Computer Freezing.

blue52 · January 2021

Problem: For the past couple of weeks, I've had some freezing issues. It infrequently occurs after periods of long use (6+ hours). The display will no longer respond to any input. The mouse will still move but won't open or close any application. I cannot open task manager or do anything. I then have to force shut off on the computer in order to restart. There hasn't been any BSOD or Random shutoffs. Given the infrequency, it is impossible to replicate or predict.

So far it has occurred when:

Watching Netflix on Microsoft edge (x2). opening a game (x1), web surfing on chrome (x1), Steam uploading cloud saves (x1).

Background: The only noteworthy change prior to the issue was that I installed a new CPU cooler (specs below). The issue started a few days later, so I'm not sure if its related. Temps have been good so I don't think its overheating, especially since there are no issues while gaming, and only happening during light usage. I made sure it was only hand-tightened and there are no obvious signs of damage to motherboard.

Specs

OS: Windows 10

CPU: Ryzen 3600 (not OC)

Cooler: Cooler Master Hyper 212 Black RGB (previous cooler was stock AMD Wraith)

GPU: MSI GeForce RTX 3070 8 GB GAMING X TRIO

mb: MSI B550 A PRO

RAM: OLOy WarHawk RGB 32 GB RAM (3600)

Storage: Crucial P1 1 TB M.2-2280 NVME SSD. + Seagate Barracuda Compute 2 TB HDD (HDD not in use currently).

PSU: EVGA SuperNOVA GA 650 W 80+ Gold Certified Fully Modular ATX Power Supply

I built my computer about a month ago, so I wouldn't think its a hardware problem.

What I've tried so far: Ran both system file checker and DISM scan (one was found in sfc and repaired but issue persists). I've checked for new drivers but it appears everything is up-to-date. I've checked the event viewer but doesn't show anything obvious. I've ran a memtest which completed without any issues. I rolled back my graphics driver. I've ran anti-malware/virus security. Yet, the issue persists.

It has been extremely frustrating trying to troubleshoot this. Any experience/knowledge on this problem?

JS_MC · January 2021

Sounds quite frustrating! Hopefully, we can help.

This is interesting, I've not heard an issue like this happen before. Are you noticing any consistency in event viewer? Something that might appear before your forced restart?

Since you've mentioned that you've tested your hardware in multiple places, I'm inclined to question whether or not this could be a Windows software issue. You might try starting the computer in Safe Mode to see if you can replicate the issue there.

Just in case, have you tried reseating your RAM and GPU? Also running your system for a time with only a single slot of RAM used may give you another method of testing stability.

Let us know if there is anything that looks out of place in the Event viewer, otherwise, I'd recommend trying the above options individually.

Look forward to hearing back from you.

TS_CalebS · January 2021

Hello @blue52,

We are sorry about the issue you are having, but we can look into this for you. First question the Barracuda you listed as not in use currently, is it still connected to system? It is possible the secondary drive could be causing this. Disconnect it to rule it out entirely. If you are able to reinstall Windows, you would be able to narrow that down to either a software or hardware issue then. Based on how you described it I would think it is the drive, if you re-install Windows it would be worth it to do so on the Seagate. That will rule out the primary drive as being faulty or failing.

blue52 · January 2021

Thank you for the replies, I really appreciate it. In Event Viewer, the most common repeating errors are Event 10016 and 642, but neither are time-stamped near the shutdowns. Other than that, Event 9 pops up infrequently, but doesn't seem to match with shutdown times.

Also, I do remember switching sata ports for the barracuda when putting my computer back together after installing the cpu cooler. Can switching SATA ports cause problems? I will disconnect it to see if it could be the culprit.

I will reseat RAM and GPU and see if it persists. The most annoying part is that I cannot predict it, but seems to happen after running for more than 5 hours.

JS_MC · January 2021

Hmm, interesting.

Thanks for the info. If it persists after testing the suggestions that we made, we'll continue to dig into this.

Keep us in the loop if anything changes! Thank you!

blue52 · January 2021

I haven't had any hangs the past couple days since unplugging the hard drive. It may be too soon, but it appears it may be the source. I also recently remembered a change that could be significant, let me know what you think: Around the same time as the problem began, I also installed a coolermaster RGB hub. It is powered via SATA cable, and its connected on the same cable as the hard drive. Before this, the hard drive wasn't drawing any power since it did not have any storage. Is it possible that the combination of the two devices caused problems, or more likely that it was a faulty hard drive that didn't reveal itself until then?

TSTDavey · January 2021

Hey @blue52 just chiming in. It's hard to tell the root cause. With you unplugging the hard drive, do we know if the drive is actually faulty? Its really hard to tell the cause unless a full diagnostic is on your machine. Service can do one for $39.99 and give you the true root cause.

PowerSpec_MikeW · January 2021

@blue52

It's possible. I'd grab another peripheral cable and put the HDD on it's own line, or disconnect the hub temporarily to test. Your event viewer logs fit for the issue. If the drive is unresponsive, you won't be able to write logs, even if a secondary drive is causing the 'hang'. Now if the drive is not in use, has nothing installed to call the drive. Isn't being used for the page file or anything of that nature, it's very likely the cause is the combination of two devices.

blue52 · January 2021

Well, I thought I was out of the woods, but just experienced another freeze after 4 days of no problems. (had previously occurred once a day). So that would rule out the hdd/rgb hub as the root of the problem, but may not have helped. Again event viewer shows event 10016, but it has appeared consistently since I first built the computer. The only event logged related to the crash was about an unexpected shutdown (from me manual shutting down to restart).

Any suggestions on how to move forward?

JS_MC · January 2021

This does seem consistent with the drive hanging as mentioned above. There is no fault written in the event logs because of the drive being held in a state of suspension for some reason. At this point, I think it would be best to bring it into our service department. Our technicians would be able to run tests on the drives and diagnose the rest of the PC as well, just to ensure we haven't diagnosed the wrong part.

They'd be able to let you know what a solution would be after they've diagnosed the issue!

Computer Freezing.

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