Question At Wits End

[upcreeknopaddle]

Hi,

So a few months ago I built my first ever PC, something I've wanted to for a long time, and it's been an absolute nightmare problem child. At first, it ran great, fast and smooth with no problems except some annoyance with audio issues; and then it developed a problem where every once in a while it would just randomly restart. No blue screens, but it would just restart and that was that. I checked the CPU and GPU temperatures and the highest I ever saw them prior to shutdown and post shutdown was low 50 C. As time went on the restarts became more frequent until it was every time I even clicked play or tried to load a game. I suspected it might be the motherboard as I had previously had finnicky audio issues, so I reset Windows with the built in function, and all hell broke loose. Got multiple System32 errors, BadImage errors, drivers disappearing and some drivers just not appearing or working on installation. So I cleaned my drives and attempted to do a clean reinstall of Windows with a ISO USB flashdrive, and now I can't even install Windows.

I can boot into the USB drive, go through the installation process and install Windows. Once it's finished installing it requires a restart, so I restart it and it boots up, goes through the Windows load screen then automatically goes to a recovery screen telling me:

"Your PC/Device needs to be repaired

A required device isn't connected or can't be accessed.

Error code: 0xc000000e"

Earlier it was saying it was a problem with the WinLoad.exe file, but it isn't saying that anymore on the Recovery screen. I've tried Windows repair tool which, unsurprisingly, didn't work. I have tried doing:

bootrec.exe /rebuildbcd

And the other two bootrec.exe commands, to no avail. I've tried cleaning the drive and re-installing Windows 4 separate times now, each with the same result. Is this a hardware issue, or could it still be a software issue with some fix in sight? I've contacted my motherboard manufacturer and am waiting for them to respond, but I'm looking for any way to fix my computer.



PC Specs:

Motherboard: Gigabyte z390 Aorus Master
GPU: Gigabyte GeForce GTX 1070TI
CPU: Intel i5-9600K
RAM: Patriot Viper 16GB 3000MHz
SSD: Samsung 970 EVO (BootDrive)
HDD: WD Black 1TB
PSU: Thermaltake TR2 700W

 

[Dark Lord of Tech]

Just a note , your PSU is horrible quality , I would replace right away.

 

[ktriebol]

Try booting with one stick of RAM instead of two. If that doesn't help, remove the Samsung SSD, install Windows on the WD hard drive, and see if that works.

 

[Shektron]

Agree with Dark Lord, that power supply is probably the nightmare that's causing the rest of your nightmare. Get it changed ASAP, buy a proper unit, stop cheaping out on power supplies, they're very important for a functional and stable system.

 

[upcreeknopaddle]

Right, so I went out and purchased a new PSU; a Corsair CX750M. Swapped it out with the other PSU, plugged it all back in, and booted onto Windows. Tried several programs and things that made my PC restart and it didn't restart in the short test I did, so I put the case sides back on, and moved it back into my office, turned it on and it has new problems now.

BIOS now doesn't detect the SSD nor the HDD. Sometimes it will boot up and magically boot into Windows, other times it will boot into the error screen with the 0xc000000e code, most times it will just load straight into BIOS where I can see there are no drives listed at all. Yet when I use a Windows flash drive, I can see in the command prompt with list disk that both drives are in fact there. Any clues?

 

[Shektron]

Have you tried reinstalling Windows after the power supply swap? All those reboots and failed repairs could have damaged the installation, although that wouldn't make the drive undetected... Still, worth a shot.