Experiencing blue screen errors after changing to an MSI mainboard
Experiencing blue screen errors after changing to an MSI mainboard
Hi, I planned to upgrade my computer during the holidays because my previous setup was causing issues. (One memory channel stopped functioning, as described in the post below). However, after setting everything up, I encountered problems that led to frequent crashes. Here’s what I had before:
- 16GB (2x 8192MB) G.Skill Value DDR4-2133 DIMM CL15-15-15-35 Dual Kit
- Gigabyte GA-Z170-HD3P Intel Z170 So.1151 Dual Channel DDR4 ATX Retail
- Intel Core i5 6600K 4x 3.50GHz So.1151 WOF
- 6GB PNY GeForce GTX 1060 XLR8 OC GAMING (Aktiv PCIe 3.0 x16)
- 1xDVI / 1xHDMI 2.0 / 3xDisplayPort (Retail)
- Some older used PSU
What I purchased for the upgrade:
- AMD Ryzen 5 3600 6x 3.60GHz So.AM4 BOX
- MSI B450 Gaming Plus MAX AMD B450 So.AM4 Dual Channel DDR4 ATX Retail
- 500 Watt quiet power unit! Pure Power 11 Non-Modular 80+ Gold PC that I assembled:
- AMD Ryzen 5 3600 6x 3.60GHz So.AM4 BOX
- MSI B450 Gaming Plus MAX AMD B450 So.AM4 Dual Channel DDR4 ATX Retail
- 6GB PNY GeForce GTX 1060 XLR8 OC GAMING (Aktiv PCIe 3.0 x16)
I began by cloning my Windows 7 hard drive to create a backup. Then I ran sysprep and installed the new drive into the PC. After discovering that Windows 7 wasn’t compatible with the Ryzen 3000 series, I upgraded to Windows 10. The system worked for about an hour until the first blue screen appeared—likely triggered by unplugging something from a USB hub. Booting in safe mode from Windows 10 helped temporarily, but nothing changed after updating drivers. The crashes kept getting worse despite troubleshooting.
I eventually realized my memory modules might be outdated or incompatible. I bought the Ballistix kit (16GB DDR4-3000 UDIMM) and tried it, but it didn’t resolve the issue. The PC still crashes with a blue screen—especially when starting OS, using USB drives, or loading software.
Testing various setups:
1. Booting from the upgraded Windows 10 drive caused random errors after login or OS load.
2. Using an empty USB stick with no partitions on Windows 10 resulted in random errors during setup.
3. Booting from a USB stick without any drive produced random errors when loading setup.
4. Installing Ubuntu on a 16GB SSD worked fine, showing kernel panic issues only when loading OS.
I’m unsure if the problem lies with software or hardware—my old system ran smoothly with these components. I’m seeking advice on whether there’s a software fix or if my new parts are faulty. I’m feeling quite lost but appreciate any suggestions.
The board received five updates on system compatibility over the last year, with most focusing on that area.
I also used both dual and single channel settings in each channel. Identical outcome.