I’ve been having an issue with my computer deadlocking after roughly 10-30 minutes of it being on. The simple test was when the computer froze up it didn’t register any inputs, caps lock didn’t change any lights on my keyboard, the computer fans still ran, sound just stopped instead of tonally rattling my headphones like a regular bsod.
I’m not entirely sure what could be causing it other than it’s a hardware issue. PC parts list below.
https://pcpartpicker.com/list/f2hPRV
The things I have tried are as follows:
Booting with my old windows 10 and Linux Mint Windows didn’t seem to record anything major in event viewer.
Switching out my ram cards one at a time and running a check on the sticks themselves. Neither stick appears to be the issue.
Checked my CPU seat for any damaged pins or debris.
Made sure all plugs are properly installed and all drivers are installed.
Flashed bios to both the recommended version and the most up to date version.
Set CPU, GPU, and internal SSD to gen 4 power in the bios.
I also ran a log check on Mint and the only error that it spat out was this:
[Dec 7 13:03] mce: [Hardware Error]: Machine check events logged
[ +0.000006] [Hardware Error]: Corrected error, no action required.
[ +0.000004] [Hardware Error]: CPU:0 (1a:44:0) MC14_STATUS[Over|CE|MiscV|AddrV|-|-|SyndV|CECC|-|-|-]: 0xdc2040000602010b
[ +0.000008] [Hardware Error]: Error Addr: 0x000000000008bdc0
[ +0.000001] [Hardware Error]: IPID: 0x000700b020347000, Syndrome: 0x000000262a1f2603
[ +0.000003] [Hardware Error]: L3 Cache Ext. Error Code: 2
[ +0.000001] [Hardware Error]: cache level: L3/GEN, tx: GEN, mem-tx: GEN
Looking this up seems to spit out a fault in the GPU, but this is way beyond my skill level here.
Thank you for any advise or tips for troubleshooting. I’m still within the return and replace period for my parts so if this indicates anything needing to be replaced, that’s always an option.
Thank you all very much!
Edited for formatting
What are the conditions at the time of the crash? Are you actively using it? Is the screen blank, or frozen showing the last activity? Does this occur every time the computer is on, or intermittently? Does it happen in both Windows and Linux? Does it happen if you boot a live OS and leave that running for awhile? Have you done any SMART checks?
Just to further clarify the symptoms, is it true that the following all appear to stop working at the same time?
Also what are your mouse and keyboard like? Are they wireless? Is there anything else like a USB hub between them and the motherboard? (or maybe an internal port extender inside the PC case for front panel ports or w/e?) Have you tried a different mouse/keyboard just to check the simple stuff? Is the mouse optical sensor still on after the crash (still getting power)?
It would be useful to strip your motherboard to just the CPU and boot to UEFI/BIOS with only the monitor and keyboard attached. (You might need to have 1 RAM module installed to get the motherboard to start - this depends on some specifics of the chipset and the POST test for your board - install the RAM only if you can’t get to UEFI without it). Does the crash occur in this state?
Both when actively using it and leaving it idle when I’m away doing anything else.
The screen freezes the last shown image on it.
Every time the computer is on it will eventually freeze.
Yes both windows and Linux.
Haven’t tried booting a live OS.
It’s likely not an SSD issue because I have booted from two different ssds.
Yes all of these stop working simultaneously.
Mouse and keyboard are both wired connections. And are still receiving power after the crash.
Headphones are wireless.
My next test is booting with no GPU and as barebones as possible, but as others have pointed out in the comments here it seems like it’s more of a CPU issue than not based on the error thrown, but this will at least give solid evidence of that being the case.
I also have to run OCCT as others have pointed out as well. Hopefully those tests aren’t interrupted by the crash.
Yeah it sounds like you’ve eliminated all of the most common possibilities. All of this narrows it down pretty far:
If you’ve already swapped the SSD and reinstalled then the live OS would probably be a waste of time, it really just verifies that the fixed disk is not the source of the problem (although it could be something like the SATA bus, in which case swapping the drive would be irrelevant - low probability on that though).
The barebones test is definitely a good next step. The only other thing I’d suggest is checking the socket real carefully with a flashlight and a magnifying glass (I know you said you checked it already, not clear if that was just a quick look or a full examination). Also make sure the socket itself isn’t cracked or damaged in some way that might cause it to flex and not fully contact the CPU when you lock it down, and that all the pins lift up like they’re supposed to when the lever is folded down.
It also helps to know that my Windows 10 was booted from a SATA connection, but my Linux was booted from an M2 connection. So it’s not that either.