Stable for 2 yrs & BSOD & can't Win install

Hi guys,

I'm stumped! I would really appreciate any thoughts, help or insight anyone might have.

This is the third pc I have built on AsRock motherboards. This has the Z390 Taichi w/BIOS 4.10, 2 x Corsair Vengeance LPX 16 GB DDR4-3000, 2 x Samsung M.2 SSD 970 Pro 512GB drives in RAID 0 running Windows 10 Pro with an additional Intel M.2 SSD 2TB drive for storage and a GeForce GTX Titan. See bottom for full list.

It has been running stable for nearly two years. I was working in two apps that both typically use a lot of memory and then decided to play a game for a bit. Nothing unusual for me. After playing for only a few minutes the PC froze with a black screen and screeching audio. I shut down, restarted. First thing on screen was the AsRock logo, then the Windows logo with spinning balls that froze after a few seconds and then for the first time on this system, it crashed to BSOD. The system had encountered an error and needed to restart. That looped several times with random stop codes, until the BIOS desided to reload the backup BIOS. 4.10 in RAID 0 to 1.20 AHCI. I believe I let it try to start one more time after that but no surprise, it again crashed to BSOD.

I dragged out my Windows flash drive to start trouble shooting because while I could get into my BIOS and look at seemingly normal temps and settings, with the exception of having to make appropriate changes for my RAID 0 setup, it still crashed to BSOD. This is where I really get stumped, I can't load the Windows installation media USB?! I have tried it in multiple USB slots, as well as testing it on another system with success. I can see the flash drive in the BIOS boot order list as well as after rebooting and using F11 in the boot menu. Every time I reboot I see the Windows logo but the screen locks and then BSOD with random stop codes as well as debug codes?!

I checked my power supply and I'm getting clean power and my voltages are good. Was not expecting different but had to check.

At this point I started stripping hardware, one piece at a time as I didn't have a specific code to go from (a - k) and restarting:
1) Remove a)GPU, b)DDR4_B2, c)DDR4_B2 back in & DDR4_A2 out, d)switched DDR4_A2 > DDR4_B2, e)DDR4_B2, f)DDR4_B2 back in & DDR4_A2 out, g)SATA3_2, h)SATA3_A1, i)SATA3_A2, j)M2_3, k)M2_1 & M2_2 (RAID 0)
2)unplug power
3)press and hold BIOS reset button
4)plug power back in
5)Boot to BIOS 1.20 to set RAID 0
6)reboot to BIOS, check and restart
7)when BSOD I would update BIOS to 4.10 and try again

I'm still getting BSOD!

The only thing I have not tried is re-seating the CPU but only because there seems to be a shortage of thermal paste in my area?! I have ordered some as well as a much cheaper CPU. I'm kind of questioning that decision though because I pulled the GPU and the onboard video works for getting me into the bios at least. Am I wrong in that thinking?

Very appreciative for any help.

Thanks
Darc


Complete System Specs:
ASRock Z390 Taichi
Intel Core i7-8700 3.2 GHz
2 x Corsair Vengeance LPX 16 GB DDR4-3000
2 x Samsung 970 Pro 512 GB M.2-2280 NVME in RAID 0
Intel 660p Series 2 TB M.2-2280 NVME
EVGA GeForce GTX Titan 6 GB
650 W 80+ Gold Certified Corsair RMx Power Supply
Fractal Design Define C ATX Mid Tower Case
ASUS 24" monitor, Logitech wireless keyboard, Kensington trackball

Additional equipment that was added within the first few months: be quiet! Dark Rock Pro 4 CPU Cooler, WD Black 1 TB HD, Seagate 2 TB HD, Samsung 850 Pro 512 GB SSD, USB sound card and table top mic, 2 portable USB 2 TB HD's, CyberPower CP1350AVRLCD UPS. This is all on a portable cart that gets moved around my carpeted room a lot.

Thank you for responding.

1. I removed all the drives and have no problems booting into the BIOS.
2. I cleared CMOS many times but will try and clear CMOS again before trying the new Win10 flash drive. Who knows, it's been sitting unplugged for a day so that might help.
3. Only have one RAM stick in and tried Win10 flash drive. BSOD.
4. I am at work but will try a new Win10 flash drive with new media when I get home this evening.

Thanks again for getting back to me. I'll let you know the results asap.

Picked up a new flash drive, dl and ran Media Creation Tool to create new Windows 10 installation flash drive, cleared CMOS, powered the PC back up, and restarted back to BSOD.

Messed around for another hour loading known working versions of the BIOS every time the damn thing loaded the back-up BIOS. There really should have been an option to say yes or no before it loads the back-up BIOS but anyway.. Consistently got the BSOD with random Stop Codes.

I can VERY confidently say that it is not a USB drive, USB port, or the media on the drive as it tests fine.

The problem is in the MB, CPU or as I never actually metered it because everything else powers up, possibly the PSU. I guess the PSU is next, while I wait for a CPU, because I have one in my other pc that I have been very reluctant to remove.

I will get at that tonight and report asap.

Thanks again AsRock_TSD & Xaltar

If the issue is with the 12v rail/s then the CPU alone could be enough to cause
consistent failures. PSU related issues can exhibit a broad spectrum of symptoms,
many of which can be misleading. Low voltage can cause seemingly RAM related BSODs.
Failed/failing ripple protection can cause instability that could look like a GPU
issue (TDRs etc).

The reason I suggested trying another PSU is the simple fact that the system was
previously stable for a prolonged period and PSUs are the most common component
to fail over time. On top of that, most other components fail more gradually,
exhibiting symptoms before actual failure occurs. A failing motherboard may suffer
dead ports, intermittent shut downs/hard freezes, inconsistent POST behavior etc.
The CPU, unless it pops outright due to excessive voltage or external influence
(lightning strike etc), will typically become gradually more and more unstable
with the only solution being to lower clocks/voltage. RAM will start throwing BSODs
more and more frequently until the system fails to POST at all. RAM BSODs will
almost always flag driver and kernel errors if you check your event viewer.

PSU related issues are by far the most troublesome to troubleshoot. The symptoms
can be so diverse because literally every component relies on it for stable voltage
across multiple voltage rails. For this reason I always get the PSU out of the
equation first, every other component has predictable failure symptoms

I had a chance to test my RAM the day before yesterday. Both tested ok.

The next step was swapping out the PSU which was yesterday. After double checking BIOS settings and the usual clear CMOS I anxiously pressed the power button and.... locked up to BSOD. I killed the power, cleared CMOS (button), as well as battery and pins this time (I know the button is clearing as I get the usual CMOS text but..), pressed the power button and again locked up to BSOD.

All that's left is the motherboard or CPU. As it turns out the CPU I ordered came in on Friday so it was time to try that. I pulled out my i7-8700 and dropped in a Celeron G4900. Bit of a downgrade but will serve the purpose. Cleared CMOS and booted the system up.. and got the "Install Windows" page. I'm not going to lie, I was questioning what I was seeing. All I have seen for the last week is my BIOS and BSOD's! I shut the system down, upgraded my BIOS back to 4.10, restarted and same thing "Install Windows" page. Happy dance ensued.

Reinstalled all my hardware, plugged my drives and other equipment back in, cleared CMOS, booted into BIOS to set RAID 0 back up, Saved & Restart. I was a little worried when the first screen I saw was something about, detected errors attempting to fix, then the circling balls for probably less than a minute before the system restarted back into Windows 10 and now everything seems to be back to normal. I have since ran a bunch of hardware tests and everything is coming back ok.

Thanks a lot for the help. Any suggestions on a new CPU? Isn't there a 3 year warranty and these things? Upgrade maybe? This G4900 is painful.