Is there a black screen after the last update?
Is there a black screen after the last update?
This is a long story, so I'll first describe the issue I currently have. When I turn on my PC it boots, but there's only a black screen. I can hear Windows 11 loading though, so the PC seems to work, I just get no image.
The weirdest thing is that sometimes, if I have left the PC unplugged and without using it for a while (around a whole day), I can boot it and get an image and use it normally as if nothing happened. If I restart the computer from the Windows option it will keep working. But the moment I shut down and try to boot again, black screen.
This is my current build, waiting for the computer to work properly again to also upgrade my current Ryzen 2600 to the 5700X I recently bought. Current BIOS version 4631, the newest non-beta available:
https://de.pcpartpicker.com/list/f629h7
I recently did some upgrades from this build:
https://de.pcpartpicker.com/list/qxQLnt
And now the whole story.
In November I started buying a couple of components to upgrade my old PC. My idea was mainly upgrading the CPU and my drive setup, but also bought a pair of used RAM sticks, seeing the price increase and scared that it wouldn't be affordable anymore for a long time. First thing I received was the RAM, which I installed with no problems. I then tried to bring the RAM to its actual speed (3200) doing the XMP thing, but with the old CPU and without having updated the BIOS for ages, and I got a black screen.
I hard reset the BIOS taking out the CMOS battery and it worked at first. I enter BIOS, put everything on default, and when I try to switch the boot menu, I get a blue screen. After that I could boot the PC, enter Windows 10, although getting a message of "repairing disk". And if I tried to enter the BIOS I would only get a black screen. This would also happen with the old RAM. I tested the new RAM and got no errors.
After following the advice I got in this forum I tried disconnecting one drive at a time and booting the PC and enter the BIOs, until it worked when I disconnected the Optical Drive. Afterwards I updated the BIOS, I installed my new SSD and PSU and proceeded con format and clean install Windows 11.
At first everything seemed to work. I started copying my documents and stuff in my new drive, installing the programs I needed, a couple of videogames, etc etc. Everything worked for some days, maybe even a week, until after a Windows update. When I restarted the pc booted and I got to the sign in screen, but when I entered the screen went black. I could still see the mouse cursor, but nothing else. Since I couldn't do anything, I shut down the computer pressing the button, and when I turned it on I would only see a black screen, no display image.
After a few hours with the computer unplugged I tried booting the PC and it worked. The next day, same thing, it worked. I left a videogame downloading and installing and went to do something, and when I came back the screen was again black. After trying several things (which I'll list), I ended up bringing the PC to a repair shop.
There they told me the PSU was faulty (yes, the new Seagate one I bought)... I brought my old PSU to test and they said it worked fine, so that's the one I'm currently using while I get the new PSU replaced. I picked the PC, installed the old PSU and everything seemed to work. Until I shut the pc down and turn it on, just to get again the black screen. I brought the PC to the shop again. After checking it they told me it was a Windows update thing, and that if I restarted the PC a couple of times it worked again.
So again I pick up the PC, turn it on and it works. Thinking that it could be a driver issue I clean installed the GPU driver, uninstalling the current one with DDU, restarting the PC several times during the process, and everything seemed to work. Until again I shut down the PC, try to boot it again and get a black screen. I still hear windows booting, but I don't get the image anymore
This is what I have tried since I got the black screen after that Windows update:
- Hard reset BIOS removing the CMOS battery
- Check that all PSU cables are properly plugged, the RAM properly installed, disconnect most peripherals (just left the mouse and keyboard), and try booting unplugging one drive at a time
- Restart the PC several times pressing the power button. Also power cycling, unplugging the PSU for at least 10 minutes, pressing the power button, plugging the PSU and trying to boot again
- Connecting the PC to another monitor with a different cable (always HDMI though, I have no display port monitor or cable)
- Clean install graphic drivers, following the point 8 of this guide (
https://www.reddit.com/r/AMDHelp/comment...p_lag_fps/
) and then blocking windows updating it using the Group Policy method (
https://windowsforum.com/threads/bl...wi...de.384429/
)
- Disable fast startup from Windows
Sorry for the long post, but this is a freaking odyssey and it's very stressing to have the computer in this state, that even when it works I don't know if it will keep working fine for long. One more thing I'll try is, if I get to boot the PC normally again, to format the OS drive and clean install Windows 11 again.
In any case I will probably bring the PC once more to the repair shop. I suspect that there may be something wrong with the motherboard. I bought it second hand in 2019, and it worked flawlessly until now, but I fear something may have been fried when I tried to XMP the RAM without updating the BIOS first, or maybe even that the new PSU, that I was told was deffective (although I'm not 100% positive about that), may have affected the MoBo somehow.
If anyone has any idea of what else I could try, it will be much appreciated!
Based on the information provided, what you're encountering is typical when purchasing used or inexpensive parts. If you accept very low prices, you'll likely face complications. Once you start dealing with these issues, it becomes more challenging. Maybe the new PSU wasn't very good either. Still, it offered better build quality compared to your current Be Quiet! unit.
By the way, Seagate manufactures HDDs. You had Seasonic's G12-GM, which is a low-quality PSU with mediocre performance. It's still superior to the subpar components you currently own, which have only 4x +12V rails and a maximum of 240W rather than the 600W you might expect.
Label:
Direct link if image doesn't load: https://www.computerstoreberlin.de/...19...3812~2.jpg
I used all the money I had in 2019 wisely. The PC has been running smoothly so far. Now that I can afford a bit more, I'm planning to upgrade the older parts. However, I still can't buy all the best components. If it's the drive, wouldn't the PC boot up normally when I remove it? I've tried but still got a black screen. The GPU I bought three years ago has been fine until now—it hasn't shown any issues, unlike previous models that had frame drops and graphics problems before failing completely. Still, I'm worried about that. I don't have a second GPU to test with. I think I'll take it back to the repair shop for proper testing.
My course of action would be:
1. Proper, good quality PSU.
For proper PSU for a PC with dedicated GPU, Tier A is proper. Like: Seasonic Focus/Vertex/PRIME, Corsair RMx/RMi/HXi/AXi, Super Flower Leadex Gold/Platinum/Titanium.
PSU tier list:
https://docs.google.com/spreadsheet...JW...1973454078
Tier A- will do too, while Tier A+ is preferred.
(My 2x PCs are solely powered by Tier A+ PSUs. I have Seasonic PRIME 650 Titanium (Tier A+) and Seasonic PRIME Ultra 650 Titanium (Tier A+) units. Specs/pics in my sig.)
Currently, the cheapest Tier A PSU is Montech Century II,
pcpp:
https://pcpartpicker.com/products/compar...qs,ds8Pxr/
850W unit is actually Tier A- while 1050W and 1200W units are Tier A.
850W unit won't hurt wattage wise in your system. So, i'd get that.
Since PSU powers everything, it is
the most important component
inside the PC.
Once the PSU is solid, then i'd look if things did improve. Because poor PSUs can output voltages out of spec, which will damage components over time. Also, the lower the PSU's build quality is - the higher the chance of PSU killing other components when it goes "pop" and releasing magic smoke. Low quality PSUs also can produce high ripple and high ripple = unstable system.
2. Testing with 2nd, known to work GPU. Since symptoms wise, this seems the most likely issue as of now.
I do get the budget constraint, but NEVER cheap out on PSU! Also, never buy used PSU either.
Since when it comes to power delivery, it is serious business due to the risks it carries.
When you cheap out on CPU, worst that can happen is that your CPU takes longer to compute stuff. Cheap out on GPU and worst is that you're playing on 720p with low settings. Cheap out on SSD/HDD, and you're looking slow read/write times with good chance of data corruption and loss of personal data. Cheap out on PC case and.. No, PC doesn't need PC case what-so-ever. PC case is just a tool to keep all PC components in one neat place, while giving the sensitive electronics some form of protection from outside forces (e.g child or cat can't poke their paws into it).
No other component, except the PSU, has the ability to fry other components and worse, put your very life and house in danger. Since crap quality PSUs have catched fire when failing. Houses have burned down and even lives have been lost.
Buying cheap components, just for them to act up and spending money on diagnostics/repair, overall, is more expensive that buying better components off the bat. Not to mention your time and frustration of hauling the PC back and forth.
For example;
Back in 2016, when i bought my previous build brand new (individual components, rather than prebuilt), i also bought top-end PSU: Seasonic PRIME 650 80+ Titanium [SSR-650TD]. It costed me €206.80, which was a pretty penny. Then again, my PSU was the best 650W PSU money could buy back then and it came with 12 years of warranty, among other things. It was (actually, still is) the best PSU by Seasonic.
I used the PSU for 9 years, when i had my previous build going. Running mid-tier i5-6600K CPU, Z170 chipset MoBo, 16GB 3000 MT/s RAM and GTX 1060 3GB GPU. At some point, i upgraded GPU to GTX 1660 Ti 6GB.
Last September, i retired my old build and went with new, AM5 build. But i re-used my Seasonic PSU. It now powers my Aurora build (specs/pics in my sig) and my Seasonic PSU still has solid 3 years of life on it.
Point is, if you get yourself a proper PSU (10 or 12 year warranty), you can be set for a long time and PSU often outlives the first build, where you can re-use the PSU in your 2nd build as well.
But if you cheap out on PSU, you'll face issues with it. Cheap PSUs last few years, while damaging other components over time. Whereby you end up with system that doesn't work right. And new PSU doesn't fix the damage old PSU did.
This is the underlying cause that i think is wrong with your PC. Your Be Quiet! unit has damaged the components over time, until partial or complete failure. The Seasonic unit you got for a brief time, was a bit better than Be Quiet! unit but not much.
Hardware can die at any given moment, often without apparent reason.
Look at the PSU as you drinking water. If the water is dirty, you'll get food poisoning and vomiting. If it is contaminated, it will put you 6 feet under. Same with GPU and power delivered to it by PSU. Ripple is noise within electricity (dirty water), while out of spec voltages will damage the sensitive electronics inside the GPU. And if it goes on, over time, it leads to GPU failure.
Or you can look at PSU as a foundation of a house. When foundation is bad, then it doesn't matter how fancy of a house you build on top of it. When foundation gives out, entire house will collapse. Same with PSU. When it acts up, it will bring everything else down as well.
So, you need a proper, solid, robust foundation for a house, to stand many years. Same with PSU, a good quality PSU will keep the PC going for many, many years, without damaging other components.
One of the symptoms you described pointed towards the drive or data failure. Namely this one:
It literally says that OS kernel has corrupted and Windows can't boot normally.
There are several causes to that, which include, but are not limited to:
1. Sudden power loss (either you kill the power to the PC or PSU is acting up).
2. Drive failure (NAND flash issues).
3. Malware.
At this point: hope for the best but prepare for the worst.
The best outcome:
1. New, good quality PSU.
2. 2nd GPU.
If this is all that takes to make your screen show image again, then you are golden and had a relatively cheap fix.
The worst outcome:
Everything new. Well, except the PC case and fans in it. Maybe keep the CPU and CPU cooler too.
Since it could very well be, that your PSU has damaged the components into failure. And it doesn't help that you bought MoBo as used. Now, used RAM, for the most part, should work fine, even despite the XMP not holding. But GPU is usually 1st to go when PSU acts up. Followed by MoBo. CPU and RAM are more durable but not invulnerable either. Cheap SSD is slow and prone to data corruption. So, if you can't afford NVMe SSD, get 2.5" SATA SSD. Will work just as fine. E.g Samsung 870 Evo (i have those as 2nd, data drives in my builds).
Thank you for your detailed message. I understand what happened. When I purchased the Seasonic PSU, I mistakenly thought it was the Focus model, as I clicked on pcpartpicker. After buying it online, I discovered it was actually the G12 GM. I reviewed a tier list on Reddit and remember it suggested B or B+, though I’m not sure if that was accurate. Perhaps I should try returning it to get at least an A- PSU.
Regarding my system, I have an estimated wattage of 366W. My setup has around 50% load efficiency, so I wondered if 850W would be excessive. In Germany, similar models like the Be Quiet! Pure Power 12 650W and 750W are priced similarly to the Montech Century II and are listed as A-tier. However, they are non-modular, which is a bit inconvenient but still acceptable.
I also noticed the Adata Core Reactor II 750W is in a comparable price range, modular, and rated A+ on the tier list. It might be a better fit for my system’s power requirements. Both models come with a 5-year warranty. I hope this helps clarify things and avoids any mistakes in the future.
PSUs perform well when operating between 20% and 50% load.
Montech 850W review:
https://www.vortez.net/articles_pages/mo...iew,6.html
Examine the efficiency chart.
From 170W to 425W it delivers optimal performance.
👍
A reliable and high-quality device.
Review:
https://hwbusters.com/psus/xpg-core-reac...su-review/
Also available a VE variant, ensure you choose the non-VE model.
Review:
https://hwbusters.com/psus/xpg-core-reac...su-review/
The VE version is still of good quality, rated as Tier A.
In the list I provided, at the bottom select the "Full list" option to include all models, including speculative ones.
BQ Pure Power 12 - Tier B speculative.
BQ Pure Power 12 M - Tier A.
I wouldn’t seek out the non-modular BQ model since there aren’t sufficient reviews for it. That’s why it remains speculative.
Montech Century II also comes with a 10-year warranty.
Official specifications:
https://www.montechpc.com/century-ii-850w
Unless you’re considering another Montech PSU?
🤔
Comparable to Gamma II with a 5-year warranty, specs:
https://www.montechpc.com/gamma-ii-650w
Gamma II is Tier C+, matching Seasonic G12-GM. It’s best to avoid it.
Alright, thanks! I'll go for either the Montech Century II or the Core Reactor II non-VE