Jacksonville, we have a problem

[JerryC]

I think I lost an SSD, but so far it's inconclusive.

This morning I was testing a scenario, the computer had been on for about three hours. Suddenly, I got the "White Screen of Death" - computer screen turns white, locks up, no ALT-CTRL-DEL, no reset button. Upon reboot, the 850 EVO drive that is my Windows Drive, would not show up in the BIOS. I turned the computer off, let it cool down, then rebooted again. This time, it booted into Windows. I started my normal routine, and about five minutes later everything locked up again. Went through this cycle several times, and eventually figured out that if I let my computer do it's passive thing, just transferrring files on it's own back and forth between the cloud, no pulling up programs or File Explorer, it works fine. But the moment you try to do anything else, it locks completely after about five minutes of use.

I've tried reseating cables, restoring W10 back to an earlier version. I can't repeal the NVidia drivers, which could be a cause, because I can't use the desktop for more than a few minutes before lock-up. Intermitantly, it also disappears from the BIOS. All of my other drives are intact and capable of transferring data.

Now I have heard that SSD's are either dead or live, there is no in between. The suddeness of this problem when no others were evident prior suggests drive failure, but being able to boot into the drive and use for only a few minutes suggests something else.

Thoughts?

[buzz456]

Power supply?

[JerryC]

Hope not! All components are in use less than six months. Will swap cable ls to check though.

[Bananarama]

Heat? I know this may sound silly, but have you checked to ensure the fans still operate and are free of obstructions?

[JerryC]

I have not checked that yet. The system has 3 - 120mm fans, the CPU fan, and the two fans on the video card. When this thing is running Railworks, it's very loud. The case is enclosed in a desk with about three inches ventilation on the sides, 1 inch on top, and open on the front and back side.

I got a look at the BIOS right after the first crash and the case temp was 104F - nowhere near the 142 that my Pentium 4's used to pull. I will check the possibility, but i'm not inclined to think it's a heat issue. The computer was off for 7 hours today and displayed the same problem just a few minutes after start up, not really long enough for the box to get toasty.

[PapaXpress]

This is a long shot but could MS have downloaded a new driver behind your back?

[JerryC]

I don't know about that. If that is the case, we should be hearing of a few others having problems. I am very suspicious though of the latest NVidia driver which came through on the 28th - one day before the Restore Point. There is no way to uninstall the driver though because Windows locks up before I can get the Nvidia CP screen open.

[_o_OOOO_oo-Kanawha]

I don't know about that. If that is the case, we should be hearing of a few others having problems. I am very suspicious though of the latest NVidia driver which came through on the 28th - one day before the Restore Point. There is no way to uninstall the driver though because Windows locks up before I can get the Nvidia CP screen open.

Have you tried Safe Mode? In Windows 7 you'll need to press F8 while booting, but after the BIOS has booted. Don't know if Safe Mode is still available in W10 though.
From Safe Mode you should be able to uninstall the nVidia driver.

PS: is your computer using UEFI to boot?

[JerryC]

I did try Safe Mode. The result was the same. And I am running UEFI bios.

[_o_OOOO_oo-Kanawha]

Have you tried reseating the RAM modules? When all cards, cables and modules are firmly seated any hardware should work OK.

i am inclined to think it is the video card driver that is unable to switch between CPU and GPU video modes.
An idling, low loaded computer runs on Intel CPU integrated video, the nVidia dedicated GPU video is only switched on when needed in games and 3D apps.

Perhaps you need to check both Intel and nVidia drivers? There should be icons in the system tray that indicate which one is on?

IIRC, I had to assign the nVidia GPU to certain programs.

[JerryC]

Alright, the latest in the continuing saga of the computer that won't compute...

- Checked the UEFI Bios. All rails and voltages look good.
- Reseated and checked the DIMMs. BIOS is showing all 32GB. There is also a Memory Check button on the motherboard. It illuminates if the DIMMs are not seated properly, and you can press it to have the system run a check on it. They all check out fine.
- Removed all other drives from the power cable to be sure something is not hogging the voltage.
- Was able to get the drive to function long enough to roll back the Nvidia driver to January.
- Installed the Samsung Magician software.
- Tried to flash the firmware. The BIOS/ISO kept returning that there was no compatible drive installed on the system.
- Tried to reinstall Windows 10 on the drive. Would not even allow file to be copied.
- Said f*** it and removed the drive and installed older one.

Time to get an RMA.

[_o_OOOO_oo-Kanawha]

Alright, the latest in the continuing saga of the computer that won't compute...

- Checked the UEFI Bios. All rails and voltages look good.
- Reseated and checked the DIMMs. BIOS is showing all 32GB. There is also a Memory Check button on the motherboard. It illuminates if the DIMMs are not seated properly, and you can press it to have the system run a check on it. They all check out fine.
- Removed all other drives from the power cable to be sure something is not hogging the voltage.
- Was able to get the drive to function long enough to roll back the Nvidia driver to January.
- Installed the Samsung Magician software.
- Tried to flash the firmware. The BIOS/ISO kept returning that there was no compatible drive installed on the system.
- Tried to reinstall Windows 10 on the drive. Would not even allow file to be copied.
- Said f*** it and removed the drive and installed older one.

Time to get an RMA.

You are still talking SSD or do you suspect the motherboard is faulty?

AFAIK, SSD's aren't S.M.A.R.T. like the old hard drives. I had a couple SSD's die on me without any warning.

[JerryC]

Unless I hit a driver installation that produces the same result later down the road, it is definitely the SSD that has gone bad. I removed it and installed an old Corsair Force 3 in it's place and it is working just fine.

Just to note, this Samsung drive is the third Samsung product that i've owned that has failed pre-maturely - and two of those failed very early in their lives; this drive (4 months) and a phone (28 days).

[buzz456]

I guess you should have kept that SanDisk one you sold me.

Couldn't resist.

[JerryC]

Nah. I kept my old system and it had two SSD's in it. As I said, now I get to try out an m.2 PCI drive!