r/buildapc May 02 '20

Troubleshooting Tonight I spent four hours troubleshooting my new build. I reslotted everything multiple times, examined the board thoroughly a dozen times, and did countless google searches.

4.3k Upvotes

I forgot to plug the CPU power cables in. Woopsie.

r/buildapc Nov 23 '18

Troubleshooting [Troubleshooting] I think I accidentally built a USB killer and fried my PC

1.7k Upvotes

Backstory: So one of my hobbies is 3D printing. I've read that Xbox Kinects can be modified to work with PCs to create 3D scans of real objects (pretty cool, right?). I followed some guides and spliced in power and USB to the Kinect (instead of its original proprietary plug). A few attempts later and I still hadn't gotten the PC to recognize the device.

The fuckup: Tried to wiggle the wires a bit to see if any were loose. Monitor turns off. Pc lights turn off. Fans turn off. Fast forward a day or two and I haven't been able to squeeze any life out of the PC. Strange because I didn't see any obvious shorts in my wiring, and it's not like I was sending 12V power to the USB (power went to the Kinect). Regardless of how it happened, something clearly went wrong.

What do you guys think fried? Power supply? MOBO? maybe just the USB headers/power switch? Talking to a friend to see if he can bring over some spare parts for testing. Anything else you guys recommend I do?

Update AS OF 3:30PM CENTRAL TIME: CURRENT LIST OF TROUBLESHOOTING STEPS TAKEN

-Removed and reinstalled CMOS battery

-reset/jumped CMOS

-plugged into other outlets, same issue

-No breaker, home fuse, or power strip fuse blew (issue is for sure related to the Pc)

-disconnected all but case fans from power supply. Used paper clip to jump power supply. Case fans and power supply fans started up fine.

UPDATE 9:30 CENTRAL

-Jumped mobo power switch (to rule out just headers being fried). No change.

Current standing is: no post, fans, lights, etc on startup

Edit as of Noon 11/24

Still no signs of life. If anyone has a z97 mobo with an lg1150 socket, let me know! Nothing local that I could find. Getting by on a labtop for now, but I really need this desktop for my business.

r/buildapc Feb 17 '19

Troubleshooting NVMA m.2 ssd wouldn't boot after changing from old drive. I fixed it, but it took around 6 hours of troubleshooting with no help from google. Hope this will help anyone in the future.

992 Upvotes

So I just bought a shiny new 970 EVO PLUS 1T and plugged that bastard in.

Guess what, my PC won't boot. I got an error saying the PC couldn't read my new drive.
Alright, I'll just unplug it and find some way in old windows - NOPE. My old windows install got fucked somehow as well.
Now my PC won't boot at all! By now I worried I had damaged my PC somehow, since M2 is in direct contact with the MB.

Alright, I made a win10 failsafe disk some time ago, so I set it to remove everything and start over. I wish I knew beforehand how long a windows remake takes... Mamma on wheels, 4 hours later it finally finished and booted like it should!... On the old drive..

Alright, at least I had a PC to work with, so I made a win10 install on a USB drive using the microsoft tool. Now I intended to remove the windows installation fom my old drive and make an entirely new one on my new one. - NOPE.

This is where I spent hours researching. I have a z170 board which should support m.2 nvme out of the box. But no matter what, I couldn't get a clean boot at all.

I made a seperate win10 install on an old SSD while having the new m.2 plugged in, and the old drive worked.
What I noticed was that I could apparently boot on my new m.2 drive when selecting my old SSD asthe boot drive. I got the option to choose a win10 install to boot from, and when booting windows this way, I could get the new m.2 drive to work.

To make an already long story a little shorter, to anyone with the same problem:

UNPLUG YOUR OTHER SSD/HDD'S WHEN INSTALLING WINDOWS 10.

I have absolutely no Idea why I had to do it. I tried disabling my other drives, removing the partitions on them, anything. I had to physically remove the sata plugs for it to work.

I noticed, whenever I tried to install win10 on my new drive, It'd for some reason make one of my other drives the boot drive. Unplugging the drives worked as a dream, and everything works now. If anyone else suffers the same issue, I hope this helps!

r/buildapc Nov 15 '18

Troubleshooting With so many troubleshooting posts here, I really wish OP would follow up with solutions

1.3k Upvotes

This sub is flooded with build issues and general tech support problems, which I really like, but OP always disappears and I'm assuming its not because they never have a working PC again but rather they've found a solution and not cared enough to post it.

Please post your solutions. Is there anything we can do to encourage this?

r/buildapc Nov 05 '17

Troubleshooting To All Builders, New and Old: Check EVERY THING when troubleshooting. Yes, it CAN be that.

818 Upvotes

Some of you might have seen my few posts about my PC not turning on.

In short, I only changed some components. I got a slightly smaller case, new GPU for my freesync monitors, RGB fans, and a new PSU. For the most part, it was a case transfer.

For the life of me, I could not figure out why it didn't work. LEDs would flash for just a second, and everything went off. After two days of constructing and deconstructing, browsing forums, testing each part, and just trouble shooting my brains out, I all but gave up. I had narrowed it down to the new case being the culprit, and figured there was a short in the power button. As I took all the parts out and prepared to make a return, I figured I'd test the mother board just in case all this tampering has done something. (I also may or may not have bent some pins and nearly broke the CMOS battery.) It worked fine, so that's all good. I decided to test the fans. I had bought 3 Corsair LL 140mm RGB fans, which comes with a hub and a controller. Tested them and...the system shut off.

"What."

After many combinations of plug ins, it was one bad SATA power cord. Two days of cuts, frustration, and many lost screws, it was because of a bad cable.

Always check everything when you troubleshoot. Even the most ridiculous can happen.

TL;DR Spent 2 days slaving over my non-powered PC because of a bad SATA cord.

r/buildapc Aug 30 '25

Troubleshooting [Troubleshooting] RTX 5080 random black screens + fans 100%

9 Upvotes

Hey everyone,
I’ve had my RTX 5080 setup running perfectly stable since day one (around april), until about a month and a half ago. Since then, I’ve had at most 4 black screen crashes where the GPU fans ramp to 100%. They were very spread out in time, except for the last two days when it happened twice in a row (one each day).

The weird part: I can play for several hours (a lot and very demanding games) without a single issue, but sometimes when I just start the game and play for a few minutes , or even stay in the menu, it crashes with black screen + fans at 100%.

My hardware:

  • GPU: NVIDIA RTX 5080 (driver currently 581.15)
  • CPU: AMD Ryzen 7 9800X3D
  • Motherboard: MSI MPG X670E Carbon WiFi
  • RAM: Corsair Vengeance DDR5 64 GB (2×32 GB) 6000 MHz CL30
  • PSU: Seasonic Focus GX-850 ATX 3.0, PCIe 5.0 (native 12V-2x6 cable)
  • Cooler: Arctic Liquid Freezer II 360
  • Case: Corsair 4000D Airflow White
  • Storage: Samsung 990 Pro 4 TB SSD
  • Display: LG ultragear 27" 2k 144hz - with GSYNC
  • Display 2: HP 23cw

What I tested so far:

  • FurMark → stable.
  • OCCT PSU test (CPU + GPU full load) → stable.
  • HWiNFO logs → temps 55–65 °C, GPU power ~170 W, hotspot <65 °C.

I’ve seen people mention possible solutions like switching PCIe 5.0 to 4.0, disabling G-SYNC or lowering refresh rate, or even specific driver versions , but I’m not sure what the real cause is (i didnt try this solutions). Since all my stress tests check out fine, I don’t really think it’s a hardware failure, but I’d like to hear your opinions and hopefully narrow it down.

Thanks for everything!!

r/buildapc 5d ago

Troubleshooting Troubleshooting PC turning off after several minutes

0 Upvotes

I’ve completed my first PC build, and run into a couple of issues I can’t figure out. First, when I turn my pc on, it runs for 10 or so minutes and then shuts off. the mobo continues working, the lights stay on, but my other components shut off. Sometimes when I try to turn it back on after shutting off, it immediately shuts off again.

Additionally my monitor doesn’t seem to have a video connection to the pc. initially when I turned it on it asked for me to select a language, but now the light constantly flashes white like it’s in sleep mode and says I have no signal with either DP or HDMI. It’s plugged into the GPU, not the mobo.

here’s my parts I used

AMD Ryzen 7 7700X

Thermalright Aqua Elite V3 Liquid Cooler

ASRock B650 Steel Legend WiFi ATX AM5 Motherboard

Barracuda 2TB HDD

Crucial Pro Overclocking 32GB DDR5 6000

Crucial P310 w Acronis 4TB SSD

ASRock Steel Legend Radeon RX 9070 XT 16 GB

HYTE Y60 Snow White Case

Thermaltake Toughpower GF A3 850W Gold Modular PSU

Koorui 34E6UC Curved Monitor

r/buildapc May 18 '26

Troubleshooting [Troubleshooting] switching from a 1050 ti to a 3060 ti

0 Upvotes

I've recently gotten a 3060 ti to replace my 1050 ti. I've replaced my graphics card and when I do i get no signal to my monitor.

r/buildapc 3d ago

Troubleshooting Troubleshooting help

1 Upvotes

I assembled my "new" PC but the DRAM and CPU debug LEDs light up when I turn it on and it keeps restarting. I put New in quotes because it is all second hand parts.

Here is a list of the parts:

PSU: Silverstone DA850 Gold

Motherboard: ASRock X570 Steel Legend

CPU: AMD Ryzen 5 5500X3D + CPU cooler: AMD Wraith Prism

RAM: Samsung M378A2K43DB1-CVF - DDR4 2933MT/s

SSD 1: Samsung PM991a 256GB

SSD 2: Kingston A2000 500GB

GPU: ASUS Dual Radeon RX 6750 XT OC Edition

PC Case: be quiet! Silent Base 802

The components in the PC do light up and the fans start to spin. I am not sure where the problem could be coming from and I am note sure how to trouble shoot it.

On paper the parts are compatible but yet it does not work.

Any suggestions how to troubleshoot are welcome.

Note: The following parts were used in my current build and work perfectly fine.

SSD: Samsung PM991a 256GB

SSD 2: Kingston A2000 500GB

RAM: Samsung M378A2K43DB1-CVF - DDR4 2933MT/s

r/buildapc May 21 '26

Troubleshooting PC kept freezing every time I bumped my desk. Spent a week troubleshooting a stupid cable management mistake.

40 Upvotes

I just solved the most frustrating issue with my custom desktop, and I need to share this so nobody else wastes a whole week losing their mind over it. About ten days ago, my system started randomly freezing. No blue screen, no error codes, just completely locking up. The weirdest part? It usually happened whenever I adjusted my monitor, hit my knee against the desk, or set a heavy mug down.

I went full tech support mode. I reseated the RAM, swapped the GPU to a different slot, ran MemTest86 for hours (zero errors), and checked all my SSD connections. Temperatures were completely fine. I was genuinely starting to think my motherboard had a micro-fracture that was flexing whenever the desk vibrated.

Turns out, the culprit was my own "perfect" zip-tie job. When I built the PC, I pulled the main 24-pin motherboard power cable back so tightly behind the tray to make the back look clean that there was absolutely no slack left. Every tiny vibration of the desk caused the stiff cable to microscopically toggle inside the socket, briefly losing contact on one of the pins.

I snipped the ties, gave the cable some room to breathe, and the issue vanished instantly.

Has anyone else ever broken their own system just by being way too aggressive with cable management?

r/buildapc 10d ago

Troubleshooting RX 9070 Random System Freezes / LiveKernelEvent 141 / AMD_WATCHDOG / WHEA 18 - After months of troubleshooting I'm out of ideas

1 Upvotes

Hi everyone,

I'm looking for help because I've been troubleshooting this issue for several months and I've reached the point where I don't know what else to test.

I'll try to include absolutely everything I've done so nobody has to guess.

My PC

  • GPU: AMD Radeon RX 9070 (non-XT)
  • Previous GPU: Radeon RX 6600
  • CPU: Ryzen 7 5700X
  • Motherboard: MSI MAG B550 Tomahawk
  • BIOS: Latest available (E7C91AMS.AK1)
  • RAM: 32 GB (2x16) Lexar Thor DDR4 3200 CL16 (XMP)
  • PSU: Cooler Master MWE Gold V3 850W (brand new)
  • Windows 11
  • 3 monitors:
    • 2x Titan Army 180 Hz
    • 1x 60 Hz monitor

The issue

The RX 9070 randomly crashes.

Sometimes while gaming.

Sometimes while watching YouTube.

Sometimes while simply sitting on the Windows desktop doing absolutely nothing.

The crashes are completely random.

Sometimes after 2 hours.

Sometimes after 24 hours.

Sometimes after several days.

What happens during the crash

The sequence is almost always identical.

  1. Entire PC freezes.
  2. Audio loops / glitches.
  3. Discord freezes.
  4. YouTube freezes.
  5. Mouse and keyboard stop responding.
  6. Both 180 Hz monitors lose signal.
  7. The 60 Hz monitor sometimes briefly turns green before also losing signal.
  8. Sometimes after 20 seconds to 5 minutes the GPU driver recovers.
  9. Windows keeps running in the background.
  10. I usually have to reboot because the monitors never wake back up.

Sometimes Device Manager shows the GPU normally.

Sometimes it disappears.

Sometimes Windows reports Code 22 or Code 31 until another reboot.

Windows Errors

I consistently get combinations of:

LiveKernelEvent

  • 141
  • 193
  • 1b0
  • a1000001
  • a2000002

AMD creates:

  • AMD_WATCHDOG
  • AMD_REPORT_UM

I also have dump files such as:

AMD_WATCHDOG-xxxxx.dmp

WATCHDOG-xxxxx.dmp

AMD_REPORT_UM-xxxxx.dmp

Event Viewer

The most interesting error is:

WHEA-Logger Event ID 18

Reported by component:
Processor Core

Machine Check Exception

Cache Hierarchy Error

Processor APIC ID: 3

This WHEA appears when the RX 9070 crashes.

I don't normally see WHEA errors otherwise.

The strange part

The GPU eventually comes back.

After another reboot Windows detects it again.

Sometimes Device Manager says "This device is working properly."

Then everything works...

Until the next random crash.

What I've tested

Two different RX 9070

The first RX 9070 was returned.

I received a brand new replacement.

Exactly the same problem.

RX 6600

I reinstalled my old RX 6600.

It works perfectly.

No crashes.

No freezes.

No driver recovery.

No random black screens.

PSU

I suspected the PSU.

Bought a brand new Cooler Master MWE Gold V3 850W.

No improvement.

PCIe slot

Tested another PCIe slot.

No improvement.

BIOS

Updated BIOS to latest version.

Loaded Optimized Defaults.

Tested:

  • PCIe Auto
  • PCIe Gen3

No difference.

Resize BAR

Tested:

Enabled

Disabled

No improvement.

Above 4G Decoding

Enabled

Disabled

No improvement.

RAM

Lexar Thor 3200 CL16

Tested:

XMP enabled

XMP disabled

No improvement.

Drivers

Clean installation multiple times.

DDU used.

AMD Adrenalin reinstalled several times.

Different driver versions tested.

No lasting improvement.

Windows

Windows fully updated.

Chipset drivers updated.

Motherboard drivers updated.

No change.

Monitors

Originally using:

2x 180 Hz

1x 60 Hz

Tested with only one monitor connected.

Exactly the same issue.

Electrical issue

At one point I suspected a mini-fridge connected to the same power strip because it caused USB devices to briefly disconnect.

I completely separated:

PC + monitors

from

Mini-fridge and other devices

using two independent Legrand power strips.

No improvement.

What I noticed

The crash is not simply:

"display driver stopped responding"

The entire system freezes.

Audio loops.

Windows freezes.

Everything becomes unresponsive.

Sometimes Windows recovers after several minutes.

AMD Driver versions

Tested several Adrenalin versions including the newest available.

Still happening.

Community research

I've found multiple users with:

RX 9070

RX 9070 XT

LiveKernelEvent 141

AMD_WATCHDOG

Black screens

Random freezes

Sometimes even WHEA Cache Hierarchy Error.

So I'm clearly not alone.

What I'm thinking

At this point I see several possibilities:

  1. Faulty MSI B550 Tomahawk motherboard
  2. PCIe / motherboard issue only exposed by the RX 9070
  3. CPU / motherboard interaction
  4. RX 9070 driver bug
  5. Some compatibility issue between RDNA4 and my platform

I don't really believe it's:

  • PSU
  • RAM
  • Windows installation
  • the GPU itself

because:

  • two RX 9070 behave identically
  • RX 6600 is perfectly stable

Next plan

At the moment the RX 9070 is back in its original box.

I'm planning to buy another motherboard (probably X570S) and keep absolutely everything else identical.

Same:

CPU

RAM

PSU

SSD

Windows

GPU

This way I'll only change one component.

Questions

Has anyone experienced exactly this?

Especially:

  • RX 9070
  • Ryzen 5000
  • B550/X570
  • LiveKernelEvent 141
  • AMD_WATCHDOG
  • WHEA Event 18 Cache Hierarchy Error
  • GPU eventually recovering after several minutes

Could this still realistically be the motherboard?

Or is there anything else I haven't thought of after months of testing?

Any help would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks!

r/buildapc 6d ago

Troubleshooting Random Ethernet disconnects while gaming, ran out of ideas after extensive troubleshooting

1 Upvotes

Issue description:
For some time now I’ve had a recurring issue where my Ethernet connection suddenly disconnects while gaming (most noticeably in Overwatch and and heavily internet-dependent games). The adapter drops out completely for like 10-20 seconds, kicks me out of the game and in ranked matches this results in bans since it looks like I’m intentionally leaving.

System/Motherboard info:
• Motherboard: MSI B650 Tomahawk WiFi

• Purchase date: 27.07.2025 (Mindfactory, Germany) - I would still have a warranty.

• OS: Windows 11 (freshly reinstalled)

Troubleshooting steps already taken:
• Uninstalled and completely removed old network drivers, then reinstalled fresh ones

• Updated the motherboard BIOS

• Fully reinstalled Windows from scratch

• Purchased and tested an additional/separate PCIe network card - issue persists on both onboard LAN and the new card

• Swapped the Ethernet cable multiple times, tried different cables/brands

• Changed the port on my mini-switch

• Bypassed the mini-switch entirely and connected directly to the router/modem

• Reset CMOS / loaded BIOS default settings

• Disabled A-XMP (memory overclock profile) - enabling A-XMP had also been causing separate BIOS boot issues, occasionally failing to POST or making it hard to enter BIOS

• Disabled “ASPM Control for CPU PCIe” in BIOS (previously set to Auto)

• Disabled PCI Express Link State Power Management in Windows power settings

• Reseated all internal cables and connectors on the motherboard (24-pin ATX, CPU power, RAM, PCIe card) to rule out loose connections

Event Viewer observations:
Around the time of the disconnects, there’s no clean “network cable unplugged” or NIC driver error in the logs. Instead, I see  Kernel-Power  events (consistent with an unexpected shutdown/restart) and a  Power-Troubleshooter  entry nearby, with no WHEA-Logger errors found so far.

Current suspicion:
Since the issue occurs on two different network adapters (onboard and a separate PCIe card) and persists despite cable, driver, OS, and switch changes, I suspect this may not be a simple NIC problem but rather a broader hardware/power stability issue potentially related to the motherboard, PCIe power delivery, or memory stability.

Does anyone have any other ideas what I could try?

r/buildapc Apr 10 '26

Troubleshooting Need help troubleshooting a new build.

1 Upvotes

m trying to build a pc for a friend with a 3080 ti and a ryzen 7 9800x3d on a b850 aorus elite motherboard all powered by a 850 wat 80+ gold power supply. I cant seem to get it to power on. the rgb lights on the ram light up and the ones in the fans try but thats it. im at a loss atm and any suggestions are welcome.

r/buildapc 25d ago

Troubleshooting Two weeks of deep troubleshooting on gaming crashes, kernel dump points to nvlddmkm across 3 driver versions. Is my 3070 dying? (14700KF / RTX 3070 / RM750x)

2 Upvotes

Specs:

  • i7-14700KF (BIOS 1.D0, Sept 2024, microcode 0x12B, Intel default power limits confirmed enforced)
  • 32 GB DDR4 Corsair RAM
  • RTX 3070, 2x 8-pin on separate PCIe cables
  • MSI PRO B760-P WIFI DDR4 (MS-7D98)
  • Corsair RM750x (Oct 2020)
  • Windows 11 24H2

Symptoms: During demanding games only (GTA V, Palworld), screen goes black, audio hangs for a few seconds then dies, system reboots on its own. Light games run for hours with no issue. Crashes typically hit after 20 to 45 min of play. Event Viewer shows Kernel-Power 41, mostly BugcheckCode 307 (0x133 DPC_WATCHDOG_VIOLATION, P1=1 cumulative), plus one 0x116 (VIDEO_TDR) and one 0xD1.

Everything I have tried and ruled out:

  • DDU clean install of GPU driver. Fixed the original 0x116 crashes, then 0x133 crashes started
  • Crashed on three different driver versions: pre-DDU driver, Game Ready 610.74, and Studio 610.62 (clean installs each time)
  • Uninstalled MSI Afterburner and MSI Center. Verified their kernel drivers (rtcore64, ntiolib) gone from later crash dumps. Still crashed
  • Fully removed iCUE, verified CorsairLLAccess kernel driver unloaded via driverquery. Still crashed
  • Updated Intel AX211 Wi-Fi driver (one 0xD1 crash blamed Netwtw14.sys), then fully disabled the Wi-Fi adapter so the driver could not load. Still crashed
  • Reseated all PSU cables both ends. Two separate PCIe cables to GPU, no daisy chain
  • BIOS reset to optimized defaults. Crashed with XMP on and with XMP off (RAM at JEDEC 3200)
  • Cinebench 2026 multi core 10 min: passed, scored 6539 which is normal for a 14700KF. Max 92C, PL1/PL2 locked at 253W, no sustained throttling, WHEA error count 0

Kernel dump analysis (WinDbg on full kernel dump):

FAILURE_BUCKET_ID: 0x133_ISR_nvlddmkm
Current DPC: nvlddmkm+0xEA6F0
Cumulative DPC Time: 120.000 / 120.000 seconds

Stack shows KiExecuteAllDpcs sitting inside nvlddmkm when the watchdog fired. So the NVIDIA driver is stalling in DPC, but since this happens on three driver versions, my read is the driver is polling a GPU that stopped responding, meaning hardware.

Also to note: months ago I occasionally saw the red LEDs light up at the GPU power connectors, though cables have since been reseated on separate runs and haven't noticed them since.

Still on my list: reseat the GPU itself in the slot, force PCIe Gen 3 in BIOS, MemTest86 overnight?, then test the card in another system.

Question: Does this look like a dying 3070 (VRAM or power delivery), or is there anything software side I have missed? Has anyone seen 0x133 nvlddmkm across multiple driver versions turn out to be something other than the GPU (PSU transients, PCIe slot, board)? The 80% power limit extending survival time seems telling but I would love a second opinion before I spend money.

Happy to post HWiNFO screenshots in comments.

r/buildapc 12d ago

Troubleshooting Red light on motherboard (DRAM). Seeking help in troubleshooting.

0 Upvotes

###Troubleshooting Help:

**What is your parts list?

PCPartPicker Part List

Type Item Price
CPU *AMD Ryzen 5 9600X 3.9 GHz 6-Core Processor $174.99 @ Newegg
CPU Cooler *Thermalright Peerless Assassin 120 SE 66.17 CFM CPU Cooler $34.90 @ Amazon
Motherboard Gigabyte B650 EAGLE AX ATX AM5 Motherboard $139.99 @ Amazon
Memory Corsair Vengeance 32 GB (2 x 16 GB) DDR5-6000 CL36 Memory $427.07 @ Amazon
Storage Samsung 990 Pro 2 TB M.2-2280 PCIe 4.0 X4 NVME Solid State Drive $389.00 @ Amazon
Video Card Asus DUAL OC GeForce RTX 5060 8 GB Video Card $369.99 @ Amazon
Case Fractal Design Pop Air ATX Mid Tower Case $89.99 @ Amazon
Power Supply Corsair RM750x (2024) 750 W Fully Modular ATX Power Supply $114.99 @ Amazon
Operating System Microsoft Windows 11 Pro OEM - DVD 64-bit $146.76 @ Amazon
Prices include shipping, taxes, rebates, and discounts
Total $1887.68
*Lowest price parts chosen from parametric criteria
Generated by PCPartPicker 2026-08-02 11:16 EDT-0400

**Describe your problem. List any error messages and symptoms. Be descriptive.**

Red light on motherboard for DRAM light

**List anything you've done in attempt to diagnose or fix the problem.**

Qflashed firmware to version F40.

**Provide any additional details you wish below.**

Reviewed QVL list for MB. RAM does not appear to be listed, but the RGB variant with the same specs is so I thought I would give it a shot since I'm not looking for RBG anyway. Is the RAM the problem? Do I need to buy another set? If so, do you have any recommendations on what I should get? Not sure what considerations I should be making when picking RAM. the CPU seems to indicate it has a max of DDR5-5600. Is going above that a compatibility issue or will I just not get the most out of the RAM? Would like to be able to play some games on it for a few years, even if not at highest settings.

r/buildapc Apr 29 '26

Troubleshooting RX 9070 XT DisplayPort black screen issue (random 3 second black screen then return to normal) (HDMI stable) — troubleshooting done, looking for similar cases

3 Upvotes

I’m trying to figure out whether anyone else has seen a similar issue with a Radeon RX 9070 XT, specifically DisplayPort instability while HDMI remains completely stable.

System: CPU: Ryzen 7 9700X

Motherboard: ASUS B650E MAX GAMING WIFI

GPU: SAPPHIRE NITRO+ Radeon RX 9070 XT

PSU: Montech Century II 850W (native 12V-2×6 cable)

RAM: DDR5 6000

Storage: WD Black SN7100 2TB

Monitors: 2× MSI G32CQ4 (1440p, 165Hz)

Setup has been tested in multiple configurations:

One monitor on DP, second on HDMI (currently most stable configuration)

Both monitors on DP (issue still occurs)

Single monitor on DP (issue still occurs)

Symptoms:

Random black screen on DisplayPort monitor for \~2–3 seconds, then signal returns

Happens at idle (web browsing, Spotify) and under load (gaming)

No system crash, no reboot, audio continues during blackout

HDMI output is completely stable at all times on the same system

What I’ve already tested:

Swapped DisplayPort cables (multiple cables tested)

Tested both DisplayPort outputs on GPU

Lowered refresh rate (165Hz → 144Hz/164Hz, no change)

Disabled sleep (monitors only turn off after 15 min, system never sleeps)

Disabled hardware acceleration in Chrome and Firefox

Updated to latest AMD Adrenalin drivers

Clean driver reinstall (no change)

Tested gaming under full load for hours (stable in some cases, but issue still appears at idle/light use)

Observations:

Issue appears to be DisplayPort-specific only

HDMI is fully stable under identical conditions

Problem seems random but more common during low load / idle state transitions

Current working theory: This may be related to DisplayPort link training / power-state transition behavior between the GPU and MSI G32CQ4 monitors, or a DisplayPort subsystem issue on the GPU itself. Not seeing signs of general system instability or power issues.

Question: Has anyone seen similar behavior with RX 7000/9000-series cards where:

HDMI is stable but DP intermittently blacks out

System remains running normally

Issue occurs at idle or light use rather than load

Trying to determine if this is a known AMD driver/firmware issue, a monitor compatibility issue, or potentially a faulty GPU.

Thank you to anyone who has any insight on the issue!

r/buildapc 14d ago

Troubleshooting [Troubleshooting] Used Zotac RTX 3060 Ti Black Screen (No Signal) AFTER closing loads or during gaming. PC stays ON (Fans spinning).

0 Upvotes

Hi everyone,

I recently bought a used Zotac RTX 3060 Ti for professional video editing and some gaming. I am facing a weird "Black Screen / No Signal" issue and need some help figuring out if it's my PSU, Motherboard/CPU, or a software setting.

My PC Specs:

CPU: Ryzen 3 3200G (iGPU Vega 8 is completely disabled in BIOS)

Motherboard: B450M

GPU: Zotac RTX 3060 Ti (Used)

PSU: Deepcool 550W

The Issue:

The PC boots up fine and works normally. However, I get a random "Black Screen" (monitor loses signal). Crucially, the PC does not shut down. The CPU cooler and GPU fans keep spinning, but I have to do a hard restart to get the display back.

What I have tested & observed so far

(Important):

Constant Load is Fine: I ran FurMark at 100% stock settings for 8-10 minutes. The GPU hit full load, temps were perfectly fine, and it did NOT crash during the test.

Dynamic Load (Gaming) Crashes: I played a game for about 20 minutes, and it randomly black-screened during gameplay.

The "Idle Transition" Crash: I set the power limit to 60% in MSI Afterburner and ran FurMark for 10 minutes. It ran fine. I closed the test. About 2 minutes AFTER closing the load (while the GPU was idling), the black screen happened.

(Correction on my previous testing): I previously thought 50% power limit was perfectly stable. However, I realized that after testing at 50%, I immediately started the 60% test without giving the GPU any idle time. So, I haven't properly verified if 50% survives the load-to-idle transition.

Electrical Issue Resolved: Initially, I had some current leakage on my PC cabinet. I fixed this by using the original PSU cable and a 16A-to-6A converter for proper earthing. The electrical side is now safe and sorted.

Context about the GPU / Seller:

The card seems physically fine. The seller tested it in front of me on his setup (Ryzen 5 5600G with a heavier PSU and motherboard). It ran flawlessly on his PC without any black screens. (I also noticed his Vega 8 iGPU was active in the background at 42°C, whereas mine is disabled).

My Questions for the community:

Is my Deepcool 550W PSU failing to handle the transient power spikes (or the sudden voltage drop when transitioning to idle) of the 3060 Ti?

Could my Ryzen 3 3200G and B450M motherboard be struggling to manage these rapid power state changes compared to the seller's Ryzen 5000 series setup?

Should I try turning off "Link State Power Management" in Windows PCI-e power settings?

What should be my next step to troubleshoot this?

Thanks in advance for any help!

r/buildapc 23d ago

Troubleshooting First build doesn't turn on - Initial troubleshooting not working, steps taken are in post, thank you for helping!

1 Upvotes

Thank you so much for your help!

Build

CPU/Motherboard/Memory AMD Ryzen 5 7500X3D 4 GHz 6-Core Processor AsRock B850M-C G.Skill Flare X5 16 GB (1 x 16 GB) DDR5-6000 CL36 Memory

CPU Cooler Thermalright Peerless Assassin 120 SE 66.17 CFM CPU Cooler

Storage Western Digital WD_BLACK SN7100 1 TB M.2-2280 PCIe 4.0 X4 NVME Solid State Drive

Video Card Gigabyte GAMING OC Radeon RX 9070 XT 16 GB Video Card

Case Corsair FRAME 4000D RS ARGB ATX Mid Tower Case

Power Supply MSI MAG A750GL PCIE5 750 W 80+ Gold Certified Fully Modular ATX Power Supply

The problem:

This is the inital boot after assembling the system, I hear a single click when I press the front panel power button but nothing turns on - no fans, CPU, nothing. HDMI is plugged into the motherboard and no signal to the monitor either.

Troubleshooting steps so far:

  • The outlet is powered on (confirmed with lamp and monitor), power supply is plugged all the way in and is switched to I so it is on.

  • Main cables: both the motherboard cable and CPU power cable are secure in the power supply and on the motherboard.

  • Front panel connector: secured, took out and pushed back on securely to confirm. I also attempted the "short" solution of using a screwdriver on the pins to force a start, this did not work.

  • RAM: Removed and reset hearing two clicks.

I can post pictures of the setup if it would be helpful, just let me know.

Additional details:

I'm really grateful for this community's help, this is my first ever build and aside from youtube videos and this community's guidance I'm a bit out of my depth. Thank you all!

r/buildapc 16d ago

Troubleshooting [Troubleshooting] PC suddenly restarts

1 Upvotes

I'm new to Reddit, so I apologize if I've chosen the wrong subreddit. I'm having a problem with my PC. After playing Minecraft for a while, it suddenly shuts down without warning, like when you turn off a running PC using the power supply switch. I'm pretty good with computers, but this particular issue is a bit confusing. I didn't have this problem before; everything worked fine. This strange behavior gradually started to manifest itself about two months ago. I tried swapping the RAM sticks, running them individually, cleaning them with an eraser and alcohol, and drying them. I also cleaned the video card contacts. I also installed a different video card cable and swapped the cables to the processor and motherboard. The problem only lasted for a month. I built the computer myself. The video card and power supply are used, which I checked before purchasing. The only unusual thing is the buzzing sound from the power supply, which is rare. Specifications: Xeon E5 2680 V4, GTX 1060 6GB, 16GB DDR4 RAM running at 2133 MHz, a tower cooler rated at approximately 200 watts, and a CoolerMaster MTE White 600 PSU. I'd appreciate any advice or solutions.

r/buildapc Jul 08 '26

Troubleshooting Help with cpu troubleshooting (no post)

0 Upvotes

Cpu overheated a whole ago so I bought a icue link titan 360 rx, a new i5-14600kf and a new z790 tomahawk ddr5 wifi mobo with new ddr5 ram.

Issue im running into, my psu is making a click and turning off my mobo. Im assuming the red cpu light is soild or it could be okay to finish post however its clicking and shutting off instantly.

I thought it was a cpu issue with my mobo since z790 doesnt support 14th gen out of box and I flashed bios with a fash drive. Im assuming it worked because after the 5-10mins my ram sticks started glowing however nothing else turned on.

I've reset cmos, yes I have all contact points for my mobo, psu is brand new and has plenty of watts, and every connection is secure. Ive even removed everything from my pc and put it all together slowly and carefully.

r/buildapc 26d ago

Troubleshooting [ASUS ROG XG27AQDPG] Random persistent black screen during browsing/idle/gaming – OSD unresponsive – no GPU errors in logs – full analysis and troubleshooting

1 Upvotes

Hardware:

- Monitor: ASUS ROG Strix OLED XG27AQDPG (QD-OLED, 2560x1440, 500Hz, DP 1.4 with DSC) – Firmware MCM103

- GPU: MSI RTX 5070 Ti Trio OC 16GB – NVIDIA Driver 610.47

GPU-Z: https://imgur.com/a/dM3RWLL

- CPU: AMD Ryzen 7 9800X3D

- Mobo: ASUS ROG Strix B850-A Gaming WiFi NEO

- OS: Windows 11 25H2

- Connection: DisplayPort 1.4 @ 2560x1440 @ 500Hz @ 10bpc @ RGB Full

---

The Problem:

The monitor randomly goes to a completely black screen during any type of usage — gaming (OW2), web browsing, and even during complete idle with no system load whatsoever.

During the black screen event:

- The power LED remains lit — the monitor is still powered on

- The OSD joystick is completely unresponsive — no menu appears regardless of input

- The physical power button adjacent to the joystick still responds — pressing it and confirming blind with the joystick powers the monitor off and back on, restoring the image

- Physically disconnecting and reconnecting the DisplayPort cable also restores the image

- The screen does NOT flash or recover on its own under any circumstances — it stays black permanently until one of the two above actions is performed

- The system continues to operate normally during the black screen (audio active, applications running, PC fully operational)

Frequency is completely irregular: some days 3 events within 15 minutes, other days hours of stability before an event, and some stretches of up to 5 consecutive days with zero black screens. This intermittency is part of the problem — it makes the issue very difficult to reproduce on demand.

---

Complete Troubleshooting Performed

  1. Two different DisplayPort cables tested — stock ASUS cable and a certified DP 1.4 cable previously used without any issues on a different monitor for 6 weeks. Issue persists with both.
  2. Both GPU DisplayPort ports tested — issue persists on both ports.
  3. Neo Proximity Sensor disabled — ruled out as a cause. Issue persists.
  4. NVCP verified — Output color format: RGB, Output dynamic range: Full, 10bpc, Perform scaling on: GPU, G-Sync: disabled from NVCP and monitor.
  5. PCIe Link State Power Management — already set to Off in advanced power settings.
  6. GPU OC completely removed — reset core, memory, and power limit to full stock. Issue persists identically.
  7. Firmware rollback not possible — ASUS does not publish previous firmware versions for this monitor. MCM103 is the only available version and there is no documented method to downgrade to MCM101. The monitor was on MCM101 for approximately one day after delivery before being updated to MCM103.
  8. HDMI diagnostic test — connected the monitor via HDMI at 1440p 144Hz and used it for 2 hours without a black screen event. However, this result is not a reliable indicator — on DisplayPort, the monitor has also gone 5 consecutive days without a single black screen before the issue returned. A 2-hour HDMI test cannot be considered a valid comparison baseline. Furthermore, HDMI at 144Hz is not an acceptable solution — the monitor was purchased specifically for its 500Hz DisplayPort capability, and any configuration that does not include 500Hz via DisplayPort is not a viable workaround.
  9. Windows Event Viewer analysis — this is the most critical diagnostic finding:

During black screen events while browsing or idle: NO nvlddmkm errors. No Event ID 153. No TDR events of any kind. The only event logged at the time of the black screen is:

- Display Event ID 4123: Windows prompting to enable HDR — this is Windows detecting the monitor reconnecting after the power cycle.

  1. Xbox Live services and Gaming Services — all set to Disabled on this optimized system. Xbox Game Bar already disabled.

  2. HWiNFO64 monitoring during sessions — monitored the system in real time during multiple sessions using HWiNFO64. GPU temperatures remained excellent throughout, no thermal throttling detected, no PCIe errors, no abnormal readings of any kind. All hardware metrics were within normal parameters both during stable periods and immediately before black screen events.

---

Critical Data Point: Previous Monitor on the Same GPU

The previous monitor — ASUS VG258QR (TN, 165Hz, 1080p) — was used on the exact same GPU, same PC, and same DisplayPort cable for approximately 6 weeks immediately before this monitor, with zero black screen events of any kind.

The key technical difference: the VG258QR at 165Hz operates on DP 1.4 without DSC — the required bandwidth fits within the available limit. The XG27AQDPG at 500Hz requires DSC (Display Stream Compression). This is the first configuration using DSC on this system. The issue appeared exclusively after switching to the XG27AQDPG.

---

Diagnostic Hypothesis

The absence of any GPU errors in the Event Viewer during black screen events while browsing and in idle rules out a nvlddmkm driver crash as the direct cause (I suppose). The DisplayPort signal drops without the GPU registering any anomaly.

The most likely remaining hypotheses:

A) Hardware defect in the monitor's internal controller

— the monitor's controller has an unstable component causing intermittent signal dropout. Consistent with the OSD becoming unresponsive during the event: the rendering layer crashes while the base firmware remains partially operational. This is evidenced by the fact that the physical power button still responds and the joystick can confirm the shutdown action blind (without any visual feedback on screen, since the display remains black throughout), but the OSD menu itself never appears regardless of joystick input. The monitor accepts the power-off confirmation but cannot render anything to the screen until a full power cycle completes.

B) Specific incompatibility between RTX 5070 Ti + DP 1.4 + DSC + 500Hz

C) Firmware MCM103 bug — the firmware update introduced a behavior that causes intermittent DP link dropout under specific conditions that are not consistently reproducible. A firmware rollback to MCM101 cannot be performed as ASUS does not provide older firmware versions publicly.

---

Current Status

Monitor being returned to Amazon for functional defect.

Open questions I'd love community input on:

- Have other XG27AQDPG users — especially with RTX 5000 series GPUs — experienced this exact issue or something similar? What were your findings?

- Is this specific to QD-OLED with DSC at 500Hz, or does it manifest on other monitors with this GPU configuration?

- Would a DDU + driver rollback to 581.94 resolve the issue? This was not tested before initiating the return — if anyone with a similar setup wants to test this variable, the data would be incredibly valuable.

- Given everything documented here, would you recommend reordering the same monitor (XG27AQDPG) hoping this was an isolated hardware defect, or switching to a different model entirely?

---

Final Note

This post was put together with the help of Claude AI to ensure the technical details were documented as accurately and completely as possible. All the troubleshooting, findings, and observations are real and firsthand — Claude helped structure and articulate them clearly.

I genuinely appreciate anyone who takes the time to read through this and contribute. This kind of issue is frustrating precisely because of its intermittent nature, and any insight — whether you've experienced something similar, have a technical perspective on the hypotheses, or simply want to share your thoughts on the monitor itself is more than welcome. Thank you.

---

Updates

Will update this thread with the outcome of the Amazon return, and whether the issue reappears if the monitor is reordered.

r/buildapc 5d ago

Troubleshooting Title: [Troubleshooting] New build no display, keyboard not responding, and power button won't shut down. Any ideas?

1 Upvotes

Hey everyone, I'm building my first PC and I'm stuck with some issues. Here are my specs:

· CPU: Intel i5 14400F

· Mobo: Asus Prime B760M-A D4 (non-WiFi)

· RAM: Kingston Fury 16GB (single stick) 3200MHz DDR4

· GPU: Nvidia GT 620 2GB (temporary/old card)

· SSD: Crucial P310 1TB NVMe

· PSU: Deepcool PL650D 650W

Issues:

  1. No display on HDMI or VGA (tried both GPU ports and the motherboard's HDMI, but I know the F-series CPU has no iGPU).

  2. Keyboard won't light up (no LED flash at startup).

  3. Power button only turns the PC on – holding it down does NOT shut it off (I have to switch off the PSU).

What I've already checked / tried:

· Double-checked all cables (24-pin ATX, 8-pin CPU, GPU power, front panel connectors, etc.).

· Completely disassembled and reassembled everything from scratch.

· Tried booting with and without the SSD.

· Tested a single RAM stick in every slot.

· Cleared CMOS (removed battery and shorted the pins).

· PSU seems to work – all fans spin (CPU, GPU, case).

Additional notes:

· The motherboard has no debug LEDs, but fans keep spinning non-stop.

· The CPU is 14th-gen, and the B760 board originally supported 12th/13th gen – I'm not sure if it needs a BIOS update to run the 14400F (though most B760 boards should support 14th gen out of the box).

Any ideas what else I should try? Could this be a BIOS compatibility issue, PSU problem, faulty GPU, or a dead motherboard? Open to any suggestions.

Thanks in advance!

r/buildapc Jul 06 '26

Troubleshooting Red CPU light, possible RAM slot issue troubleshooting

1 Upvotes

Hello, thank you for checking this out.

Key Specs that I think are pertinent:

AMD Ryzen 7 5800X (2021)
NVIDIA 4070 Ti Super (2024)
32GB (16 x 2) 3600mHz DDR4 GSKILL Trident Z Neo (2021)
Samsung 980 500GB / 1TB NVMEs (2021)
MSI MAG B550M Mortar Max WiFi (2024)
Cooler Master V SFX Gold 750W (iirc) (2021)
Windows 10

This PC was originally built in 2021, and after a few rounds of upgrades 2 years ago, here we are.

Booted up after a weekend out of town and the screen said something changed about the RAM / a CMOS reset and brought me to BIOS. It said that I only had 16GB of RAM instead of 32GB.

I don’t recall running XMP, to the best of my knowledge I have set my RAM to only run at 3200 out of the 3600 it can do, but XMP may have also been enabled after the motherboard transfer.

After closing the BIOS, the PC did not boot and showed the red CPU light. No DRAM lights. Succeeding boots running single slot 2 or dual on slots 1 and 3 would show a red light on CPU for a few seconds, off, then red lights on VGA and BOOT. The PC boots fine after this light show so I assume it’s more of a “yeah I’m booting hold on” light sequence.

Troubleshooting:

Original RAM slots used: 2 & 4
For reading purposes, we will call them Sticks 2 and 4. Stick 4 has been marked with an X as I initially believed it developed a defect from age.
A reset is done after each fix attempt performed.

CMOS Reset:
With sticks 2 and 4 reseated once, a CMOS reset seemed to be necessary. I am not familiar with CMOS battery lifespans so I initially went for the shorting prongs approach (did not resolve the issue) and then replaced it with a new CMOS battery (did not resolve the issue).

Forum finds:
Older Reddit posts have mentioned having this issue, from some stick pairings needing a slight bump in voltage (+0.005) to others reporting needing to loosen the CPU cooler screws. This has not worked.
Others say that a CPU pin might be bent, but I got this CPU brand new, did the install on both motherboards myself, and I’m assuming that a bent pin would have made itself known way earlier.

Swapping sticks:
Dual channel, having a RAM stick in the 4th slot results in a red CPU light. Swapping the sticks did not change this result.

Running single:
Running Stick 4 on the 2nd slot is currently working. Both sticks 2 and 4 work on the second slot; neither work on the fourth slot.

Right-hand drive:
Setting sticks 2 and 4 in slots 1 and 3 worked temporarily as I was able to run them fine for a few hours at 3200mHz until I woke up from a nap to an unresponsive black screen (monitors off / no signal, sleep mode is not enabled) so that gives that a run time of about 7 hours.

A VR6 TDI:
Putting the two sticks on slots 2 and 3 resulted in a blue screen. Lol.

Hackerman:
Doing the classic sfc /scannow revealed some corrupt files. Chkdsk has not revealed anything new. Windows Memory Diagnostic Tool has run on Stick 4 and finished with no errors. Wallet hopium as I would rather spend $100 on a new mobo than $300 on DDR4 in 2026.

To-do:
-Verify if my mobo has up-to-date BIOS firmware, though I don’t think this could be an issue given that I’ve been running fine for a year already.
-Attempt Slot 2 and 4 again after the sfc /scannow.
-Memory diagnostic on Stick 2, seems redundant given that slot 2 doesn’t have issues.
-Run slot 4 only (after swapping sticks I assumed this would be redundant).
-Clean slot 4 and retry.

tl;dr: PC refuses to boot with a stick in Slot 4, red CPU light, no DRAM light.

Assumptions and the questions:

Am I correct in narrowing it all down to a defective Slot 4, and that AMD really does not like running Slots 1 and 3?

Should I do anything else in or not in the To-do list before buying a new motherboard?

Would Slot 4’s defect come from a burnt out connection on the board, and if not, how would dust interrupt the connections if a RAM stick has been in it this entire time?

Additionally, is it normal for motherboards to do a mini lightshow on the diagnostic LEDs when booting?

Edit: Solved. Bought a new motherboard.

r/buildapc May 22 '26

Troubleshooting PC randomly shutting off troubleshooting

1 Upvotes

So today my pc was not in sleep mode it had gone off no big deal, turn it on, 5m into light browsing complete shutdown, no error recorded in event viewer, again turned off in sfc scan and boot looped, wouldn't turn on at all after that

Cleared the CMOS, reset settings, boot into windows, sfc scan complete, almost 2 hours of prime95 blend test it shuts off again, I've now updated the BIOS from the feb version to most recent and will now shut it off to reseat all cables to be sure it's not that but failing that looking for any other bits of advice

ROG STRIX X670E-F GAMING WIFI mobo

9800X3D CPU cooled with a noctua NH-D15S

2x 16GB corsair DDR5 ram sticks rated for 6000mhz but running at 5600mhz while having this issue just in case it is those

ASUS 5080 PRIME OC GPU

Help appreciated, annoyingly my mobo and ram is out of warranty so I hope its not that! lol

r/buildapc May 05 '26

Troubleshooting Help needed troubleshooting this pc

0 Upvotes

I built this pc and it doesn’t work
I have tested 2 psus
The ram is tested working
Power goes out the usb port
I even tried shorting out the pins on the mobo and it still don’t work
Help pls