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

[gssonda]

Created an account just to comment here.

Issue is still present with 4.17.0

 

Ive started to use liquidctl to replace NZXT Cam and I couldnt be happier. Not a single issue ever since.

https://github.com/jonasmalacofilho/liquidctl/blob/master/docs/kraken-x2-m2-guide.md

https://github.com/jonasmalacofilho/liquidctl#installing-on-windows

The only downside with liquidctl is that the fan and pump curve are related to liquid temperature and not cpu temps.

 

My options here are working like a charm

liquidctl set fan speed  30 55  33 65  34 70  35 80  36 90  37 100
liquidctl set pump speed 30 70  33 75  34 85  35 100
 

Edited December 19, 2020 by gssonda

[Shadow306k]

On 12/19/2020 at 8:52 AM, gssonda said:

Created an account just to comment here.

Issue is still present with 4.17.0

 

Ive started to use liquidctl to replace NZXT Cam and I couldnt be happier. Not a single issue ever since.

https://github.com/jonasmalacofilho/liquidctl/blob/master/docs/kraken-x2-m2-guide.md

https://github.com/jonasmalacofilho/liquidctl#installing-on-windows

The only downside with liquidctl is that the fan and pump curve are related to liquid temperature and not cpu temps.

 

My options here are working like a charm

liquidctl set fan speed  30 55  33 65  34 70  35 80  36 90  37 100
liquidctl set pump speed 30 70  33 75  34 85  35 100
 

Another person making an account to post here. Also confirming on my system (MSI b450m board w/ 2600x + GTX1070) that 4.17.0 isn't working.

 

I too, picked up liquidctl after some browsing and it's working better than CAM ever did. I'm using a H400i so it's also controlling the fans/RGB on my Smart Device without any issues, it even runs at startup so it's completely hands-off!

[Generic626]

On 12/19/2020 at 4:52 PM, gssonda said:

Created an account just to comment here.

Issue is still present with 4.17.0

 

Ive started to use liquidctl to replace NZXT Cam and I couldnt be happier. Not a single issue ever since.

https://github.com/jonasmalacofilho/liquidctl/blob/master/docs/kraken-x2-m2-guide.md

https://github.com/jonasmalacofilho/liquidctl#installing-on-windows

The only downside with liquidctl is that the fan and pump curve are related to liquid temperature and not cpu temps.

 

My options here are working like a charm

liquidctl set fan speed  30 55  33 65  34 70  35 80  36 90  37 100
liquidctl set pump speed 30 70  33 75  34 85  35 100
 

Hi, i also created an account for commenting here, does anyone know does this work on Z63 ?

[gssonda]

3 hours ago, Generic626 said:

Hi, i also created an account for commenting here, does anyone know does this work on Z63 ?

Yes Sir,

 

https://github.com/liquidctl/liquidctl/blob/master/docs/kraken-x3-z3-guide.md

But it seems you cant control the Oled screen infos. If you are happy with the default, I wouldnt think twice about uninstalling cam and using liquidctl

[Salvatore Lo Verso]

On 7/16/2020 at 9:31 PM, Korben said:

Hi there,

I need some help here. I have build a new computer (partlist at the bottom), so far, so good. It runs very good, performance is ok. But after a while (30-120min) of using it, Windows start to behave strange. Here the symptoms:
- Windows kind of freezes but I can still move the mouse, move windows around, close apps (but the closed apps icons stay in the taskbar).
- Youtube videos stop playing.
- I can open Taskmanager, but not do anything with it
- I can't logoff or shutdown, allways have to use the power button to hard-shutdown

What I tried:
- run some benchmarks, to make sure it's not the hardware, at least not in an obvious way: Blender, Prime95, 3D Mark (Timespy), Shadow of the Tomb Raider
- I run a memory test (the one from Windows)
- I suspected WiFi problems and switched to ethernet
- I suspected iSCSI, switched it off
- I susepcted NZXT CAM, uninstalled it
- I ran a Windows repair
- I reinstalled Windows completely

 

...nothing really helped so far, currently testing with the updated driver versions: (lates I could find, except AMD):
nivida: 451.67
Intel WiFi: 21.90.2.1
Intel Bluetooth: 21.90.0.4
Realtek NIC: 10.039.0212.2020
AMD Chipset: 2.04.28.626*
* confusing thing with the AMD chipset driver: AMD's latest driver version for B550 is 2.04.28.626. MSI offers a driver for this board with the version 2.05.04.352. I am now trying the AMD version. First I had the MSI Version.

I try to keep an eye on temperatures, but they look good (CPU below 50°C, GPU below 50°C). It doesn't happen during workload (I didn't start playing games yet, would be to frustrating with this issue), just regular working, browsing, Youtube.

 

Additional notes:

- no overclocking, only XMP Profile for RAM.

 

Any other ideas?

If nothing helps I will try to run Linux for a while to see if it is hardware or software related...

PCPartPicker Part List

CPU: AMD Ryzen 3 3300X 3.8 GHz Quad-Core Processor
CPU Cooler: NZXT KRAKEN Z63 98.17 CFM Liquid CPU Cooler
Motherboard: MSI MPG B550I GAMING EDGE WIFI Mini ITX AM4 Motherboard
Memory: G.Skill Ripjaws V 32 GB (2 x 16 GB) DDR4-3600 CL16 Memory
Storage: Intel 760p 512 GB M.2-2280 NVME Solid State Drive (OS)
Storage: Samsung 960 EVO 1 TB M.2-2280 NVME Solid State Drive (Data)
Video Card: Gigabyte GeForce RTX 2060 SUPER 8 GB WINDFORCE OC Video Card
Power Supply: SeaSonic Platinum 400 W 80+ Platinum Certified Fully Modular Fanless ATX Power Supply
Operating System: Microsoft Windows 10 Pro (x64) 2004
Case: NZXT H210 Red

NO WAYYYYYY, GUYS I HAVE THE SAME PROBLEM WITH MY NEW PC, I BOUGHT IT AT MARCH 2020 AND FORM SEPTEMBER I STARTED HAVING THIS PROBLEM.

look at my story......all hardware changed, and now i know is this stupid cam. 

Pc freeze, all components changed - Troubleshooting - Linus Tech Tips

have you any updates to solve this problem?

[adamshumpisxxx]

On 12/23/2020 at 10:25 AM, Salvatore Lo Verso said:

NO WAYYYYYY, GUYS I HAVE THE SAME PROBLEM WITH MY NEW PC, I BOUGHT IT AT MARCH 2020 AND FORM SEPTEMBER I STARTED HAVING THIS PROBLEM.

look at my story......all hardware changed, and now i know is this stupid cam. 

Pc freeze, all components changed - Troubleshooting - Linus Tech Tips

have you any updates to solve this problem?

Yeah...apparently ditch CAM, use liquidctl and never buy another NZXT product as long as I live. There's no other option when a company drops the ball like this and makes no effort to solve the issue. We've all submitted support tickets and they're refusing to even acknowledge the issue.

[Mark Kaine]

17 minutes ago, adamshumpisxxx said:

There's no other option when a company drops the ball like this

that is exactly the problem, this shit goes on since the inception of NZXT, there's only one way to deal with such negligence, and that's not to deal with it ever ...

[exzachtly1]

I am having the exact same issue, finally narrowed it down to CAM after over a week of troubleshooting all of my hardware. Thank goodness I didn't spend any money yet trying to replace parts - all the details of my journey are in this post over on Tom's

 

https://forums.tomshardware.com/threads/computer-is-freezing-at-random-intervals-out-of-ideas.3674590/

 

Totally unbelievable. In my case, my computer had been running happily for a year and a half on CAM version 3.7.5 (from around march 2019). After a while I started getting weird authentication errors trying to sign in to CAM with my google account (something about ASIO.sys). I recall that I upgraded CAM at some point, probably about a month ago. Then the freezing issues started. I never put two and two together that upgrading CAM could have been the cause. Went through the whole mess including clean installing windows. I'm now currently on the latest CAM version (4.17.0) and it is causing freezing.

 

I also run corsair iCUE for my mouse and keyboard. I read earlier in this thread that iCUE and CAM may have a conflict... I have not put that to the test but will probably try it. For now I am running with CAM turned off.

 

The only thing I'm really using CAM for is to control fans and RGB. I don't have an AiO liquid cooler. Would it be possible to switch out to a different RGB / fan controller (perhaps the corsair one) so I can eliminate any need for CAM?

[Imannudein]

9 hours ago, exzachtly1 said:

I am having the exact same issue, finally narrowed it down to CAM after over a week of troubleshooting all of my hardware. Thank goodness I didn't spend any money yet trying to replace parts - all the details of my journey are in this post over on Tom's

 

https://forums.tomshardware.com/threads/computer-is-freezing-at-random-intervals-out-of-ideas.3674590/

 

Totally unbelievable. In my case, my computer had been running happily for a year and a half on CAM version 3.7.5 (from around march 2019). After a while I started getting weird authentication errors trying to sign in to CAM with my google account (something about ASIO.sys). I recall that I upgraded CAM at some point, probably about a month ago. Then the freezing issues started. I never put two and two together that upgrading CAM could have been the cause. Went through the whole mess including clean installing windows. I'm now currently on the latest CAM version (4.17.0) and it is causing freezing.

 

I also run corsair iCUE for my mouse and keyboard. I read earlier in this thread that iCUE and CAM may have a conflict... I have not put that to the test but will probably try it. For now I am running with CAM turned off.

 

The only thing I'm really using CAM for is to control fans and RGB. I don't have an AiO liquid cooler. Would it be possible to switch out to a different RGB / fan controller (perhaps the corsair one) so I can eliminate any need for CAM?

For now, NZXT is very quiet on this problem. I really hope someone from that corporation would chime in with a solution. 

[Lurifax]

I have a Tomahawk x570 + 5800X and used NZXT Cam and my pc freezed every time after i waked it up from sleep.I couldnt find out what the fk it was and started reading on forums and i found people saying it could be the cam.I uninstalled the nzxt cam and my pc have been stable for 4-5 days now (no more freeze) I read about a guy that have sent back almost all his hardware for testing to the store, and they couldnt find anything wrong with it.Later on he says it was just the damn nzxt overlay who caused all his problems  i use corsair aio cooler, so maybe it can be some conflicts with iCue software and NZXT software as some says.But for now after uninstalling nzxt cam, my pc is 100% stable.

[Imannudein]

6 hours ago, Lurifax said:

I have a Tomahawk x570 + 5800X and used NZXT Cam and my pc freezed every time after i waked it up from sleep.I couldnt find out what the fk it was and started reading on forums and i found people saying it could be the cam.I uninstalled the nzxt cam and my pc have been stable for 4-5 days now (no more freeze) I read about a guy that have sent back almost all his hardware for testing to the store, and they couldnt find anything wrong with it.Later on he says it was just the damn nzxt overlay who caused all his problems  i use corsair aio cooler, so maybe it can be some conflicts with iCue software and NZXT software as some says.But for now after uninstalling nzxt cam, my pc is 100% stable.

It's not happening on Intel system. That's the pain point. For now, I moved to Cooler Master Ecosystem for my AMD system. Complete with ARGB Controller box and ML240p aio. NZXT stuff are on the intel machine. 

[Matazal]

Want to share my experience with this problem, I also posted this on reddit

 

I have read several post here and on other websites that CAM can cause a weird computer freeze/hang which stops any playing videos, cannot open any new apps, but the mouse can move and do some things, example open start menu, open task manager (which does not refresh) and only way to fix it is hard reset.

 

My experience starts about 6 months ago, when I built my PC brand new and it started to freeze/hang from day one. Because it was a new PC I wasnt going to reinstall windows again just to check if that was the culprit. I ran several benchmarks and stress tests, nothing wrong ever happened during that, temps and everything else fine. the Freeze always happened while watching youtube videos, but once happened when playing among us, but youtube was also running.

 

After several troubleshooting tests I just accepted it as something I had to live with, mostly because it never happened while I was doing anything important.

couple months passes, the freezes are happening every couple days or so (max 4 days) but they became part of the routine (again only while watching youtube). By chance I came across a windows feature (Reliability monitor) one day when I was just searching on different ways to troubleshoot windows 10. This showed me the dragon center services (from MSI) were crashing exactly the same time when these freezes were happening, so after deleting the services, and than eventually the entire dragon center I experienced the longest freeze free run of 4 days, on the 4th days, it froze, so as a trouble shooting step I reinstalled all my "monitoring apps" (MSI after burner, HWinfo, AND CAM) and made sure all traces of dragon center from MSI were gone.

 

After that no freezes for 2 weeks or so, only problem was I cannot control my RGB ram, so I install the Corsair iCUE to do so and on the same day I experience a freeze, further troubleshooting suggest some software conflict and this is the time I come across other post of people saying CAM is the culprit, so I uninstall iCUE, and my freezes are gone for two months...

 

Until last week, computer froze, same symptoms, now I know it is CAM allegedly, So after looking around I found liquidctl, While using this the computer works for 2 days just fine but the problem is fan speeds are fixed and LED light control is a nightmare. So I turn on CAM, very next day computer froze.

 

Now I am pretty sure its CAM, or at least its because of CAM, mainly due to other people have also isolated this specific software. but I am not giving up my fan and LED control this easy, so as troubleshooting step, I check for driver updates and all and come across my outdated chipset drives for AMD, tried installing it, but kept getting an error (This installer is intended to be deployed only on an AMD system. Existing installation as the requirement is not satisfied) turns out having SPACE in your user name causes the installer to bug out , and only way to install is to create an ADMIN account. I did that and today is the 7th day of no freezes.

 

So to conclude I cannot say for sure my freezes are due to CAM, but there is definitely some weird compatibility/bug that has some people annoyed, I will update this post if the freeze happens again.

 

TL;DR Struggled with computer freeze since building it, solved the problem once by reinstalling all monitoring software (maybe), and recently by updating my chipset drivers (7 days and counting, verdict still pending). Hope this helps someone.

 

 

My Computer Specs:

Ryzen 5 3600

MSI RTX 2060 MSI ventus XS OC 6g tu104 Video Card

Corsair 32GB 3200 RAM RGB

Curcial 500GB SSD

WD 2TB HDD

Corsair 650W power supply

MSI B550M Mortor Wifi Mother Board

NZXT 400i Case (with Smart Device v2)

Windows 10 Pro

XMP enabled...

Edited December 31, 2020 by Matazal
just updated it with current days of no freeze

[Polaco97]

New year, old problem.

 

I still experience black-screen crashes on FH4 (one of the most demanding games I play currently). It is a nightmare, making AMD hardware feels like crap.

Sometimes one USB port "randomly" disconnect, and an error appears on Device Manager (a port used by NZXT peripherals). I need to uninstall that driver, restart the machine, and everything is fine again. I do believe it is a conflict with AMD hardware (since I've been monitoring the GPU temperatures, and everything is fine there), and I start to doubt NZXT quality control. If the issue still persist I'm contacting their support again, and will update this topic.

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

I had a couple exchanges with NZXT Techsupport. The guy that tried helping me also read this thread. 

I tried a couple of things he suggested but they did not work. 

He also suggested trying to turn off "Game Hooking" in the CAM settings. Because of the holidays, I couldn't try it out until now. CAM Beta also upgraded to the newest version. Pc is running since 3.5 hours now without issues, but to be honest, thats a quite short time. Lets knock on wood that the issue is solved, but I expect the system to freeze as soon as I press the "SUBMIT REPLY" button. 

 

To be fair though, the support guy really tried helping me, sending screenshots, providing links etc. 

 

Edit: 

Nah didn't help

[passedpawn]

Piling on to the list of surprised NZXT owners.  Z63 on an AMD Ryzen 3950 and Giga x570 MB.  Built this system a few months ago.  Every few days, I notice the INCREDIBLE amount of memory the CAM process is using.  10GB!!!  

 

Until I saw this thread, I had no idea that this software was causing the lockups I see every 3 or 4 days.  They are odd, where some apps can be closed down, but others cannot.  Only remedy is a hard reboot. Ouch.  This is a work machine, not a game machine - not good.  Anyway, while I'm very disappointed in the cooler software, I'm happy to know the source of the problem (was praying it wasn't faulty MB/processor/memory).  

 

 

[SansVarnic]

-= Topic Cleaned =-

Please do not post comments that provide no helpful context to the issue in the topic.

[mangokr]

Another new one to just post in here with the same problem...

 

Looks like the common part is the freeze happen with on AMD systems? or also happens on Intel?

 

Probably most people know, NZXT issued a statement about their problem with their usb with Kraken Z's and X570 motherboards and they issued a usb hub as a temporal solution to those affected and requested.

 

So, for just in case i bought the usb hub from them, waiting to get to here... hoping that might solve our freezes... I wonder if someone already tried it.

[Generic626]

On 1/7/2021 at 3:33 PM, mangokr said:

Another new one to just post in here with the same problem...

 

Looks like the common part is the freeze happen with on AMD systems? or also happens on Intel?

 

Probably most people know, NZXT issued a statement about their problem with their usb with Kraken Z's and X570 motherboards and they issued a usb hub as a temporal solution to those affected and requested.

 

So, for just in case i bought the usb hub from them, waiting to get to here... hoping that might solve our freezes... I wonder if someone already tried it.

Yeah, i'm using an AMD system and it made my pc froze.

As for the complementary USB hub, it doesn't work for my pc...

[Matazal]

I have been having the these problems and have posted about my experiences,

I came across the TdrDelay setting. Increasing the value might help. I am still testing it.

 

 

Crashed again, increased TdrDelay to 10 now

Edited January 12, 2021 by Matazal
update crashing

[passedpawn]

Another similar lockup today.  I think it's been a week since last lockup.  ANY lockup is unacceptable.  

 

I guess I'll try turning off the CAM software and wait...

[passedpawn]

FYI, I made a change to the CAM settings and the memory usage has behaved itself.  Previously, it would quickly go into the Gigabyte range of usage.  With this particular feature turned off, the memory usage the the CAM processes hasn't exceeded 100MB.  No idea if this will eliminate the lockups.  

 

Also, there fewer CAM processes running. 

 

If you're not a gamer who needs this feature (FPS on the screen during gameplay?), perhaps try it.  

 

[gssonda]

7 hours ago, passedpawn said:

FYI, I made a change to the CAM settings and the memory usage has behaved itself.  Previously, it would quickly go into the Gigabyte range of usage.  With this particular feature turned off, the memory usage the the CAM processes hasn't exceeded 100MB.  No idea if this will eliminate the lockups.  

 

Also, there fewer CAM processes running. 

 

If you're not a gamer who needs this feature (FPS on the screen during gameplay?), perhaps try it.  

 

Let me tell you beforehand that this options doesnt change much, lockups are still going to happen.. I've tried disabling this option too. The only solution so far is uninstalling NZXT Cam. I strongly consider having a look into liquidctl ... Almost a month since my post and NOT A SINGLE PC FREEZE SINCE

[mangokr]

21 hours ago, gssonda said:

Let me tell you beforehand that this options doesnt change much, lockups are still going to happen.. I've tried disabling this option too. The only solution so far is uninstalling NZXT Cam. I strongly consider having a look into liquidctl ... Almost a month since my post and NOT A SINGLE PC FREEZE SINCE

The temporal solution right now is run at start up (to ramp up the pump speed to the profile you set) and close the program.

[Atavius]

Hi,

I am considering going with the Kraken X63 in my new Ryzen build, but after reading this I am starting to have my doubts. Is this issue common across the all AMD builds or just some combinations of HW? Also any suggestions what else to put into NR200 with 5800X instead of this? I already tried going with LFII, but man like she said it just wont fit.

[Propain76]

Good morning,

Created an account here and registered a ticket with nzxt regarding the godawful cam software.

A few days ago i built a new pc with a ryzen 5950x and an ASUS ROG Crosshair VIII Dark Hero in combination with the kraken z63 from NZXT

At first i had problems since the software didnt recognize the z63.

After a bit of research i found out that it can happen with x570 motherboards and the solution was to get a nzxt hub which i bought.

After that the Cam software recognized the z63 and i thought now everything is fine but then the real problems started.

Freezes crashes not able to shut down the pc (only the power button worked)

Same as many people with a amd build.

When i work without the cam software on its no problem runs fine.

But since the software is needed to control the z63 i would appreciate functional software