Intermittent boot error

[dave1510]

Hi,
I'm new to this forum, and would appreciate a bit of advice on a long running issue.

My System is home built (desktop) and is approximately 4 to 6 years old. There have been updates to components but the board, processor and RAM are the original.
Case Micro ATX slim
Board Asus M5A78L-M/USB3
Processor = AMD Phenom II X6 1050T
RAM = 8.00GB Dual-Channel DDR3 @ 669MHz (9-9-9-24) (in slots 1 & 3)
HDDs = 1 x Corsair SSD (120Gb) Windows 10 64 bit (ex W7) (1st boot) Max 2 years old
1 x Corsair SSD (256Gb) Windows 10 64 bit (ex W8) Max 2 years old
1 x Sata Hdd (Samsung Spinpoint 1Tb) Data storage
1 x Sata HDD (Maxtor 750Gb) Backups
Graphics card = 1024MB ATI Radeon HD 5400 Series (Sapphire/PCPartner)
PSU* = CiT 300W sfx type.

The issue:
A few months ago, I was having issues with my PC shutting down suddenly for no reason.
It seemed to point to the PSU being overloaded. (I had a few more drives attached then)
I bought a 500W CiT PSU and fitted this.
The problem went away (briefly) and then I started having issues where the PC would lock up showing a screen, but nothing short of a power down (long button press) would fix it.
Maybe this would need 2 or 3 goes to get the system running, and it would run for hours maybe, or maybe lock after a few hours.
I changed the GFX card - no difference
I removed 1 or 2 Ram modules (This did help initially)
I removed all Hard drives except 1 x ssd (120Gb) still had error
! swapped to the 256Gb SSD (Still got errors)
I even had the PC lock up in the BIOS !!!
I tried MEM test on the 1 x 4Gb Ram module in all 4 RAM slots. They all passed with 4 passes.
I reloaded Windows on the 120Gb SSD (still had errors)

In the end, I swapped back to the 300W CiT PSU, and all the issues vanished.
I replaced the second RAM module - still OK
Ran Memtest on both modules for 4 runs - no issues on either module.

I recently purchased a 450w PSU (Silverstone) and fitted this.

I started having problems with booting up.
First I got a blue screen telling me my PC had failed to start, with an option to run a Start up repair.
I allowed this, and the system booted up OK.
I had various intermittent problems along the same lines. The PC will boot to the POST screen, and then sometimes it will give me the Logo and rotating dots followed by the lock screen, or maybe the screen will go blank, and then I'll get the POST screen again.
2nd go may get the Lock screen or maybe message telling me to do Start up repair.
(I know Windows gives this after 2 failed boots)

My immediate response after 2 days of this was to swap back the PSU (from 450w to 300W) which I did, and INITIALLY I had no issues.

However - now the PC is playing up the same as above with the 300W PSU.

I get messages after 2 failed boots regarding "Checking Disk for errors" & "Attempting repairs"

I have now removed the RAM module which was suspect before, and I am getting in mostly with sometimes a second POST screen.

Yesterday I started the PC 3 times
1. Booted OK
2 2 x post screens
3 1 x post screen, but slow to get to lock screen, with a blank screen lasting >15 seconds in the middle.
This morning - Normal boot (no blank screen >5 secs)

I apologise about the long post, but feel it's important to give the full history.

I have thought about the board, and even ordered a new one (but after changing the PSU cured things - I cancelled the order).

I am thinking SSD, but why will I get the same issue with the 256 ssd running the same OS?

Any ideas gratefully received.

 

[Lutfij]

In all the info you've posted, I'm assuming you upgraded from both of your previous OSes to Windows 10, correct? If so you should know that even a simple matter as changing a PSU or a HDD can cause it to show issues like you've seen above. Unfortunately it's not advised to add more hardware to a system running on Windows 10 that was pgraded from an older version.

If you had a licence key however, you wouldn't be seeing this many issues.

Regardless, try and perform a repair install and see if any changes take place. i wouldn't be surprised if your OS and the data on it were corrupted by the frequent BSOD's and reboots.

Might I ask why you have two SSD's with Windows 10 onboard? You should not stick with dual booting unless you've elaborately worked through both SSD's installations.

If you want to rule out your memory, always run memtest86 for at least 10 passes. That being said, have you made sure your motherboard BIOS is up to date?

 

[dave1510]

In all the info you've posted, I'm assuming you upgraded from both of your previous OSes to Windows 10, correct? Yes, that's correct
If so you should know that even a simple matter as changing a PSU or a HDD can cause it to show issues like you've seen above.
I wasn't aware of this
Unfortunately it's not advised to add more hardware to a system running on Windows 10 that was pgraded from an older version.

If you had a licence key however, you wouldn't be seeing this many issues.

Regardless, try and perform a repair install and see if any changes take place. i wouldn't be surprised if your OS and the data on it were corrupted by the frequent BSOD's and reboots.

Might I ask why you have two SSD's with Windows 10 onboard? You should not stick with dual booting unless you've elaborately worked through both SSD's installations.
Dual Boot as I have it set, has never caused me issues for 12 months

If you want to rule out your memory, always run memtest86 for at least 10 passes.
I have initially seen 5, then 7, and now 10 !
That being said, have you made sure your motherboard BIOS is up to date?
No - it is not up to date, but I have been advised this would not cause the issues I have been having

OK - Thanks you for that valuable information.
Since posting originally, I have done a bit more diagnostics on the PC:
I ran HD Sentinal on both SSD drives, and the smaller SSD (Corsair LS) was exhibiting some faults - This drive has now been wiped, and sent back to Corsair on their advice.
Since this, I have sent the PSU back, and have only one ssd drive attached to the PC whilst the other is away.

The PC is stable, but I will be doing more work after the holiday period as to whether I can fit a larger capacity psu.

I will also investigate the Bios updates. There are 11 since the one currently running, and Asus have told me that the last one will superceed all 10 previous. (It was them that said it wasn't really necessary) However, I was thinking I should update the Bios anyway..

Again Thanks for your reply

Questions:
Are you saying that if I fit new hardware (such as a larger capacity psu) I would need to reinstall Windows 10?
I

 

[Lutfij]

Go in gradual manner with your BIOS updates, don't jump to the latest and call it a day. A bricked board is close to impossible to revive and your downtime will cost a lot of resources(and brain cells).

Answer:
That is what has been shown with all those who have upgraded from an older version of Windows. Those with a license key haven't seen this issue to begin with. It's even been seen that someone trying to manage his cables by unplugging his PSU caused the system to become unresponsive(black screen) until a reinstallation of OS.

With the way the assigned upgrade key provided by Microsoft works, the specs of your system are compiled and stored on Microsoft's server's. Any change in hardware that does not correspond with their archived information tends to result in a lock out or worse a seemingly dead PC. the key to your OS is also stored in your motherboard BIOS so if you were to swap out the board for any reason, will be treated as a new system essentially.

I'm not employing scare tactics, just informing you of any hurdles you may need to face to block out time.

Let me get this straight, you two SSD's with both having Windows 10 on them?

I've grown up with the knowledge of having memtest run overnight=10 passes.