First Black screens, stalling, unstable OS and underperforming

[thorpj]

Hi there, writing this is going to take a while, and fixing has already depleted my patience, willpower for this $1300 AUD Gaming PC, but i will battle on, for it is my first, and only PC.

 

My Specs are in the signature,

 

I've written a few posts on other websites, and have got my local store to have a look at my PC. they replaced the Mobo in the first month of ownership because of a faulty fan header, and the PSU was replaced last week, but problems persist. I would say i'm approximately halfway through fixing this PC. Its a comprehensive problem, and i'll do my best to fill you guys in. The LTT forum is excellent IMHO.

 

* This PC is 3 months and 1 week old. For the first 2 months, it has been "hanging" (stalling). Windows is very unstable, and considering the power of this PC, it shouldn't be happening! 5 minutes ago i copied a file from my HDD to SSD, and it dropped to 0MB/s 5 times in the 12 GB copy, and while it was going the PC did its typical hangs. 

* The SSD is running in IDE mode on the SATA controller for the SSD. I didn't change it on the first POST, and have been stuck with it. Yes speeds are slower, yes i hate it. But changing it to AHCI mode causes a BSOD, so i can't fix the problem.

 

In the past 2 weeks, i started getting Black screens (meaning power cycle) in games. They would occur after 40-60 mins in a game. If i ran Crysis 3 or Furmark it would black screen instantly. My local store replaced the PSU, And the Black Screens stopped. But that isn't the end...

When i first started the PC with the new PSU, the fan in the PSU was clicking very loudly. It stopped the next day. My PC is sitting on carpet with the PSU fan facing down (i used to have it facing up).

 

The next problem, Underperforming: For the first 2 months after i got the PC built. I could play BF4 on near Ultra at 60fps. The situation has deteriorated to playing BF4 on medium to get 60fps. For the fairly beastly and bloody expensive setup that i have, that's really disgusting. The PC underperforms in other games, but BF4 is the most prime example, which suggests an issue with the CPU. Still i ran a CInebench R15, and got 409. Thats the same result as other FX-6300 and OCed Fx-6100s that i've seen online. Now i may have fixed this issue, by disabling GPU overdrive in AMD CCC. I think its always been on, i thought disabling it would disable any form of GPU boost. After finding that my GPU was sitting at 500mhz core and 1500mhz GPU at 0.950v (idle), but when after disabling GPU overdrive and going into BF4, i upped the settings to Ultra without AA and it ran close to 60, so i think thats fixed that. 

 

The next issue: In my headphones, theres a strange but quiet grinding/buzzing/can't describe irritating noise. I could be coil whine, but i don't really know. It doesn't happen through my speakers. Actually. After listening to Coil Whine here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HP73edpQwgc, i don't think it is coil whine, i can't hear anything without headphones on, and its a lot quiet than coil whine, and not such a high note.

 

And the final issues: Mail has started running really slowly. Livecomm.exe gets loads of errors in Event viewer (i've linked livecomm.exe with mail)

 

So the main issues now are: Stalling in windows, SSD in IDE mode, and the noise through the headphones. If there are any log files anywhere, or if theres anything in particular i should look for in event viewer.

 

 

 

Heres some things i’ve done

• I have not overclocked

• I have the latest WHQL GPU drivers

• Temperatures: the GPU doesn’t go over 70°C, nor the CPU over 50°C. I can’t monitor the PSU temperature, and i can't see the mobo temps, but i doubt that they are overheating.

• I’ve read on Toms hardware that PSUs will reset the CPU (aka restart the PC) to prevent the PC from catching on fire. The manual for my PSU confirmed this, saying that my “budget class” PSU will do this (so thats what was wrong with the PSU i got RMAd

• I’ve done a chkdisk, and checked the RAM

• I’ve uninstalled all hardware monitors, MSI Kombustor and the like bar one (i found Open Hardware Monitor the other day, its amazing)

* I regularly use CCleaner

• Mobo is version F5

• I’ve gone through device manager, looking for anything thats out of date

• i’ve downloaded the AMD chipset drivers from Gigabyte’s website. It used AMDs Catalyst Software, and told me that the chipset driver was installed, but it installed/repaired a few other things that were included in the driver download.

• I use Windows Defender

Note i haven't had a BSOD in a long time.

 

 

 

 

So there's my Great Wall of Text. There isn't no TL;DR here. If you have any questions, i'm following this thread (of ****ing course cas i want to get this fixed!!!!!!) and i check my emails approximately every 5 seconds.

 

So thanks in advance, i hope someone has an answer, advice, questions or anything!

 

Also. this thread is a page and a half long in word!

[Nerd Rage LBC]

For the performance issues, have you tried AHCI mode for the SSD?

 

For the headphones, does it only make the noise when used with the computer? (If so, I'd say that's EMI)

Were your speakers and headphones tested from the same port/jack? What kind of headphones you got?

[AshWntr]

That PSU definitely needs to be flipped back, fan down on carpet is a very smokey no no

[thorpj]

For the performance issues, have you tried AHCI mode for the SSD?

 

For the headphones, does it only make the noise when used with the computer? (If so, I'd say that's EMI)

Were your speakers and headphones tested from the same port/jack? What kind of headphones you got?

Hi, thanks for the reply

 

a month after i got the pc, i tried enabling AHCI and got a BSOD upon reboot, so i just changed it back to IDE, and it boots.

 

The headphones don't make the noise on my mac, and i only remember this happening in two periods of time (this week and about a month after i got the PC)

Speakers use the green port on the back, headphones use the front audio jack. They are some crappy headphones that look a bit like beats, but of course they aren't Still they work. Also i think the noise ramps up a bit ingame

 

 

the sound is a little similar to the EMI sound sample 1 at http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Electromagnetic_interference. But its a lot quiet, and sits at a pretty low volume. Can it be fixed if it is EMI?

[thorpj]

That PSU definitely needs to be flipped back, fan down on carpet is a very smokey no no.

Are you sure? when i put my hand at the back of the PSU i can feel cool air passing through.

 

Cable management was very difficult with the PSU fan up, because the cables were just long enough to be re re-routed round the back (since the cables stick out of the right hand side of the PSU when its facing down).

 

My local store put it in that way, and the temps that i can monitor are better

 

Also: with the RAM usage in task manager. It never goes below 35%. I added up all the tasks running in task manager and the total came to 806.8 MB. so that's 10% of the RAM i have. Is that normal? Is the other 25% going into hidden system processes?

[AshWntr]

If you are sure that it is cool air constantly then it shouldn't be a problem but it overheating is something that happens quite easily to a lot of people by mistake.

[thorpj]

If you are sure that it is cool air constantly then it shouldn't be a problem but it overheating is something that happens quite easily to a lot of people by mistake.

Ok, i'll definitely keep an eye on it.

 

I see you've got a Samsung 840 evo as well. Was the SATA controller set to IDE by default?

[Nerd Rage LBC]

Hi, thanks for the reply

 

a month after i got the pc, i tried enabling AHCI and got a BSOD upon reboot, so i just changed it back to IDE, and it boots.

 

The headphones don't make the noise on my mac, and i only remember this happening in two periods of time (this week and about a month after i got the PC)

Speakers use the green port on the back, headphones use the front audio jack. They are some crappy headphones that look a bit like beats, but of course they aren't Still they work. Also i think the noise ramps up a bit ingame

 

 

the sound is a little similar to the EMI sound sample 1 at http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Electromagnetic_interference. But its a lot quiet, and sits at a pretty low volume. Can it be fixed if it is EMI?

 

Headphones: Since it seems to "ramp up" in game, maybe the audio cable that goes from the header (on the mobo) to the front panel is fairly close to the video card, or fans?

 

SSD: Have you installed the SATA drivers during the install of windows? Something like "Press F6 to install third party SCSI / RAID Drivers"

[Faruko]

Maybe try this?

 

 

For Windows 7 or Vista you can use a Registry tweak with your HDD-based Windows system so that it will work with the chipset in SATA mode:

1) Run the Registry Editor (regedit.exe)
2) Navigate to Registry Key: HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\System\CurrentControlSet\Services\Msahci
3) Set the "Start" value to 0 (zero)
4) Navigate to Registry Key: HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\System\CurrentControlSet\Services\Pciide
5) Set the "Start" value to 0 (zero)
6) Shut down
7) Start up again, but before Windows boots go into the BIOS configuration screens and change the disk mode to "AHCI". Save the new BIOS configuration and restart so that Windows boots.

When Windows starts, it will detect the change, load new disk drivers, and do one more reboot to start up with them.

 

I got that fix a long time ago on TomsHardware.

[Nerd Rage LBC]

Are you sure? when i put my hand at the back of the PSU i can feel cool air passing through.

 

Cable management was very difficult with the PSU fan up, because the cables were just long enough to be re re-routed round the back (since the cables stick out of the right hand side of the PSU when its facing down).

 

My local store put it in that way, and the temps that i can monitor are better

 

Also: with the RAM usage in task manager. It never goes below 35%. I added up all the tasks running in task manager and the total came to 806.8 MB. so that's 10% of the RAM i have. Is that normal? Is the other 25% going into hidden system processes?

 

Instead of carpet, raise the tower on a flat surface to give your PSU better airflow... granted your case should have rubber feet. Something like wood plank or whatever means to elevate off the carpet.

[thorpj]

Headphones: Since it seems to "ramp up" in game, maybe the audio cable that goes from the header (on the mobo) to the front panel is fairly close to the video card, or fans?

 

SSD: Have you installed the SATA drivers during the install of windows? Something like "Press F6 to install third party SCSI / RAID Drivers"

Hi, for some reason i didn't get any emails notifying me about posts here.

 

The HD audio plug does go nearby the GPU, i'll try move it away a bit.

 

I may have stuffed up with the SATA drivers, i didn't really know what i was doing at that point

 

i'll be back tomorrow

[thorpj]

Instead of carpet, raise the tower on a flat surface to give your PSU better airflow... granted your case should have rubber feet. Something like wood plank or whatever means to elevate off the carpet.

Ok ill look for something "_"

[thorpj]

Maybe try this?

 

 

I got that fix a long time ago on TomsHardware.

Hi, apologies for not getting back to you guys sooner, i wish i had, cas now my thread is stuffed to the bottom of the pile

 

I've seen a lot of fixes like this online. All are not for windows 8.1, and some registry keys don't even exist in my registry

[Faruko]

Hi, apologies for not getting back to you guys sooner, i wish i had, cas now my thread is stuffed to the bottom of the pile

 

I've seen a lot of fixes like this online. All are not for windows 8.1, and some registry keys don't even exist in my registry

 

Ah a Windows 8 user. My bad didn't see that. Maybe try this?

 

 

Before changing to AHCI in BIOS

1. WinX+R->regedit.exe
2. Navigate to: HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Services\storahci\StartOverride
3. Right click on REG_DWORD->Modify and set it to 0
4. Save and close regedit
5. Reboot your PC and access BIOS then change it to AHCI

 

That should be tailored for Windows 8.1. Let me know if it helps

[thorpj]

Ah a Windows 8 user. My bad didn't see that. Maybe try this?

 

 

That should be tailored for Windows 8.1. Let me know if it helps

Hi Faruko,

 

Would i lose any of my data? I'm not sure where my windows 8 disk is, so if my PC is wiped by it, it could be awhile before i can get it back

[dragoon20005]

If you worry about losing data

 

I will suggest getting a external drive for backup

 

once backup done

 

perform a OS wipe and go into BIOS to set to AHCI mode and re install the OS

[thorpj]

If you worry about losing data

 

I will suggest getting a external drive for backup

 

once backup done

 

perform a OS wipe and go into BIOS to set to AHCI mode and re install the OS

I've got a 1tb external, and i use Win 8 File History to backup. Do you think File history will miss some important files in the c drive?

And when moving files back from the external drive, is there a program that will move the files, or will i have to copy files Back (which doesn't really work well, because application paths won't be setup)

[Faruko]

Hi Faruko,

 

Would i lose any of my data? I'm not sure where my windows 8 disk is, so if my PC is wiped by it, it could be awhile before i can get it back

 

Well logically when switching modes from IDE to AHCI it should not affect your data. However, I DO recommend you to backup any important data into an external disk freqently (once a month) in case your PC decides to crash unexpectedly which can result in loss of a lot of data. In this case, I recommend you backup your documents, music, pictures and videos folders into an external before making this change just in case. It is not necessary but backing up is always good practice. Your OS SHOULDN'T be affected. I say shouldn't because I myself am not sure about that and am just basing this on assumptions and past experiences.

[dragoon20005]

I've got a 1tb external, and i use Win 8 File History to backup. Do you think File history will miss some important files in the c drive?

And when moving files back from the external drive, is there a program that will move the files, or will i have to copy files Back (which doesn't really work well, because application paths won't be setup)

it may miss a few file so I suggest using the better software like True Imaging software

 

which pretty much clone the boot drive onto another drive

[thorpj]

Well logically when switching modes from IDE to AHCI it should not affect your data. However, I DO recommend you to backup any important data into an external disk freqently (once a month) in case your PC decides to crash unexpectedly which can result in loss of a lot of data. In this case, I recommend you backup your documents, music, pictures and videos folders into an external before making this change just in case. It is not necessary but backing up is always good practice. Your OS SHOULDN'T be affected. I say shouldn't because I myself am not sure about that and am just basing this on assumptions and past experiences.

Ok thanks for the advice, i'll do your suggested fixes when i get back to my PC this afternoon (Aussie time)

[thorpj]

it may miss a few file so I suggest using the better software like True Imaging software

 

which pretty much clone the boot drive onto another drive

I'll try the trial version of true imaging, do you know if true imaging provides a way to making returning files after an OS reinstall easier?

[Faruko]

Ok thanks for the advice, i'll do your suggested fixes when i get back to my PC this afternoon (Aussie time)

 

Let me know how it goes. I'm also curious to find out if switching from IDE to AHCI will affect the OS cause I've switched from IDE to AHCI before but that was just with data files like pictures and videos and not the system files

[thorpj]

Let me know how it goes. I'm also curious to find out if switching from IDE to AHCI will affect the OS cause I've switched from IDE to AHCI before but that was just with data files like pictures and videos and not the system files

Will do, 

 

What about AHCI drivers? is there a way to check if i have them?

[Faruko]

Will do, 

 

What about AHCI drivers? is there a way to check if i have them?

 

If I'm not mistaken (and again here I am not sure since I haven't needed to do so before) if your registry has that storahci directory, you should have AHCI drivers in your machine. Besides, I think Windows 8.1 should automatically come with those drivers

[dragoon20005]

I'll try the trial version of true imaging, do you know if true imaging provides a way to making returning files after an OS reinstall easier?

this I am not really sure

 

Mine was more of a crude method of backup

 

you may need to know where are your setting files are which means a little know how of the way windows works and that

 

the rest are just my pictures and videos which i just copy and paste into my external drives

 

my method is trial and error as I lost a small batch of files because i forget to copy before I reformat