Random shutdowns after gfx card upgrade AMD R9 series (XFX)

[ANIMASANA]

So the card I went with is this...

XFX BLACK Edition Radeon R9 390 DirectX 12 R9-390P-8286 8GB 512-Bit GDDR5 PCI Express 3.0 CrossFireX Support Video Card

I want to try reinstalling the drivers again but basically what happens is I will get home and my machine will be off and it won't turn on again until I flip the power switch on my PSU off then on again.

It was worse... when this started I tried to troubleshoot and noticed that the screws attaching the brackets of my card to the case in the back of it where the outputs are located like everything else were sort of moving it when I would put them in. So my thought was maybe this was pulling the card out some and part of the problem.

Seemed to help some. Before the machine would shut down and I could get the PSU going after I flipped the switch but that was it. I heard something else in there making some noises, I think fans, but power didn't seem to want to go to the rest of it. Reseating the gfx card seemed to get my past this which is why I went with leaving the screws out.

I've basically had random issues with my machine since I installed this card but now it seems to be a more serious problem. Thought I would come here for advice before I called XFX to see if they want me to RMA it and reinstall the old one. The guts look like this...


Intel Core i5-2500K Sandy Bridge 3.3GHz (3.7GHz Turbo Boost) LGA 1155 95W Quad-Core Desktop Processor Intel HD Graphics 3000 BX80623I52500K

XFX HD-687A-ZHFC Radeon HD 6870 1GB 256-bit GDDR5 PCI Express 2.1 x16 HDCP Ready CrossFireX Support Video Card (OLD CARD)

XFX BLACK Edition Radeon R9 390 DirectX 12 R9-390P-8286 8GB 512-Bit GDDR5 PCI Express 3.0 CrossFireX Support Video Card (NEW CARD)

ASRock Z77 Extreme6 LGA 1155 Intel Z77 HDMI SATA 6Gb/s USB 3.0 ATX Intel Motherboard

CORSAIR Professional Series HX750 (CMPSU-750HX) 750W ATX12V 2.3 / EPS12V 2.91 SLI Ready CrossFire Ready 80 PLUS SILVER Certified Modular Active PFC Power Supply

Crucial M4 CT128M4SSD2 2.5" 128GB SATA III MLC Internal Solid State Drive (SSD)

G.SKILL Ripjaws Z Series 16GB (4 x 4GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 2133 (PC3 17000) Desktop Memory Model F3-17000CL11Q-16GBZL

Seagate Barracuda ST31000524AS 1TB 7200 RPM 32MB Cache SATA 6.0Gb/s 3.5" Internal Hard Drive -Bare Drive - OEM

Antec Nine Hundred Black Steel ATX Mid Tower Computer Case with Upgraded USB 3.0

COUGAR CF-V12H Vortex Hydro-Dynamic-Bearing (Fluid) 300,000 Hours 12CM Silent Cooling Fan

ASUS 24X DVD Burner - Bulk 24X DVD+R 8X DVD+RW 12X DVD+R DL 24X DVD-R 6X DVD-RW 16X DVD-ROM 48X CD-R 32X CD-RW 48X CD-ROM Black SATA Model DRW-24B1ST/BLK/B/AS - OEM


sorry for the slopiness just went to my email get stuff off the invoice. Hope it all makes sense if not I will try to clarify it. Currently running Windows 10 upgrade from Windows 7 all OEM and fully licensed.

however, the partitions are a little jacked up I have a post in the OS section about it but I can't see that causing this problem. Once I have a chance to fix the partitions I will find out I guess... unless I RMA first.

As always thanks to anyone who has time to provide input/suggestions.

Keep folding!!! (Is that even still a thing??)

Thanks again!!!

 

[BoundByBlood]

my machine will be off and it won't turn on again until I flip the power switch on my PSU off then on again.

There is all kinds of troubleshooting you could do to eliminate possibilities, but this really does sound like a power supply issue above all else. I mean, have you had to reset the unit with other cards or just this one? Having to reset the damn thing every time you want the PC to boot is not normal behavior for a reliable working unit.

Other clues you gave that it might be your PSU:

I heard something else in there making some noises, I think fans, but power didn't seem to want to go to the rest of it.

I could get the PSU going after I flipped the switch but that was it.

Resetting the PSU seemed to work, but it's not enough anymore and the issues you are experiencing are getting progressively worse. PSUs are known to do all kinds of unpredictable wonky sh*t when they start going out, but the bad thing is when they start failing they can take other components out with them if they get bad enough as they are dying and you are still trying to use it.

To err on the side of caution I would call XFX tech support and still setup a RMA for the card just to be safe, but most importantly I would first replace the PSU and I mean ASAP. No point of putting a fixed/new card in there if you still have to reset the PSU every single time.

TBH, that thing is starting to sound a little dangerous for your system.

 

[ANIMASANA]

As I was typing a response to this pic shutdown no longer turns on. Going to buy a new PSU and see if that helps before I try to RMA the card

 

[wingman99]

Also look for a short in case, board, cables, or peripherals. Report back what you have found?

 

[Mandrake4565]

As I was typing a response to this pic shutdown no longer turns on. Going to buy a new PSU and see if that helps before I try to RMA the card

Have you tried using the on board Gpu to trouble shoot, It could be a driver issue. Though I do suspect it could be the Psu.

 

[EarthDog]

This ^^. I'd try free first.

Is that the new he line or old? It's a quality psu with plenty of power so if it's working right, it should be fine.

 

[ANIMASANA]

Now I'm concerned it may have died altogether. Put a corsair RM850i in because they didn't have any 750 watt ones at frys. When I flip the power switch on the psu the fan inside spins, case fan lights up and spins for a second then goes off like it's getting flipped off and on again. Same thing with the fans in the gfx card. Nothing from cpu fans... Not sure what to do at this point. Going to reseat everything clean it. Try with the old power supply and see what happens. This machine has been ran 24/7 for about 3.5 years and this started to happen in December. Got progressively worse a few weeks ago.

 

[ANIMASANA]

Or maybe I'm just an idiot and didn't have the 24 pin plugged in. Going to put this all back together and report back

 

[Mandrake4565]

Or maybe I'm just an idiot and didn't have the 24 pin plugged in. Going to put this all back together and report back

LOL no sweat been there done that! If it's still giving you an issue remove the Gpu and use the onboard to trouble shoot.

 

[BoundByBlood]

Or maybe I'm just an idiot and didn't have the 24 pin plugged in.

I'm sure you mean it wasn't seated all the way into the socket. No big deal really and easy enough to plug it in securely, just don't forget about checking the connection for your cpu 8 pin plug as well.

Then I would do as everyone says and use onboard gpu to troubleshoot.

Also, don't forget to mention if whether or not you still have to reset your PSU even when using onboard video. That would also be very telling.

 

[ANIMASANA]

Also, don't forget to mention if whether or not you still have to reset your PSU even when using onboard video. That would also be very telling.

Too early to tell on this but I will try. I am up and running again after figuring a couple things out.

1) The 24-pin issue is that I had it plugged into the mobo but I left part of the PSU side out. Once I noticed that I plugged it back in and everything started fine. Although my HDD platter drive SATA connection had come out. Thus, no disk error on boot. Fine, fixed.

2) I found that the SATA connection on my platter drive is broken. Basically the plastic male bit on the HDD itself that houses the contacts came out entirely and is lodged in the female bit end of the SATA cord. I managed to slide everything back in (starting to sound perverted) and I was able to get the machine to start and boot into windows again. (Anyone think this could have been my original problem? Would the SATA connection cause the shutdown and no start problem? I'm still leaving towards the PSU being the issue but not really sure. I've done the paper clip test on it multiple times and the fan starts right up. Not sure what else I could to do test it.)

3) I need to pay closer attention to detail. I think what happened is when I put this huge gfx card in I loosened and/or broke the SATA connections and now at some point I should swap this hard drive out. I have a 1TB standing by so once I have time I'm going to nuke this OS and reinstall Windows again. From there I will try to troubleshoot more and see if the power still cuts out.

Appreciate everyone's input, I will get back here once I reinstall windows and take care of my backups.

The good news is I didn't fry anything crucial trying to swap the PSU out or from restarting 5k times.

 

[Mandrake4565]

If the HD the Sata plug was connected to had the Os on it, it wouldn't boot to windows but should be able to post to the BIOS. Stranger things have happened though.

 

[BoundByBlood]

Basically the plastic male bit on the HDD itself that houses the contacts came out entirely and is lodged in the female bit end of the SATA cord. I managed to slide everything back in (starting to sound perverted) and I was able to get the machine to start and boot into windows again. (Anyone think this could have been my original problem? Would the SATA connection cause the shutdown and no start problem?

Indeed it would. A malfunction/failing HDD or one which is not properly hooked up would be one of the top 5 hardware causes for not passing POST and no boot. TBH, I'm surprised you even got an output signal from your hdd with the bad connection.

I'm still leaving towards the PSU being the issue but not really sure. I've done the paper clip test on it multiple times and the fan starts right up. Not sure what else I could to do test it.)

To test the unit and the reliability of the 12V rails you would need some tools including a multimeter. However, if there is a cheap PC repair shop around in your area you can also bring the unit in to them and have them test it.

I recommend getting the psu checked out just to be sure.

 

[ANIMASANA]

Thanks Blackheart I will try that. I have a DMM at work sop if I did some research I suppose I could figure it out. I might just opt with the computer repair shop though

I'm not convinced the HDD connection was the problem. Although it did cause issues when I was putting the new PSU in, for obvious reasons. I can't be sure of when I broke it. I would say the PSU is highly suspect since the machine literally would not turn on i.e.- post after it shut down. The only way I could get the machine to Post/boot again after a shut off like I said was to reseat the GFX, which was hit or miss. So, that could have been coincidental. I will call Corsair next week and see what they think. I believe this PSU is well within the 7 year warranty. Not that I have a problem with the new PSU, it will be quiter which is nice and if I can get a replacement 750 maybe I can upgrade everything late this summer and have that pro streaming machine I've always wanted to have for broadcasting my fails!!!

When I get more info I will post here again.

Thanks everyone for taking the time to reply!

 

[BoundByBlood]

I have a DMM at work sop if I did some research I suppose I could figure it out.

If you have the tools at work then try this.

I'm not convinced the HDD connection was the problem.

I didn't mean to insinuate it was the cause. You asked if it was possible and I just reaffirmed the possibility. To me the PSU is still highly suspect and once replaced all issues should go away. If not, we'll cross that bridge when we get there.

I'm out for the night. GL and let us know what happens.

 

[ANIMASANA]

Been awhile but I wanted to test stability and performance. Since I swapped out for the new PSU things have been going smoothly. No more random shutdowns during gaming and stable system overall. I did reinstall Windows 10 which was extremely easy and I was able to login with my windows 10 upgrade login information. It actually brought down some data that was on the previous installation. So, now up and running with new PSU, new Win10 install on SSD and my 1 TB platter as backup. Super stoked. Thanks everyone for all the guidance, tips and support. Couldn't do it without this community.

 

[wingman99]

Glad you have it repaired, power supply's defiantly cause those problems.