The problem(in my case) is a contact issue between CPU and motherboard possibly caused by some contamination or mechanical issue I cannot see.


Reseating the CPU in the socket fixes it for a period.

I see you say you "checked if components are seated properly"
try reseating CPU and.or cooler if you not already tried check fro contamination on CPU or around the socket area.

stevek93

Its not all doom and gloom yet you haven't mentioned reinstall of Windows? Also a barebones configuration wouldn't hurt reset the CMOS use on board graphics etc. Complete your normal workload and start adding back as you go.

It could be a MOBO issue but you don't know that yet. You could try clear the memory on the board remove the RAM and CMOS battery hold the power switch for 30 seconds. This has resolved issues in the past for me.

SilverSideUp

It looks like hardware failure. It's very frustrating, I know. They key to solving your problem is to swap out hardware parts for parts you know are working. You could ask a mate with a PC with compatible parts to help you or find someone with a spare PC which you could use for testing. It's possible that the new PSU is underpowered too. Put in a 750W PSU and see what happens.

TerrorFirmer

SilverSideUp wrote: »

It looks like hardware failure. It's very frustrating, I know. They key to solving your problem is to swap out hardware parts for parts you know are working. You could ask a mate with a PC with compatible parts to help you or find someone with a spare PC which you could use for testing. It's possible that the new PSU is underpowered too. Put in a 750W PSU and see what happens.

It is definitely not an underpowered PSU.

You should try running barebones - single stick of ram and onboard graphics - for a while and see what happens.

Could very possibly be just a fault in the motherboard though.

scamalert

have you checked data memory dump logs ? windows creates crash dump before major or any event,granted you will need to google how to open the file since forgot software name but might give you a pointer.

also event viewer is first point to see what error code was thrown. prior post boot critical event.

sometimes youll have some driver go heywire but hardware like mobo could be culprit either.

as suggested start with minimal setup maybe on table or anti static bag to rule out grounding issue as well.

read full version seems moving could been the issue,have faced smth similar and if post takes a while to complete try to rewire everything also give good clean out with air can etc, reseat cpu and throw some thermal paste

Bartpabicz

Dear contributors, thank you all VERY much for all your helpful comments and suggestions so far. Since I posted my cry for help, the PC has decided NOT to grace me with even a single crash, therefore since I cannot see if any changes I will make will have any effect, I have to put the troubleshooting of this particular issue on hold. That is until my puter starts acting up again like that.

One problem still persists though - VERY long POST time, like 30 seconds or so. I will try removing components one by one and take notes on any changes.

scamalert

well 30 sec might seem short time but on todays hardware and your setup id expect system to be fully loaded by that time.

take out cmos battery for like 10 minutes,see if bios will reset to defaults and give another boot up once it picks up all the hardware.

new mobos come with pleothora tweaks and functions for OC and few dozen settings that each does different things and can affect whole system, also if using cdrom disconnect that and any other hardware like sd card readers usb sticks etc, since sometimes specially if you used some older parts they could be the buffer that prolongs post.

Since its mental drain when such issues happen but when you go trough troubleshooting steps its a bit of aha moment and learning curve once you solve em.