Question Faulty GPU: black screens/Windows freezing/fine in safe mode

[Rob Heckenkamp]

Good day,

My original thread that documents my troubleshooting: https://www.bleepingcomputer.com/forums/t/723355/pc-rebootsfreezes-within-seconds

Bottom line: GPU is faulty?

I got a MSI Codex XE Plus 9SC-292US Desktop in March and it's been great up until last night where it broke completely.

Intel Core i7-9700K 3.60 GHz
512 GB PCIe NVMe M.2
NVIDIA GeForce RTX 2060 6 GB DDR6
500W 80 Plus Bronze PSU
Z390-A Pro Motherboard
16 GB x 1 DDR4 2666

Was playing Monster Hunter last night when it crashed and I got an error message that said something about the graphics card (sorry, no clue what it said as it went away before I could take a photo). Since then:

1. Mouse cursor freezes for 3-5 seconds every 1 second
2. Things such as the start button, Windows+R, CTRL+SHIFT+ESC, double clicking icons either never works or takes 45 seconds to work
3. Random black screens. Either during reboot or sitting at the desk top. During reboot it will boot to a black screen and might show Windows logon after letting it sit for 20 minutes

Note The symptoms listed above will start immediately even after a full windows reset and factory reset with original MSI image including bloatware.

What I tried:

1. Memtest, no issues
2. Swapping PSU, didn't fix it
3. Swapping GPUs DID FIX IT
4. Safe Mode WORKED FINE
5. Removing GPU and using integrated graphics WORKED FINE
6. Tried current drivers for GPU and drivers from 3 months ago
7. About 7 windows resets including the one that "takes several hours" to format in the event you are getting rid of your HD
8. Windows boot with all services and startup applications disabled through msconfig

Based on this, I'm fairly positive it's my GPU. I'm currently on the system with my old GTX 970 installed and it's working fine.

The system works with the GPU in safe mode or with the GPU removed. It doesn't work in regular Windows regardless of driver. This happened suddenly, last night, after that error message.

I've submitted a ticket with MSI, but is there anything I can try in the mean time? Thanks

 

[rgd1101]

what the make and model of the the psu?

 

[Rob Heckenkamp]

what the make and model of the the psu?

I used two different PSUs which didn't make any difference

 

[abi_m]

Good day,

My original thread that documents my troubleshooting: https://www.bleepingcomputer.com/forums/t/723355/pc-rebootsfreezes-within-seconds

Bottom line: GPU is faulty?

I got a MSI Codex XE Plus 9SC-292US Desktop in March and it's been great up until last night where it broke completely.

Intel Core i7-9700K 3.60 GHz
512 GB PCIe NVMe M.2
NVIDIA GeForce RTX 2060 6 GB DDR6
500W 80 Plus Bronze PSU
Z390-A Pro Motherboard
16 GB x 1 DDR4 2666

Was playing Monster Hunter last night when it crashed and I got an error message that said something about the graphics card (sorry, no clue what it said as it went away before I could take a photo). Since then:

1. Mouse cursor freezes for 3-5 seconds every 1 second
2. Things such as the start button, Windows+R, CTRL+SHIFT+ESC, double clicking icons either never works or takes 45 seconds to work
3. Random black screens. Either during reboot or sitting at the desk top. During reboot it will boot to a black screen and might show Windows logon after letting it sit for 20 minutes

Note The symptoms listed above will start immediately even after a full windows reset and factory reset with original MSI image including bloatware.

What I tried:

1. Memtest, no issues
2. Swapping PSU, didn't fix it
3. Swapping GPUs DID FIX IT
4. Safe Mode WORKED FINE
5. Removing GPU and using integrated graphics WORKED FINE
6. Tried current drivers for GPU and drivers from 3 months ago
7. About 7 windows resets including the one that "takes several hours" to format in the event you are getting rid of your HD
8. Windows boot with all services and startup applications disabled through msconfig

Based on this, I'm fairly positive it's my GPU. I'm currently on the system with my old GTX 970 installed and it's working fine.

The system works with the GPU in safe mode or with the GPU removed. It doesn't work in regular Windows regardless of driver. This happened suddenly, last night, after that error message.

I've submitted a ticket with MSI, but is there anything I can try in the mean time? Thanks

I have the same issue. Did you find any solution?