Black screen upon power-off — RAW SSD malfunction, boot failure, and persistent freezes
Black screen upon power-off — RAW SSD malfunction, boot failure, and persistent freezes
Hi All, First off here are my system specs: PSU: Antec VP500 80+ CPU: Intel Core i3-10100F Motherboard: MSI MAG B460M BAZOOKA Intel mATX motherboard RAM: KLEVV XR RGB 2x8GB 3600Mhz GPU: Palit Geforce RTX 3050 8GB GDDR6 Storage: 1. Hikvision NVME M.2 SSD - 512GB (Primary boot SSD) 2. Western Digital NVME M.2 SSD - 512GB (Extra storage for games) Software: Windows 11 x64 bit Logitech G Hub for my mouse and headset BIOS Version: ~Latest update version is about 08/2024. The Problem I've attached one image just due to file size restrictions. One evening, I attempted to shut down my PC as usual. I received the typical “Waiting to Close Programs” message, which indicated it was waiting for a peripheral device to shut down. This is a common occurrence and usually resolves itself within seconds. I turned off my monitor and left the PC to finish shutting down on its own. However, it was taking unusually long, so I eventually held down the power button to force a shutdown, without turning the monitor back on to check what was causing the delay. The next day, I powered on the PC. It displayed the MSI boot logo, which then disappeared, followed by a completely black screen. I waited for about 10 minutes, assuming it was a slow boot, but eventually realized something was wrong. My PC is approximately 2–3 years old and has had no prior issues. The only recent hardware changes were a new case and cooler, installed some time ago. One recurring issue I had noticed before this incident was a Windows notification stating that “An Important Driver Could Not Be Loaded.” I had always ignored it since it never seemed to affect performance or functionality. I created a bootable USB using the Windows Media Creation Tool and attempted a Startup Repair , but it was unsuccessful (details below). I then used Command Prompt and ran multiple commands. When I used CHKDSK , I noticed it was scanning my secondary WD NVMe M.2 SSD , not my primary Hikvision NVMe M.2 SSD . Using echo %SystemDrive% returned no result. Then, with diskpart , I saw that the system recognized: WD SSD as Volume 0 (File System: NTFS) Recovery USB Hikvision SSD as Volume 1 (File System: RAW) Both drives were reported as healthy, but the Hikvision SSD showing as RAW was concerning. I attempted to assign a drive letter to the Hikvision SSD to run CHKDSK , but this failed due to the RAW format. I decided to wipe the system and perform a clean install of Windows 11. The WD SSD appeared during setup, but lacked sufficient space, so I cleared it and selected it as the new boot drive. The installation reached 100%, but then the screen went black while fans and hardware continued running for 20 minutes. I manually shut down and restarted. Upon reboot, I saw a Windows installation progress screen that reached 33% before freezing again. After another manual shutdown, the system attempted to boot but displayed a Blue Screen of Death (BSOD) with the stop code: CLOCK_WATCHDOG_TIMEOUT . Suspecting a hardware issue, I tested my RAM : I have 2×8GB sticks. I tested each stick individually in the recommended slot per the motherboard manual. The issue persisted regardless of which stick was used. I also reseated the GPU , but this did not resolve the problem. Troubleshooting Steps To Date Removed and reinstalled the CMOS battery after waiting 5 minutes. Created a bootable USB using Windows Media Creation Tool . Attempted Startup Repair multiple times: It consistently froze at “Diagnosing Your PC.” Let it run for as long as 60 minutes with no progress. Used Command Prompt via recovery USB: Ran CHKDSK , BOOTREC , ECHO , and ASSIGN commands. Reseated the GPU . Tested RAM sticks individually. Attempted a clean Windows 11 install on the WD SSD thinking that the Hikvision NVME M.2 SSD might be the problem. I can access the BIOS , but cannot boot into Windows or recovery environments. The system either freezes or displays a BSOD during installation or startup.
Consider removing the Hikvision drive from the PC first and installing Windows on the WD drive. Once successful, reinstall it and check accessibility using tools like CrystalDiskInfo to retrieve its SMART status.
I tried another USB port for the installation again, but the same problems kept happening. The progress hit 100%, a warning appeared saying your PC will restart soon, then the screen froze completely. It turned black except for the mouse cursor, which stayed stuck. After waiting about half an hour, I decided to turn it off manually since nothing changed.
I would save the Windows 11 ISO file and then employ a tool called Rufus to generate a USB installation file.