Random black screen then reboot

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newfiend

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Random black screen then reboot

#1

Post by newfiend » Tue Oct 10, 2017 1:05 am

Who wants to help troubleshoot?

Well I'm stuck. I consider myself semi-PC literate. I'm no IT tech, but I have built my own PC's for some time.

Recently my HTPC decided it likes to randomly black screen then reboot.
Event Viewer reports Kernel Power error.
I initially assumed it was PSU related and swapped in a new PSU. (Still same crash/random reboots)

Pulled RAM, swapped in some extra I had here (both Corsair brand RAM) still same crashing and reboots.

Checked all HDD's and SSD's all report no errors.

Ran Prime 95.. no problems or crashing

Ran Memtest.. no problems reported.

Ran a GPU test and that passed without crashing (however after I stopped it I launched Plex media player and it crashed and rebooted)

I was getting random tuner failures in WMC, shows weren't recording as well so I swapped out my Ceton InfiniTV6 for a backup InfiniTV 4 I had here.. still crashed/reboots at random moments.

Wondered if it may be Windows OS related.. Formatted and reinstalled Windows 8.1 as well as all latest drivers etc. and applications. (Still will randomly crash and reboot)
Although my tuners not recording issue seems to have cleared up. (yay one small step forward Image )

So now at this point I'm getting pissy... and WAF is beyond the point of return (almost).. ugh!!

I finally got a good bug report the last time it crashed in event viewer.. (Here it is below).

Critical Kernel-power event id 41 task category (63)
Bug check code 278
Bug check perameter 1 0xffffe000e3658300
Bug check perameter 2 0xfffff8013d9a5c4c
Bug check parameter 3 0x0
Bug check parameter 4 0xd

After googling the Bug Check Code 278 It seemed GPU related.. I pulled the GFX card out (Nvidia GTX980Ti) and swapped in a GTX 650Ti in...
Figuring I had finally found the culprit I contacted EVGA and started an RMA on the GPU.

Tonight while the Wife (God.. of all people who has lost all faith in my HTPC and Me) was watching TV the screen went black while she was watching Recorded TV. It didn't hard crash like before and reboot.. I could Alt/Tab and see the mouse pointer for a sec then the display would go out and I would see my AVR Screen that displays when there is no signal.

I hit the reset button and it rebooted and poof.. display is back. It's odd as it will work fine for hours and then randomly just crap out.

There was a new Nvidia Driver available so I updated tonight to the latest build via GeForce Experience and did the Custom/Clean Install option.

Any help would be appreciated .. My patience is wearing thin and all I have left to replace is Motherboard and CPU.. I have considered the Mainboard but it's no longer available and expensive as hell to replace.
Mobo: Asus Rampage IV Gene
CPU: Intel Core i7 4930K
Memory: 16 GB Corsair Ram.
3 HDD's (WD Black drives 2,3,6 TB)
2 SSD's One for OS one for PLEX (Faster display of synopsis and images in PLEX on SSD #2)
Nvidia GTX 980Ti (usually as I also use the PC to Game) at the moment I have the GTX 650Ti installed.
Corsair AX860i PSU.

Help!!! :crazy:
Thanks all,
newfiend

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Crash2009

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#2

Post by Crash2009 » Sat Oct 14, 2017 4:33 am

re paste the cpu heatsink

download a fan monitoring app to check for fan failure and overheating

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Crash2009

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#3

Post by Crash2009 » Thu Oct 19, 2017 2:06 am

Crash2009 wrote:re paste the cpu heatsink

download a fan monitoring app to check for fan failure and overheating
Also test power supply, actually easier just to swap in your spare.

A software named BlueScreenView was helpfull to me when I was trying to find my failing hardware

https://www.nirsoft.net/utils/blue_screen_view.html

Check post #5 for troubleshooting steps...took awhile to find my culprit...good learning experience

https://www.sevenforums.com/bsod-help-s ... 012-a.html

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joecrow

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#4

Post by joecrow » Sat Oct 21, 2017 8:48 am

I had much the same following a hardware upgrade (GPU). Blackscreen, then reboot (Kernel Power event), being suspicious of the new GPU (AMD RX 460) and the fact that I could reproduce it somewhat by merely changing the refresh rate, although it played most vids OK, I moved it to a different PC where it also failed, QED, well no after further messing arround in the test PC no more problems so moved it back to my HTPC where it has been working well for a long while (some recent driver updates apart).
What I noticed both in the HTPC and the first time I installed in the test PC was that although the card seemed to be plugged in and seated OK the securing screw did not line up exactly and the cards bracket sat a little high above chassis rail where it should be fixed to. With some messing arround I got to sit in its slot much better with the securing bracket flush and there it works OK. I also noted the same problem when I tested an Nvidia GTX 10Ti looks to me like these thick and heavy double slot GPUs need some fiddling with to get them to seated well. (in my Gigabyte mobos anyway). Might be worth checking out given the similar symptoms.
Hope that helps.

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newfiend

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#5

Post by newfiend » Tue Oct 24, 2017 11:57 pm

Ok so I'm still troubleshooting this issue..
It's gradually been going down hill with odd things happening.
The PC the other night finally IMO died.
I came out in the living room in the morning and the PC Power LED was cycling on and off.. I pulled the plug and ordered a Motherboard. I didn't want to spend the money right now but figured I had little choice.
The new board came in (well it was a used/new board.. I should clarify here..) I tore the PC apart and rebuilt with the new "used" board. Wouldn't boot. Long story short the new "used" board was DOA. I happened to have a spare Corsair CX430 PSU hanging out here.. I figured for the heck of it I would try a different PSU on my original Mainboard, CPU and RAM.
And well It worked fine.. Booted up just like it should.
So I did a temporary build with the CX430 PSU.
I put the Corsair AX860i PSU on my test bench and plugged in the power cable to the back and unplugged all the cables from the front of the PSU.
I started one at a time plugging in cables and pressing the "Self Test" button on the front of the PSU. With no cables attached other than Wall power to the rear the Fan will spin and the LED lights up green when the self test button is pressed.
I attached the Mainboard Power cable to the PSU.. It's 2 pieces.. One half being plugged in at this point I press the test button.. fan spins and LED is Green.
I attach the other half of the mainboard cable to the PSU and hit the button again.. Fan does NOT spin.. No Green light. The PSU clicks inside but nothing happens when I press the self test button.

Initially when I swapped out the PSU since it's modular I didn't replace the cables. I just pulled the PSU itself and dropped in the new one and reconnected the cables.

I guess it could have just been a bad mainboard power cable causing some of the issues... and I should have replaced it all when the new one came in. :(

Then last night two days of PC working without error bliss.. I got the black screen issue again. :thumbdown: It's like the GFX card just looses output signal.
The AVR Wallpaper/screensaver screen appears on the TV and the only way to get video output again is to reset the PC with the reset button.
This of course causes a "Kernel Power Error" in event viewer with no Bug Check Code. :wtf:
It's been fine since the reset.
I did some more digging online last night on the NVidia Forums and found info relating to the x79 and x99 chipset boards like mine. Although this was in a Windows 10 Thread the chipsets and symptoms were exactly what I am having. https://forums.geforce.com/default/topi ... ddmkm-/64/

It seems some people are also having this issue besides myself with these chipsets and Corsair LINK. Someone stated that they thought it could be some conflict with Corsair LINK software. I removed that today and I am currently running the PC with the CX430 until my replacement AX860i comes in from Corsair.

Thanks for the suggestions. I have removed and reseated the CPU and put on new thermal paste... I don't see anything over heating at the moment. I checked the board and temps with CPUID HWMonitor nothing looks like its overheating.
I just updated the Display Driver last night to the latest NVidia Build 388.00 with GeForce Experience and the clean install method and uninstalled the Corsair LINK software. So far so good.. Time will tell..
Thanks,
newfiend~

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Crash2009

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#6

Post by Crash2009 » Wed Oct 25, 2017 1:23 am

Okay, so you got it going, you got your fingers crossed, and you are monitoring..... (been there) Hoping for problem solved.

Next is "Case Trouble".... which can mean the case itself (MB to case short) or the cables or buttons that come from the case such as Reset or Power button. LED's dont matter. It is "possible" the video adapter or adapter software that you mention as a sidebar, cause heat resulting in MB warp-age.....resulting in case short.....Taller spacers is the workaround.

To troubleshoot "Case" take the case out of the picture.....motherboard on a piece of foam. HD CD DVD PS taped to plywood. Use a known good power button.

Hope you dont have to go that far.....But it is the ultimate place to start. Everything is "Right There" Zero Effort required to swap anything. My first InfiniTV4 started this way, you may have seen the pictures back in 2012

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DavidinCT

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#7

Post by DavidinCT » Wed Oct 25, 2017 4:53 pm

Normally with these issues... CPU (CPU paste dried up), Ram, or Power supply. I had a Windows 10 laptop I was working on... What ever you do, it would random blu-screen, just generic messages (no clue on the blu-screen), ended up being memory but, NOT the memory, it's a memory slot...

Never ran into a bad slot before...

Like I said in the other thread, you get really stuck, drop me a PM and you can swing by with it, I am sure we can figure it out with a few brews of course :)
-Dave
Twitter @TheCoolDave

Windows Media Center certified and WMC MVP 2010 - 2012

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Crash2009

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#8

Post by Crash2009 » Thu Oct 26, 2017 12:47 am

Asus tech support helped me eliminate bad Ram Slot.

Disconnect your boot drive.
Set BIOS to boot from CD/DVD
Windows CD/DVD in the CD drive

1 stick of ram in slot 1....boot or no boot?
Move the same stick to slot 2 and test boot
Test all ram slots

Same method to test Ram Sticks.

I ran Memtest for a couple days resulting in all good.

The Asus test found the bad ram in 2 minutes. Cooked ram smells very nice when it burns. (I didnt know that it was cooking, but I remember the smell) Gave the results to Corsair, had an RMA instantly. After finding the bad one and looking with a magnifying glass, I could see discoloration on the gold contacts. No other blemish's anywhere.

You guys must live near each other. Great excuse for a get together. Have fun!

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newfiend

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#9

Post by newfiend » Thu Oct 26, 2017 1:09 am

Yeah David lives in CT and I'm in MA... We have been talking about meeting up for some time but my work schedule always screws me.. I feel like I never get time out from there.. I'm sure you all can relate.
Appreciate the assistance everyone!! This has definitely been a learning experience so far for sure...
newfiend~

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Crash2009

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#10

Post by Crash2009 » Thu Oct 26, 2017 5:06 am

Relate, yes. We have been getting slammed for a few months. New client giving us all we can handle.

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DavidinCT

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#11

Post by DavidinCT » Thu Oct 26, 2017 12:52 pm

newfiend wrote:Yeah David lives in CT and I'm in MA... We have been talking about meeting up for some time but my work schedule always screws me.. I feel like I never get time out from there.. I'm sure you all can relate.
Appreciate the assistance everyone!! This has definitely been a learning experience so far for sure...
newfiend~
Sooner or later we'll meet up. you have your schedule and I've got mine, Trust me, always busy with something. :)

Crossing my fingers for ya that your system gets solid again. I don't even think about mine any more. It's so rock stolid, when I turn it on, it works, only time I have issues is with ROVI and it's been a few months now. Weekly reboots, backups are automatic and scheduled.
-Dave
Twitter @TheCoolDave

Windows Media Center certified and WMC MVP 2010 - 2012

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newfiend

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#12

Post by newfiend » Sat Nov 04, 2017 1:10 am

So I think.. ?? (fingers crossed, knock on wood etc.) I have this figured out... Finally.
I have to give props to some companies that really back their products. My hat is off to you Corsair, EVGA and Asus. Thank You.
As well as the help I received in this thread and from the support from online friends I nagged to death. Thanks for putting up with all my questions!
I know I'm not on here as much as I used to be,.. but I appreciate you all more than you know for your knowledge and support.. Thank You.
I used a Corsair CX430 PSU while I waited for my replacement AX860i from Corsair. I had it running in limited capacity for about a week with only one issue still remaining.. random video dropout where the display output signal would just drop out and not come back unless I rebooted the PC.
After some searching online about the issue I found on the NVidia Forums that people with similar hardware as me were having the same issues (NVidia Cards and x79 and x99 Chipset Mobos). One guy found a fix by removing Corsair LINK software. (Which I had installed as well).

When I did the temporary build with the CX430 PSU I got a video dropout and had to hit the reset to reboot the PC. I then uninstalled Corsair LINK. Since then.. back to stable. It has run days on end now with no issues at all.
I just rebuilt the PC with the new AX860i and all new PSU cables and it's working great again. I informed Corsair in my ticket with them about my findings.. if/or when they are going to look into this is anyone's guess.
There were also two Nvidia GFX Driver updates and a new Corsair Link update since the issue I was having. I installed both NVidia updates but I am reluctant to reinstall Corsair LINK for fear of my problems returning. I'm going with the "if It isn't broke don't fix it" advice my dad gave me at 14.. haha.

Thanks again everyone! Your advice and help helped me narrow things down.

DavidinCT.. one day.. You and I are getting beers. Thanks again.
newfiend~

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Crash2009

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#13

Post by Crash2009 » Sat Nov 04, 2017 3:07 am

I remember suggesting test power supply, then in the same sentence suggested it was quicker to just swap in the spare. But if you ever need to actually test one, the paper clip test will get you close. Jumper pin 16 and 17 with a paper clip, Then test with a multi-meter...black lead to any ground (also black) and red lead to the various colors of the PS plug.

http://support.antec.com/support/soluti ... rclip-test

Congratulations on getting yours squared away. These pictures are for anyone reading in the future.

Back to the drawing board for Corsair-Link....Appears to me the software broke the hardware.
Attachments
PowerSupply001.JPG
PowerSupply003.JPG
PowerSupply002.JPG

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