Computer won't boot after Windows Update

Shademoon

Member
I recently bought a PC on PCSpecialist, and I'm encountering some rather peculiar problems. Everything was fine for the first few days, until a windows update came up, after which the PC systematically refuses to boot properly. The PC Specialist logo appears but the colors are very strange. While the background should be black, several lines of colors appear and nothing happens for a while, before I finally get a completely black screen, and the PC reboots. (3 times, until I am offered to access the repair options)

I can restore an old backup, which effectively allows me to use the computer again (boot goes normally, and I can go on the internet and even play games without any error or crashes) but when Windows forces the update again the next day, I encounter the same problem again.

When I check the reliability history, the errors are labeled as "hardware error" -> LiveKernelEvent -> Code 141.

Here are the specs;


Case PCS 3601
Processor (CPU)AMD Ryzen 3 3100 Quad Core (3,6 GHz-3,9 GHz/18 Mo CACHE/AM4)
MotherboardASUS® PRIME B450-PLUS (DDR4, USB 3.1, 6 Go/s) - Compatible Ready!
RAM16 Go Corsair VENGEANCE DDR4 2666 MHz (2 x 8 Go)
Graphics Card8 Go AMD RADEON™ RX 580 - HDMI, DP, DX® 12
1st Storage Drive1 To SEAGATE BARRACUDA SATA-III 3,5 POUCES HDD, 6 Go/s, 7200 T/MIN, 64 Mo DE CACHE
1st M.2 SSD Drive256 Go PCS SSD PCIe M.2 (1900 Mo/R, 1100 Mo/W)
DVD/BLU-RAY DriveNOT REQUIRED
MemoryCard ReaderLECTEUR CARTE SD/MICRO SD EXTERNE USB 3.0
Power Supply CORSAIR 550 W CV SERIES™ CV-550


Obviously, I can't just restore everytime I get a windows update. There has to be something I can do...

Will provide more info if needed. Thank you for your help!
 

ubuysa

The BSOD Doctor
What's the update that fails? Is it a driver update (if so which one) or is it a security or feature update (if so what is the KB number)?
 

Shademoon

Member
Ok, these are the ones it wants to install when I check for updates. (Sorry, it's in french, but the updates themselves are in english)
 

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Martinr36

MOST VALUED CONTRIBUTOR
one of the updates in that screenshot (KB4576754) replaces a previous update (KB4559309) which is known to cause problems whichis why Microsoft has withdrawn it, so it might be an idea to run those updates & see what happens

More details here
 

ubuysa

The BSOD Doctor
I'm pretty certain it's the last one: Advanced Micro Devices, Inc - System - 2.2.0.121 because that's part of the AMD chipset driver. Not only that but a quick search shows others complaining about that driver crashing their PC, though they're many months old.

I would visit the AMD website and see whether there is an alternative and newer driver available and manually install that.

Alternatively you could try the Microsoft update show/hide too at https://download.microsoft.com/down...9cd-4275-8c95-1be17bf70b21/wushowhide.diagcab and hide that driver update and apply the others. See whether that helps?
 
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ubuysa

The BSOD Doctor
Thank you both for your help! I'll try to hide both updates, see if that makes any difference.
Only hide one at a time and test to see whether the problem stops. If you hide both at once you'll not know which one was the cause. Windows updates are important and you want to get them installed if you can.

I really would advise hiding the driver update first and seeing whether the problem is resolved, only if it's not consider hiding any Windows updates.
 

Shademoon

Member
Welp, last night I decided to check the option that lets you postpone all updates for 7 days... and when I tried to turn the computer on today, I don't even get the PCSpecialist logo anymore. It simply does nothing... black screen all the way.

I'm tempted to reinstall windows altogether.
 

ubuysa

The BSOD Doctor
Welp, last night I decided to check the option that lets you postpone all updates for 7 days... and when I tried to turn the computer on today, I don't even get the PCSpecialist logo anymore. It simply does nothing... black screen all the way.

I'm tempted to reinstall windows altogether.
Agreed. There sounds to be something very wrong there.
 

Shademoon

Member
Okay, so, the weirdest thing happened. I suspect black magic is at work.

It seems the update installed again (both of the problematic ones) before I had any chance to "hide" them. I opened up the case and unplugged, then replugged the GPU... and it booted perfectly fine again. It does not seem that the connections were badly made or anything of the sort, on the contrary; everything was assembled with care. However, having fiddled with the GPU seems to have had a positive effect, for a reason that escapes me completely.

Will monitor the situation a bit more, and see where this leads. (Might as well read up on the necronomicon and other magic books, just to be safe)
 

Shademoon

Member
This appears to be systematic. If I don't unplug, then replug the GPU before I turn the power on, my computer won't boot at all.

Another thing is, whenever I do that, the computer will first fail to POST (no beep, power turns off automatically), then turns back on again, POST and boot. This happens all the time.

I have never seen this before... any idea what it could mean?
 
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Shademoon

Member
Time to update this thread, I guess.

So, I've been digging a bit, and it seems that everytime I get a windows update, boot order gets changed (on top of the already existing problem). Not only that, but a bunch of new drives are going to appear out of nowhere (I only have 2, as stated on the specs), which of course completely messes up the boot process. I ended up with 4 drives, had to disable the 2 mysterious extras, and it worked again. Except of course, a new update happened aaaand... now I get a black screen when I turn the computer on. I can't access BIOS to fix the order and even if I could, my original problem is still there. I made sure no extra stuff was plugged in, just in case. These ghost drives... I just don't know what they could be, or where they come from.

The only moment things were kind of fine is when I disabled Windows update completely for testing purposes. I still had to unplug and replug the GPU, and it still failed to POST the first time, but the system booted normally after that, and there were no crashes or weird phenomenons. I'm completely lost atm, and frankly have no idea what to do.
 

ubuysa

The BSOD Doctor
now I get a black screen when I turn the computer on. I can't access BIOS to fix the order
That doesn't sound like a Windows problem to me - Windows isn't even started at that point. You need to give PCS a call and be prepared to RMA it.

It would be worth pointing them at this thread, it sounds as though your problem may be graphics card related - in which case PCS could just ship you a replacement.
 

Shademoon

Member
Had to try and re-install windows, just in case. This didn't help with my problem.

However, there's a new thing I learned. My black screen wasn't in fact a black screen! For some reason, the ouput changed and I have to use a HDMI to DVI adapter to get a signal. This is how I could re-install windows using a USB flash drive.

This leads me to believe this could indeed be GPU related. Is there a quick way, some kind of test I could run to confirm this? I'm already ready for RMA, but I'd really like to know for sure. My mind needs to be at peace after all these troubles :D
 

Martinr36

MOST VALUED CONTRIBUTOR
Had to try and re-install windows, just in case. This didn't help with my problem.

However, there's a new thing I learned. My black screen wasn't in fact a black screen! For some reason, the ouput changed and I have to use a HDMI to DVI adapter to get a signal. This is how I could re-install windows using a USB flash drive.

This leads me to believe this could indeed be GPU related. Is there a quick way, some kind of test I could run to confirm this? I'm already ready for RMA, but I'd really like to know for sure. My mind needs to be at peace after all these troubles :D
Can you boot into safe mode at all and maybe try and roll back the graphic driver to the last known version you know worked ok via system restore or another backup if you have one
 
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