Damndest issue I've had in awhile...

[Archon Prime]

Hey everyone, long time no see. I'm still trucking, just haven't been too active on here as of late.

So I've got a strange issue that I've been troubleshooting off and on for a few months now with a client.

Got a Lenovo MJ0C6Z0S - AMD Ryzen 5 3500G with Radeon Vega Graphics.
Latest Microsoft 10 Home updates and feature release 10.0.19044 64-bit
This was purchased last September. We came across the issue with the computer showing offline in Datto RMM at random points. The customer told me that keyboard/mouse were not responding, has to do a complete shutdown (holding power). The desktop is showing when this occurs no errors or anything else on the screen. Take note there isn't even network data transmitting since RMM is not getting the updates.

On reboot it's fine and might work okay from 5 minutes more to several hours or days, then rinse and repeat.
I ruled out dirty power, power bar, power plug, etc. Ruled out printer connection, etc. So I was perplexed as to what was going on at this point. Even moved it to a completely different part of their office with no changes.

I went onsite and attempted to reset Windows, wiping the whole thing and installing from scratch. When it was doing that it locked up during the prep, and we were then in a boot loop.

So I brought the computer back and wiped it clean with Windows 10's restore from web option via USB, blah blah. Installed latest drivers from Lenovo's site and double checked everything else with SDI origins, and it was all up to date. That was done. Everything was restored (just files) from their cloud backup. Reinstalled apps from scratch. When I had it here for a good day, it was fine. Back to the clients and it was fine for a few days or so, then it started to do it again, and more frequently.

At this point I ran out of options and we were looking at doing an RMA with Lenovo

Customer emailed me the other day letting me know that when she has chrome open and they are streaming music from their soundcloud, the damn thing stays up and doesn't lock up. Ever. She left it like this for days... sure enough I've seen it up and online running fine during that whole time.

One thing I forgot was a BIOS flash to the latest version. It was running a version of O4DKT3xA. I upgraded it to the latest O4DKT41A (September 2020 version, latest). It was the last thing I could think of doing.

Issue persists.


So at this point I'm gobsmacked as to what the hell the problem is now. I was going to do an RMA for this thing since it's within the 1 year. I've honestly dried out of ideas with this. I just don't get it why if their is network traffic like streaming, it's fine. I was going to try doing a continuous ping from command but even if it works, I don't know what is causing the issue.

Any thoughts?

 

[thecomputerguy]

Hey everyone, long time no see. I'm still trucking, just haven't been too active on here as of late.

So I've got a strange issue that I've been troubleshooting off and on for a few months now with a client.

Got a Lenovo MJ0C6Z0S - AMD Ryzen 5 3500G with Radeon Vega Graphics.
Latest Microsoft 10 Home updates and feature release 10.0.19044 64-bit
This was purchased last September. We came across the issue with the computer showing offline in Datto RMM at random points. The customer told me that keyboard/mouse were not responding, has to do a complete shutdown (holding power). The desktop is showing when this occurs no errors or anything else on the screen. Take note there isn't even network data transmitting since RMM is not getting the updates.

On reboot it's fine and might work okay from 5 minutes more to several hours or days, then rinse and repeat.
I ruled out dirty power, power bar, power plug, etc. Ruled out printer connection, etc. So I was perplexed as to what was going on at this point. Even moved it to a completely different part of their office with no changes.

I went onsite and attempted to reset Windows, wiping the whole thing and installing from scratch. When it was doing that it locked up during the prep, and we were then in a boot loop.

So I brought the computer back and wiped it clean with Windows 10's restore from web option via USB, blah blah. Installed latest drivers from Lenovo's site and double checked everything else with SDI origins, and it was all up to date. That was done. Everything was restored (just files) from their cloud backup. Reinstalled apps from scratch. When I had it here for a good day, it was fine. Back to the clients and it was fine for a few days or so, then it started to do it again, and more frequently.

At this point I ran out of options and we were looking at doing an RMA with Lenovo

Customer emailed me the other day letting me know that when she has chrome open and they are streaming music from their soundcloud, the damn thing stays up and doesn't lock up. Ever. She left it like this for days... sure enough I've seen it up and online running fine during that whole time.

One thing I forgot was a BIOS flash to the latest version. It was running a version of O4DKT3xA. I upgraded it to the latest O4DKT41A (September 2020 version, latest). It was the last thing I could think of doing.

Issue persists.


So at this point I'm gobsmacked as to what the hell the problem is now. I was going to do an RMA for this thing since it's within the 1 year. I've honestly dried out of ideas with this. I just don't get it why if their is network traffic like streaming, it's fine. I was going to try doing a continuous ping from command but even if it works, I don't know what is causing the issue.

Any thoughts?

Clean install and still having issues?

In order of likelihood ...

RAM
Mobo
SSD
CPU
PSU

If it's still RMA'able then dump it. Should be easy to get approved after you say you are a tech and already did what you did.

Or as a last ditch effort you can go and pull a stick of RAM (if theres 2), if it is RAM then you get a 50/50 shot at guessing correct. If it's anything more than a RAM issue it's probably not worth working on anymore. If it's only got 1 stick then hopefully you have a spare in stock or you are outta luck.

 

[Sky-Knight]

Yeah, RMA the thing. The last time I had this happen it was the SSD, but it took MONTHS of stupid behavior like this before the SSD finally died enough for anyone to know.

But I'd be running a RAM test first, but if the machine passes all the factory diags... I'm leaning on the SSD being weak.

 

[GTP]

When it was doing that it locked up during the prep, and we were then in a boot loop.

I had a similar problem with a client PC.
I cloned his drive to a new SSD and the problem was solved.
I used that SSD in a laptop I use for diagnostics and it did the same thing.

I tried a LLF, updated the SSD's BIOS etc but it was still doing it.
Binned it and forgot about it.

 

[Archon Prime]

I was thinking it was RAM as well, as a matter of fact i did run a RAM test and txt output was normal. However, this does have a SSD and an HDD (HDD is for doc storage) just have OS/apps on the SSD. The only thing is... since I wrote this, customer has had the music streaming since the last freeze up yesterday afternoon, and it's still active. /flipdesk.

 

[Blue House Computer Help]

Just a question. How do you check for dirty power?

 

[Blues]

I think you can use one of those power metering tools on an outlet if it logs or somehow reports the power over a time period.

 

[sapphirescales]

It could be almost anything. This is why you need to have advanced diagnostic software like PC Doctor Service Center or PC-check. Diagnosing these weird problems is basically a poke and hope scenario without them. All you can do is swap one component at a time until it stops doing it. Either RMA the thing or get some decent diagnostic software. I know most people here don't use paid diagnostic software but it's absolutely essential to diagnose weird hardware issues like this.

 

[Philippe]

I just don't get it why if their is network traffic like streaming, it's fine.

Streaming music from Chrome -> low SSD usage...

 

[HCHTech]

This is why you need to have advanced diagnostic software like PC Doctor Service Center or PC-check.

Our service philosophy venn diagrams intersect on this one. We have used PC Doctor for years on most computers that cross the bench. It's cheap enough and runs automated so very little keyboard time involved. We've found more than one dodgy RAM stick this way for sure. I like being able to put in the service description "Full hardware diagnostic", too.

 

[sapphirescales]

@HCHTech I've used both PC Doctor Service Center and PC-check. I prefer PC Doctor Service Center for multiple reasons but I'd like to try Ultra-X. I called around some computer shops in other states that advertised that they used Ultra-X and they all said it was great. Do you have any experience with it? It's pretty darned expensive. $699/year for their mid-tier. And you do have to pay every year for it from what I understand. The rep I spoke to said you had to connect it to the internet when it expires and update your license otherwise it won't function. Their top tier includes a program very similar to Fabs for data transfer which I'd love to try:

Ultra-X Inc.

uxd.com

I'm not unhappy with Fabs per say but I always like to check out other solutions.

 

[putz]

Most OEMs like Dell or Lenovo has built-in or downloadable diagnostic tools that test all the hardware in the system. Why not use their tool to check it all and see if it reports any issues?

Lenovo Diagnostic Solutions: Downloads - Lenovo Support US

support.lenovo.com

If the system locks up or reports any errors during the diagnostics then a no-brainer to RMA it. I don't work with Lenovo much so I'm not sure on what their support requires you to do to RMA, even if its within warranty. Some vendors still want to see their diagnostics are detecting something. Or just tell them it locks up during diagnostic, so you don't ever get any results to provide them.

 

[HCHTech]

@HCHTech I've used both PC Doctor Service Center and PC-check. I prefer PC Doctor Service Center for multiple reasons but I'd like to try Ultra-X. I called around some computer shops in other states that advertised that they used Ultra-X and they all said it was great. Do you have any experience with it?

I tried PC-Check a long time ago, and then moved to PC Doctor - we've been happy with that for years now, so I haven't looked for alternatives. I do like that you aren't required to update every year, we usually go to the new version every couple of years.

 

[sapphirescales]

@HCHTech Yeah I've found that PC-check isn't as reliable as PC Doctor. PC-check frequently just freezes up during tests which isn't very helpful. And yeah, I agree about PC Doctor. We usually update every 2 years and when I call in they always give me a pretty big discount. The rep told me that they don't really make money selling the software to repair shops. They make most of their money selling to OEM's like Dell. Any money they make selling to repair shops is just gravy to them, so they're more willing to give out discounts in order to ensure loyalty.

I also don't appreciate the $0.50 flash drives PC-check uses. If you're going to charge hundreds of dollars for your software, at least spend $5 to get a decent flash drive! My flash drive failed 2 months after I bought the software and their answer was "tough sh*t, buy another one." They've lost a customer forever because of that. Not a smart move.

I'm interested in Ultra-X because PC Doctor uses Linux/Windows to test whereas Ultra-X is operating system independent. It should be more accurate at diagnosing low level hardware issues because of this.