PC Graphics

[ronemca]

New build.

ASUS B650M-E WiFi

Ryzen 7600X CPU

NVMe M2 5.0 2TB SSD

Four sub-500GB SSD's (mainly music & downloaded drivers, pictures etc)

96GB 6000MHz RAM

New 750 Thermaltake PSU

Dual monitors

* * NO OVERCLOCKING ANYWHERE

* * NO GAMING or other CPU-intensive apps

* * Fresh, bona fide Win11/H installation

Constant black screens. Sometimes it will auto-recover, but usually stays black & must be rebooted.

Frequent artifacts on both monitors

No DevMgr issues

Event Viewer has the odd entry - typically ID 10016 Distributed COM warnings (which I do not believe is relevant) and every so often a 'storahci' ID 129 entry (which I also believe is not relevant)

I've removed (DDU) & re-installed the Adrenalin drivers at least 8 times.

I've tried the generic MS drivers.

I've tried removing the second monitor.

I've removed & re-installed the Chipset drivers at least 8 times.

I've performed an in-place REPAIR of Windows.

I've sent 23 BUG REPORTS + 3 emails to AMD but have received no response.

I've tried different video cables, different monitor & different SATA cables.

I've disconnected some of the SSD's.

I've talked to MS T/S 6 or 7 times.

Any thoughts would be most welcome!

[-error]

Hi.

"NVMe M2 5.0 2TB SSD" this reminds me of patch notes in recent ASUS beta bioses that mentioned fixes of compatibility with Samsung 2TB SSDs. Errors related to "storahci" could actually be very relevant.
You should give it a try when Asus releases the new bios for your MB.

[ronemca]

Thank you! In fact I accidentally typed a "2" instead of a "1". It is in fact a 1TB M2 SSD. And/but I did in fact flash the BIOS to the just-released version a cuppla days ago, but it didn't make any difference. However...

Please see my reply to the next gentleman for an additional update.

[FunkZ]

I don't see a discrete graphics card listed so assume you're using the IGP of the 7600X processor, with 96GB of DDR5-6000.

Try disabling the EXPO/XMP profile and run the memory at SPD.

Also try removing half the memory and run only two DIMMs.

[ronemca · Accepted solution]

I don't understand what's happening to my posts. I keep plugging in a REPLY--and it shows--but if I go away & return (or Refresh the page) it vanishes.

[ronemca]

Is there a word-count restriction?? My previous post survived, but my long post doesn't. I'll try splitting it in two...

[ronemca]

I didn't pull any RAM; the board was returned before I read these two replies. But when it comes back that'll be high on my list of tests.

I do wanna run something past the community:

Right now I'm typing on my previous system - which is also no slouch. (Ryzen 3400G AM4/64GB/ver 4.0 M2) , and runs perfectly) It's a Gigabyte mobo, but carries the same AMD Chipset - the B450. And like the ASUS, I'm using the integrated Graphics. BUT...

On the Gigabyte website for this Aorus Elite V2 board,  they provide two Chipset-related drivers. One is called "Chipset driver" and is surprisingly-small at 63MB. The other is "APU driver" and is 0.73GB. A little research reveals that the APU driver is supposedly intended for people who use the integrated graphics. I haven't installed that huge one yet because this machine is running flawlessly (with the same two monitors, kb & mouse, btw) But it makes me wonder; if Gigabyte believes that a huge "APU" driver package is useful/required for their B450 boards...why doesn't ASUS have one for their B450 boards?

Stay tuned!

[ronemca]

This forum is gorked. I keep posting messages and 3 minutes later they've disppeared. So I split my post in two and put it up in TWO posts. The first half vanishes...and the second half--which the forum refused to accept--is actually here. <scratches head>

[ronemca]

(This is the first part of  my response)

Thank you! For the record, I appreciate the feedback. I've been wrestling with this new build for 2 weeks and it's making me crazy. I've submitted two dozen BUG REPORTS to AMD (plus 2 emails) and it's crickets. The frustrating part is that there are several possible causes, and I don't know any way to determine with certainty which it is.

* * Today (250224) I yanked the mobo and hand-delivered it to ASUS for RMA. Truthfully I have no reason to believe it's the mobo vs. the CPU...the Chipset drivers...the Graphics drivers...the drives...the SATA cables...or the PSU. * * But I do believe that--of those choices--the CPU is the least likely. And ASUS will bench test the mobo & send it back for free in 5 to 7 days, so - why not? It's as good a starting place as any other. I did ask the tech about the RAM,and he confirmed the board is good up to 196GB. And he confirmed that the two pairs I have (2x32 + 2x16) are in the correct slots for dual-channel operation. Interestingly, the RAM is running at only 2600MHz (instead of the expected 6000MHz) And/but EXPO/XMP is--AFAICT--not enabled. I did try setting it to EXPO level 1 yesterday (presumably the most conservative) and the system wouldn't boot. So back to AUTO it went.

[goodplay]

I suspect your RAM config., the asus memory QVL only lists several 5200/5600 models for 4 Dimm use with the ryzen 7000 series.

[soniabraga00]

Since you're using 96GB RAM at 6000MHz, try running it at lower speeds or with just two sticks to check for stability. Also, ensure your BIOS is updated, test with a dedicated GPU if using integrated graphics, and monitor CPU/VRM temps. If the issue persists, consider testing with another PSU or checking for motherboard faults.

[ronemca]

250302:

Thank you for the responses! As I mentioned before, the RAM is only running at 2600MHz anyway...regardess of its rated/potential speed. I find that puzzling, but at least it shouldn't be a problem(?)

Also - I mentioned that I had flashed the BIOS to the most current version early on in this adventure.

And I mentioned that I had purchased & installed a new [brand name] PSU.

I installed two different temp-monitoring utiities, and they (and the temp monitor in the BIOS) all report very reasonable temps for CPU, case, chipset & chassis. I also tried setting all of the fans to run at max speed (no diff)

And I installed the Prime95 torture tester and ran it for about 15 minutes on 2 separate occasions without a hiccup. 

Early on--when I was doing the initial setup--I was completely unable to configure a RAID0 array in the BIOS with two identical 480GB SSD's. Same result with two identical 240GB SSD's. After many, many failed attempts I spoke to ASUS T/S, and the fellow pointed out that there was a very restrictive list of approved/compatible drives. Naturally the drives I had were not on that list...so I aborted the RAID idea. This is irrelevant; I only mention it because it makes me wonder if the two people here that mentioned RAM may be onto something...

In my experience, if RAM is incompatible and/or mismatched and/or improperly configured, the machine won't even boot. Or if it does it reports total installed memory incorrectly. Neither of these things is happening here; it boots fine and reports accurately. However--in light of the SSD list...and the overall instability of the config...and the fact that this very fast RAM is running at < half its rated/potential speed--I'm willing to accept that it may indeed be the culprit! So - if ASUS returns my original mobo with a N.F.F. report, removing the two 16GB sticks will be the first thing I try.

I do have a discrete ASUS vidcard on hand. I don't remember its specs, but it definitely fits in my graphics slot. So if the RAM change doesn't help I'll stick that in & see what happens.

I'm on hold now while I await the return of a replacement (or my original) mobo, at which time I will re-assemble and report!

Many thanks and watch this space in a week or so!

[ronemca]

250311:

Well...ASUS shipped me a new mobo. They didn't tell me what they found, so I reached out. I was told that they found three bent pins on the CPU socket. I am skeptical of this, because:

a) I highly doubt the machine would have booted at all - much less function to an extent

b) the symptoms for which I RMA'd it are still present. 😞

As promised, when I re-assembled I installed only the pair of 32GB sticks in SLOTS 2 & 4 as per the manual. And I installed the one-step-older Adrenalin graphics drivers. Neither of these changes seem to make any difference. I also tried those two sticks in SLOTS 1 & 3 (no diff) I tried just one stick (no diff) and I re-inserted the two 16GB sticks into SLOTS 1 & 3 to return to a total of 96GB. The addition of the two 16GB sticks makes the machine unhappy for the first couple of boot-ups; I get a BSOD; FAULT IN NON-PAGED AREA, and IRQ LESS THAN OR EQUAL. (I haven't seen those two issues for years & years!) Anyway - the machine restarted a few times and eventually settled down. I'm typing on it right now.

I ran SFC (NFF)

And I ran CHKDSK (found/fixed a few things)

I'm still getting occasional artifacts; usually a ragged smear of text on the screen - which vanishes as soon as I scroll up or down a little.

The black screen issue has changed slightly; most of the time it resolves in 2 seconds and the machine resumes normal operation like it never happened. Sometimes it stays black and must be rebooted. And sometimes the secondary monitor resumes normal operation while the primary monitor stays black. BUT...

When I move the mouse over to the primary monitor, each icon re-appears one at a time as I move the mouse around on the screen. It's as if the mouse is squirting them out one by one. Very odd.

Oh - and I enabled EXPO-I in the BIOS, but the machine won't start. It comes up with a page of white crying on a black screen that informs me that it booted into safe mode and insists that I re-enter the BIOS. It doesn't say "You must UNdo whatever you did"...but if I don't undo the change (if I leave EXPO-I enabled) it just comes right back to that crying screen. So I turned it back to "AUTO". At least it runs, and it seems okay at the moment...but I've said that several times before.

The next time it blacks out I'll try a discrete video card in the x16 slot.

Stay tuned!

[ronemca]

250312:

When I got the machine back together I removed the most-current Adrenalin graphics driver and installed the one that came before it. I did the same with the Chipset driver. The machine performed exactly the same as it has been all along; black screens…freezing…spontaneous reboots etc.. That’s when I ran the SFC (with NFF) and CHKDSK.

In the olden days, when CHKDSK was finished, it would tell you what it had done. Nowadays it doesn’t say anything beyond “I am finished.” But I dug around a bit & turned up the log file that I recalled was generated. I should post it here - it didn’t say a lot…but neither was it NFF. I was so jaded by the behavior of the machine that I sortof skimmed over it. But now - now - I daresay I am slightly optimistic! It ran stably for several hours, so I got brave & stuck the two 16GB sticks back in. It coughed & spluttered for the next couple of reboots…but it seemed more settled. So I updated both sets of drivers (Chipset & Adrenalin) and it actually seems good now!

we’ll see.

[ronemca]

250313:

I decided to post the CHKDSK logfile in the hope that one of you fine gentlemen might see something revealing:

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Checking file system on C:
The type of the file system is NTFS.
Volume label is Crucial_M2~1TB.

Stage 1: Examining basic file system structure ...
1028352 file records processed.
File verification completed.
Phase duration (File record verification): 2.28 seconds.
9464 large file records processed.
Phase duration (Orphan file record recovery): 4.74 milliseconds.
0 bad file records processed.
Phase duration (Bad file record checking): 0.89 milliseconds.

Stage 2: Examining file name linkage ...
5515 reparse records processed.
1128782 index entries processed.
Index verification completed.
Phase duration (Index verification): 4.89 seconds.
0 unindexed files scanned.
Phase duration (Orphan reconnection): 411.96 milliseconds.
0 unindexed files recovered to lost and found.
Phase duration (Orphan recovery to lost and found): 489.40 milliseconds.
5515 reparse records processed.
Phase duration (Reparse point and Object ID verification): 11.93 milliseconds.

Stage 3: Examining security descriptors ...
Cleaning up 2913 unused index entries from index $SII of file 0x9.
Cleaning up 2913 unused index entries from index $SDH of file 0x9.
Cleaning up 2913 unused security descriptors.
CHKDSK is compacting the security descriptor stream
Security descriptor verification completed.
Phase duration (Security descriptor verification): 102.73 milliseconds.
50216 data files processed.
Phase duration (Data attribute verification): 0.94 milliseconds.
CHKDSK is verifying Usn Journal...
36888816 USN bytes processed.
Usn Journal verification completed.
Phase duration (USN journal verification): 56.99 milliseconds.

Stage 4: Looking for bad clusters in user file data ...
1028336 files processed.
File data verification completed.
Phase duration (User file recovery): 2.34 minutes.

Stage 5: Looking for bad, free clusters ...
185618420 free clusters processed.
Free space verification is complete.
Phase duration (Free space recovery): 1.20 minutes.
Correcting errors in the Volume Bitmap.

Windows has made corrections to the file system.

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