When you get the blue screen, what's the next step?

[murraya8922]

I'm not a complete noob at all, but I have what's probably a noob question....
I've build two rigs now, one of them about three times over, haha. I'll post the specs later, but my question goes across the spectrum pretty much I think.

So! I have a 4690K that I've had at about 4.5ghz for over a year now. I'm fairly familiar with the overclock process. NOT AN EXPERT, so don't bash me please.

I want to push the OC more, just for bragging rights really. I'm at 4.5ghz with 1.265v stable right now. Prime 95 for 2 hours, and IBT for 20 passes on ultra high. I have an AIO and temps never get above 75 on any core.

But I have a problem... when I push further and I get the blue screen, I restart, and get to a black and white Windows screen that says I need to start in safe mode, but my mouse and keyboard don't work, so I have to let it do it's thing...which takes about 15 sweaty minutes.

So my question is: What do I do when I get the blue screen??? Leave the PSU on and restart? Turn it all off and clear CMOS? Just restart??

My temps are within range, so I know I can push it further, but this step is scaring me from going forward. Any advice will be greatly appreciated.

 

[Vishera]

Further just tells us what your overclock will go past. What specific speed are you trying for? 4.6? 4.7? Might need more volts. Try 1.27, and keep going up in .05 volt increments. It could also be that the silicon just isn't capable of handling that much stress. You could be getting 50c for highest temps during Prime95, doesn't say anything about the ability of the chip to handle the extra stress of running faster.

As for getting Windows to boot, just tap the key you tap at startup to get into your BIOS and take the overclock back to the last known good configuration. If the computer still turns on, i.e. it still posts, there's no need to clear CMOS.

 

[trents]

Further just tells us what your overclock will go past. What specific speed are you trying for? 4.6? 4.7? Might need more volts. Try 1.27, and keep going up in .05 volt increments. It could also be that the silicon just isn't capable of handling that much stress. You could be getting 50c for highest temps during Prime95, doesn't say anything about the ability of the chip to handle the extra stress of running faster.

As for getting Windows to boot, just tap the key you tap at startup to get into your BIOS and take the overclock back to the last known good configuration. If the computer still turns on, i.e. it still posts, there's no need to clear CMOS.

Make sure your last stable overclock settings are saved in a profile.

But no need to reset CMOS to get her to boot again. I always just zero out the overclock by resetting the system to stock with the F5 key while in bios. That will usually make windows happy and allow you to boot all the way. Once you can reboot all the way into the Windows desktop then you're good to go and you can resume overclocking. But don't get into a blue screen loop over and over because it can corrupt system files and force you to reinstall Windows.

Sounds like you just need more core voltage. You're safe to 3.75 or so on the vcore if temps permit. Don't exceed 90c for extended periods. You may be at that point where to get just one more tick out of the overclock you will need a much more substantial vcore increase than was necessary for each increment of speed increase up to this point. For instance, on my 6600k I could get to 4.6 ghz on 1.31 vcore but I had to go up to 1.37 to get to 4.7 ghz and when you add in the LLC it's even more than that, like 1.425 vcore to be stable at 4.7 g hz. So I run it 24/7 at 4.6 ghz.

 

[murraya8922]

When I restart and try to hit F9 or DEL to get to my BIOS after a blue screen, it doesn't go to BIOS, but tried to load Windows with the same setting again.

 

[Johan45]

Is it WIN10? The BIOS screen goes pretty quicly but you should still be able to get in. If that won't work try just power down with switch then restart,

 

[murraya8922]

I have Windows 7. I think it may be the particular USB i have my keyboard plugged in to...like when I blue screen, it may not load the keyboard? Not sure. I will try tonight and be able to tell y'all exactly what the screen says. I'll try to snap a picture.

 

[wingman99]

When you have a blue screen just reboot into BIOS and increase the Vcore.

 

[trents]

I have Windows 7. I think it may be the particular USB i have my keyboard plugged in to...like when I blue screen, it may not load the keyboard? Not sure. I will try tonight and be able to tell y'all exactly what the screen says. I'll try to snap a picture.

I've had that problem. Try a different USB port for the keyboard. Some motherboards have dedicated USB ports for the keyboard that initialize more quickly than the others so as to allow you to get into bios. Sounds like you may also need to change USB setting once you do get into bios. And don't use a USB 3.0 port (has a blue plastic blade inside the port). On older motherboards the USB 3.0 ports do not have microcode and are not active until you get into Windows where drivers are applied.

I would also disable quick/fast boot when you get back into bios. I also wonder if your bios has been corrupted and would suggest you flash it with the latest version.

What is the make and model of your motherboard?

 

[caddi daddi]

I have this issue through my kvm all the time, kill the power to the psu for a bit, press the start button a time or two, plug it back in and boot.
check your ram setting in bios, clocking ram is when mine loses the keyboard and mouse.

 

[murraya8922]

Okay,first, thank you all very much for the responses!
A) I will shut off the fast boot, see if that changes anything
B) I have a MSI Z97 Gaming 5 BIOS V1.12
C) I switched the keyboard USB to a red (not 3.0 port) and tried again, when I hit the Windows screen, still unresponsive.
D) I learned from Paul's Hardware on YouTube about an hour ago, that when I get the blue screen to:
1)Hold down the power switch until everything shuts down
2)Turn off the power supply
3)Press the power button to "flush the remaining power"
And he said that usually works. But if not, THEN
4)With the power supply off (after steps 1-3) go ahead and clear CMOS and start over

Do you all agree with those steps?
They make sense to me. I tried that, and I get to BIOS okay now by hitting DEL like usual. I can then manipulate the settings and "save and reset"
But then again, I get to the black and white Windows screen and my keyboard is unresponsive...
i was able to take a picture of the screen this time! It says:

Windows Error Recovery
Windows did not shut down correctly...blah blah
Safe Mode
SM w/ networking
SM c/ comd promt
"USE ARROW KEYS", so on so on "ENTER=CHOOSE"

So, at this point my keyboard doesn't work in that screen, and I wait 25 seconds for it to do it's thing, then windows boots.

 

[trents]

I would do a fresh install of Windows 10 at this point. Sounds like you have had so many blue screens that you now have corrupted system files. Get it running correctly with all Windows 10 upgrades before attempting any overclock. Run the computer at stock settings for a while to make sure buggy drivers didn't cause the problem in the first place. When you are convinced it is running correctly at stock settings, start to slowly overclock it with adequate stress testing and temp monitoring along the way. Save a stable modest OC profile or two in bios "Tools" before pushing the envelope.

 

[murraya8922]

Eesh, I've been putting off switching to Windows 10, but it sounds like a good idea at this point.

 

[murraya8922]

- - - Updated - - -

4.5 @ 1.256v running below 72C for a quick 5 min stress test. I've done a 30 run pass, and the temps are almost identical.
I try for 4.6 or even 101 base clock, and I get the big ol blue screen :/
Does that mean I've basically reached the chips limit even though temps are good?

 

[Johan45]

Did you try setting the V_Core to 1.3v first then try for 4.6?

 

[murraya8922]

I've tried 1.28 with no results. 1.3v is generally the max for these Haswells, correct? I can try 1.3v tonight and see what happens.

 

[Johan45]

You're good up to ~ 1.4v and ~ 90-95c

 

[murraya8922]

So, make sure my Windows is up to date, and everything is working fine. Then bump the voltage a little at a time, until I get a stable clock? As long as my temps are good, and I'm not trying for 1.6v or something crazy, (baby steps) I SHOULD be good correct?

- - - Updated - - -

^^^key word is SHOULD... i know there is no guarantee with this stuff.

 

[Johan45]

That's it in a nutshell murray

 

[murraya8922]

Okay, thank you for your help. I'll post any updates.