PC shutting down after startup?
PC shutting down after startup?
Hi,
I'm uncertain about the ideal location for this message. I’m hoping I chose the right spot.
My gaming PC is experiencing freezing on the "MAG" screen after it passes the BIOS check. My motherboard is an MSI Tomahawk B550. The power went out twice yesterday, and the PC shut down each time it occurred. It froze a few times yesterday when I attempted to boot after the second outage, but functioned normally for the rest of the night. I recently switched to Windows 11. I went to sleep and everything worked properly. The next morning I returned and the screen was black and unresponsive. After restarting, the problems began.
I’m unable to boot Windows 11 or 10 from a USB drive, but I can boot from a Memtest USB without issues. The PC either freezes before it starts the operating system or freezes shortly after booting. I can move around for a short time, then it freezes again. Out of about 30 attempts, it hasn’t frozen more than once. I think I might have left it running and it would have worked, but I restarted to see if the issue was resolved.
In recent months, my PC has had some strange crashes. I’ve updated drivers occasionally and the problems would disappear. My first guess is a hard drive issue, though I’m not entirely convinced.
Here’s what I’ve tried so far:
1. Updated BIOS settings.
2. Reset the CMOS.
3. Removed one RAM stick (the other remains).
4. Ran a Memtest with both sticks installed, showing no errors at the halfway point of the fourth stage before failure.
5. Booted without any peripherals.
6. I have two M.2 drives—one for games and one for the OS. The OS drive was removed, but it still wouldn’t boot to a Windows USB without freezing beforehand. When I try to initiate boot without the USB, it jumps straight to BIOS. I suspect this is the new setup instead of a device not found error.
7. Performed error checks on both hard drives during booting.
8. Tested with Windows 10, Windows 11, and another Windows 11 USB.
I’m really puzzled about where to proceed from here. I’m considering replacing the power supply and motherboard for testing, but it seems odd they wouldn’t be the cause since everything worked last night.
Any guidance would be greatly appreciated.
Thank you.
When sharing a troubleshooting thread, it's important to provide detailed system specifications. List them clearly as requested:
CPU:
CPU cooler:
Motherboard:
Ram:
SSD/HDD:
GPU:
PSU:
Chassis:
OS:
Monitor:
Include the PSU age along with its make and model.
BIOS version for your motherboard at this time.
Upgraded BIOS versions.
Could you explain the process of flashing the BIOS?
I've used Windows 10 USB, Windows 11 USB, and another USB running Windows 11.
Where did you obtain the installers for the operating systems?
I attempted to build a PC for someone who was planning to assemble it, so I borrowed a cooler master 850w power supply gold, gigabyte B550m ds3h ac motherboard, and a ryzen 5 5600x cpu. Even with its own cables, the power supply kept freezing. I haven't tested the motherboard yet, but I plan to. I'm about to install the cpu next.
I also tried installing Windows 11 on a 1tb m.2 drive, but it froze during setup (not installation). I've also tried using just the 1tb without the 500gb drive, still no success. I'm running out of options to try.
Update for everyone. It turned out the CPU was the issue. Memtest confirmed it was okay but not really. I installed a Ryzen 5600X and it stopped freezing immediately. I watched some YouTube videos to check, but nothing happened. I put the 5900X back in and it froze again.
Sure, I can help with that. Let me know how you'd like to proceed.