[SOLVED] Recently upgraded system restarts randomly and can’t find system drive ?

[tonymac1]

Hi I recently upgraded my cpu, cooler and fans, and has been running into random restart issues. Sometimes the computer starts fine but when I open up the browser and do some simple tasks, the computer goes to a blue error screen and restarts. Upon restart, sometimes it’ll ask me to reboot and select proper boot device. Resetting the bios would work again.

I wonder if this is due to underpowered psu? Since I upgraded cpu and added a m.2, as well as a liquid cooler, the estimated total consumption is about 770w I think with all the rgb fans. The psu is 4+ years old.

my current build:
asus strix z790 wifi E mothserboarf
Trident Z 16x 2 ddr5 memory
I7 13700k
Gtx 1080ti
Corsair h850i psu
Corsair h150i elite liquid cooler
3x Samsung m.2 drives and 1 ssd

thanks

 

[Darkbreeze]

Motherboard model?

Memory kit model? Please list multiple kits if more than one kit or sticks that did not come specifically together in one kit, are in use.

What header is the SATA SSD connected to?

When was the last time a clean install of Windows was done? Did any of the other attached drives EVER have Windows installed on them, aside from the drive that is currently running Windows?

What is your currently installed motherboard BIOS version?

 

[tonymac1]

Motherboard model?

Memory kit model? Please list multiple kits if more than one kit or sticks that did not come specifically together in one kit, are in use.

What header is the SATA SSD connected to?

When was the last time a clean install of Windows was done? Did any of the other attached drives EVER have Windows installed on them, aside from the drive that is currently running Windows?

What is your currently installed motherboard BIOS version?

Hi the motherboard is asus 790 strix WiFi E.
memory kit is trident z 16gb x 2 ddr 5
The ssd is connected to one of the sata connectors on the motherboard
The main system drive had my original OS, which was installed about 4 years ago. I kept my existing drives for this upgrade

I’d need to check the bios version.

 

[Darkbreeze]

You mean ASUS Strix Z790-E WiFi, right?

That is not the model of the memory kit. That is just a description of the memory kit. We need the EXACT model.

You can download CPU-Z, install it, run it, click on the SPD tab and take a screenshot. Then, click on the Memory tab, then select one of the DIMM slots from the drop down menu on the left of the Memory tab which will populate the fields to the right of the menu with the details of the memory that is installed. Take a screenshot of that as well and then do it again for the other memory that is installed in the second slot.

Then post those screenshots here using the method outlined at the following link.

How to PROPERLY post images on the Tom's hardware forum
​

So, check the BIOS version. We need that.

Yes, I KNOW the SATA SSD is connected to one of the SATA connectors on the motherboard. WHICH one is important because some boards have problems when a SATA drive is attached if all three M.2 slots are in use.

Your 1080 ti and 13700k should be fine with that HX850i power supply. It should be PLENTY for the configuration. How OLD is that PSU though?

Are you saying the drive with Windows on it now is the same drive that had Windows on it before? And if so, did you do a CLEAN install, disconnecting ALL secondary drives and deleting all of the existing partitions on the drive you are installing Windows on and then installing to the blank drive, or did you use some other method?

 

[tonymac1]

You mean ASUS Strix Z790-E WiFi, right?

That is not the model of the memory kit. That is just a description of the memory kit. We need the EXACT model.

You can download CPU-Z, install it, run it, click on the SPD tab and take a screenshot. Then, click on the Memory tab, then select one of the DIMM slots from the drop down menu on the left of the Memory tab which will populate the fields to the right of the menu with the details of the memory that is installed. Take a screenshot of that as well and then do it again for the other memory that is installed in the second slot.

Then post those screenshots here using the method outlined at the following link.

How to PROPERLY post images on the Tom's hardware forum
​

So, check the BIOS version. We need that.

Yes, I KNOW the SATA SSD is connected to one of the SATA connectors on the motherboard. WHICH one is important because some boards have problems when a SATA drive is attached if all three M.2 slots are in use.

Your 1080 ti and 13700k should be fine with that HX850i power supply. It should be PLENTY for the configuration. How OLD is that PSU though?

Are you saying the drive with Windows on it now is the same drive that had Windows on it before? And if so, did you do a CLEAN install, disconnecting ALL secondary drives and deleting all of the existing partitions on the drive you are installing Windows on and then installing to the blank drive, or did you use some other method?

Please help, I just noticed the system would shut down and restart let’s say if I open up YouTube and play a video. The memory I use is cl 32-39-39-102 1.40v F5-6400J3239G16GX2-TZ5RK

 

[Bob.B]

Please help, I just noticed the system would shut down and restart let’s say if I open up YouTube and play a video. The memory I use is cl 32-39-39-102 1.40v F5-6400J3239G16GX2-TZ5RK

Run this and post a LINK to the results page that will show the parts in use.

UBM

 

[tonymac1]

Run this and post a LINK to the results page that will show the parts in use.

UBM

I was able to find out it’s a faulty gpu as the computer ran fine with the cpu graphics card , thanks!

 

[Vic 40]

I was able to find out it’s a faulty gpu as the computer ran fine with the cpu graphics card , thanks!

Hope you're right, taking the gpu out of the system also means less load on the psu so might as well be that. Tried or did you power the gpu with two seperate pcie power cables, this might add some stability.

Did you btw do a clean install of gpu drivers, meaning delete latest in use with DDU? Direct download => DDU

Talking about reinstall, did you reinstall windows after the upgrade?

 

[tonymac1]

Hope you're right, taking the gpu out of the system also means less load on the psu so might as well be that. Tried or did you power the gpu with two seperate pcie power cables, this might add some stability.

Did you btw do a clean install of gpu drivers, meaning delete latest in use with DDU? Direct download => DDU

Talking about reinstall, did you reinstall windows after the upgrade?

I think the issue might have been my memory as the new 13700k only supports up to 5600, I got a 6400 speed memory. The blue error came back with the cpu graphics card in use

 

[Vic 40]

I think the issue might have been my memory as the new 13700k only supports up to 5600, I got a 6400 speed memory.

Not going to go into detail, but no, 6400mhz should run fine, you could disable XMP, see if that brings stability. Might be incompatibility issue, but that might be fixed with bios updates.

The blue error came back with the cpu graphics card in use

Did you look at what i talked about above?

 

[tonymac1]

Not going to go into detail, but no, 6400mhz should run fine, you could disable XMP, see if that brings stability. Might be incompatibility issue, but that might be fixed with bios updates.


Did you look at what i talked about above?

I have not reinstalled windows but upgraded to win11 after the upgrade. I’m not able to reinstall graphics drive since the system would randomly restart before I do so. I checked the cpu only support up to 5600mhz but the pc restarts with or without xmp

 

[Vic 40]

You could use DDU when running the system on the integrated gpu. So take the 1080 ti out and run DDU.

 

[Darkbreeze]

No, actually your system supports up to 7800+ memory speeds. It supports only up to 5600mhz by default, which means without enabling D.O.C.P or XMP in the BIOS. You have to enable XMP (Which is why you see "OC" next to those numbers on the motherboard specs, because "technically" enabling XMP/D.O.C.P/A-XMP is "overclocking". ) to run it at the advertised speed and timings. But it is fine to do that. The board supports doing that or else it would not be listed on the specifications by the motherboard manufacturer.

Your problem should have nothing whatsoever to do with the memory whether it's running natively at 5600mhz or running at the XMP configuration of 6400mhz. I assure you, you are not correct about the CPU limiting the memory speed on this platform. It WILL run at 6400mhz, or higher speeds, if the memory is compatible with the specific motherboard model and not all memory kits are, not even if it's the right TYPE of memory. Every memory kit is different and two memory kits with the same identical specs on paper may not both run on a given motherboard. Or they may run, but have problems.

G.Skill shows your kit as 100% compatible with your motherboard model. And I mean, it's been VALIDATED as compatible on it. Shown to run fine on it.

I'd recommend that you pull the CPU and make sure there are no bent pins on the motherboard before doing anything else.

 

[tonymac1]

No, actually your system supports up to 7800+ memory speeds. It supports only up to 5600mhz by default, which means without enabling D.O.C.P or XMP in the BIOS. You have to enable XMP (Which is why you see "OC" next to those numbers on the motherboard specs, because "technically" enabling XMP/D.O.C.P/A-XMP is "overclocking". ) to run it at the advertised speed and timings. But it is fine to do that. The board supports doing that or else it would not be listed on the specifications by the motherboard manufacturer.

Your problem should have nothing whatsoever to do with the memory whether it's running natively at 5600mhz or running at the XMP configuration of 6400mhz. I assure you, you are not correct about the CPU limiting the memory speed on this platform. It WILL run at 6400mhz, or higher speeds, if the memory is compatible with the specific motherboard model and not all memory kits are, not even if it's the right TYPE of memory. Every memory kit is different and two memory kits with the same identical specs on paper may not both run on a given motherboard. Or they may run, but have problems.

G.Skill shows your kit as 100% compatible with your motherboard model. And I mean, it's been VALIDATED as compatible on it. Shown to run fine on it.

I'd recommend that you pull the CPU and make sure there are no bent pins on the motherboard before doing anything else.

I was able to figure out the issue, the motherboard has five m.2 slots and one of them is a pcle 5 slot which directs to cpu. I think I had put the system drive in that slot and resulted the blue screen. Now I moved the system drive to one of the pcle 4 slot which supports sata and goes to the chipset. I’m not longer running into the errors and restarts.

 

[Darkbreeze]

So, you're running SATA M.2 drives? That would definitely have been helpful to know. These days when somebody says M.2 we usually assume NVME PCIe M.2.

 

[tonymac1]

So, you're running SATA M.2 drives? That would definitely have been helpful to know. These days when somebody says M.2 we usually assume NVME PCIe M.2.

yeah my system drive is on a 970 evo m.2 drive, sorry im not familiar with these acronyms but for some reason i was able to get it to work after i switched this 970 evo m.2 drive into a m.2 slot that supports SATA and is connected to the chipset. previously i believe it was in a slot that supports pcle 5.0, and connects to the CPU.

 

[Darkbreeze]

The slot that uses lanes from the CPU is the one that is PREFERRED to be used for the operating system. That part isn't a problem. If that slot doesn't support SATA devices however, or if it shares lanes with any of the SATA headers if both are populated then it might cause a problem.

 

[tonymac1]

The slot that uses lanes from the CPU is the one that is PREFERRED to be used for the operating system. That part isn't a problem. If that slot doesn't support SATA devices however, or if it shares lanes with any of the SATA headers if both are populated then it might cause a problem.

or maybe because that slot shares lanes with one of the SATA headers which i had plugged another sata ssd into? basically i switched positions of the m.2 sata and it solved the issue

 

[Darkbreeze]

Right, but the point is, you likely could simply move the SATA SSD to a different SATA header and be able to still use the preferred M.2_1 slot that's tied to the CPU. But as long as it's working, that's all that really matters I guess. There's probably a bit less latency using the M.2_1 header though since it is directly tied to the CPU and doesn't have to run through the chipset first.

 

[tonymac1]

Right, but the point is, you likely could simply move the SATA SSD to a different SATA header and be able to still use the preferred M.2_1 slot that's tied to the CPU. But as long as it's working, that's all that really matters I guess. There's probably a bit less latency using the M.2_1 header though since it is directly tied to the CPU and doesn't have to run through the chipset first.

So even if the m.2-1 slot says it supports pcle 5 that doesn’t matter I guess? I can still put the 970 evo system drive in there?

 

[Darkbreeze]

According to the manual, ONLY the M.2_5 slot supports SATA M.2 devices. None of the other M.2 slots supports SATA drives so you are right in using that one. The better option though would definitely be to ditch that M.2 SATA drive and get an M.2 NVME PCIe drive. Other than not needing to connect cables to it, there is ZERO benefit from using a SATA M.2 drive over a standard 2.5" SATA drive. They are the same in terms of performance.

However, a 970 EVO is NOT a SATA drive. It is an NVME PCIe drive. There are no SATA 970 EVO drives. So, if that is the drive you are using for the OS then that can't be the reason it wasn't working. All PCIe M.2 NVME drives are backwards and forwards compatible so either 4.0 or 5.0 can be used in either 5.0 or 4.0 slots. In fact, that applies to NVME PCIe 3.0 drives and slots as well. They are all interchangeable.

 

[tonymac1]

According to the manual, ONLY the M.2_5 slot supports SATA M.2 devices. None of the other M.2 slots supports SATA drives so you are right in using that one. The better option though would definitely be to ditch that M.2 SATA drive and get an M.2 NVME PCIe drive. Other than not needing to connect cables to it, there is ZERO benefit from using a SATA M.2 drive over a standard 2.5" SATA drive. They are the same in terms of performance.

However, a 970 EVO is NOT a SATA drive. It is an NVME PCIe drive. There are no SATA 970 EVO drives. So, if that is the drive you are using for the OS then that can't be the reason it wasn't working. All PCIe M.2 NVME drives are backwards and forwards compatible so either 4.0 or 5.0 can be used in either 5.0 or 4.0 slots. In fact, that applies to NVME PCIe 3.0 drives and slots as well. They are all interchangeable.

So initially I had the 970 evo plugged into the m.2_2 slot I belive which goes to the cpu as well. And I think I had a ssd plugged into the ssd-2 slot as well, could this be the reason? Does it mean they can share lanes if plugged into the same slot number?

 

[Darkbreeze]

Yes, both M.2_1 and M.2_2 go through the CPU, but only 1 is PCIe 5.0, which in this case doesn't matter anyhow.

I'm actually not seeing that any of the M.2 slots share lanes with the SATA headers on this particular board like they do on many. I think the overall number of lanes available on Z790 has made sharing any of them no longer a necessity. Even so, M.2_5 is still the only M.2 slot that supports SATA M.2 drives, so if you have a SATA M.2 drive, which the 970 EVO isn't, it would need to be in that slot. The rest of the M.2 slots all support PCIe 3.0, 4.0 drives only except M.2_1 which also supports PCIe 5.0 drives, but ALL of the M.2 slots support PCIe drives at whatever their native speed is so long as it isn't 5.0 speeds. They will still support them, just at the lower spec of 4.0.

So honestly, unless there are bent pins on the motherboard or it was a SATA drive, I'm not sure why you would have had this problem. A 970 EVO should work in ANY of the M.2 slots.

 

[tonymac1]

Yes, both M.2_1 and M.2_2 go through the CPU, but only 1 is PCIe 5.0, which in this case doesn't matter anyhow.

I'm actually not seeing that any of the M.2 slots share lanes with the SATA headers on this particular board like they do on many. I think the overall number of lanes available on Z790 has made sharing any of them no longer a necessity. Even so, M.2_5 is still the only M.2 slot that supports SATA M.2 drives, so if you have a SATA M.2 drive, which the 970 EVO isn't, it would need to be in that slot. The rest of the M.2 slots all support PCIe 3.0, 4.0 drives only except M.2_1 which also supports PCIe 5.0 drives, but ALL of the M.2 slots support PCIe drives at whatever their native speed is so long as it isn't 5.0 speeds. They will still support them, just at the lower spec of 4.0.

So honestly, unless there are bent pins on the motherboard or it was a SATA drive, I'm not sure why you would have had this problem. A 970 EVO should work in ANY of the M.2 slots.

i thought so too, as this is a pretty high end motherboard. Could it be that initially i also had the SSD cable reversed and the connection wasn't perfect? however that SSD isn't the system drive though

 

[Darkbreeze]

Ok, so I'm confused now.

Please list the EXACT models of ALL drives attached to this system.

Please list EXACTLY where each of those drives was connected when it was not working and where each of them is exactly at now that it "is".