windows 10 New PC - strange Windows freezes (probable cause: NZXT CAM)

[DreadnoughtPT]

Yet another one who registered here to say I have the exact same issue, and it's been driving me crazy over the last couple of days!

Random pc freezes, AIO fan ramping up, and having to hard reset it.

Sometimes it would happen in 5mins, sometimes it would take 5h.

Just stopped CAM now, and will be disabling it on Autostart, and definetly opening up a ticket with NZXT.

 

Thank you for helping me figure out what was causing this!

[Imannudein]

Do we have anyone representing NZXT in this forum? 

[Polaco97]

Updates:

 

I'm running CAM version 4.15.0, no freezes yet. What I did notice was a random error with USB ports used by NZXT USB Hub. When it does occurs, the case fans goes to 100% and I need to uninstall USB drivers and restart my computer. It is rare and completely random.

 

It was a similar behaviour I experienced with freezes, where fans would go to their maximum RPM (unfortunately, I could not tell which one - raditor or case fans). I believe the software could cause compatibility issues with other drivers, thereby trying to override them and causing your PC to freeze. An important note here is, I tried to verify WIndows logs (which did not show any issue), and to run Driver Verifier, which caused an error and I had to restore my entire system to a previous version (2 days ago).

 

I did contact their support, which told me to uninstall their software using Revo Uninstaller, and then download it and try again (they provided me the link). I did not proceed, since the error was gone (and I really do not want to bring it back), but I'll surely contact them again (and encourage anyone here to) if the issue returns.

[Imannudein]

Update from me: I rebuild my AMD system with 20H2 Windows 10 last Thursday. Everything else the same except  I did not install the AMD Chipset driver. So far so good. 

[xDivinex]

Hey everyone created an account just to comment in this thread lol. Good ole NZXT Cam..... I have contacted support so I do have a ticket in currently but the best way around this crashing is to delete the cam and reinstall it. I have noticed that disabling it on start up and the beta version tend to be better and work for longer periods of time. If anyone finds a more permanent solution,advice would be appreciated!

[Tolga D.]

Hi there, I am coming from an Intel 8700K setup. Few days ago I have upgraded system with an AMD 5950X and a MSI Prestige X570 Creation mother board. 

I have also upgraded my 1080ti with an Asus TUF Gaming 3080 OC model. 

 

Then my problems has started, it's like computer freezes for a micro second randomly. It does not matter what application I am on. It can be playing game, watching you tube or simply browsing in computer. It was very annoying. So I started to look for reasons and first thing I tried is to close one by one everything that is RGB related. At that point I have realised that problem is coming from NZXT CAM software. I have disabled it and all seems to be fine now. Anyway the RGB seetings seems to stay as you left in the software. So it seems you can just open the software, set the RGB to your liking and then just close it (completely). Ofcourse you can't use features like overlaying etc. but still you can enjoy your RGB and stable system. 

[Mark Kaine]

On 11/8/2020 at 5:04 AM, Imannudein said:

Update from me: I rebuild my AMD system with 20H2 Windows 10 last Thursday. Everything else the same except  I did not install the AMD Chipset driver. So far so good. 

 

Tbh AMD Chipset drivers never worked well for me. what works is chipset drivers from my board manufacturer... idk what exactly but some things are different with those and they just work better... 

 

On 11/11/2020 at 7:28 PM, xDivinex said:

Hey everyone created an account just to comment in this thread lol. Good ole NZXT Cam..... I have contacted support so I do have a ticket in currently but the best way around this crashing is to delete the cam and reinstall it. I have noticed that disabling it on start up and the beta version tend to be better and work for longer periods of time. If anyone finds a more permanent solution,advice would be appreciated!

just don't install it = best option 

[Mark Kaine]

45 minutes ago, Larrymann said:

Has anyone got a good answer from NZXT support? 

they are working on it. since 10+ years. 

 

there is no hope with this manufacturer 

[Imannudein]

6 hours ago, Larrymann said:

Does it save my Pump and Fan Curves after I uninstall it? Kinda worried  If yes, I will definitely get rid of it

As long as you dont cut power to your PC, it will save the RGB and fan profiles. But from my observation, without CAM running, pump and fan connected to it won't ramp up with CPU temp. 

[m.a.d.m.a.x]

I have the exact same issue since end of October! 
On the one hand I am happy that I finally found the answer to my problem. 
On the other hand...what can I do now?

I could wait and hope that NZXT fixes this issue which seems like a pretty bad option, considering that they haven't done anything since August. 

Maybe buying a Corsair AIO is the best I can do right now. Can't stand the noise of the standard fan curve and after disabling autostart, it doesn't remember the fan curve and the lightings. 

[Imannudein]

1 hour ago, m.a.d.m.a.x said:

I have the exact same issue since end of October! 
On the one hand I am happy that I finally found the answer to my problem. 
On the other hand...what can I do now?

I could wait and hope that NZXT fixes this issue which seems like a pretty bad option, considering that they haven't done anything since August. 

Maybe buying a Corsair AIO is the best I can do right now. Can't stand the noise of the standard fan curve and after disabling autostart, it doesn't remember the fan curve and the lightings. 

Please send them a support ticket with link to this thread. We need to pressure them. 

[m.a.d.m.a.x]

8 hours ago, Imannudein said:

Please send them a support ticket with link to this thread. We need to pressure them. 

Have already done that by I don't expect much to be honest

 

It is just really annoying when working from home on a pretty decent machine and this program limits your productivity. 

I also have 3 exams left at uni which will be online. A PC freeze in one of these exams is worst case scenario. 

[Imannudein]

4 hours ago, m.a.d.m.a.x said:

Have already done that by I don't expect much to be honest

 

It is just really annoying when working from home on a pretty decent machine and this program limits your productivity. 

I also have 3 exams left at uni which will be online. A PC freeze in one of these exams is worst case scenario. 

Gotcha. And good luck for the exams. To be safe, you may connect the AiO fans cluster directly to your CPU_Fan header so the mobo will control that. The pump can run at fixed speed. This is what I did for my Ryzen build.  

[m.a.d.m.a.x]

Ordered a fan splitter to plug them into the CPU_FAN header. I guess then I can control them via BIOS. Is there a way to control the pump speed too? Maybe when using the AIO_PUMP header?
Too bad I can't control the fans via Asus Fan Xpert. Always had freeze problems with that program too. Tried it 1 year later but they haven't solved that issue too (or didn't put any effort in it).

[Imannudein]

11 hours ago, m.a.d.m.a.x said:

Ordered a fan splitter to plug them into the CPU_FAN header. I guess then I can control them via BIOS. Is there a way to control the pump speed too? Maybe when using the AIO_PUMP header?
Too bad I can't control the fans via Asus Fan Xpert. Always had freeze problems with that program too. Tried it 1 year later but they haven't solved that issue too (or didn't put any effort in it).

That'sa good move. You can set the AiO fans curve in BIOS. The pump can only be controlled via CAM unfortunately. But don't sweat the pump speed. Without CAM, it will default to Silent profile for the pump which is 1800rpm at idle temp and ramp up to max at load temp around 70C. 

[ThomasR1234]

Hey everyone! I created an account just to comment on this thread ..... I have the exact same issues as described here and have had them for a few months now : random freezes sometimes after a few hours, sometimes just after a few minutes after starting up my system and often during idle. At the same time some of my Corsair RGB case fans would change to pure white LED and the only way to shut down the system afterwards would be by hard reseting. It was not until yesterday that I read this thread with interest and learned that the NZXT Cam software could have something to do with these freezes.

 

I use a NZXT Z73 Kraken CPU cooler and besides that I have 9 Corsair LL120 RGB case fans and also a Corsair RM750i PSU. Therefore, I use the Corsair iCUE and LINK software for monitoring and controlling my fans (fans on the CPU radiator are obviously controlled from NZXT Cam).

 

Now, I do not know what you are all using, but LINK and NZXT CAM are both monitoring a lot of the same stuff, so i figured they could potentielly conflict with one another. I wanted to avoid disabling the NZXT Cam software since I would loose a lot of the reasons I bought my NZXT CPU cooler in the first place, so I tried disabling the LINK software instead... AND, I have not had a single freeze yet after using my system for a few hours .... I know that it is not a guarantee just after a few hours of testing, but hopefully, I will avoid these extremely annoying freezes in the long run (and hopefully some of you may have benefit from my experiences).

[adamshumpisxxx]

Add me to the list of new users who created an account solely to post about this issue. I thought I destroyed something with the switch from the stock CPU cooling solution to the NZXT X52. I did EVERYTHING imaginable. After troubleshooting the absolute f-ck out of my existing Windows install I went the nuclear route. I stripped it all back down and confirmed the hardware installation. I booted into PartedMagic and secure erased both NVME drives. I installed Ubuntu and ran test after test after test just trying to get this thing to fail on me. I was on that Linux distribution for a week testing and using it as an every day driver until I was satisfied it wasn't hardware. I ran PartedMagic again and secure erased both NVME drives again. I installed Windows from a brand new MCT USB I made on a laptop. I installed all the latest drivers. I installed Gigabyte's RGB Fusion to control my motherboards RGB. I ran it like this and tested for two days. Cinebench. Prime95. Unigine Heaven & Superposition 8K Optimized. 3DMark Time Spy. No issue. I installed NZXT CAM and went about my business. A few hours of idle Youtube and web browsing later...BAM! System freezes up as per the experience of everyone else here. Mouse moves, certain things can be clicked but no action can be performed and the HDD Activity light completely stops showing anything. That's when you know you're boned. I have a mini-heart attack, I hard shut down VIA the power button and get right back on Google (DuckDuckGo in my case) to start back at SQUARE ONE again after all that...only to find you fine people here. Now I know I'm not insane and I didn't break something!

 

Right now I have the newest version of NZXT CAM (non-BETA) installed but no longer starting at boot or running in the background. I let my PC boot like normal, pop into NZXT CAM to make sure the Silent profile loads up, I then close it and go about my business. I'm about 2 hours into this as we speak trying to isolate NZXT CAM with the rest of you. My next step is to create a support ticket. I might leave it like this as-is for a few days to test and then if no failures occur I might go ahead and install the BETA version. I'll keep the thread updated with my findings as things progress! Thank you all for the sanity check!

[SeeNoWeevil]

On 11/30/2020 at 3:45 AM, Imannudein said:

That'sa good move. You can set the AiO fans curve in BIOS. The pump can only be controlled via CAM unfortunately. But don't sweat the pump speed. Without CAM, it will default to Silent profile for the pump which is 1800rpm at idle temp and ramp up to max at load temp around 70C. 

My pump doesn't do this. The pump will run at a constant speed without CAM. 900rpm if the machine completely loses power or whatever speed it was last set to by CAM.

 

 

Everyone please add your +1 to the thread on the NZXT subreddit

https://www.reddit.com/r/NZXT/comments/jjds1m/windows_instability_issues_with_latest_version_of/

[Imannudein]

1 hour ago, SeeNoWeevil said:

My pump doesn't do this. The pump will run at a constant speed without CAM. 900rpm if the machine completely loses power or whatever speed it was last set to by CAM.

 

 

Everyone please add your +1 to the thread on the NZXT subreddit

https://www.reddit.com/r/NZXT/comments/jjds1m/windows_instability_issues_with_latest_version_of/

Yes you are right. I did not connect the pump tach to the my header. Thanks for the information. I think constant pump speed is okay for heat transfer. 

 

[adamshumpisxxx]

On 12/3/2020 at 1:22 PM, adamshumpisxxx said:

Add me to the list of new users who created an account solely to post about this issue. I thought I destroyed something with the switch from the stock CPU cooling solution to the NZXT X52. I did EVERYTHING imaginable. After troubleshooting the absolute f-ck out of my existing Windows install I went the nuclear route. I stripped it all back down and confirmed the hardware installation. I booted into PartedMagic and secure erased both NVME drives. I installed Ubuntu and ran test after test after test just trying to get this thing to fail on me. I was on that Linux distribution for a week testing and using it as an every day driver until I was satisfied it wasn't hardware. I ran PartedMagic again and secure erased both NVME drives again. I installed Windows from a brand new MCT USB I made on a laptop. I installed all the latest drivers. I installed Gigabyte's RGB Fusion to control my motherboards RGB. I ran it like this and tested for two days. Cinebench. Prime95. Unigine Heaven & Superposition 8K Optimized. 3DMark Time Spy. No issue. I installed NZXT CAM and went about my business. A few hours of idle Youtube and web browsing later...BAM! System freezes up as per the experience of everyone else here. Mouse moves, certain things can be clicked but no action can be performed and the HDD Activity light completely stops showing anything. That's when you know you're boned. I have a mini-heart attack, I hard shut down VIA the power button and get right back on Google (DuckDuckGo in my case) to start back at SQUARE ONE again after all that...only to find you fine people here. Now I know I'm not insane and I didn't break something!

 

Right now I have the newest version of NZXT CAM (non-BETA) installed but no longer starting at boot or running in the background. I let my PC boot like normal, pop into NZXT CAM to make sure the Silent profile loads up, I then close it and go about my business. I'm about 2 hours into this as we speak trying to isolate NZXT CAM with the rest of you. My next step is to create a support ticket. I might leave it like this as-is for a few days to test and then if no failures occur I might go ahead and install the BETA version. I'll keep the thread updated with my findings as things progress! Thank you all for the sanity check!

As I said in my previous post, I'd be back with the results. Zero failures since! I never moved to BETA because I'm getting good temperatures and if it's not broken...why fix it? If it is broken, you should fix it though. I'm looking at YOU there NZXT. Why complete radio silence on this issue?! Has anyone heard anything real VIA direct support? I'd really like this thing to be running in the background monitoring and adjusting but can't. What I would REALLY love to see is the ability to "flash" your profile to the device and have it run completely without USB like any current mouse / keyboard / headset is capable of.

[Monoxideboogie]

Hi.

I ran into this post while googling my way around for weird behaviour on Windows.

I was worried first that it was my cpu(3700X) since it is missing couple(4) pins, (don't ask, I bought it that way).

I first had that cpu on B450 TUF atx board and had no problems. Not even when OC. But then I moved to mitx B450 fatal1ty board and NZXT 200i case.

So the case has some leds and fans are controlled by CAM.

That was the when I started to have that occasional freezing from 0 to 3 times a day.

It didn't matter if I was gaming, browsing or if the PC was just idling on desktop.

I disabled CAM totally since I don't need it. I fixed the lights on white and fixed fan speed too.

The experiences I had are very similiar asa described in this thread.

So far no freezing since I gave the boot to CAM.

 

I think I can rest my mind and just keep showing middlefinger to NZXT CAM. 

 

 

[Kingle17]

I uninstalled the cam software and it solved my issue. I got the new cooler (Kraken X53) and upgraded my CPU (Ryzen 5 5600X) and motherboard (B550I AORUS PRO AX) and SSD. Such a shame that I am having issues with the cam software, I really like the look of cooler. I might have to ask for an exchange seeing a though my computer is crashing very frequently when idling. Waiting to see the response from customer service before I make my decision. I went through hell to identify that the cam was an issue. 

[Charlemagne1448]

Hello to everyone that is having this issue glad to know I am not alone I thought I was crazy for a while.

 

For those of you who still want to use the lighting effects on your NZXT devices and not crash your rig (this has been working for me for two months

I have a NZXT Kraken X53 so if you have a different NZXT device miles may very):

 

You can launch NZXT Cam on start up this activates any light profiles you have programed in.

Then close NZXT Cam this means down in the hidden icons section too.

Your lighting effects should still be active (at least mine are) and your pc shouldn't crash (at least mine hasn't).

 

As I said I've been doing this for about two months without any issues but miles may very hope this helps someone.

 

Rig Specs if you want/need them:

 

Case: Be quiet! Pure Base 600 with window (I wanted a case I could put a disk drive in feel free to judge lol)

CPU: Ryzen 3700X (OC)

Cooler: 240mm NZXT Kraken X534

MB: MSI X570 Gaming Edge WiFi

RAM: 4x Corsair Vengeance LPX 3600 8gb (OC)

GPU: MSI GeForce RTX 2080 Super (Factory OC)

Boot Drive: Samsung 970 Evo Plus 500gb

Other Storage: 2x Seagate FireCuda 1tb (In Raid 0 cause I have a network drive for backups)

PSU: EVGA 850 GQ (Yea I know its a little overkill but wanted to have the ability to upgrade things later on)

 

[adamshumpisxxx]

Has anyone tried the new 4.17.0 update yet? I let it go through but I'm not too keen on letting it run in the background unless the issue is fixed. Thanks!

[Kevin R]

15 hours ago, adamshumpisxxx said:

Has anyone tried the new 4.17.0 update yet? I let it go through but I'm not too keen on letting it run in the background unless the issue is fixed. Thanks!

I'm another one of those that created an account just to comment here. I have the latest version. I re-installed windows because I was having this same issue. Hadn't installed NZXT for over a week since the re-install, and had no issues. I installed it today and within a few hours, boom, individual apps started to freeze, had to shut the PC down by manual force. If I'd had known this, would have skipped NZXT completely.