Question Why does my Windows installation keep going corrupt?

[Gmoney57]

I've been having issues with Windows becoming corrupt ever since a few months after I built it. Originally when I first built the PC, I was using a 1 TB Seagate Hard Drive that later had corruption issues and eventually died. Usually, I would be able to use Windows for about a week before it became corrupted, but now I can't even install it on the new SSD I bought for it. At first, I thought it was the graphics drivers that were having issues but it soon became apparent that back when I could still get Windows to install, that it would almost immediately become corrupted, sometimes words in menus cut off or icons not showing up (and sometimes menus and searches not opening at all). I had fought with it for months and searched for anything I could that might be related to the issue. I tried everything everyone else tried, yet no good results. I eventually came upon this post that said that my SSD might be too big and that it worked just fine when they tried installing Windows on a smaller SSD. I got excited because it was something that I hadn't come across or heard yet so I rushed to buy a smaller SSD (128 GB Kingston M.2 SSD [not sure of the exact model]). As soon as it got here I threw it into my system and ran the Windows installer. Nothing. My Sandisk SSD still showed up, but no M.2. So I went ahead and dove into that mess too, with still no solution that fixed my problem(s). I know it's not the Sandisk SSD because when I put it in my laptop Windows installs just fine and runs perfectly, with no corruption. I haven't tested the Kingston SSD in my laptop. I'm beginning to think it's either a faulty mobo or the sketchy power supply. It might be supplying too much or too little power, but I don't know for sure and might test the SATA power rails with a multimeter later... Here are some of the things I've tried:

• Getting new SATA cables
• Plugging SATA cables into each port on my mobo
• Using different SATA power connectors from my power supply
• Unplugging all peripherals and USB drives (other than the installation drive and ethernet cable)
• Swapping out my RAM configuration
• Only using one stick of RAM (tried all three) in each of the slots
• Running the Windows Memory Diagnostic Tool multiple times (all results came back normal)
• Scanning the SanDisk SSD with various tools like EaseUS
• Scanning the SanDisk SSD with the built-in error-checking tool (sometimes it had errors, other times it didn't)
• Using all SFC commands multiple times
• Using all DISM commands multiple times
• Editing the registry multiple times
• Using a local account instead of my Microsoft one
• Signing in with my Microsoft account AFTER I created a local account
• Wiping the SanDisk SSD
• Manually creating new partitions on the SSD
• Removing all bloatware with Windows10Debloater-master
• Installing Windows 10 using my laptop (worked perfectly fine until I put it in my PC [worked for a few minutes before becoming corrupted again])
• Upgrading to Windows 10 from Windows 7 Ultimate
• Plugging my PC straight into the wall rather than the power strip
• Changing my GPU to a 1050 ti I had from before
• Resetting BIOS to original defaults
• Changing BIOS settings to RAID (in an attempt to find the M.2)
• Changing BIOS settings to UEFI only
• Updating BIOS version
• Clearing CMOS
• Replacing CMOS battery
• Reinstalling Windows multiple times
• Installing Windows 7 Home, Windows 7 Ultimate, Windows 10 Home, Windows 10 Pro, Windows 10 Enterprise (all of which became corrupt shortly after installation, if the installation was able to complete)
• Installed each version mentioned above more than once with Rufus
• Using both the official Windows installer and Rufus on multiple different brands and sizes of USB drives (at least 10 different drives)
• And many more things...

Hardware List:

Intel OEM LGA 2011v3 Mobo
Intel Xeon E5-2650 V3 10 C 20 T @2.3 GHz
MSI Radeon RX 5700 XT MECH OC
Sandisk X400 1 TB SSD (SATA)
Kentek 850 Watt PSU
T-Force Delta 24GB (3 x 8 GB) @2666 MHz

Does anyone know what else I can try to hopefully get this to work (both the M.2 SSD and the Widows corruption issue)? It's been a crazy life with this PC so pls helppppp 😖😖😖

 

[rgd1101]

check cpu temp?
test with a different psu?

 

[Gmoney57]

check cpu temp?
test with a different psu?

CPU temps are fine as far as I know. At idle the max they ever reach is 30 C, which goes up to around 70 C depending on the game I'm playing or when I'm running stress tests. The only thing that I can think of is the power supply, but why would the power supply not allow Windows to install? It's all just so weird. I sadly don't have a second PSU to test with but I'll ask some of my friends to borrow one of theirs.

 

[PapaCrazy]

I had problems when I had too many devices on a single SATA cable. Not enough power and I think the drive was getting corrupted with power loss on writes. I would focus on the storage in this situation, either the power supplied through SATA cables or maybe something on the mobo side, like not having correct storage drivers.
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[Gmoney57]

I had problems when I had too many devices on a single SATA cable. Not enough power and I think the drive was getting corrupted with power loss on writes. I would focus on the storage in this situation, either the power supplied through SATA cables or maybe something on the mobo side, like not having correct storage drivers.
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Yeah, I was thinking much of the same thing. I knew the power supply was sketchy when I bought it and it was a mix of good and bad reviews. The good ones said the Kentek PSUs have been running their machines for years without issues and the bad reviews said sparks shot out the back as soon as they plugged it in to test it 😬 Theoretically, there should be enough power going to the drive since it's only that one on its own cable. The mobo on the other hand seems to be fine for everything else I ever had to do with it other than detecting that M.2 SSD. I think the problem is that the drive is getting corrupted on writes as you said.

 

[Gmoney57]

I think I should note here that one time I attempted putting my laptop's hard drive (that was having no issues) in my PC and the hard drive started making weird whining and clicking noises and malfunctioned and went corrupt as did my SSD. I put the hard drive back into my laptop and reinstalled windows and it's worked fine in my laptop ever since.

 

[Gmoney57]

In the past, I've also received BSODs from "CRITICAL PROCESS DIED" to "MEMORY_MANAGEMENT" and a variety of others, and each solution I found either fixed it only for a short while or didn't fix it at all.

 

[Daanopu]

did you make any progress yet? im facing very similar symptoms im kinda stuck now

 

[Gmoney57]

did you make any progress yet? im facing very similar symptoms im kinda stuck now

Sorry for not updating this thread for a while, I've been busy with school and family. I actually did make a TON of progress. I really have no idea why though... I picked out the motherboard I wanted and wanted to test the PSU before I bought the motherboard to be sure that was the problem. I removed the PSU and tested the voltages of every single pin with a multimeter just to be sure they were outputting the right voltages, and they were. So I put the unit back into my PC and reconnected everything and re-cable managed everything. [NOTE: I removed some adapter that converted 2 AMP connectors to a PCI-E connector, which I was using for my graphics card.] I decided to give it one last go and tried installing Windows 10 again, and to my surprise, it actually worked. I was scared because it hasn't worked for a long while. The SSD was still hitting 100% quite frequently but never crashed from it as it did before. I researched a couple more articles and one of them said to change my PC's power plan from "Balanced" to "High Performance." It also said for me to edit the High Performance Plan (by clicking "Change plan settings" then click "Change advanced power settings") and disable the "Link state power management. " The disk has only touched 100% once or twice since and that was while it was downloading two games and a Windows update simultaneously and it was only at 100% for less than a second. Something to note is that after installing Steam I would always get a "DISK WRITE ERROR" when trying to install the first game. I'll leave instructions below on how to fix these things.

NOTE: My first user profile (signed in with Microsoft) went corrupt after I updated my graphics card drivers. I wasn't able to sign into it after that. I just created a new LOCAL Administrator account since I didn't have any important files on that account. If this happens, you edit the registry to fix it if need be. You can also just copy and paste your files onto your new local account by opening File Explorer and going to This PC>Local Disk (C: )>Users and selecting your corrupted user account and finding the files you need (there are multiple directories such as "Downloads" and "Screenshots." Let me know if you need help with this.


Disk Pinned at 100%:

1.) Search for "Choose a power plan" in the Windows search box in the taskbar

2.) Click "Show additional plans"

3.) Select the "High Performance" plan

4.) Click "Change plan settings"

5.) Click "Change advanced power settings"

6.) Scroll down until you see "PCI Express" and click the plus button to the left of it

7.) Click the plus button next to "Link state power management"

8.) Click on "Setting: " and select "Off" from the dropdown

9.) Click "Ok"

10.) Restart your PC [OPTIONAL]



Steam Goes Corrupt:

1.) Click "Steam" in the top left corner and select "Settings" from the dropdown

2.) Click on the "Downloads" tab

3.) Click on "CLEAR DOWNLOAD CACHE"

4.) Click "OK"

5.) Sign in to Steam again and try to install your game and it should work just fine

 

[Gmoney57]

I'm happy to announce that I haven't had any problems with my PC since I made these changes and everything has run perfectly fine and is what I'm using to respond right now

 

[DSzymborski]

I'd still replace the dodgy PSU. It's always best to deal with significant problems before something bad happens rather than after.

 

[Gmoney57]

I'd still replace the dodgy PSU. It's always best to deal with significant problems before something bad happens rather than after.

Yeah I plan to replace both the motherboard and PSU soon, whenever I can work up enough money to buy them both at the same time.