Question I can only boot my Windows 10 from safe mode ?

Vongola_rain

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Apr 23, 2013
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i think i broke my windows last month while playing arkham knight, it suddenly lagged and my screen glitched so bad my PC restarted itself several times. the 3rd time it tried to reboot I only got black screen and everytime I tried to restart I got windows auto repair and yet it failed to diagnose the issue. I've tried auto repair, checking disk from cmd, and system restore through windows startup repair but nothing works, today i booted my PC from safe mode and I can finally logged into my account, however if I tried to boot it from safe mode with network the same issue occurs so I guess the problem is the network[?] (when windows failed to diagnose my problem it also mentioned something about VPN). my last attempt was to disable my VPN on startup from task manager through safe mode but when i tried to reboot it normally i still got the same problem. is there anything else i can do?

thank you in advance
 

Colif

Win 11 Master
Moderator
What are specs of the PC?

It would be unusual for networking to die during a game. The behaviour could imply its the GPU instead, what with black screens and all. Safe mode is less stressing than normal mode, and it uses default drivers.
 

Vongola_rain

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Apr 23, 2013
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What are specs of the PC?

It would be unusual for networking to die during a game. The behaviour could imply its the GPU instead, what with black screens and all. Safe mode is less stressing than normal mode, and it uses default drivers.

i5 4670
8 GB DDR3
R9 270X
HDD 2TB Seagate

thank you for the response. what can I do with my GPU then?
oh and i forgot to mention each time i had the black screen the led on my case isn't flickering (that's a drive activity indicator isn't it?) so i initially assumed it was a HDD issue
 

Cj-tech

Admirable
Jan 27, 2021
536
68
8,940
i5 4670
8 GB DDR3
R9 270X
HDD 2TB Seagate

thank you for the response. what can I do with my GPU then?
oh and i forgot to mention each time i had the black screen the led on my case isn't flickering (that's a drive activity indicator isn't it?) so i initially assumed it was a HDD issue
If it was a drive issue with total failure, the PC would not even boot to safe mode. When you boot into safe mode, try opening a command prompt windows as an administrator… once you do that, enter the following commands and press enter after each.

Code:
sfc /scannow

DISM /Online /Cleanup-Image /RestoreHealth

chkdsk c: /f /r

After running all of them, reboot your computer and it will begin a scan that will look for issues and repair them. With an HDD, this could take a while to complete. It might be worth considering an upgrade at some point.
 
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Vongola_rain

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Apr 23, 2013
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If it was a drive issue with total failure, the PC would not even boot to safe mode. When you boot into safe mode, try opening a command prompt windows as an administrator… once you do that, enter the following commands and press enter after each.

Code:
sfc /scannow

DISM /Online /Cleanup-Image /RestoreHealth

chkdsk c: /f /r

After running all of them, reboot your computer and it will begin a scan that will look for issues and repair them. With an HDD, this could take a while to complete. It might be worth considering an upgrade at some point.

I've tried that commands in startup repair cmd, didn't work
yes I'm planning on building a new one actually

And I will ask about the PSU:

Make, model, wattage, age, condition (original to build, new, refurbished, used)?

History of heavy use for gaming, video editing, or even bit-mining?

Any recent system changes or maintenance?

Gigabyte P550B 550W new (been using this for about 1-2 years I think) along with Pro Link Pro700SFC UPS. the thing is I'm not sure if the UPS is working anymore because every time there is an outage my PC shut down instantly unlike the first time I bought it when the UPS still able to power my PC for a period of time.

*but before this one I used Seasonic S12II 520W with no UPS for 7-8 years until it broke because of unstable voltage in my region (several blackout in a year)

not much of heavy gaming usage, the last "heavy" titles I played are Arkham Knight, Sniper Elite 4, The Witcher 3, AC series (Syndicate, Unity, Origins), Control, The Division (I did notice my GPU was kind of noisy when I played these titles). rarely light video editing (cropping, trimming, adding music to video), and a week of inconsistent bitcoin mining through CryptoTab browser (it isn't that heavy is it?). i used my PC mainly for casual gaming like CSGO or Stardew Valley years ago but I don't play that much lately



update: I tried removing my GPU and connecting the VGA cable to my motherboard but all I got is a black screen (not even motherboard (Asrock Z87 Pro4) logo or windows startup repair. when I tried putting my GPU back i still got the black screen with no motherboard logo or windows startup repair which is even worse than the prior condition lol
 
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Ralston18

Titan
Moderator
PSU: Not what I would consider heavy use.

Even though the PSU , at most, is only2 years old the PSU could be the culprit. Especially if damaged in some manner by the unstable voltages and lack of surge protection (joules) by a faulty or failed UPS.

Any way to swap in another known working PSU? Remember to use only the cables that come with any given PSU being tested.

= = =

Test the setup without the UPS connected. Just as a matter of elimination. No other surge protectors or power bars during testing.

= = = =

Were you able to swap in other known working VGA or other video cables?

Are you able to test another known working monitor on your system?

Or test your current monitor on another known working computer?

Determine if the lack of display stays with your computer or follows the monitor.

Objectively being to methodically swap components one at a time to narrow down to the failed component.
 

Vongola_rain

Distinguished
Apr 23, 2013
8
0
18,510
PSU: Not what I would consider heavy use.

Even though the PSU , at most, is only2 years old the PSU could be the culprit. Especially if damaged in some manner by the unstable voltages and lack of surge protection (joules) by a faulty or failed UPS.

Any way to swap in another known working PSU? Remember to use only the cables that come with any given PSU being tested.

= = =

Test the setup without the UPS connected. Just as a matter of elimination. No other surge protectors or power bars during testing.

= = = =

Were you able to swap in other known working VGA or other video cables?

Are you able to test another known working monitor on your system?

Or test your current monitor on another known working computer?

Determine if the lack of display stays with your computer or follows the monitor.

Objectively being to methodically swap components one at a time to narrow down to the failed component.

update: GPU is the culprit, I'm now able to boot it with the onboard graphic by cleaning the ram sticks first, so when i wasn't able to boot it with onboard graphic in the last time i think dirty ram caused it.

yes i did test it without the ups and the problem remains
i went to a PC service centre and tested it with another vga and it worked

thank you for your response, i think my issue is solved