Question Issues after upgrading GPU and BIOS update

[phem]

Hey everyone. I built my computer about 7 years ago. A few months ago I decided to upgrade my GPU from a GTX 580 to a GTX 970.

Initially my computer did not even register the new 970 card. After some problem solving I tried updating my BIOS. That did work and the card was recognised but since then I have had the following issues.

1. sudden, instant power loss. (I can see that my GPU has power as evidence by the power light remaining on but otherwise my computer will not respond or power up for around 10-15 min)

2. blue screen crash

3. persistent “cpu fan error” whenever I try to start up that prompts me to go into bios at startup.

Issues 1 and 2 only seem to happen when I try to do something graphically intense like play a modern game or watch multiple videos simultaneously. During general use like web browsing/watching videos the comp runs fine.

I’m assuming that my PSU is the culprit. The sudden power loss and unresponsiveness of my computer for 10-15 min seems to suggest overheating. I’ve watched my CPU temp and fan function while I run a game and they both seem ok. What’s throwing me though is that all these problems only started immediately after the new card instillation and bios update. The whole “cpu fan error” is confusing also.

Any ideas? My PSU is the obvious reason but is there something a more experienced eye can see that might be the issue?

Thanks in advance for any help.

OS: Windows 7 home premium 64bit
Motherboard: Asus P9X79
CPU: i7-3820
PSU: CoolerMaster Silent Pro 1000w
GPU: Asus GTX 970 Strix
RAM: ?? Not entirely sure. I know I have 4x 8GB sticks installed.

 

[Lutfij]

You might want to check and see if all the sticks on your ram loadout are the same. Then ofc check and see which version of BIOS you're currently on. Given how you're yet on Windows 7, are you on the latest SP1 w/ updates for the OS?

Ideally you should uninstall your former and current drivers using DDU and reinstall the drivers for your 970 using the latest found off of Nvidia's support site. Speaking of 970, how did you come across the card? Was it purchased second hand? Can you tell if the card was used for mining?

You can rule out the PSU being the culprit only after you're sourced a donor PSU to power the entire system.

 

[phem]

Thanks for the reply @Lutfij.

So I took your advice and updated my windows last night just to make sure I had the most recent updates. Everything went fine, there were a few updates to make. This morning when I turned on my comp again though I have a new problem.

Immediately on start up I got this message:

“The system found unauthorised changes on the firmware, operating system or UEFI drivers...”

I followed some advice I found online where I disabled Secure Boot. Initially this seemed to work fine but now I get a consistent blue screen crash every time windows tries to load...

This is so frustrating.

 

[phem]

Ok so after updating my windows I was getting constant blue screen crashes. I changed the Secure Boot setting in Bios to Other OS. Now my computer will not even start. Initally I was able to get into safe mode and I tried to do a system restore. It failed and now windows will not load. Please help!!

Addition: one odd thing I just noticed is that when I try to start up now windows will take me to System recovery options. It shows “Operating system: Windows 7 on E: local disk.

That isn’t right. My OS was installed on SSD in C: drive... is this the problem? If so how on earth do I change this?