Question Computer intermittently BSOD's and then can't find hard drive

[Khasil]

My computer intermittently BSOD's and then can't find the hard drive after in the BIOS. Sometimes I have to power cycle it 2 or 3 times before it finds it again. Usually, it BSOD's near the very beginning of windows booting up (e.g. right after I log in) but if it can randomly make it past that first part long enough then it will remain functional seemingly indefinitely until it loses power again. I've also had it happen in safe mode once.
I've done Windows built-in hard drive scan and found no issues with the hard drive.
The behavior seems funny to me and I don't know if my hard drive is slowly failing? My motherboard is failing? Or windows is failing?

In the BSOD logs I see a bunch of DistributedCOM errors when it happens:
Similar to this:
DCOM got error "1084" attempting to start the service TermService with arguments "Unavailable" in order to run the server:
{F9A874B6-F8A8-4D73-B5A8-AB610816828B}

Any advice?


Custom Built - 750 W capacity - Built in 2016

NVMe Samsung SSD 950 - 20.3 GB free of 475 GB (M.2)
OS Name Microsoft Windows 10 Pro
Version 10.0.19044 Build 19044
Other OS Description Not Available
OS Manufacturer Microsoft Corporation
System Name COMPUTER16
System Manufacturer Gigabyte Technology Co., Ltd.
System Model Z170X-Gaming 7
System Type x64-based PC
System SKU Default string
Processor Intel(R) Core(TM) i7-6700K CPU @ 4.00GHz, 4001 Mhz, 4 Core(s), 8 Logical Processor(s)
BIOS Version/Date American Megatrends Inc. F21, 3/6/2017
SMBIOS Version 3.0
Embedded Controller Version 255.255
BIOS Mode UEFI
BaseBoard Manufacturer Gigabyte Technology Co., Ltd.
BaseBoard Product Z170X-Gaming 7
BaseBoard Version x.x
Platform Role Desktop
Secure Boot State Off
PCR7 Configuration Binding Not Possible
Windows Directory C:\WINDOWS
System Directory C:\WINDOWS\system32
Boot Device \Device\HarddiskVolume4
Hardware Abstraction Layer Version = "10.0.19041.1806"
Installed Physical Memory (RAM) 32.0 GB
Total Physical Memory 32.0 GB
Available Physical Memory 12.7 GB
Total Virtual Memory 36.7 GB
Available Virtual Memory 8.09 GB
Page File Space 4.75 GB
Page File C:\pagefile.sys
Kernel DMA Protection Off
Virtualization-based security Running
Virtualization-based security Required Security Properties
Virtualization-based security Available Security Properties Base Virtualization Support, DMA Protection
Virtualization-based security Services Configured
Virtualization-based security Services Running
Device Encryption Support Reasons for failed automatic device encryption: TPM is not usable, PCR7 binding is not supported, Hardware Security Test Interface failed and device is not Modern Standby, Un-allowed DMA capable bus/device(s) detected, Disabled by policy, TPM is not usable
A hypervisor has been detected. Features required for Hyper-V will not be displayed.

Update your post to include full system hardware specs and OS information.

Include PSU: make, model, wattage, age, condition (original to build, new, refurbished, used)?

Disk drive(s): Make, model, capacity, how full?

= = = =

Power down, unplug, open the case.

Clean out dust and debris.

Verify by sight and feel that all connectors, cards, RAM, jumpers, and case connections are fully and firmly in place.

Use a bright flashlight to inspect for signs of damage: bare conductor showing, melting, pinched or kinked wires, loose or missing screws, browned or blackened components....

After the next successful boot look in Reliability History for error codes, warnings, or even informational events that occur just before or at the time of the BSODs.

= = = =

Is all important data backed up? If not, do so as soon as possible to two other locations off of the problem computer. Verify that the backups are recoverable and readable.

Thanks, I've done a backup. Reliability History shows a lot of:
Windows was not properly shut down - (to be expected)
Creative High Definition Audio Service - Stopped working (Seems to be a regular occurrence that happens after a shutdown but also seems to happen on successful boots afterward)

1 instance of: Windows failed to start because of a problem with the hard disk. - I would think I'd see a ton of these but only see one.

 

[Ralston18]

Update your post to include full system hardware specs and OS information.

Include PSU: make, model, wattage, age, condition (original to build, new, refurbished, used)?

Disk drive(s): Make, model, capacity, how full?

= = = =

Power down, unplug, open the case.

Clean out dust and debris.

Verify by sight and feel that all connectors, cards, RAM, jumpers, and case connections are fully and firmly in place.

Use a bright flashlight to inspect for signs of damage: bare conductor showing, melting, pinched or kinked wires, loose or missing screws, browned or blackened components....

After the next successful boot look in Reliability History for error codes, warnings, or even informational events that occur just before or at the time of the BSODs.

= = = =

Is all important data backed up? If not, do so as soon as possible to two other locations off of the problem computer. Verify that the backups are recoverable and readable.