Multiple issues on recently built PC

[astranberg]

I believe this is a hardware issue, but it could be a driver or software issue. I have no idea.

Hello!

I am having several issues with my (< 1 year old) custom built PC running W10. Issues, build, differential diagnosis, and attempted solutions are listed below. I did not have these issues until around January 2016, and I built around August 2015.

Issues:

1. Wi-Fi "fails" anywhere between 10-120 minutes upon booting the computer.
   1. Wifi icon has an exclamation mark on it, and internet does not work.
   2. No wireless networks are listed except the one I'm already connected to. The computer thinks I'm still connected. When I try to disconnect, the wifi window/popup freezes.
   3. Restarting the wifi adapter does not work. Command prompt has an issue turning the wifi adapter off.
   4. Reboot fixes the issue.
2. Computer freezes, with no response to anything. Happens within 30-120 minutes upon booting.
   1. Ctrl+Alt+Dlt does nothing. Computer responds to nothing. It's as if my keyboard and mouse were unplugged. In fact, this may be the issue.
   2. This happens less often than the Wi-Fi failing (1).
   3. Reboot solves this.
3. Computer does not completely shut-off.
   1. Start menu --> Power --> Shut-off.
   2. Windows appears to turn off normal.
   3. The computer still has fans running / is noisy and the power button light is still on.
   4. Windows boots up normally after a Hard-shutoff (holding power button), with no indication that an error occured via shutdown.

Build:
In addition to what's below, I use a mechanical keyboard and mouse, both plugged via USB. Two 21-24" monitors, both plugged into GPU via HDMI and HDMI to DisplayPort.
PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

CPU: Intel Core i5-4460 3.2GHz Quad-Core Processor ($174.89 @ OutletPC)
Motherboard: MSI H97 PC MATE ATX LGA1150 Motherboard ($88.88 @ OutletPC)
Memory: A-Data XPG V1.0 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-1600 Memory ($40.75 @ OutletPC)
Storage: Samsung 850 EVO-Series 250GB 2.5" Solid State Drive ($85.49 @ OutletPC)
Storage: Samsung 850 EVO-Series 250GB 2.5" Solid State Drive ($85.49 @ OutletPC)
Storage: Samsung 850 EVO-Series 500GB 2.5" Solid State Drive ($149.45 @ OutletPC)
Video Card: Sapphire Radeon R9 290X 4GB Tr-X OC Video Card
Case: NZXT S340 (Black) ATX Mid Tower Case ($63.95 @ Directron)
Power Supply: EVGA SuperNOVA GS 650W 80+ Gold Certified Fully-Modular ATX Power Supply ($78.98 @ Newegg)
Wireless Network Adapter: Gigabyte GC-WB867D-I 802.11a/b/g/n/ac PCI-Express x1 Wi-Fi Adapter ($29.89 @ OutletPC)

Differential Diagnosis:

1. Not receiving enough power from the wall.
2. Motherboard failing.
3. PSU failing.
4. idk...

Attempted Solutions:

1. Wi-Fi "fails" anywhere between 10-120 minutes upon booting the computer.
   1. Reinstalling driver, updating driver.
   2. Restarting wifi adapter
      1. C:\Windows\System32\cmd.exe /c netsh interface set interface "Wi-Fi" admin=DISABLE & netsh interface set interface "Wi-Fi" admin=ENABLE
2. Computer freezes.
   
3. Computer does not completely shut-off.

If you read this whole thing; thank you. If you post any suggestions or troubleshooting tips, thank you even more!
~astranberg

 

[astranberg]

Update to issue 2)

• Computer froze w/I 5 minutes this time. When it froze my keyboard and mouse lights were still on (they have LEDs inside them).
• When I unplug either and plug it into a different USB port, the light remains off, and I get no functionality.

 

[astranberg]

Update: GPU and CPU stress tests (using FurMark software) elicit no symptoms.

 

[Cycloid Torus]

3.
Computer does not completely shut-off.

1. Start menu --> Power --> Shut-off.
2. Windows appears to turn off normal.
3. The computer still has fans running / is noisy and the power button light is still on.
4. Windows boots up normally after a Hard-shutoff (holding power button), with no indication that an error occured via shutdown.

Does this to me when it is trying (but failing) to complete an update.

 

[Cycloid Torus]

2. Computer freezes, with no response to anything. Happens within 30-120 minutes upon booting.

1. Ctrl+Alt+Dlt does nothing. Computer responds to nothing. It's as if my keyboard and mouse were unplugged. In fact, this may be the issue.
2. This happens less often than the Wi-Fi failing (1).
3. Reboot solves this.

Since you are totally incapacitated, maybe this is the same as #1, but you cannot see it.

If there are no 'errors' in Event Viewer to help you focus this, I would suggest removing wifi adapter and running wired thru the RJ45 for a bit.

 

[Leeky]

Might be worth removing the PCI-e Wi-Fi card (and all of the relevant software/drivers) and then seeing how the system behaves.

I doubt it has anything to do with number 3 (shutting down) but issues 1 and 2 could actually be related to the same issue. This is more prudent given that your system passed CPU/GPU stress testing (meaning CPU/GPU hardware and temps are unlikely to be the issue).

It's possible you may have a bad PCI-e socket on the motherboard also.

Are you running the latest BIOS firmware?
Are there any firmware fixes available from the manufacturer for your Wi-Fi card?

It is unlikely the issue is the PSU. Stress testing the CPU and especially the GPU would very quickly show up issues with it. That goes for either being too low a wattage or faulty components.

 

[astranberg]

3.
Computer does not completely shut-off.

1. Start menu --> Power --> Shut-off.
2. Windows appears to turn off normal.
3. The computer still has fans running / is noisy and the power button light is still on.
4. Windows boots up normally after a Hard-shutoff (holding power button), with no indication that an error occured via shutdown.

Does this to me when it is trying (but failing) to complete an update.

No windows says it's up to date as of now. In fact, I saw it recently installed an update last week.

2. Computer freezes, with no response to anything. Happens within 30-120 minutes upon booting.

1. Ctrl+Alt+Dlt does nothing. Computer responds to nothing. It's as if my keyboard and mouse were unplugged. In fact, this may be the issue.
2. This happens less often than the Wi-Fi failing (1).
3. Reboot solves this.

Since you are totally incapacitated, maybe this is the same as #1, but you cannot see it.

If there are no 'errors' in Event Viewer to help you focus this, I would suggest removing wifi adapter and running wired thru the RJ45 for a bit.

Event Viewer is full of errors.

Looking at Event Viewer, there are 91 instances of a "Critical Event 41, Kernal-Power." I believe this is me holding the power off because of issue (3).
"The system has rebooted without cleanly shutting down first. This error could be caused if the system stopped responding, crashed, or lost power unexpectedly."

More interestingly, there are 6 events in the last 24-hours of (Event 10400, NDIS) where "
The network interface "Intel(R) Dual Band Wireless-AC 7260 #3" has begun resetting. There will be a momentary disruption in network connectivity while the hardware resets.
Reason: The network driver requested that it be reset.
This network interface has reset 2 time(s) since it was last initialized."

Plus a few instances of (Event 10002, WLAN-AutoConfig) :
"WLAN Extensibility Module has stopped.

Module Path: C:\WINDOWS\System32\IWMSSvc.dll"

Also, (Event 1073, User32):
"The attempt by user ADAM-PC\Adam to restart/shutdown computer ADAM-PC failed"

Might be worth removing the PCI-e Wi-Fi card (and all of the relevant software/drivers) and then seeing how the system behaves.

I doubt it has anything to do with number 3 (shutting down) but issues 1 and 2 could actually be related to the same issue. This is more prudent given that your system passed CPU/GPU stress testing (meaning CPU/GPU hardware and temps are unlikely to be the issue).

It's possible you may have a bad PCI-e socket on the motherboard also.

Are you running the latest BIOS firmware?
Are there any firmware fixes available from the manufacturer for your Wi-Fi card?

It is unlikely the issue is the PSU. Stress testing the CPU and especially the GPU would very quickly show up issues with it. That goes for either being too low a wattage or faulty components.

I do have a high-index of suspicion on a bad PCI-e socket on the motherboard.

BIOS firmware updates ALL THE TIME, in addition to other core hardware firmwares. I'm actually installing a BIOS and Intel WIFI Driver update right now.

 

[astranberg]

Crap. I wrote a long reply, saw there was a duplicate, and deleted it. Now both copies are gone...any way to retrieve?...

Long story short, BIOS firmware updates frequently, windows just updated last week. Event Viewer is full of errors.
Event 16002, AFD:
Closing a UDP socket with local port number 5353 in process 9036 is taking longer than expected. The local port number may not be available until the close operation is completed. This happens typically due to misbehaving network drivers. Ensure latest updates are installed for Windows and any third-party networking software including NIC drivers, firewalls, or other security products.

Event 10400, NDIS
The network interface "Intel(R) Dual Band Wireless-AC 7260 #3" has begun resetting. There will be a momentary disruption in network connectivity while the hardware resets.
Reason: The network driver requested that it be reset.
This network interface has reset 2 time(s) since it was last initialized.

Event 10002, WLAN-AutoConfig
WLAN Extensibility Module has stopped.

Module Path: C:\WINDOWS\System32\IWMSSvc.dll

Among many others.

 

[Cycloid Torus]

In your shoes, I would try removing Wi-Fi card and use wired RJ45 on system board instead.

 

[astranberg]

In your shoes, I would try removing Wi-Fi card and use wired RJ45 on system board instead.

Unfortunately my apartment has only one wired internet port, and it's in an awful location.

I may try removing the wifi card and buy a different one. Are USB wifi-adapters any good?

 

[Cycloid Torus]

Lets see if I understand. Difficult location for internet wired connection. Router located there - WiFi. Computer elsewhere relying on WiFi. Computer has errors which seem to point at WiFi. Unstable WiFi may have resulted in corrupted updates to BIOS or Windows.

Why is BIOS updating 'ALL THE TIME'? BIOS should only update when you set that to happen - and it should happen maybe once or 3 times during your ownership of the system (for my 5 rather geriatric systems, I have updated one BIOS in an SSD and one BIOS in an HDD and one system BIOS to install a faster CPU - all in 5-7 years).

In your system, what is being updated so often? From what (the old BIOS date type, etc)? From whom (manufacturer, etc)?

Could a broken BIOS update process be causing all this?

Another idea, do you have a router which is generating your WiFi connection? Does it need to be rebooted? If so, power down modem, router and CPUs. Power up modem. All green? Power up router. Running fine, power CPU.

A USB WiFI might be OK - shorter range.

 

[astranberg]

Lets see if I understand. Difficult location for internet wired connection. Router located there - WiFi. Computer elsewhere relying on WiFi. Computer has errors which seem to point at WiFi. Unstable WiFi may have resulted in corrupted updates to BIOS or Windows.

Correct. If the BIOS update doesn't fix this (see below), then I will remove the wireless card and run a long cord to my computer to wire it. Then we'll see if the issue resolves. One at a time though:

Why is BIOS updating 'ALL THE TIME'? BIOS should only update when you set that to happen - and it should happen maybe once or 3 times during your ownership of the system (for my 5 rather geriatric systems, I have updated one BIOS in an SSD and one BIOS in an HDD and one system BIOS to install a faster CPU - all in 5-7 years).

In your system, what is being updated so often? From what (the old BIOS date type, etc)? From whom (manufacturer, etc)?

Could a broken BIOS update process be causing all this?

Okay, you're certainly right. Turns out the BIOS hasn't been updating like it's supposedly been. The software to do this from within windows is MSI Live Update 6. I am installing the latest BIOS (for real this time), and will report back.

Another idea, do you have a router which is generating your WiFi connection? Does it need to be rebooted? If so, power down modem, router and CPUs. Power up modem. All green? Power up router. Running fine, power CPU.

A USB WiFI might be OK - shorter range.

Resetting the router and modem have not helped. Also, I do not have this issue with any other devices in the apartment. This is definitely an issue of this device.

Recap: BIOS is updated. If it doesn't work, I will remove PCI-e wifi-card and see. I will report back. Thanks for everybody's help.

 

[bazz2004]

Most of this is beyond my pay grade but I'd whip out the wi fi card and connect to the internet with HomePlugs. That should solve the internet connection problems and get round the need for a silly length ethernet cable. Hopefully, you'll be sorted in minutes.