Strangest build I've done

Dudersaurus

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So I've built all of my PCs from 1993 to present and have never seen an issue like this before. I'm not sure how to describe this so I'll just explain it and see what happens. This system has the following parts

AMD FX8320 cpu,
Coolermaster Psideon 120v AIO CPU cooler
AsRock 990FX Killer mobo,
AMD R9 390 gpu,
12GB generic DDR3
750W Thermaltake modular PSU
3x samsung 500gb HDDs in a raid array
120gb kingston ssd boot drive
60gb patriot inferno ssd for swap files,
4Tb external HDD for storage
Running on Win 10 Pro x64


1. When I put the machine together, the first thing i noted was it would not turn off. Well, it would, but start right back up again. If you use the physical power button or the one in the OS, the results are the same, the system goes through the motions of a shutdown and the fans power down, then less than a second later, starts up again. I've checked and double checked all the cables going to the mobo, gpu, etc, and the header pins are all fine, no issues anywhere that I can see but it just wont stay powered down. I did find that if I wait for the fans to stop spinning then quickly press the Reset button, then the Power button, the machine powers off and stays that way.

2. The second issue is the mobo has this "boot guard" feature that dumps you back into the UEFI setup if the system fails to boot 3 times. Due to the weird shutdown issue, UEFI is popping up nearly all the time. I understand this and disable the bios as all I'm doing in it is pressing F10 then Enter (save & exit). You would think that would solve it but when the machine powers up I pretty much roll a dice - if the AsRock logo at boot is in High Res, the system will start, if its in Low Res, the system will drop back to UEFI. F10 & enter does fix things.

So, those two things are my weird problem and I'm sure they are the cause of the other two issues I'm seeing on this system.

3. sometimes (four times in 2 months) I cant power on the system. The fans spin up, I can hear the raid array click as the HDDs power on, then nothing. the screen stays blank and no amount of resetting/restarting will help. The only fix at this point is to open the case and reset the cmos jumper. At other times (also about four times in two months) i experience this very same issue and a quick power down and back up again fixes it, and the boot sequence continues.

4. my last issue is possibly the most frustrating as it happens when the system has been on for a while (this could be anywhere from 5 min to a few hours) then suddenly three or four USB devices will all turn off at the same time - for some reason, my usb keyboard is never affected by this and i can use it to reboot the system - problem being rebooting results in wondering if issues 2 or 3 will show its head again

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I hope this makes sense, i'm happy to go into details for anything, i'm just hoping one of you awesome tech gods can point me in a direction to fix this mess


Kind Regards,
Mike.


 
Solution
OK. I wouldn't say those are "generic", lol. I use the same brands. Also, I coincidentally have a P6T Deluxe still in service as well. I had an i7 920 installed as well :) This may be a dumb question, but I'm just checking. A clean install of Windows was done for the new build? Since everything worked fine in the old system, It's likely some dumb compatibility problem w/ a specific part or a driver. I agree that for now for you to "simplify" the RAM setup to one kit, and minimal disks. Some boards don't like the mix n' match RAM either. Also, what kinds of USB devices do you have plugged in? I've read that hubs can cause boot problems for some. Also, for the USB devices, are they being run through the chipset, or a 3rd...
Have you tried using the powercfg utility in command prompt? Could be a USB device or software settings cause your PC to start itself up again. In Windows 8/8.1/10, a shutdown isn't really a shutdown, it's a hybrid sleep. You can disable this behavior by disabling "fast startup" in power options. This will force the PC to shut down like Windows 7, though it will slow down boot times. I've seen this myself occur in Windows 10, have disabled everything that can wake my PC by rooting through the Powercfg utility and disabling wake devices and services. Regarding USB issues, it could be a driver controller issue. Do you have the most recent chipset drivers installed? Could also be a power delivery problem from the controller or device drawing to much current. You may need to try moving devices around trying to eliminate the cause.
 

Dudersaurus

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Thank you so much! you have fixed problem 1 on this system. I'd already disabled all waketimers in the past but turning off Fast Boot has indeed fixed the shutdown issue. Sleep still reboots, but I can live with that and just use shut down.

 

Dudersaurus

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I've installed the chipset drivers for Win 10, the bios is up to date and the battery is good - its keeping time no problem. I've edited the OP with the psu - its a modular 750W Thermaltake. I've also borrowed another 750W Corsair psu and the same problems are present.
 
Glad to hear back from you. I'm glad I was able to help at least a little. Regarding your other problems, it's likely going to involve some process of elimination. Given that your running many SSD/HDD setup and "Generic" RAM, it could cause intermittent POST problems. May want to a new RAM kit, or moving or removing sticks to see if there is any change. How long has your PC been in it's current form? How long ago has these issues started, namely #2,#3, and #4? I suppose it's possible that since you have a few USB devices and several drives, it could be a limit of resources in the chipset from simultaneous use causing some kind of reset/disconnect of USB. Most folks aren't using 6 drives in their system. This is kinda going out on limb though. I'm guess you're not OC'd either from all the CMOS CLRs you've done to boot.
 

Dudersaurus

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For some reason I cant quote messages - This reply is aimed at 1LiquidPC

I say Generic RAM as it is 2 dual channel kits of differing brands and sizes - there are 2 sticks of 4gb and 2 of 2gb. From memory (lol) they are gSkill and corsair respectively.

The memory and hard disks were working happily in my old system (an i7 920 on a p6t deluxe v2 mobo) it looked like my most cost effective upgrade was the cpu/mobo and keeping everything else from the previous machine.

This "new" pc was built roughly 4 weeks ago. I thought the issues may be due to windows updates no being installed yet. but no, all updates are now done and im still stuck with issues 2 3 and 4.

All issues started when i installed the new mobo/cpu - i'd hate for this to be something stupid like the AMD not being able to handle the load of the drives.


I have to head to work but when i'm home I'll pull out the raid array, and memory and see what happens.


thanks for getting back to me again, this is frustrating me no end
 
OK. I wouldn't say those are "generic", lol. I use the same brands. Also, I coincidentally have a P6T Deluxe still in service as well. I had an i7 920 installed as well :) This may be a dumb question, but I'm just checking. A clean install of Windows was done for the new build? Since everything worked fine in the old system, It's likely some dumb compatibility problem w/ a specific part or a driver. I agree that for now for you to "simplify" the RAM setup to one kit, and minimal disks. Some boards don't like the mix n' match RAM either. Also, what kinds of USB devices do you have plugged in? I've read that hubs can cause boot problems for some. Also, for the USB devices, are they being run through the chipset, or a 3rd party controller.? Usually, I find this type of info on board reviews. Even though a board may have 8+ or so ports, they can be routed differently. Some USB devices can have problems w/ certain controllers.
 
Solution
MB short against the case could cause these problems. Its a pain in the neck, but consider breadboarding the system outside the case.

IF you do this also take the time to look for frayed wires that could be shorting.

The on/off could be as simple as a bad switch bouncing so the MB see two blips. Removing the switch lead and turning the PC on/off by shorting the pins for a second or less would rule that out. (thje on/off switch is an intermittent switch, it does not stay closed, it only completes the circuit while you hold it in. Shorting the pins with a screwdriver for a second or less is the same as using the switch).

 

Dudersaurus

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Thanks for taking the time to get back to me guys, really appreciated :)

I've got issue 4 (usb's turning off) under control now. I used a program called 3DP Chip and it identified a usb3 driver (by Etron) that wasnt installed.

As for your questions, 1LiquidPC, a clean install was done but I must admit I may have missed a step - this was my first experience installing using UEFI so I may have messed it up. I did read a bunch of guides beforehand though....

I've tested the memory by booting with a single module installed and boot passed for each stick. I also used the windows mem checker.

USB devices plugged in are - logitech mx320 mouse, gigabyte keyboard, tplink wifi adapter, 4tb WD external HDD and sometimes an xbox controller


Tsnor, you're right about it being a pain in the neck - breadboarding is an option that i am willing to take, its just i'd rather do that as a last option - routing those cables the first time was a big job lol!


 

Dudersaurus

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I've tested for the last few days and it looks like updating the USB3.0 drivers and disabling Fast Boot has fixed all four issues. The system hasnt dumped back to bios since and I've not had to reset the bios at all.

Yes, all four issues seem to be fixed. I do have one final issue that I might put in this thread, as it may help diagnosing with all these previous facts.


I still cant put the computer to sleep. Any ideas?
 
OK. I'm thinking this could still be one of the various commands available in Powercfg? Which ones had you tried already previously? What about this one for example? powercfg -devicequery wake_armed

This one should show the devices that are capable of waking your system. You also may want to check everything in Device Manager to be sure "magic packet" isn't on for WOL, or a USB device. I've seen a checkbox for my monitor hub before that was checked for "allow this device to wake the computer" was checked on by default.
 

Dudersaurus

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hands are up in the air.. no changes made to the system and all four issues are back. I think i'm going to bite the bullet and get me a new mobo - this asrock 990fx fatality killer is not good, i think.

Thanks for all your effort