PO3-600 Crash problems - revert to prior bios?

halcon48 · March 2020

I have a PO3-600 that worked perfectly for 6 months then crashed. It has been in for warranty work twice and at this point almost all hardware has been replaced-MB, SSD module, CPU, GPU. Bios appears to be current per Acer driver list but must have been updated when repaired. Should I revert back to the bios that was in place when I purchased the PC? Any other suggestions? Thx.

billsey · March 2020

Tough call, it's unlikely that the BIOS is the problem since the initial crash happened before the BIOS was updated. What are/were the symptoms? When I see a list of repairs like that I want to look at the power supply as the common denominator...

halcon48 · March 2020

Thx for the response, billsey. In early January, it suddenly blacked out and gave me a message to reboot. Took many tries to get it up and running and then crashed almost every time I touched it - sometimes with the Win10 unhappy emoji "problems with your pc", sometimes just freezing, sometimes black screen and reboot message. I tried every scan disk and attempt to reset I could come up with. It would not reset, I could not uninstall/reinstall ESET, email, etc. Finally took it in and they replaced the MB and the SSD module. Worked fine for exactly 2 weeks, then exact same symptoms occurred. They replaced the CPU and GPU and it again passed their tests. It worked for two hours, then the multiple crashes started again. That being said, I have been using it for 15 minutes without errors, demonstrating intermittent nature of problem. Is there a test for the power supply that a non-technician can try? Thx.

halcon48 · March 2020

I should mention that at one point today, the error I received said it was a kernel data inpage error and win32kfull.sys failed. That was the first time I have seen the kernel error.

billsey · March 2020

It sounds as if the specific symptoms for each crash are close to random. Typically that means you can't use any specific crash as a diagnostic tool but rather have to look at the system holistically. The PSU touches every bit of the system and dirty power would cause really random seeming crashes. Is there any chance you have an old PSU around that you could test with? Swapping a known good one in then running for long enough should be enough to verify it is the problem if it is the problem... If the crashes are still there with a different supply then we'll want to dig deeper. You can also look at your environment. Are you plugged into a surge arrestor or UPS? If so try going directly to the wall plug. Is that circuit with something like a laser printer, coffee machine or microwave? Try disconnecting them entirely.

halcon48 · March 2020

Great info, thx. I don't have another PSU, but I know someone who does. I'll give that a try (it will take a day or two to get ahold of it, then I'll run it for a bit). In the meantime, I'll connect directly to the wall, in case that helps, though nothing has changed in that setup in a very long time.
Your advice is much appreciated!

billsey · March 2020

Please let us know how it goes...

halcon48 · March 2020

New PSU, still crashes occasionally. At the suggestion of a relative with tech knowledge, I also replaced the RAM, still crashes occasionally. The BSoD messages include Critical Process Died and System Service Exception. I missed seeing a couple of error messages. When it attempts to reboot after the BSoD, it sits on the boot screen and will not either respond to the Del or F12; eventually, I turn it off. If I wait at least 15 minutes, it will boot up just fine. If I keep my usage to short periods of time (I've gone for an hour+ okay), then shut down normally, I can keep it from crashing. There's not much left of the original machine left: MB replaced with identical model, SSD module replaced with different brand (and 500GB instead of 256), CPU and GPU replaced same models, PSU and RAM different brands. Wall power doesn't help (and crashes recreated at service location). It's gotta be something other than hardware... Thx for the follow-up, billsey.

billsey · March 2020

Might still be hardware, can you run one of the utils that monitor temperatures? Check to see if any are getting close to 100C. You might have a fan that not spinning, allowing the temperature to climb too high.

halcon48 · March 2020

That's a good idea, thx. I'll check that.

StevenGen · March 2020

Have you done a "Clean Install" of Win-10? That is formatted the new SSD and done an install? This is a very unusual problem that I've never ever experienced and/or heard of before? As having a new MB, SSD module, CPU, GPU should not relate your problem to hardware, it must be software!

halcon48 · March 2020

Thx for the suggestion, StevenGen. I was told that was done by the professional technician when the SSD was replaced. Prior to that, the PC wouldn't boot into safe mode and wouldn't do a clean install of Win 10. If the temps that billsey suggested don't show a problem, I'll try another clean install!

halcon48 · March 2020

Well, I used Core Temp utility and did some routine stuff - opened photo edit software, got onto Edge and Chrome, email - and it crashed within 10 minutes with a System Service Exception. The temps of the cores never went above 81C. Clean install of Windows next, probably later today. Thx for the ongoing assistance!

billsey · March 2020

Keep us informed.

halcon48 · March 2020

Well, I think I'm back where I was in January, b4 changing all the above-mentioned hardware. Attempt at clean Win10 install froze at the removal of apps list (critical process died) and it has taken substantial effort to get it to a point where it boots up and shuts down cleanly again. I'm done messing with it, will find someone to take the pc on after the "stay at home" order is lifted. Thx much for all your help. If I ever get a resolution, I'll hunt this thread down to report the outcome.