I encounter crashes precisely every 30 min after PC boot.

[Rogsterius]

Sorry for the long post but this issue is complicted and I can't seem to figure out the root of the problem.

I encounter crashes precisely every 30 min after PC boot.

I reinstalled windows, no drivers present, GPU is connected. I run the PC for 2 days (perhaps 12 hour screen time), everything works great.

I reinstall AMD drivers, the GPU is still connected, it crashes precisely 30 min after the installation. I can reboot the PC and use it, but for every 30 min it crashes.
Occasionally, after many crashes the PC won't boot at all. CPU led shines red, I do some vodoo magic and get it to start somehow (maybe reset cmos or something im not sure).
30 min crash phenomenon is still present.

I disconnect GPU from system, I have trouble making it run Intel integrated graphics, VGA led shines red (maybe remembering there used to be a GPU present).
Boot drive shines red as well. I reset the cmos memory, I even switched the battery on the mobo -- nothing works.
I can apparently force the computor to boot to bios using the memOK! button beside the RAM module.
I have already tried running one RAM module at a time to see if any of those could be the problem, both RAM modules work fine.
After I boot the PC using the memOK! button the PC realizes it can run on Intel integrated graphics.
After this one successful boot, the memOK! button is no longer necessary for booting the PC in the future.
Everything works fine.

When I connect the GPU once again, and make it boot somehow, magic again (maybe forced my way into bios this time as well, I can't remember).
PC crashes every 30 min as usual. I also uninstalled the AMD drivers, no change.


How come? Why does the PC crash after precisely 30 min, even in bios it crashes which seem to indicate hardware issues.
But the issues arose the second time (after reinstalling windows) not from having the GPU connected, but from installing the AMD drivers.
The problem manifests itself in 30 min crashes and occasional resistance to booting all together (VGA led and Boot drive led shines red).

If it is the GPU that is causing this, how come that it only arose after the driver update? I deleted the drivers and every trace of it from my computer and the problem persists!
If it is the drivers that is at fault, how come that it crashes even in bios? And how come that it crashes precisely every 30 min? Is the motherboard at fault? How come? The problems arose after the driver update!

I remember when this issue first emerged, I had not done anything. Crashes occurred seldom, but over time it got worse and worse. I thought it was an old driver issue.
I updated the drivers of all my components and the problem persisted -- if not got worse! The problem appeared from nowhere suggesting hardware issues.
But after reinstalling windows, problems only arose after the AMD driver update.

I disconnect the GPU once again, AMD drivers are still deleted like before, I run on Intel integrated graphics and everything works fine.
I try and reinstall AMD drivers, though still using Intel's graphics and everything still works fine.
The PC only works either with a clean install of windows with no drivers and the GPU connected or with the GPU disconnected and irrespective of whatever programs and drivers installed.

Every time I crash there is no hint of it before it crashes, PC seems fine, all lights and fans are working properly, temperatures seem ok etc.
There is no error message, no blue-screen, no hang only a sudden shutdown: the screen goes off, lights in PC turn off and fans stop spinning,
as if you broke the power cord. However, the mobo light indicating the presence of a power source remains lit.
I have switched the PSU to a brand new model of the one I had before, nothing changed.

I read a forum post discussing the same issue, where one person suggested that the mobo might be broken. He had his own story and it goes as follows:
the mobo heatsink distributing the heat was broken and caused some section of the mobo the reach incredibly high temperatures,
which would surpass the acceptable threshold and make the mobo to turn off the PC.
Apparently the mobo only checks itself for acceptable temperature conditions every 30 min which would explain the consistent crashes and the lack of an error message, as the issue is not software related.
However, in my case, this supposed hardware related issue arose (the second time) from reinstalling the AMD drivers.

The fact that it crashes even in bios suggest the problem to be hardware related, but as I know, everything worked fine before the installment of the AMD drivers.
Can it be both a hardware and a software issue, entangling the symptoms with each other, making it almost impossible to figure it out? How come? The hardware issues only arose after the installment of the AMD drivers!
Again, the PC worked great for 2 entire days of usage, with no issues at all, with the GPU connected, a clean version of windows and no drivers present.

Right now I am running on Intel graphics, I have the drivers installed, but of course they don't do anything without the GPU connected.


5 Year old computer:
Motherboard: Z87-A
CPU: 4670K running at stock frequency, stock cooler.
RAM: DDR3 8 Gb kingston 1600 mhz
GPU: R9 280X
PSU: Corsair CX750M
Storage: 1 HDD and 2 SSD, bootdrive is on SSD.



EDIT: I bought a new motherboard and it solved the issues! So it seems pretty clear that it was a corrupted motherboard at fault.

 

[Twistfaria]

May be a dumb question but have you tried older drivers? Rolling back to a older version, perhaps whatever version was working for you before this started. You might also try looking in event viewer to see if anything is scheduled to occur after 30 minutes.

 

[Rogsterius]

Well, I deleted the driver before and that didn't have any effect, so I assume an older driver wouldn't make a difference. Anyway, I wanted to try your suggestion despite this. However, when I deleted the driver this time (the GPU is still not connected) and the PC rebooted to complete the uninstallation, it refused to reboot. Now, both the VGA and Boot drive leds shines red. It won't start, I have tried forcing my way through to bios (like I did before) with no success.

I have checked the event viewer continously every time I get the PC to start and it always says that windows shut off unexpectedly, suggesting hardware issues. Only at 2 instances have AMD driver programs been the stated cause for the crash, out of ~ a hundred.

 

[Twistfaria]

Crap, I didn't mean event viewer I meant Task Scheduler!! In case you don't know Task Scheduler has information about all the programs that self schedule things when they are installed. For example if you have some Google apps like google earth then there will be a "task" that says something to the effect of "at 10:00AM everyday run googleupdate.exe & repeat every hour for the duration of one day". Which means that every single hour Google Update gets run in the background!! So many programs and bloat ware set up tasks that you have no idea about because they run in the background. I thought maybe that there was something that had set up a "30 minutes after startup" trigger that was causing this issue.

I'm going to start throwing out suggestions and questions just to try and cover all the troubleshooting ideas I can think of.

Was this system stable before this issue started?

Did ANY hardware change in the months leading up to this issue?

Did you "delete" the driver or uninstall it? Sometimes parts of GPU drivers stick around even after uninstall. I would suggest using AMDs clean uninstall tool found HERE.

Have you cleaned out your system with compressed air, making sure that there is no dust? If you have filters on your case have you cleaned them?

Have you tried unplugging all excess peripherals from your system such as speakers, printer, usbs.....and then reattempting to boot?

What version of Windows do you have? Is it a licensed version?

Did you disconnect the pc from power and wear an anti-static bracelet when you were working in your case?

Do you have access to another system (a friend's or family member's) to test your GPU in?

You say temps seemed ok but what are the temps of the GPU, CPU and MOBO when this happens?

Have you run anti-virus/anti-malware scans?

Does your motherboard beep when you try and restart and if so what do the beeps sound like?

Might sound dumb but have you tried another wall socket to plug into? Perhaps even one in a different room?

Is the power cord plugged into the wall or into a power strip or surge protector?

If used what brand of surge protector and how often do you replace it?

That's all I can think to ask at the moment but I'll keep thinking.

 

[Rogsterius]

Hey, I bought a new motherboard and it solved the issues. So it seems pretty clear that it was a corrupted motherboard at fault. Anyways, thanks for your support