[SOLVED] Issues with new Ryzen 3600, stuck in a boot loop?

[W1nt3r]

Hi team,

I recently (Wednesday just gone) just built a new machine (using some old parts, GPU and Drives) after moving to the US and my old 2500k finally dying, and it's been running fine for 5 days.

However, today I left it on when I went out as I was downloading some steam files, and when I got back it appeared to stuck in a boot loop. Sometimes, it just black screens and restarts, other times it throws a BSOD with various errors (IRQL not less or equal, and PAGE FAULT IN NONPAGED AREA being the ones I can remember).

Specs

Ryzen 5 3600
MSI X570 Gaming plus
16 GB G-Skill Ripjaws V Series DDR4
MSI RX480 (old part)
Corsair Rm550x
Samsung 850 Pro 256GB SSD (Boot drive; old part)
Some random HDDs for storage

Troubleshooting so far

1. Windows Auto-repair (as during the week a number of updates were installed)
   1. Fails to complete with the machine often restarting
2. Flashed the newest BIOS to the motherboard.
   1. Flashed successfully with no changes, still looping
3. Barebones boot with CPU, 1 RAM stick (tried both independently), SSD, and GPU.
   1. No changes, still looping
4. Barebones boot with CPU, 1 Ram stick, HHD (without a windows install, for a new install), and GPU.
   1. No changes, still looping
5. Barebones boot with CPU, 1 RAM stick, bootable USB, and GPU.
   1. No changes, still looping
6. Reinstall of Windows onto the SSD via a bootable USB.
   1. Fails, can't make it into the USB

The motherboard debug LED on the motherboard seems to indicate a CPU error. But what's weird to me is that the machine can happily sit in the BIOS menu with no problems whatsoever, and I would have thought if the CPU was the fault this wouldn't happen.

My only thought is that I don't have the additional 4-pin CPU connector plugged into the board, and that is causing issues? I have a Molex to 4 pin convertor on the way, but any thoughts/suggestions would be most welcome.

Thanks kindly.

 

[kerberos_20]

try to reset CMOS settings, then dont change anything in bios, see how it will run with default bios settings

 

[Does it work]

Sounds like instability, its crashing when it tries to run a background process, try reset the cmos like kerberos said

 

[SlugBugBuddy]

as long as you have the 2x4 (8-Pin) EPS Connected to the motherboard, That shouldn't be an issue. that extra 4 pin is only for extra stability if you plan to do extreme overclocking

When attempting to boot with only 1 stick of RAM, which slot did you use?

When was the last time you updated your Motherboard's chipset drivers?
(NOT the one that came on the Disc in the motherboard box, as it is often very outdated)
Obviously it's too late to update the drivers from MSI.com now, but should you ever get to Win10, that should be your first step V V V
https://us.msi.com/Motherboard/support/MPG-X570-GAMING-PLUS

As far as PCpartspicker. com says, a 550W PSU should also be plenty to run your build, so I doubt its a power issue

When resetting CMOS, Try at least 2 of the 3 methods:

1. Power off your PC, switch off the PSU and unplug it, then hold down the CLR CMOS Button for 5-10 seconds
2. Power off your PC, switch off the PSU and unplug it, then remove the CMOS Battery for 30 Minutes
3. Refer to the motherboard's manual to find JBAT1 and short the 2 pins using either a jumper cap, or with a paper clip for 5-10 seconds (Obviously with the PSU unplugged)

Please be sure to statically discharge yourself before handling unpowered PC components by touching a Sink faucet or House Outlet screw

 

[InvalidError]

If you are getting BSODs regardless of which single DIMM you install in either channel, then I'd lean towards either a CPU or motherboard problem. Power-related issues usually cause the system to reset (gets listed as an unexpected shutdown event in Windows' event log) instead of having random error codes.

Random crashes can be caused by bad RAM, though it is extremely unlikely that both of your DIMMs are bad. Still wouldn't hurt to run memtest86 for a a few hours to see if memory might be related to your crashes.

 

[W1nt3r]

So I reset the CMOS by both leaving the battery out overnight, and bridging the JBAT1 pins, and then rebooted the machine with default settings and it's still just black screen resetting.

When attempting to boot with only 1 stick of RAM, which slot did you use?
When was the last time you updated your Motherboard's chipset drivers?

When testing the ram, I tried both sticks independently in both slots A2 and A1; and the machine had been operational for 4/5 days, I hadn't updated the chipset drivers, it was whatever was found default (I'll keep it in mind if I get it running).

If you are getting BSODs regardless of which single DIMM you install in either channel, then I'd lean towards either a CPU or motherboard problem. Power-related issues usually cause the system to reset (gets listed as an unexpected shutdown event in Windows' event log) instead of having random error codes.

Random crashes can be caused by bad RAM, though it is extremely unlikely that both of your DIMMs are bad. Still wouldn't hurt to run memtest86 for a a few hours to see if memory might be related to your crashes.

For the most part it appears to be giving me just black screen restarts with the occasional BSOD occurring yesterday (but they seem to have disappeared today).

I'm going to run memtest now and see what happens.

Edit ~ Memtest ran and completed all 4 passes with no errors

 

[W1nt3r]

Another update:
Seeing as the memory passed, I down-clocked the CPU to 3.0GHz and on restart it seemed to lock up on a blank black screen. But after a CMOS reset, and a second attempt where I also manually adjusted the core voltage to 1.3V and it's made it to Windows and booted. So I'm not sure exactly what's going on.

Maybe it's hitting a thermal issue? But the temperatures reported by the BIOS as like mid 30's, and even during Memtest topped at I think 57.

I'm currently updating the Chipset drivers (as previously suggested), and hoping that makes a difference, but we will see I guess.

 

[InvalidError]

Maybe it's hitting a thermal issue?

Unless you have a flaky motherboard or CPU, the CPU should be fine all the way into the 90Cs and instead of a crash, you would be seeing a massive performance degradation from thermal throttling as the CPU tries to rein its temperature in to avoid #thermtrip (emergency power-down to hopefully prevent damage) first. VRM overheating behaves much the same on decent boards too, shouldn't be causing crashes, only throttling and power-off.

Seems like AMD and its board partners are not quite done sorting out 3rd-gen CPU and chipset quirks.

 

[SlugBugBuddy]

Another update:
Seeing as the memory passed, I down-clocked the CPU to 3.0GHz and on restart it seemed to lock up on a blank black screen. But after a CMOS reset, and a second attempt where I also manually adjusted the core voltage to 1.3V and it's made it to Windows and booted. So I'm not sure exactly what's going on.

Maybe it's hitting a thermal issue? But the temperatures reported by the BIOS as like mid 30's, and even during Memtest topped at I think 57.

I'm currently updating the Chipset drivers (as previously suggested), and hoping that makes a difference, but we will see I guess.

When you adjusted the Voltage, what was it on previously? if set to Auto, did you happen to know what it was pulling previously via any hardware monitoring software such as HWMon/Info or CPU-Z?

either way, 1.3V is probably and increase fromn what it was before, meaning you're getting somewhere in terms of finding the issue. my guess is that with the lack of Chipset drivers, the board couldn't do a very good job of regulating voltages and currents through the VRMs on "Auto" setting. explains why it worked for some days, but when put under a mediocre load for an extended period of time, the CPU got a zap or two in the wrong place at the wrong time or something

I would install CPUID's HWMonitor and make sure nothing is going haywire, either idle, or on a small load (Downloading chipset drivers would be the perfect test load)
https://www.cpuid.com/downloads/hwmonitor/hwmonitor_1.41.exe

 

[W1nt3r]

When you adjusted the Voltage, what was it on previously? if set to Auto, did you happen to know what it was pulling previously via any hardware monitoring software such as HWMon/Info or CPU-Z?

It was set to Auto. The BIOS was reporting around 1.4 - 1.45V, and although I did run some monitoring software after building it, it was just to check temps. I didn't pay attention to voltages.

I'm currently at 3.2 GHz with 1.3V and stable; I'm slowly incrementing things to see where it falls apart.

would install CPUID's HWMonitor and make sure nothing is going haywire, either idle, or on a small load (Downloading chipset drivers would be the perfect test load)

This was one of the first things that I did after getting the machine into windows. Unfortunately, it was after updating the chipset drivers. I'm going to run OCCT and see if it and HWMonitor notes anything.

EDIT ~ Currently stable back at 3.6GHz running at a max VCORE of 1.35V. Down-clocking and undervolting to download chipset & radeon updates, and manually defining the VCORE seem to have fixed everything (fingers crossed).

 

[SlugBugBuddy]

It was set to Auto. The BIOS was reporting around 1.4 - 1.45V, and although I did run some monitoring software after building it, it was just to check temps. I didn't pay attention to voltages.

I'm currently at 3.2 GHz with 1.3V and stable; I'm slowly incrementing things to see where it falls apart.


This was one of the first things that I did after getting the machine into windows. Unfortunately, it was after updating the chipset drivers. I'm going to run OCCT and see if it and HWMonitor notes anything.

EDIT ~ Currently stable back at 3.6GHz running at a max VCORE of 1.35V. Down-clocking and undervolting to download chipset & radeon updates, and manually defining the VCORE seem to have fixed everything (fingers crossed).

No big deal about the timing of HWMonitor, it would have just been nice to kill 2 birds with 1 stone.

1.45V is ALOT of power to be running through your CPU, especially because AMDs 3rd gen CPUs utilize TSMCs 7nm finFET architecture, which is the most efficient available in the consumer market (so far....)
I've been getting an all core 4.2ghz on my Ryzen 7 3800X with HWmonitor showing a max of 1.1V (After using ASUS Auto Overclock with AIO Cooler setting), granted it's an entirely different CPU and probably isn't comparable

If you want to test out Voltages and Frequencies to find the right combo, I would get Ryzen Master, which allows you to temporarily apply and test clock settings and even put them under a stress test to see if they're stable.
if your test comes out unstable and your PC shuts off, RM automatically resets the settings to it's previously safe Default and there's no harm done. this way you avoid rebooting your PC several times just to get to BIOS, make changes, boot, restart, change BIOS, boot, restart, ETC...
just find a freq and voltage that works under a 30 second stress on Ryzen master, then use BIOS to implement it for regular use

https://www.amd.com/en/technologies/ryzen-master

 

[norcalsc]

try a clean windows install, repair won't always cut it you said you used drives from old build right? I skimmed over thread so maybe I missed it if you did.

 

[Aldo Ramdani]

Most likely Thermal Throttling issues with your CPU

 

[W1nt3r]

try a clean windows install, repair won't always cut it you said you used drives from old build right? I skimmed over thread so maybe I missed it if you did.

I did use old drives, and tried to do this using a spare drive I had. Unfortunately, the machine couldn't even make it into the bootable USB to do the install.

Most likely Thermal Throttling issues with your CPU

Possibly, but looking at what has solved it I actually think it was voltage/power to the CPU/motherboard issue that was causing the instability.

EDIT ~ For posterity's sake, here is how I fixed it.

1. Down-clocked the CPU (via setting the ratio to 30) to run at 3.0GHz, and defined the VCORE max to 1.3V rather than an AUTO setting.
   1. This allowed the machine to be stable enough to make it into Windows.
2. After logging into Windows, I downloaded and installed the newest Chipset drivers from AMD, and updated all other Radeon software.
   1. I also made sure to be running on the AMD balanced power plan option.
3. Incrementally adjusted the CPU ratio (32, then 34, and finally 36) and the VCORE max (1.3V, 1.325V, 1.35V) until the processor was back to stock speeds.

The machine has been happily running for 10 + hours now, and passed some CPU stress tests from OCCT. So I'm fairly confident that everything is back to normal.