Question PC Monitor Will Turn Off Once Windows Starts Downloading Updates On Fresh Build

May 30, 2023
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I got a strange issue that I've been trying to troubleshoot for a couple days now

The issue is the PC will automatically turn off the display (monitor will go yellow like into standby mode) if I leave the PC connected to the Internet it starts auto-downloading updates on Windows 10 Pro after a fresh install (got files from Microsoft site)

If I try to re-boot afterwards, the PC will display the BIOS & stuff but when it goes into loading windows the monitor just like turns off

All cables have been verified & 3 different graphic cards have been used to test this

Specs are below:

IMG-2457.jpg


ASUS AM3+ M5A97 LE R 2.0
AMD 8320
900W PSU
3 different GPU's used for testing: 270X, 7850, 6450

Now the build is currently on and functioning properly since I installed Windows with out the Ethernet cable plugged in (so windows can't auto-update since it doesn't have a connection)

Also the build works properly when I run live operating system's like Parted Magic/Kali Linux so I know the hardware is good even though it's older hardware.

I think I am running into some weird issue where when Windows 10 goes to update it downloads some ATI display drivers that are not good for the system & then from there I'm just unable to boot back into Windows unless I wipe the drive in Linux then do a fresh reinstall

What options do I have? Should I just disable windows updates? should I try Windows 8.1 (if it's still secure?)
 
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You should try downloading all drivers and installing them before adding it to the network. You can also try to make an installation device with the most up to date version of windows and install it so it does not have to update in the first place.
 
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May 30, 2023
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You should try downloading all drivers and installing them before adding it to the network. You can also try to make an installation device with the most up to date version of windows and install it so it does not have to update in the first place.
Good idea, Will try that right away
 
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The issue is the PC will automatically turn off the display (monitor will go yellow like into standby mode) if I leave the PC connected to the Internet it starts auto-downloading updates on Windows 10 Pro after a fresh install (got files from Microsoft site)
Probably VRMs overheating.
Does your board have heatsinks on VRMs?
What is model name of this PSU? Can you show info label printed on PSU?
What options do I have? Should I just disable windows updates? should I try Windows 8.1 (if it's still secure?)
You can disable driver updates.
No need to turn off windows updates.
 
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You should try downloading all drivers and installing them before adding it to the network. You can also try to make an installation device with the most up to date version of windows and install it so it does not have to update in the first place.
Alright I did exactly what you mentioned

I downloaded the ATI display drivers

I put them on a USB

Here it is installing

IMG-2464.jpg


The screen flickers a bit, but it does not ever come back

IMG-2466.jpg



Also the windows is being installed from a USB which was downloaded just 2 days from https://www.microsoft.com/en-ca/software-download/windows10 so it has to be the freshest most up to date windows they are putting out there
 
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Probably VRMs overheating.
Does your board have heatsinks on VRMs?

What is model name of this PSU? Can you show info label printed on PSU?

You can disable driver updates.
No need to turn off windows updates.
For there to be overheating there has to be some sort of load on the system usually and yes it does have heatsinks on VRMs

I have run CPU - Z on the PC to stress test the CPU - there's no overheating issue (I can even overclock the 8320 to 8350 speeds and have it sit for 1 hour on a stress test it won't turn off or anything)

The PSU is an older 900W Apevia so it's normal to say it could be a PSU issue but previously the system had a much more powerful card in there, it had a 1080ti (that has now been swapped to another build)

IMG-2467.jpg


I would stress test it using multiple benchmarking software and it would consistently pull 300W outta that GPU so the PSU has to be decent to run that stronger card ( now we're working with much weaker cards)

The screen would never turn off or flicker with that Nvidia card. I could do multiple fresh Windows 10 installs, Windows would download all the drivers & it was super smooth.

Since switching from that Nvidia 1080ti to ATI cards - I have done multiple fresh wipes in Linux to wipe the hard drive to all 0's & then I did a fresh Windows 10 Pro install (using the ISO from their site to ensure I'm getting the best most legit ISO)

But every time when I go to install these ATI display drivers the monitor just turns off lol

This even happened just now when I manually installed the ATI drivers (downloaded from ATI's site)

How do I manually disable just the driver updates in Windows 10? I think that might solve the problem entirely.

I guess the system will have to live without display drivers or it'll have to go back to an Nvidia card
 
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DaleH

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Mar 24, 2023
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For there to be overheating there has to be some sort of load on the system usually and yes it does have heatsinks on VRMs

I have run CPU - Z on the PC to stress test the CPU - there's no overheating issue (I can even overclock the 8320 to 8350 speeds and have it sit for 1 hour on a stress test it won't turn off or anything)

The PSU is an older 900W Apevia so it's normal to say it could be a PSU issue but previously the system had a much more powerful card in there, it had a 1080ti (that has now been swapped to another build)

IMG-2467.jpg


I would stress test it using multiple benchmarking software and it would consistently pull 300W outta that GPU so the PSU has to be decent to run that stronger card ( now we're working with much weaker cards)

The screen would never turn off or flicker with that Nvidia card. I could do multiple fresh Windows 10 installs, Windows would download all the drivers & it was super smooth.

Since switching from that Nvidia 1080ti to ATI cards - I have done multiple fresh wipes in Linux to wipe the hard drive to all 0's & then I did a fresh Windows 10 Pro install (using the ISO from their site to ensure I'm getting the best most legit ISO)

But every time when I go to install these ATI display drivers the monitor just turns off lol

This even happened just now when I manually installed the ATI drivers (downloaded from ATI's site)

How do I manually disable just the driver updates in Windows 10? I think that might solve the problem entirely.

I guess the system will have to live without display drivers or it'll have to go back to an Nvidia card
"One of the most obvious signs of VRM failure or degradation is when your PC shuts down unexpectedly, especially under heavy load or overclocking. This could indicate that your VRM is overheating, unable to deliver enough power, or malfunctioning."
 
May 30, 2023
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"One of the most obvious signs of VRM failure or degradation is when your PC shuts down unexpectedly, especially under heavy load or overclocking. This could indicate that your VRM is overheating, unable to deliver enough power, or malfunctioning."
The thing is, it doesn't shut down under heavy load or overclocking.

It stays up for hours during a stress test.

I've put a heavy load on this system in the past when it had a 1080ti in there

It wouldn't ever give me any issue's

The issue started happening when I switched from a Nvidia 1080ti card to ATI cards. And we're not talking about more powerful cards either.

The most powerful ATI card I now have has a TDP of like 180 W (https://www.techpowerup.com/gpu-specs/radeon-r9-270x.c2466) Considerably less than a 1080ti at full load which can draw 300W.

TLDR: Switched from a1080ti to less powerful ATI cards. System working great with Nvidia build. Upon switching, the drive was wiped fresh & I did fresh Windows installs. Windows would work well if Ethernet was unplugged. If Ethernet was plugged in, Windows would update. Continually having yellow monitor shutdown when ATI downloads drivers. Otherwise working properly if we avoid the ATI driver installation.

Longer version: It only shuts down the display "when installing ATI drivers" That's like a 0 - 2% load lol so please let's stop with "bro your VRMS temps" it'll cause instability lol

We can put a full load on the system using a 1080TI card that draws over 300W while stress testing in Furmark - no issue's.

The only issue's are with the ATI cards.

Now we could blame 1 single card and say the card is bad, but 3 separate ATI cards? A 270X, 7850 & a 6450 have all been used.

So I doubt all 3 of my ATI cards are bad. It would just be very unlikely.

They all work fine, up until to the point where ATI drivers are installed.

Then boom - no signal on the monitor

I started thinking of weird software issue's & bugs right.

For troubleshooting purposes I said let's put another operating system on the PC.

I can put any linux operating system on the PC, run benchmarking software for hours & it's stable. It'll never ever turn off or give me any sort of issue.

I'm uploading 2 short YouTube videos now so everyone has a better idea

Here in this first video you see we turn on the PC, you can see the BIOS posting the ASUS logo quickly

View: https://youtu.be/dM7UAVzqqTI


Then it starts to load windows... & it just turns the display off ( but the actual PC is still on, fans spinning everywhere)


Now in this 2nd video,
I turn the PC on, load up the BIOS & load a Live Linux operating system for troubleshooting purposes

If the graphics card was bad 1) we wouldn't be in the BIOS (just nothing at all would display)

2) lets say we got lucky and we got a graphics card that is bad but still lets you into bios ( rare ) we wouldn't make it into the Live Linux operating system with a bad card

View: https://youtu.be/m8rzOlOziMk


I have graphics cards that are completely dead & they don't post BIOS at all.. You turn the PC on and see nothing on the screen. It won't even say " no signal detected "

So we know these 3 ATI card's work properly until they get those ATI driver updates

As of now, if I want the PC to work properly, I gotta install Windows without the Ethernet cable plugged in

Once that Ethernet cable gets plugged in, automatic updates begins and the ATI driver messes with the system some how

I guess a good workaround is disabling that ATI driver in Windows update but I haven't yet managed to figure out how to do that, does anyone here know how?

In Windows 10 I can either let updates on or turn them off but I can't figure out how to selectively disable just 1 update

I've been stressing the system in Linux right now and it's been up for nearly a half hour, passing all tests with incredible temps ( see screenshot below)

IMG-2477.jpg


Max temp was like 36C there - and the system is kept in a very cold room. (below 70F)

It's not going to overheat with brand new thermal paste & a Noctua Fan on that CPU cooler with like 4 - 5 heatpipe's. These older AMD chips just don't draw that much power at all to cause motherboard VRM issue's (especially in my setting I got the PC in an open case in a room that's below 70F)

Overheating stuff, PSU issue's, we should rule those out.. Because if that was happening, it would also happen on Linux when I put a heavy load on the system for a considerable amount of time.

If we can stress the system for hours & it doesn't turn off with the Nvidia card then we know the PSU is good. that Nvidia card takes up 300W during full load. These ATI cards are not even seeing 50W during a driver installation.

System also works properly in Linux with the ATI cards, so I think it's safe to say we've narrowed it down to Some weird ATI display driver issue on Windows 10 Pro

Now my options are living without the driver or disabling that update somehow in Windows 10. Or switching back to an Nvidia card. Those happened to work well lol

I'm leaving the system on in Linux & it's running a stress test that should last 5 - 6 hours.

Currently in progress (system has been up nearly an hour)

IMG-2480.jpg

Hitting 45C now on the CPU

Will post another screenshot once that's done to show the system being on for 5 - 6 hours straight.

This should really encourage people to refrain from saying the PSU or some other thing is overheating/causing instability / etc etc - temps are going up and the system is still on.

I know it has to do with the ATI drivers in Windows. I can literally watch Windows do the update and as soon as it does the ATI driver update the monitor just turns yellow. And I can replicate this 10 out of 10 times. So it's not a coincidence.

If Windows has Ethernet --> it downloads updates --> boom screens goes off as soon as it's doing the ATI display updates.

I wish I had a spare Nvidia card to install but it went to another build.
 
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But every time when I go to install these ATI display drivers the monitor just turns off lol
This even happened just now when I manually installed the ATI drivers (downloaded from ATI's site)
Install older AMD driver version.
The one, you're installing, has broken compatibility with those old AMD cards.
How do I manually disable just the driver updates in Windows 10? I think that might solve the problem entirely.
Link in post #4.
 
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Install older AMD driver version.
The one, you're installing, has broken compatibility with those old AMD cards.

Link in post #4.
You're 100% right, other's said the same thing below on reddit


Also here --> https://community.amd.com/t5/drivers-software/black-screen-with-r9-270x/td-p/280600

I am trying to find older drivers now

Thanks for that link too

Will update everyone later if I am able to find drivers that work successfully.

Edit: I am trying several older drivers and those are still not working

If anyone has successfully resolved this issue with an older driver please let me know which version & if you got the link please that would be amazing
 
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