help me narrow down the faulty component

[turboo]

b450 tomahawk
ryzen 3600
gskill 16gbx2
gtx960
fsp 600w
wd SN750 SSD 1TB
all 1 year old ish

from 3 days ago, started completely freezing (doesn't respond to ctrl+alt+delete at all) halfway randomly during LIGHT load only (i.e. editing on Word). If I try to restart more often, the earlier it freezes (E.g. Win splash screen)

memtest 100% passed
prime95 stress test 2 hours passed
hddlife 100%, no bad sectors
reseated all components, swopped ram slots
temps normal
sometimes gets stuck at POST and doesn't POST at all (can be resolved by resetting CMOS)

suspect it might be motherboard, but how can I be sure? Is there any shop that can help to test at low level for a fee (not general troubleshooting?)

What do you think is the exact issue? Do comment only if you have experienced the same issue before. Thank you.

 

[Entry Level PC]

b450 tomahawk
ryzen 3600
gskill 16gbx2
gtx960
fsp 600w
wd SN750 SSD 1TB
all 1 year old ish

from 3 days ago, started completely freezing (doesn't respond to ctrl+alt+delete at all) halfway randomly during LIGHT load only (i.e. editing on Word). If I try to restart more often, the earlier it freezes (E.g. Win splash screen)

memtest 100% passed
prime95 stress test 2 hours passed
hddlife 100%, no bad sectors
reseated all components, swopped ram slots
temps normal
sometimes gets stuck at POST and doesn't POST at all (can be resolved by resetting CMOS)

suspect it might be motherboard, but how can I be sure? Is there any shop that can help to test at low level for a fee (not general troubleshooting?)

What do you think is the exact issue? Do comment only if you have experienced the same issue before. Thank you.

1) GPU
2) MOBO
3) RAM

GTX 960 ish 2015
7yo liao.

 

[86technie]

- Try benchmark your SSD see whether have issues or not using Crystalmark
https://crystalmark.info/en/download/
- Try do a clean install of Windows (*Not reset)
If the PC have any issue, during the installation it can BOSD or crash.
- Check the CPU temp especially idle if around 50 degree is not normal.

 

[Phen8210]

b450 tomahawk
ryzen 3600
gskill 16gbx2
gtx960
fsp 600w
wd SN750 SSD 1TB
all 1 year old ish

from 3 days ago, started completely freezing (doesn't respond to ctrl+alt+delete at all) halfway randomly during LIGHT load only (i.e. editing on Word). If I try to restart more often, the earlier it freezes (E.g. Win splash screen)

memtest 100% passed
prime95 stress test 2 hours passed
hddlife 100%, no bad sectors
reseated all components, swopped ram slots
temps normal
sometimes gets stuck at POST and doesn't POST at all (can be resolved by resetting CMOS)

suspect it might be motherboard, but how can I be sure? Is there any shop that can help to test at low level for a fee (not general troubleshooting?)

What do you think is the exact issue? Do comment only if you have experienced the same issue before. Thank you.

- Try benchmark your SSD see whether have issues or not using Crystalmark
https://crystalmark.info/en/download/
- Try do a clean install of Windows (*Not reset)
If the PC have any issue, during the installation it can BOSD or crash.
- Check the CPU temp especially idle if around 50 degree is not normal.

Do what techidiot suggest you first, to ensure i will test the SSD in both the system and in another system just to be sure. If it cannot complete the test in another system then something is wrong with your SSD. Another good test to run for SSD is ATTO disk benchmark.

Next is to disable automatic restart, this will enable BSOD to appear. However if it still doesn't appear and you get random freezing issue with no head and no tail, in my experience, its likely to be a motherboard issue.

 

[turboo]

my cpu temp (just checked again) currently averages 60°C with normal browsing load. Doesn't seem normal? If so, is the CPU the main culprit? I'm not sure about this since it was able to pass Prime95 without freezing at all.

Before the freezing instances became more frequent, there were a lot of random BSOD faults which pointed me in different directions, but yesterday and today is plain FREEZING out of nowhere, without any error code whatsoever.

Having a hard time doing a clean reinstall since sometimes it can even freeze at POST.

Is there any surefire way to confirm it's a motherboard issue?

 

[Hailgod]

look at event viewer. what's causing the crashes will probably be there

 

[turboo]

plenty of DistributedCOM errors, which leads to nowhere too. Says nothing about hardware issues.

 

[kimsix]

there is also another app WinDbg can look into bsod dumps... a lot of info

have to make appointment with nigel of simlim to test spare mobo.

or just yolo and order a new b550 replacement, amd now is clearing stocks.

 

[turboo]

may I know which store is this nigel from? how does it work?

also will b550 be compatible with the upcoming ryzen 7 series?

 

[86technie]

may I know which store is this nigel from? how does it work?

also will b550 be compatible with the upcoming ryzen 7 series?

AMD Motherboard will need a BIOS to support upcoming Ryzen CPU.
If you have trouble doing a clean install of Windows without BOSD or freezing.
Could be SSD issue if you don't have another SSD to try than have to
bring down to PC care and solutions which is where the person you mention his shop is at
Sim Lim Square Level #02-32.

 

[Entry Level PC]

my cpu temp (just checked again) currently averages 60°C with normal browsing load. Doesn't seem normal? If so, is the CPU the main culprit? I'm not sure about this since it was able to pass Prime95 without freezing at all.

Before the freezing instances became more frequent, there were a lot of random BSOD faults which pointed me in different directions, but yesterday and today is plain FREEZING out of nowhere, without any error code whatsoever.

Having a hard time doing a clean reinstall since sometimes it can even freeze at POST.

Is there any surefire way to confirm it's a motherboard issue?

The only sure fire way is to test everything on another MOBO.

I suspect higher chance is your 7yo GPU.

 

[Phen8210]

my cpu temp (just checked again) currently averages 60°C with normal browsing load. Doesn't seem normal? If so, is the CPU the main culprit? I'm not sure about this since it was able to pass Prime95 without freezing at all.

Before the freezing instances became more frequent, there were a lot of random BSOD faults which pointed me in different directions, but yesterday and today is plain FREEZING out of nowhere, without any error code whatsoever.

Having a hard time doing a clean reinstall since sometimes it can even freeze at POST.

Is there any surefire way to confirm it's a motherboard issue?

Disconnect the SSD and other drives to see if it still hangs when POST. Then slowly isolate them one by one.

Are your CPU temps ok or not? Did you clean the cooler and reapply the thermal paste?

Clean your ram and ram slots the proper way too, use an eraser to rub gold contacts, especially the dark stains, don't leave any dust residue after cleaning. Lightly brush the ram slots and use a blower to blow out the dirt.

SN750 is wd black, it's quite a solid SSD. If your mobo is still under warranty, suggest you just RMA it and call if there is an immediate replacement.

 

[SEvsNK]

b450 tomahawk
ryzen 3600
gskill 16gbx2
gtx960
fsp 600w
wd SN750 SSD 1TB
all 1 year old ish

from 3 days ago, started completely freezing (doesn't respond to ctrl+alt+delete at all) halfway randomly during LIGHT load only (i.e. editing on Word). If I try to restart more often, the earlier it freezes (E.g. Win splash screen)

memtest 100% passed
prime95 stress test 2 hours passed
hddlife 100%, no bad sectors
reseated all components, swopped ram slots
temps normal
sometimes gets stuck at POST and doesn't POST at all (can be resolved by resetting CMOS)

suspect it might be motherboard, but how can I be sure? Is there any shop that can help to test at low level for a fee (not general troubleshooting?)

What do you think is the exact issue? Do comment only if you have experienced the same issue before. Thank you.

Any overclocked / undervolting done? Even on ram, voltage, gpu?

 

[ZhuTou!]

I have similar issue, anytime will hang or auto restart. After on/off for many times, sometimes it will stable and i can use normally. I guess could be ssd or mobo.

U try hwmonitor to see is the +3/+5/+12 voltage reading normal anot. My +12 drop to 8. I change to a new psu still +8. So i guess mobo problem alr.

 

[Hailgod]

plenty of DistributedCOM errors, which leads to nowhere too. Says nothing about hardware issues.

look for stuff that stands out, errors that pop up just before your crashes..
u can ignore the distributed com ons, useless.
that is how i found and fixed my driver issues.

 

[SEvsNK]

look for stuff that stands out, errors that pop up just before your crashes..
u can ignore the distributed com ons, useless.
that is how i found and fixed my driver issues.

Sometimes it can be misleading or I’m reading it wrongly. I used to have nv.dll errors which I thought was my 3080. After reinstalling my drivers countless times and resetting my clock settings to default ,it will still have the same error. In the end it was my ram which was the problem, insufficient voltage which caused my games to crash.
I even memtested it countless times without errors.

 

[turboo]

agree that it's extremely hard to troubleshoot just based on the event logs alone. Is there a list of common errors I can refer to so we don't have to chase the wrong rabbit hole?

 

[86technie]

agree that it's extremely hard to troubleshoot just based on the event logs alone. Is there a list of common errors I can refer to so we don't have to chase the wrong rabbit hole?

Err... event log can help to troubleshoot but you have to either Google or understand the error message.