New W11 PC Bricked Itself [SOLVED]

[frikandyln]

Hi all,

 

I have an issue with a new pc and I have no idea how to troubleshoot anymore. The system started out working just fine, installing Windows 11, all drivers, games and software and surviving multiple stress tests.

 

However, Windows slowly started to give out. First Search gave out, next the taskbar altogether, then File Explorer, and then Windows died altogether.

 

The error code in question: 0xc0000221

(Kernel/system driver missing or corrupted)

 

So here we are now, literal weeks of troubleshooting later, and not a step farther. Here's what I tried so far:

 

- Fixing Windows 11 via Windows Recovery

- Reinstalling Windows 11

- Repairing sfc and boot sector via Recovery command prompt

- Shuffling and reconfiguring the RAM

- SSD verification via Hard Disk Sentinel on another machine

- Memory diagnostic test via Windows Recovery

- Reinstalling the motherboard BIOS

- Replacing the motherboard altogether

- Replacing the RAM altogether

- Attempting to install Windows 10 instead

 

The specs for the system in question:

 

- CPU: AMD Ryzen 7 9700X

- Motherboard: Gigabyte B650 EAGLE ATX AM5

- RAM: 32 GB (2 x 16 GB) Corsair Vengeance DDR5-6000

- GPU: Asus DUAL OC GeForce RTX 5060 Ti 8 GB

- Storage: 1 TB Samsung 990 Pro M.2 NVMe (PCIe 4.0 X4)

- PSU: Gigabyte UD750GM 750 W 80+ Gold

- OS: Windows 11 Home

 

EDIT: Even though it didn't show in any diagnostics, the 990 Pro was the culprit. Replacing the drive has solved all issues.

Edited June 16 by frikandyln
Solution added

[MonkeyBomb]

Any overclocking?

 

Is XMP enabled?  If so, disable. What slots are the ram in?

 

Is the ram you have on the QVL list for the motherboard?

[okkee]

1 hour ago, frikandyln said:

Hi all,

 

I have an issue with a new pc and I have no idea how to troubleshoot anymore. The system started out working just fine, installing Windows 11, all drivers, games and software and surviving multiple stress tests.

 

However, Windows slowly started to give out. First Search gave out, next the taskbar altogether, then File Explorer, and then Windows died altogether.

 

The error code in question: 0xc0000221

(Kernel/system driver missing or corrupted)

 

So here we are now, literal weeks of troubleshooting later, and not a step farther. Here's what I tried so far:

 

- Fixing Windows 11 via Windows Recovery

- Reinstalling Windows 11

- Repairing sfc and boot sector via Recovery command prompt

- Shuffling and reconfiguring the RAM

- SSD verification via Hard Disk Sentinel on another machine

- Memory diagnostic test via Windows Recovery

- Reinstalling the motherboard BIOS

- Replacing the motherboard altogether

- Replacing the RAM altogether

- Attempting to install Windows 10 instead

 

The specs for the system in question:

 

- CPU: AMD Ryzen 7 9700X

- Motherboard: Gigabyte B650 EAGLE ATX AM5

- RAM: 32 GB (2 x 16 GB) Corsair Vengeance DDR5-6000

- GPU: Asus DUAL OC GeForce RTX 5060 Ti 8 GB

- Storage: 1 TB Samsung 990 Pro M.2 NVMe (PCIe 4.0 X4)

- PSU: Gigabyte UD750GM 750 W 80+ Gold

- OS: Windows 11 Home

Did you already try a different ssd / hdd?

[Mumintroll]

When you tested that Samsung 990 Pro, did you also read the SMART table? Were there any value in that Media and Data integrity errors field?

 

Did you also check if its firmware needed an update? The 990 Pro with an early firmware had alot of problems with premature degradation, failing too early. Even when people did update firmware some cases still show up with early degradation.

[frikandyln]

54 minutes ago, MonkeyBomb said:

Any overclocking?

 

Is XMP enabled?  If so, disable. What slots are the ram in?

 

Is the ram you have on the QVL list for the motherboard?

Back when it worked the system wasn't overclocked but XMP was enabled, but I've since reset the BIOS, so all options are off. The RAM is on the QVL list.

The RAM is seated in A2 and B2.

[frikandyln]

9 minutes ago, Mumintroll said:

When you tested that Samsung 990 Pro, did you also read the SMART table? Were there any value in that Media and Data integrity errors field?

 

Did you also check if its firmware needed an update? The 990 Pro with an early firmware had alot of problems with premature degradation, failing too early. Even when people did update firmware some cases still show up with early degradation.

I took the liberty of checking, and both fields were clear.

 

The initially installed firmware was more recent than the problematic version, and has since been updated to the most recent version.

[frikandyln]

15 minutes ago, okkee said:

Did you already try a different ssd / hdd?

I haven't tried another SSD, since the tests and SMART data were devoid of problems.

 

I'll order one ASAP, just to see for sure that it wasn't the current SSD.