[SOLVED] Weird electronics issues with my PC.

colorex

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I'm having very weird electronics issues with my computer.:

My Ethernet stopped working, have to use USB wifi adapter now.
Sometimes when I boot I get an error like the disk is corrupted. I power off, then on again, and it's fine.
More recently, my Logitech wireless mouse wouldn't connect, and I had to disconnect and connect several times for it to work. It makes the connection sound but it's frozen.

Now I've tried with TWO different known working wired mice, and I get a very strange result. They both work fine in every direction, except to the left. The pointer skips about 100px at a time when moving to the left.

I know a fair deal about computers but this one has me stumped. I'm inclined to think there's electronic hardware failure somewhere, especially on the 5v rail, since the problems are mainly on USB.

I thought it was a dying PSU, so replaced it but the problems persist. I've tried flashing the mobo, reinstalling windows, disconnecting all unneeded hardware, reseating everything... no luck
I had lot's of RGBs powered by the mainboard, their load doesn't exceed the mobo rating, disconnected them all but still no luck.

Strix X470-F Gaming
Ryzen 3700X
Corsair RGB Pro 32GB 3200MHz
Strix GTX 970
Strix 750W Modular PSU
SN750 1TB hard drive nvme

2 Dell U2415 in displayport daisychain
 

colorex

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Just leave the power button wires connected.

I unplugged: USB front panel connector, HD audio, reset, leds, USB 2.0 for wraith cooler, RGB header and the mouse skipping issue is gone. Maybe one of those wires is broken or is going too close to the mobo and causing RF noise.

However my Ethernet is still not working right... it shows up and connects, kinda, but then gets SSL errors and other really weird <Mod Edit>.

I'm going to take everything out and try set up an open bench test and see if that helps.
 
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colorex

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New motherboard installed, Asus Strix B450-F Gaming II
Same issues persist. Wired mouse glitching, ethernet connects but is not allowing SSL to work, so I'm still having to use the wifi dongle.
Next culprit is probably the video card? 4 or 5 years old and now the oldest component in the build.
At this rate I'll soon have a second PC built out of the replacements I've purchased. LOL At least they're not going up in smoke.
 

colorex

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Update here, also in touch with AMD support:

I have performed the following checks:

  • Test with a secondary, known working GPU.
  • Installed and tested 3 versions of Intel I211 Ethernet driver.
  • Removed one Ram stick at a time, no change. Tested with memtest for a couple hours, no errors.
  • Switched back to X470 motherboard as it seems that's not the culprit.
  • Clean installation of the latest version of Windows 10, on a separate, clean SSD. Installed the latest chipset driver from AMD website, and other drivers from Asus website.
  • Updated to latest X470 bios 5837
  • Currently have no unneeded USB headers or splitters connected, no RGB either.

The most significant symptom is ethernet (wired) will connect, but gives SSL errors (website sent an invalid response) on most websites. System time, Router time, all that is correct. Also tried bypassing a repeater, connecting directly to the modem, and no change. The USB-based wifi adapter works fine, and it's what I'm using now.

A secondary symptom is occasional black screens after booting (after successful post) where if I press the power button once it'll turn off immediately. Probably caused by read errors on boot.

Anyhow, the only things I have not replaced on my computer are: 3700x CPU and the RAM (but I tested those with memtest )

-Ran Linux Mint from a live USB. Ethernet works fine, no SSL errors. Does this mean it's a Windows problem? Drivers? It's so weird that the error happens on a clean installation of Windows, but then no one else has this issue.

I'm out of ideas of what it could be now. I could soon build a new computer out of all the parts I've bought to test... :(

Could it be malware in the BIOS or boot sector? Maybe my front panel is damaged and has shorted or broken something on both mobos? (hope not) Another wild theory I've had (running out of ideas here) is that there's an electrical issue with my outlet, like lack of grounding, that's causing this? I have no clue really...
 
You may very well be chasing separate issues.

There's a known USB bug affecting some Ryzen systems with AMD promising an AGESA update to resolve it.

You may very well have a driver issue with the LAN port...I would suggest trying to locate the original driver that shipped with the board and installing that one. Also I am going to assume you've restarted your modem and know how to look at the modem to make sure it's not taking errors. Are you sure your LAN cable is capable of supporting the speed you want to run at ? Linx Mint may very well have selected a slower base speed.
 

colorex

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You may very well be chasing separate issues.

There's a known USB bug affecting some Ryzen systems with AMD promising an AGESA update to resolve it.

You may very well have a driver issue with the LAN port...I would suggest trying to locate the original driver that shipped with the board and installing that one. Also I am going to assume you've restarted your modem and know how to look at the modem to make sure it's not taking errors. Are you sure your LAN cable is capable of supporting the speed you want to run at ? Linx Mint may very well have selected a slower base speed.

I believe the USB bug is with newer systems, Ryzen 5000 and B550 chipsets, or otherwise PCIe 4.0 capable boards.

I will try the driver on the CD that came with the X470 mobo. Shouldn't be any different from the older ones available for download on the mobo mfg page.

LAN is definitely capable, it worked before... the issue started around november 2020 when the PC was almost 1 year old. I'll try see if I can take the computer to another outlet with another ethernet cable.
 

colorex

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Also - I suspect the mouse glitching I was describing in the first post was due to the front panel USB 3.1 either being broken, shorted or something like that. No way to test it but if I plug it in the mouse glitching comes back.