Need assistance recognizing and fixing PC issues (likely hardware-related)?
Need assistance recognizing and fixing PC issues (likely hardware-related)?
Hello. I've assembled the PC mentioned below (with the modifications made) and observed some unusual issues over the past few months. Initially, several USB ports failed to receive stable power, causing problems such as a nebula projector flickering. At first, I assumed it was due to loose connections or dust. Later, my second monitor began displaying artifacts for less than a second, and there were also issues with Chrome tabs leaving a background image in one corner. This was an older model, which I recently removed and now use only the main monitor shown in the post. Now, I often play games in full screen (like Warframe, Path of Exile, or single-player titles) with reduced graphics settings for smoother performance and less strain on the GPU. Background apps like Discord and possibly a Twitch stream or a few Chrome tabs are running. Occasionally, the monitor would show lines that weren't consistent enough to clearly identify the problem. This led me to test a new cable with a 144Hz refresh rate (the previous one likely lacked this setting). It significantly reduced the issue, making it almost non-existent. I also noticed that running a game alongside a Chrome tab playing video content (such as YouTube or Twitch) put some stress on the GPU without causing major problems. In Path of Exile, the CPU seems to be handling the load well, though I suspect the demanding nature of the game might be the cause. I had the PC restart occasionally (about 1-2 times in the last 5-6 months), but recently tried switching from Warframe to Chrome using Alt+Tab, which froze the system. The sound kept looping until the PC crashed and restarted. Any suggestions on what might be causing this? https://forums.
Hey there,
Which BIOS version is installed on the board? You can verify this using CPU-z, under the motherboard section.
Should be P1.10 if that's what you're reading. Also, the passmark test results came back normal for RAM, likely around 29% because of the 16GB size or possibly a slower clock speed compared to newer models.
You mention chrome a lot and if you have MSI Afterburner doing nothing but having chrome open watch MSI just how much chrome digs into and kicks up the GPU while your on the internet.
Add your gaming, have chrome open and discord all at the same time.
I would turn off hardware acceleration in chrome and also in discord. See if things smooth out.
Just verified the choice was ASROCK B550 Phantom Gaming 4/ac, not the one mentioned in the linked post. I'm starting the bios update now and will check for issues later.
After updating the bios to version 3.40, the pc would freeze at the asrock logo (without the animation that appears after it opens windows), then display a black screen while it was running. When trying to start it, a blue screen appeared with error 0xc0000428, which reset to a black screen after restarting. Restarting brought me into BIOS missing two of the three disks, only the nvme (windows version) was visible. Exiting allowed proper booting to Windows. There were recent windows updates as well, possibly causing this issue. There is also an error (0x80070643) now when checking for updates.
In three days the issues with games, chrome, etc. have been resolved, but now something new keeps happening. When the PC starts up, it doesn’t reach POST and sometimes shows a blue screen asking for repair with error 0xc000042. In BIOS only the NVMe drive is recognized, not SSD or HDD, and Windows isn’t available. Earlier it was possible to see before. If I force shut down through the button and restart, it works fine. I plan to perform a Windows repair from a bootable USB, but I’m unsure what’s wrong or if there’s a better way. Maybe I should keep the PC running and use sleep instead of shutting it down?