About to give up...

[chapiteau]

I recently built a PC for the first time. It was running so well, I was so proud of what I'd built. Then, everything pretty much blew up in my face all of a sudden.

My setup was as follows:
* CPU: Ryzen 5 3600
* Cooler: Noctua NH-U14S
* Mobo: ASRock X570 Steel Legend
* RAM: G.Skill Ripjaws V 16GB 3600 CL16
* Storage: Crucial MX500 1TB SATA SSD
* GPU: Gigabyte RX 5700 XT Gaming OC
* PSU: Corsair RM750x
* Case: Corsair 275R Airflow
* 144 Hz monitor, refurbished Logitech G413 keys, Corsair Harpoon mouse, Corsair headset
I was running Windows 10 Pro (without activating, though I doubt that matters here [I just built an expensive-ass machine, I needed a second to save for OS, sue me]).

I researched the build procedure and compatibility like it was a full-time job for weeks on end.  The build was done correctly, I am 99.9% sure.

The whole system was running like a dream for about a week.  Then, one day, I shut off my PC after a Halo Reach session to go for a run.  When I start it up (maybe 45 minutes later), I got on the internet and was browsing for a few minutes when BOOM!
BSOD with error code "IRQL_NOT_LESS_OR_EQUAL"

It got so much worse from there.  I am currently stuck in an INFINITE boot loop.  I get the same error nearly every time save for the few times I've gotten the error code "KERNEL_SECURITY_CHECK_FAILURE".  If I don't get BSOD, I get the Automatic Repair Mode splash screen and the system subsequently freezes.  Every. time.

I shit you not, I have tried every. damn. thing. to get out of this boot loop and get to my desktop.
Before you guys suggest the same generic stuff I'm reading everywhere, let me just go through the list...
* CANNOT boot to WinRE/Safe Mode no matter what, no matter how many times I perform a hard shutoff/restart
* Unplugged GPU and all USB stuff and restart loop persists
* Tried resetting to default BIOS settings
* Tried a clean install of Windows from a USB (so many damn times) and yes I had USB as the only boot drive in BIOS with Safe Boot off and Quick Boot off
* Tried running Windows off USB with an ISO file and Rufus
* Tried running Ubuntu off USB with Rufus (crashes on every boot due to kernel panic)
* Tried THREE (!) sets of RAM in every imaginable configuration
* Ran MemTest86 and passed with no errors at all
* REPLACED THE WHOLE DAMN MOBO with an ASUS X570-P and completely rebuilt the system only to get the same BSOD boot loop
* Replaced PSU with XPG Core Reactor Gold and tried plugging to different outlets
* Tried booting to KYHI's recovery disk on USB drive to no avail
* Tried all USB-related options with all USB ports on case and mobo
* cannot get dump or minidump data as I cannot get to desktop (anyone know a dump collector that runs off USB similar to how MemTest86 runs?)

I never overclocked anything except setting my RAM to 3600mHz and 1.35V and that was on day 1.
CPU temps have never gone above 46 C.

I just don't get it.  I've ruled out pretty much every hardware component as faulty except maybe the CPU or SSD (I'll be biking to MicroCenter AGAIN to replace those in the morning) and maaaybe GPU.  If it's drivers, I cannot get into desktop to do anything about it.  And even if it were drivers or SSD, how the hell would the issue persist on a brand new mobo with a completely different BIOS with nothing but the installation media plugged in!?

With the new ASUS mobo, I can't even get to the Windows splash screen before everything freezes and my SSD won't even show up as a bootable option in BIOS (even though the system recognizes it in the SATA config. menus).

I've invested so much time, sweat, and money into this.  It was doing me so well.  I just want to be able to play games with friends again.

Windows Support has pretty much told me to go fly a kite every time by saying to "take device to manufacturer" after suggesting all the stupid, obvious things to which I've always said WHICH manufacturer??  Who the hell can I take this to if not Microsoft?  Am I really supposed to just start over?  Should I return everything and just totally screw myself by trying to do another build when prices have risen by like 1.5x since just 3 weeks ago?  Should I go total other direction and try an Intel/NVIDIA build?  Just doesn't make any sense.  I'm close to just giving up, returning everything, and moving on from PC gaming and video games entirely.  It's sad because I've learned so much through this build and even in this predicament, but it feels like an unstoppable force is just dicking me mercilessly in this particular case where I can find absolutely no real course of action to move on and get to the next learning experience.  Have I really exhausted all options?  Is this always how it's going to be, even if I get this fixed?

PLEASE help.  If there's any other info I can provide, let me know, too.

Thanks in advance.

[aDoomGuy]

IRQL BSOD is usually either memory or driver related. Are you running it with XMP/DOCP if you are make sure all the subtimings are set accordingly, I noticed my board didn't set any subtimings. Or you can try running the PC with XMP/DOCP off for a while and see if it runs fine. If you manually set your RAM to 3600 1,35v set it to default. I would recommend looking in your mobo manual and clear CMOS accordingly so that all settings will be default.

[Windows9]

Sounds like a broken block in the SSD, although it would work with a USB then, so the only the only other possibility is CPU and PSU. If the system was working before i'd rule out PSU, so replace the CPU and see what happens. Also make sure to use a Swiss army knife that hopefully has a screwdriver in it

[chapiteau]

@aDoomGuy
I've reset the RAM, tried DOCP and XMP enabled and disabled, reset default settings with two motherboards now

@Windows9
Yeah, I replaced the PSU so I don't think it's anything to do with that.  I'm afraid that if it's drivers-related, a new CPU won't fix anything.  I'm going to try it anyways but I'm not hopeful about it.  Why a swiss army knife?

[chapiteau]

hypothetically, if this were graphics drivers-related, are those drivers causing an issue with Windows stored in the GPU, not the SSD?  I'm not understanding how drivers could still cause this if we completely negate the devices that contained the drivers from the equation completely.

[aDoomGuy]

7 minutes ago, chapiteau said:

hypothetically, if this were graphics drivers-related, are those drivers causing an issue with Windows stored in the GPU, not the SSD?  I'm not understanding how drivers could still cause this if we completely negate the devices that contained the drivers from the equation completely.

I am a bit unclear of how far in the boot process you come before it borks itself. Do you see Windows start to load? If it keels over when Windows is loading then it may be drivers or even the storage medium. If it keels over before Windows is loading then it's more likely a hardware error.

 

What happened when you tried to install Windows? Did it freeze up, restart or did you manage to get through the installer normally?

 

18 minutes ago, chapiteau said:

  I'm going to try it anyways but I'm not hopeful about it.  Why a swiss army knife?

I think he, like me wants to to try and reset CMOS.

[chapiteau]

@aDoomGuy
So, with my X570 Steel Legend, I could get to Windows splash screen.  Spinning dots freeze and then BSOD.  After that, it'd restart into a loop doing the same thing OR try to enter Automatic Repair.  With Auto Repair I'd get spinning dots, freeze, and then nothing.  No restart, just stay frozen on Auto Repair splash screen.

With the new ASUS X570-P, I'm getting ASUS spinning dots and then freeze.  Doesn't make it to Windows splash screen anymore.  Booting off USB, I get splash screen, but then freeze and BSOD.

When I try to perform clean install, I was getting the exact same as trying to boot off SSD (with X570 Steel Legend)--Windows splash screen, spinning dots freeze, BSOD, restart, loop.


I'll try to reset CMOS now and update.

[chapiteau]

Resetting CMOS yielded interesting results.  Now, before BIOS boots, I just got a message saying VGA drivers not supported.  CSM enabled to increase compatibility.

[aDoomGuy]

2 hours ago, chapiteau said:

Resetting CMOS yielded interesting results.  Now, before BIOS boots, I just got a message saying VGA drivers not supported.  CSM enabled to increase compatibility.

Hmm that's interesting.... is there maybe a problem with the GPU then? So, did you get any further into the boot sequence? Try disabling secure boot in UEFI.

 

If you have spinning dots it means that Windows is loading and the freeze means that something goes wrong when doing this. So the PC will POST, load bootloader and begin to load Windows but fail doing so. Do you have access to another video card to see how the PC will boot?

 

I could suspect hard drive failure but you experience the same issue with the USB installer and Linux.. The motherboard have been changed so I doubt it's that, so we are at maybe GPU, RAM or possibly CPU.

 

Are you able to boot up Memtest and run it? I didn't see anything about running that in your original post. I would also consider checking the CPU pins, are any bent or broken off?

[BlackManINC]

31 minutes ago, aDoomGuy said:

Hmm that's interesting.... is there maybe a problem with the GPU then? So, did you get any further into the boot sequence? Try disabling secure boot in UEFI.

 

If you have spinning dots it means that Windows is loading and the freeze means that something goes wrong when doing this. So the PC will POST, load bootloader and begin to load Windows but fail doing so. Do you have access to another video card to see how the PC will boot?

 

I could suspect hard drive failure but you experience the same issue with the USB installer and Linux.. The motherboard have been changed so I doubt it's that, so we are at maybe GPU, RAM or possibly CPU.

 

Are you able to boot up Memtest and run it? I didn't see anything about running that in your original post. I would also consider checking the CPU pins, are any bent or broken off?

I don't recall my screen freezing when I got a BSOD before, so I'm willing to bet its his GPU, a display issue. He already ran a memtest and it came back clean, so that rules out the ram. 

[chapiteau]

@BlackManINC @aDoomGuy

Yeah, MemTest passed no problem (and really quickly, too) and I've got Secure Boot/Fast Boot off.

More and more, I'm starting to think that it IS display/GPU issue.  If not a GPU (hardware) failure, then it's AMD drivers.  I was really hoping that I'd be spared AMD drivers trouble since they've had plenty of time to fix those issues and supposedly did, but maybe that was just wishful thinking or I lost that bet with what might as well be 50/50 odds.  I don't currently have access to a different GPU to test a swap, though I'm REALLY considering the EVGA KO Ultra RTX 2060 @ $310 at this point.  It's $100 less than this 5700 XT that is maybe wasting more time than any marginal performance increase over the RTX cards might be worth.

Then again, when I consider an RTX 2060, I also consider just waiting the 2-4 months (no gaming in that time) for RTX 3060 release.  It'd probably be the smart move, though I really miss my Halo/friends in the now.  This also represents a gamble in that those releases might be pushed back due to pandemic.

Still, I can't get over the crazy unstoppable nature of this problem.  It's like a total shutdown, worse than anything I'm reading about in others' experiences with these same error codes.  And the error codes themselves more often attributed to the components I've already ruled out as faulty...  What if I just got an insane virus or something?  I don't even want to believe that's a possibility, but I mean...damn...this is something else.

[aDoomGuy]

11 minutes ago, chapiteau said:

@BlackManINC @aDoomGuy

Yeah, MemTest passed no problem (and really quickly, too) and I've got Secure Boot/Fast Boot off.

More and more, I'm starting to think that it IS display/GPU issue.  If not a GPU (hardware) failure, then it's AMD drivers.  I was really hoping that I'd be spared AMD drivers trouble since they've had plenty of time to fix those issues and supposedly did, but maybe that was just wishful thinking or I lost that bet with what might as well be 50/50 odds.  I don't currently have access to a different GPU to test a swap, though I'm REALLY considering the EVGA KO Ultra RTX 2060 @ $310 at this point.  It's $100 less than this 5700 XT that is maybe wasting more time than any marginal performance increase over the RTX cards might be worth.

Then again, when I consider an RTX 2060, I also consider just waiting the 2-4 months (no gaming in that time) for RTX 3060 release.  It'd probably be the smart move, though I really miss my Halo/friends in the now.  This also represents a gamble in that those releases might be pushed back due to pandemic.

Still, I can't get over the crazy unstoppable nature of this problem.  It's like a total shutdown, worse than anything I'm reading about in others' experiences with these same error codes.  And the error codes themselves more often attributed to the components I've already ruled out as faulty...  What if I just got an insane virus or something?  I don't even want to believe that's a possibility, but I mean...damn...this is something else.

Yeah bro.. All it takes is one component to go bad and then often it's a massive headache to figure out what it is. It makes sense if it is the GPU though, because Windows, the USB installer and Linux all try to load video card drivers. I don't think it can be a virus, you had problems with Linux and the USB installer...

 

The video card should still be under warranty, you said you recently built this system so you should be able to RMA it and get a new one for free. If not maybe just get a used card until the Ampere cards are released? I would not buy a 2060 if I were you, I'm glad I got the Super version because I don't think the regular 2060 cards are very good..

[BlackManINC]

28 minutes ago, chapiteau said:

@BlackManINC @aDoomGuy

Yeah, MemTest passed no problem (and really quickly, too) and I've got Secure Boot/Fast Boot off.

More and more, I'm starting to think that it IS display/GPU issue.  If not a GPU (hardware) failure, then it's AMD drivers.  I was really hoping that I'd be spared AMD drivers trouble since they've had plenty of time to fix those issues and supposedly did, but maybe that was just wishful thinking or I lost that bet with what might as well be 50/50 odds.  I don't currently have access to a different GPU to test a swap, though I'm REALLY considering the EVGA KO Ultra RTX 2060 @ $310 at this point.  It's $100 less than this 5700 XT that is maybe wasting more time than any marginal performance increase over the RTX cards might be worth.

Then again, when I consider an RTX 2060, I also consider just waiting the 2-4 months (no gaming in that time) for RTX 3060 release.  It'd probably be the smart move, though I really miss my Halo/friends in the now.  This also represents a gamble in that those releases might be pushed back due to pandemic.

Still, I can't get over the crazy unstoppable nature of this problem.  It's like a total shutdown, worse than anything I'm reading about in others' experiences with these same error codes.  And the error codes themselves more often attributed to the components I've already ruled out as faulty...  What if I just got an insane virus or something?  I don't even want to believe that's a possibility, but I mean...damn...this is something else.

Well the key word for me was the word "freezing", which usually points to a display issue. The CPU would only cause the screen to freeze if it reaches maximum utilization or its overheating. You wouldn't even make it to POST if the CPU was really this fucked up. 

[chapiteau]

@BlackManINC @aDoomGuy

 

So I replaced GPU with an RX 580 today.  Problem persisted.  That means the only thing I haven't replaced is CPU and SSD.

[BlackManINC]

44 minutes ago, chapiteau said:

@BlackManINC @aDoomGuy

 

So I replaced GPU with an RX 580 today.  Problem persisted.  That means the only thing I haven't replaced is CPU and SSD.

 Hmmm, well, I'd go with the CPU then. How far did you get into the boot process this time? 

[chapiteau]

@BlackManINC

Got to Windows splash screen again with subsequent BSOD and Auto Repair splash screen with subsequent freezing.  Exact same as before.