Confusion mounting. System crashes on Linux, shows Windows files, then BSOD appears.
Confusion mounting. System crashes on Linux, shows Windows files, then BSOD appears.
Hey everyone, I hope you're all doing well. I've been working on my home server for a while now, but two weeks ago I decided to make an upgrade. After spending some time with calculus homework, selling old components, and buying new ones, I finally got back to it last night. I swapped out the H370 and i7-8700 for an MSI Z390-a Pro with an i7-9700. I got the board from Ebay after a failed attempt on Facebook to find an Asus Prime, which turned out to be faulty. For the CPU, I bought one on Facebook Marketplace for $60, claiming it worked. I still have another PC to test it on, but I'm hesitant to open it up just yet because it's my main machine. My current setup uses a Z390 and a 9900kHz PSU, with 48 GB of DDR4 RAM at 3,200 MHz. The RAM seems fine, having used it before without issues. To verify, I tested it on another system. TL;DR: I upgraded my home server two weeks ago—new board, new CPU. Motherboard: MSI Z390-a Pro (Ebay). CPU: i7-9700 from Facebook Marketplace. The issue started after installation; I booted into an old Debian setup and hit Kernel Panic without clear error messages. I thought it was a misconfiguration and reinstalled Debian, but the problem persisted. I tried several RAM sticks in different slots, updated BIOS, and checked for artifacts. It seems the CPU might be faulty. I'm still trying to figure this out and would really appreciate any advice from you all. Thanks!
It might not be in good shape, but the motherboard could be the issue. Look for any bent or broken pins in the socket. Since it's used, damage during shipping is possible or you might have been tricked. To confirm, swap in an older board and CPU to verify everything functions properly and wasn't harmed during the upgrade. It’s unlikely your Debian image is the problem, but you could re-download the official image and check the checksum before flashing again.
Regarding my thoughts, the board looks fine—no bent pins or damaged sockets. I originally intended to use another board for the upgrade, but the bent pins were irreparable. I no longer have them; they were discarded yesterday, and it’s really frustrating now. I’m starting fresh with a brand new one, just downloaded and set it up this morning.
I've figured it out. Sadly, the CPU is in worse shape than a doornail. Restricting it to 6 cores let it work fine, but adding more made it fail completely. 8 It could post, yet it wouldn't boot into an OS. This suggests at least one core is dead, possibly two. I don't know exactly which ones, but this CPU isn't reliable. I hope someone can use this info for their own troubleshooting.
If the CPU operates smoothly with six cores activated, it indicates you're using a 6-core processor. You can use certain tools to identify which core is active, though it's more reliable to adjust settings in the BIOS. This chip performs well, but if you're concerned about stability, consider purchasing another one later. For now, it's comparable to others in performance. Have a great day!