Windows 7 Theme switches on it's own with buzzing sound from computer

SarumanTheWhite

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May 22, 2015
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This is the third time it has happened. I use win 7 x64 with default aero '' blue '' theme.

10 mins ago, while i was typing some stuff on a forum, my screen momentarily went black, the theme changed to windows 7 basic '' grey '' on it's own. Then a weird buzzing sound started to come out of my computer, a sound that is exactly like a GPU or PSU's coil whine. After like a minute, the sound stopped and theme again switched back to default aero.

What would that stand for ? Should i be worried ?
 
Solution
You would need motherboard, memory and cpu to update to anything newer than what you have.

Mostly, Z97 boards will need to be bought from third party vendors, on Amazon or Ebay.

There might be a few around though elsewhere.

Z97 boards are not cheap though, actually, nothing from years past seems to be anymore. That's why I said it might be better to just upgrade. Not cheap either, but at least you aren't doing an in place sidegrade.

https://www.ebay.com/sch/i.html?_from=R40&_sacat=0&LH_BIN=1&LH_ItemCondition=1000&_nkw=z97+motherboard&_sop=15

SarumanTheWhite

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May 22, 2015
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GPU is MSI GTX970 100me, PSU is Antec HCG-620W EC ... both 3 years old, both have been constantly in use for 3 years.
 

SarumanTheWhite

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May 22, 2015
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i5 4690k (no-overclock), ram is kingston hyperx savage ddr3 1600mhz 8gb (XMP profile activated through bios, though i don't know if it does anything), MB is Gigabyte Z97-D3H rev1.1. System is installed on a Samsung Evo 850 SSD 120gb with another ssd Corsair LS 120 gb for games. ( I don't have hdd, that could make such noise. )

Sorry, i should 've named them at my first post. But, wasn't sure if it was necessary.

I also recently updated my gpu driver from 362.00 to 388.71. Gpu is not overclocked either.
 
Do you have the low power C states disabled in the BIOS? That PSU does not support the low power Haswell C states because it is group regulated and cannot meet the criteria for the crossloading and resumption of C7 low power state. Likely this is not the exact problem you are having, but it could be A problem, and technically, COULD be loosely related.

If you do not, I would go into the bios and disable C6/C7 OR get a newer PSU that supports Haswell and newer low power C states. None of the 520w or 620w Seasonic built units are Haswell compatible.

Good power supplies, just not for Haswell and newer Intel builds.

Given your circumstances and without further testing I'm tempted to suspect the PSU and graphics card anyhow. Replacing the PSU, which might be a good idea in ANY case, might be likely to determine that one way or the other.

Short of just doing that, you can also do idle screenshots (After five minutes of letting the system "relax" after a cold boot) and then again another set of screenshots (Usually takes 3 screenshots to get all of the sensors if you expand the HWinfo window from top to bottom of your screen) with the system under a Heaven benchmark load. Wait until about a minute into the benchmark to take the load screenshots.


HWmonitor, Open hardware monitor, Realtemp, CPU-Z and most of the bundled motherboard utilities are not terribly accurate. Some are actually grossly inaccurate, especially with some chipsets or specific sensors that for whatever reason they tend to not like or work well with. I've found HWinfo or CoreTemp to be the MOST accurate with the broadest range of chipsets and sensors. They are also almost religiously kept up to date.

CoreTemp is great for just CPU thermals including core temps or distance to TJmax on AMD platforms.

HWinfo is great for pretty much EVERYTHING, including CPU thermals, core loads, core temps, package temps, GPU sensors, HDD and SSD sensors, motherboard chipset and VRM sensor, all of it. Always select the "Sensors only" option when running HWinfo.

In cases where it is relevant and you are seeking help, then in order to help you, it's often necessary to SEE what's going on, in the event one of us can pick something out that seems out of place, or other indicators that just can't be communicated via a text only post. In these cases, posting an image of the HWinfo sensors or something else can be extremely helpful. That may not be the case in YOUR thread, but if it is then the information at the following link will show you how to do that:

*How to post images in Tom's hardware forums



Run HWinfo and look at system voltages and other sensor readings.

Monitoring temperatures, core speeds, voltages, clock ratios and other reported sensor data can often help to pick out an issue right off the bat. HWinfo is a good way to get that data and in my experience tends to be more accurate than some of the other utilities available. CPU-Z, GPU-Z and Core Temp all have their uses but HWinfo tends to have it all laid out in a more convenient fashion so you can usually see what one sensor is reporting while looking at another instead of having to flip through various tabs that have specific groupings.

After installation, run the utility and when asked, choose "sensors only". The other window options have some use but in most cases everything you need will be located in the sensors window. If you're taking screenshots to post for troubleshooting, it will most likely require taking three screenshots and scrolling down the sensors window between screenshots in order to capture them all.

*Download HWinfo


For temperature monitoring only, I feel Core Temp is the most accurate and also offers a quick visual reference for core speed, load and CPU voltage:

*Download Core Temp

When it comes to temperature issues, especially if this is a build that has been running for a year or more, taking care of the basics first might save everybody involved a lot of time and frustration.

Check the CPU fan heatsink for dust accumulation and blow or clean out as necessary. Avoid using a vacuum if possible as vacuums are known to create static electricity that can, in some cases, zap small components.

Other areas that may benefit from a cleaning include fans, power supply internals, storage and optical drives, the motherboard surfaces and RAM. Keeping the inside of your rig clean is a high priority and should be done on a regular basis using 90 psi or lower compressed air from a compressor or compressed canned air.

Use common sense based on what PSU your compressor is set to. Don't "blast" your motherboard or hardware to pieces. Start from an adequate distance until you can judge what is enough to just get the job done. When using canned air use only short blasts moving from place to place frequently to avoid "frosting" components.




Also, it might very much be worth doing a clean install of the GPU card drivers using safe mode and the DDU. Just updating graphics card drivers without getting rid of all the previous files and registry settings sometimes causes more problems than it solves, so it's a good idea to do the following and start with a clean slate. Be sure to download the DDU AND the latest driver files FIRST.

How to boot into safe mode in Windows 10


*Graphics card CLEAN install tutorial using the DDU*
 
Settings would already be loaded into memory. An issue with the drive wouldn't be likely to change on screen behavior for settings that have already been loaded into memory. Of course, anything is possible, in ANY situation, but that would be improbable. More likely is that something is causing the loss of 3D effects capability which is forcing the system into a basic display mode. That would indicate a much higher probability of it being PSU or graphics card related, but could STILL possibly be a motherboard or CPU issue in rare cases or when there is any chance that the CPU has been out and pins may have been bent or CPU not seated correctly.

My money would be on PSU or graphics card though.

Might try removing the graphics card and reseating it. Double check all power connections to the graphics card and motherboard from the CPU. Maybe one of them is not fully seated and something is temporarily or intermittently losing power.

Try removing the memory and reseating it. If memory is glitching because of poor or loose contact, display data could be affected.

Also, doing as indicated in my last post would at least initially offer a better direction based on what sensor data shows.
 

SarumanTheWhite

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May 22, 2015
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I have been searching for an option like low power C states in bios, but couldn't find anything like that at all.

I also did benchmarks with Unigine Heaven and took screenshots from hwinfo, before and after.

Before ( Idle ) :

2hp528i.jpg


After benchmark :

opw6t4.jpg


and the benchmark result ( When it's succesfull ... ) :

2mxh9af.jpg


I say so, because most benchmarks failed. I somehow can't take screenshot of a benchmark screen, it just a full-black blank page when if press print-screen and copy to paint. So i 'll try to explain :

On succesful one ( that i posted the result ) everything is normal, 1455 mhz graphics, 3505 memory, pretty much the same with other benchmarks on youtube. But, on failed ones, i have like 1300 graphics clock and 800 memory clock, watching a complete slideshow with fps 15-20 max, mostly ending with a system lock-up. What would that mean ?
 
C6/C7 is located under Advanced CPU core settings in the bios. It is not on the power management tab settings.


20qxad.jpg



Did you do the clean install of the graphics card drivers using the DDU in safe mode, like I previously suggested? Exactly as outlined, selecting the Nvidia option?

The thing that concerns me most is the noise you were hearing. I would run the DDU in safe mode, and then install the newest drivers that are available. Download the DDU AND the drivers FIRST, before running the DDU.

Run the DDU in safe mode only. It is important that you do this because there are registry settings and files that cannot be removed if you are in the standard desktop mode.

Also, make sure you have BIOS version F9 installed. If you do not, I would do so, before doing anything else so long as you do not have any troubles with the system until you are in Windows or if a game is running. If you have problems OUTSIDE of windows, in the bios or during POST, then don't do it. So long as it is fine except when you run a game or benchmark, then it's fine.


 

SarumanTheWhite

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May 22, 2015
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I use DDU in safe mode after every nvidia driver i remove. The noise is something i can never get rid of. 3 years ago, when i was putting a system together, i got gpu replaced 4 times because of coil whine. Then replaced 3 psu of different brands. It decreased, but didn't completely go off, never. It still kicks in if i get some high fps like 120+. I.e. On credits screen of heaven benchmark when you close/stop it, the coil whine is crazy. During loading screens etc. it always whines. I can't play games especially with headphones, because electric noise can be heard severely with them, not noticeable with speakers.

I gave up against coil whine long ago. But, this is like some extreme throttling i am experiencing now. Like gpu is deciding to act lazy sometimes. Temperatures are ok. I keep spamming heaven benchmark now and some of them are normal, some of them are crazily low fps with low mhz regardless of temp values.

I have found the tab where hyper-threading is located. But, no c6/c7 state support or something like that. Maybe my MB doesn't have that option ? Gigabyte z97 d3h rev1.1

Oh. My bad, found the c6/c7 option, it was auto and i disabled it. There was also c3 one, but i left it as '' auto ''.
 
Yes, the other C states are ok. Only the C6/C7 states are or can be a problem.

Do you have the latest bios installed?

Have you been using the same motherboard all this time, even with the other hardware you were having issues with? This could definitely be a motherboard problem. It's very hard to say if you can't take a screenshot while running the benchmark. Instead of taking a screenshot, try the Windows snipping tool to snatch the relevant HWinfo sensor data. Or another snipping tool that allows you to draw a box directly on the screen and take only the part of the screen display that you want to capture. Maybe that will work if the screenshots are not.

Also, if you are running multiple monitors, try doing it with only one monitor enabled.
 

SarumanTheWhite

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May 22, 2015
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I use only one monitor. I 've never rma / changed the motherboard. I only did it for gpu and psu. As everyone was only pointing at either psu or gpu about coil whine issue. I gave up against it and don't really care that much anymore. I couldn't catch HWinfo data, because if i alt+tab or disable full-screen of unigine heaven for a snipping tool, it ( gpu ) basically doesn't work in full force and values are pretty much the same as the 2nd pic i've posted as '' After benchmark ''.

Today, i was able to catch a ss during gaming where i get some random instant artifacts. These started to occur only lately, for a week or two. Could mean my gpu is dying ?

29aunu0.jpg


Also atm, my taskbar is gray, definitely the win7 basic one. It switches back to windows aero only when i fully close the game.
 
All I can say is that if you've had the same issue with two different graphics cards and three different power supplies, then the problem is likely to be the motherboard, which, as you admit, has not been changed throughout the entire process that started with the beginning of this problem.

Bad power delivery to devices through the motherboard can definitely cause those devices to malfunction or cause coil whine from your card, at least, I would suspect so. Might not even BE the graphics card making the noise. Very easily could be the motherboard. There are tons of similar threads as this one, indicating motherboards can experience this issue as well. I've seen many of them here myself, although I've never had one actually do it on any system I had to work on.

https://linustechtips.com/main/topic/544579-motherboard-coil-whine/

Bottom line is, everything can be affected by a bad motherboard or one with something not quite right on it. Graphics card could have coil whine, whether new or old, on a board that is causing it. Memory, CPU, drives, GPU card, fans, all of these can be affected in multiple ways from a bad motherboard and unfortunately, for most people, the only way to determine if a motherboard is bad is to eliminate everything else first, which mostly you have done.
 

SarumanTheWhite

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May 22, 2015
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If i place my head in the computer case, i can definitely say the ( most ) sound is coming from GPU. Though, it's like it has a source and makes every other component to play the same sound as if they were some additional speakers. Like Psu is also playing the same sound with a lower level.

I rma 4 gpu, 3 psu so motherboard stands there as the black sheep. But, i still can't be so sure, because coil whine was like a plague with gtx 970 series ( every brand ) in 2015. Despite the 4 times rma, i still might be ended up with a faulty one as the rate is incredibly high on these chipsets :
https://wccftech.com/nvidia-gtx-970-coil-whine/

Still, what worries me are the artifacts or instabilities like these ... coil whine is annoying, but not something to be scared of ... afaik.
 
Usually, artifacts are a result of bad GPU card or power issue. Power issue can be PSU or motherboard. PSU has been replaced multiple times. If you have other PSU, try one. If not, dunno. I think it's likely it's the motherboard but what you do from this point is totally up to you. If I had replaced multiple power supplies and graphics cards, and still had the same noise issue plus new issues like you are having, I'd either replace the board or find a way to upgrade since replacing an old board with a new old stock unit that will cost twice what a brand new board from a current gen platform costs seems unproductive to me. But, my situation is not your situation.
 

SarumanTheWhite

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May 22, 2015
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Just right when i was aiming for a second 8 GB ram -_-
I can't even see any z97 mobo on seller websites. Popular mobos when i was putting this system together are no longer current. Guess it's best to let it go with the flow ... until it completely stops working.

In case i bought a new gen mobo or made a partial update, which component of my rig would become unusable or bottleneck ?

2cym81s.jpg


 
You would need motherboard, memory and cpu to update to anything newer than what you have.

Mostly, Z97 boards will need to be bought from third party vendors, on Amazon or Ebay.

There might be a few around though elsewhere.

Z97 boards are not cheap though, actually, nothing from years past seems to be anymore. That's why I said it might be better to just upgrade. Not cheap either, but at least you aren't doing an in place sidegrade.

https://www.ebay.com/sch/i.html?_from=R40&_sacat=0&LH_BIN=1&LH_ItemCondition=1000&_nkw=z97+motherboard&_sop=15
 
Solution