error Computer freezes and CLOCK_WATCHDOG_TIMEOUT error on Ryzen

[MostlyCheese]

G'day! I've just built my first computer on a AMD based system with the following parts;

- Ryzen 5 1600 (using stock cooler and no overclocking)

- ASUS ROG Strix B350-F Gaming Motherboard

- Team T-Force Delta RGB 2400MHz 16GB (2x8GB) DDR4 (defaulted to 2133MHz in the BIOS, I've successfully booted in 2400MHz by changing it manually and also booted in 2133MHz in AUTO mode)

- ASUS ROG STIX rx580 8GB OC Edition

- Samsung 960 EVO 250GB SSD

- TP-Link Archer T9E Wireless Adapter

- Corsair RM650x PSU

- Phanteks P400s TGE

- Windows 10 (64 Bit)

I have run into some problems when coming into windows, the first time it booted fine and went through the process of setting up windows and got to the desktop, and i first installed the driver for the wireless adapter to get internet and then installed some of the Radeon settings and AMD software driver updaters. I did also look install the drivers from the ASUS website. I have installed every driver expect for the GPU and as i installed that the computer crashed and got the windows blue screen. I restarted again and uninstalled the GPU drivers (thinking the GPU was the problem) and then re-installed them. I did get to finish installing but a few minutes later the computer crashed again. I tried resting windows, booting with one ram stick, lowering memory MHz from 2400MHz to 2133Mhz and then booting, and wiping the SSD for a fresh install of windows but every time i did something like installing or downloading updates for drivers or even simple things like Steam and Chrome, the computer would crash. I never saw an error message on the previous crashes but on my current fresh install I got the "CLOCK_WATCHDOG_TIMEOUT" error message. Even doing things like extracting the chipset driver files from ASUS caused messages like; not enough memory (not a blue screen but an error message) and during that extraction the computer would freeze for a very long time and go to the error screen.

 

As a first time builder this really has me worried and I'm sure i have installed everything correctly. I checked the CPU for any bent pins and I found none, the CPU is seated properly the power cables are in properly, the GPU is seated properly, and all the power and reset switches are installed correctly. Now i'm just getting the CLOCK_WATCHDOG_TIMEOUT error. Right now the CPU temps in the ASUS UEFI BIOS Utility are around 50C, the motherboard temps are 37C and the GPU temps are 35C and ASUS EZ System Tuning is default has been untouched at normal mode.

 

TLDR: My computer freezes now when I try to install something on windows and i get the CLOCK_WATCHDOG_TIMEOUT error message.

 

Is this fixable? or have I done something wrong?

[Master Disaster]

Are you overclocked? This error usually means an unstable overclock.

 

If not then make sure you're running the latest UEFI BIOS version.

[MostlyCheese]

1 minute ago, Master Disaster said:

Are you overclocked? This error usually means an unstable overclock.

 

If not then make sure you're running the latest UEFI BIOS version.

No I stated that I was not overclocked, and i'm not sure how to update the BIOS but the version is 2.17.1246

[Master Disaster]

1) Go here - https://www.asus.com/us/Motherboards/ROG-STRIX-B350-F-GAMING/HelpDesk_BIOS/

2) Download and extract the latest version

3) Put the bios file on a FAT32 formatted USB stick

4) Reboot into UEFI

5) Launch Q-Flash

6) Browse the usb stick and select the bios file

7) Hit flash

[J400]

you'll find the latest bios revision here: https://www.asus.com/us/Motherboards/ROG-STRIX-B350-F-GAMING/HelpDesk_BIOS/

 

beyond that, I can't imagine what might be causing it, but I would start changing out parts and troubleshooting the hardware (starting with the ram) and work your way down. personally, I have issues with every asus product I get my hands on, so I wouldn't be surprised if the motherboard is boosting your cpu clocks with some game boost feature or something, which would probably be fixed via the bios update. the next thing to do would be reinstalling windows, before you rma any parts. If that doesn't do anything, I usually try taking the pc apart and putting it back together. if none of that works, then you start shipping off parts.

[MostlyCheese]

I’ll give you an update once I’ve done that, thanks man

[MostlyCheese]

17 minutes ago, Master Disaster said:

1) Go here - https://www.asus.com/us/Motherboards/ROG-STRIX-B350-F-GAMING/HelpDesk_BIOS/

2) Download and extract the latest version

3) Put the bios file on a FAT32 formatted USB stick

4) Reboot into UEFI

5) Launch Q-Flash

6) Browse the usb stick and select the bios file

7) Hit flash

I've flashed the bios and i'm back in windows, is this fixed or do have more to do?

[Master Disaster]

1 minute ago, MostlyCheese said:

I've flashed the bios and i'm back in windows, is this fixed or do have more to do?

Assuming that was the issue it should be OK now, try doing something it was crashing on earlier and see what happens.

[MostlyCheese]

19 minutes ago, Master Disaster said:

Assuming that was the issue it should be OK now, try doing something it was crashing on earlier and see what happens.

Well its been 20 mins and I haven't crashed installing the GPU drivers..... so it might be fixed! i'll run some benchmarks and games after just to be sure. Thanks heaps and sorry for being such a newb computer builder.

[Master Disaster]

14 minutes ago, MostlyCheese said:

Well its been 20 mins and I haven't crashed installing the GPU drivers..... so it might be fixed! i'll run some benchmarks and games after just to be sure. Thanks heaps and sorry for being such a newb computer builder.

Don't apologise, everyone has to start somewhere.

 

FYI it's likely your board was running an early bios version and was probably applying incorrect settings to your CPU and/or RAM which is why the error was identical to that of a bad overclock.

[MostlyCheese]

It crashed again... when I was installing the radeon software this happened I then pressed "view log" and it opened explorer then crashed

[MostlyCheese]

13 minutes ago, Master Disaster said:

Don't apologise, everyone has to start somewhere.

 

FYI it's likely your board was running an early bios version and was probably applying incorrect settings to your CPU and/or RAM which is why the error was identical to that of a bad overclock.

Is it possible that the CPU cooler is not doing its job? it is at 45-50C idle in the BIOS

[Master Disaster]

1 minute ago, MostlyCheese said:

Is it possible that the CPU cooler is not doing its job? it is a 45-50C idle in the BIOS

Nah, that's pretty normal for a stock cooler and well within spec.

 

It is possible that your Windows install might be borked because your CPU & RAM weren't acting properly when you installed.

 

I'd try reinstalling Windows again and see if that helps.

 

If not then it seems like you've got faulty hardware somewhere, unfortunately it's not easy for you to find out what without having hardware to swap out components. You might have to take the machine down to a local shop and pay them to diagnose the fault for you.

[MostlyCheese]

2 minutes ago, Master Disaster said:

Nah, that's pretty normal for a stock cooler and well within spec.

 

It is possible that your Windows install might be borked because your CPU & RAM weren't acting properly when you installed.

 

I'd try reinstalling Windows again and see if that helps.

 

If not then it seems like you've got faulty hardware somewhere, unfortunately it's not easy for you to find out what without having hardware to swap out components. You might have to take the machine down to a local shop and pay them to diagnose the fault for you.

Alright I'll try a fresh install tomorrow and if all else fails I'll get it diagnosed. Thanks for your help though!

[Madara Uchiha]

i know what is problem .what is your os windows 10 running version ? because old version windows does not support whose gpu new released..please get install fresh new version of windows 10..maybe its might help.

[MostlyCheese]

Update: I can’t even download new Windows updates without it crashing, the furthest I’ve got is 71% on a fresh install. Now my Windows key can’t be used anymore and is not active because I’ve installed it to many times. But I do see why the update may help as there is various AMD drivers and one for the RX 580, the key I have is quite old (a physical USB with a card showing the Windows key) and I may have to buy a newer version with those updates. But it might not even be that... I may have bad software or faulty hardware, I’m gonna see if i can squeeze in the new updates and if all else fails I’m going to buy a new Windows USB stick see if that works, if not, take it to a store to get it diagnosed. Thanks everyone for your help.

[MostlyCheese]

On 2/5/2018 at 9:42 PM, Madara Uchiha said:

i know what is problem .what is your os windows 10 running version ? because old version windows does not support whose gpu new released..please get install fresh new version of windows 10..maybe its might help.

You are correct! I managed to update Windows 10 through many crashes and restarts until it was installed, the computer didn't crash after that I managed to install every driver and run Unigine Superposition and a couple of games. Thanks everyone for your help I would never of thought of something as simple as a Windows update to fix this kind of issue.