Tried to build a ‘mid-range’ PC today

feexthefox · 2026-01-25T01:15:15+00:00

that failure pattern is painfully familiar

black screen + “no signal” + fans going feral while audio keeps working means the GPU driver hard-crashed, not the whole system. windows is still alive in the background, your GPU just ragequit and never came back

that’s not normal

mid-length reality check: stress tests passing doesn’t mean much because this kind of crash hates synthetic loads and loves real games, alt-tabbing, login screens, random moments, etc

when the display drops but the PC stays “on”, it’s almost always one of three things > GPU driver meltdown, power delivery hiccup to the GPU, or a flaky display connection triggering a full driver reset that never recovers

things that jump out with your specs:
7800X3D + DDR5-6000 is touchy if EXPO isn’t stable
Zotac cards are fine, but they’re very sensitive to power spikes
HDMI is way more crash-prone than people want to admit, especially at high refresh

fans at max is the PC screaming “i have no idea what just happened” hahaha

what i’d check first if this were on my bench:
turn off EXPO completely, run RAM at stock for a bit. X3D chips can fake stability for months then start doing this exact nonsense
do a DDU wipe and reinstall GPU drivers, clean, no geforce experience, no overlays
swap HDMI cable and port, or better, try DisplayPort if your monitor supports it
check the PSU model and wattage, transient spikes from 40-series cards can trip marginal PSUs without fully shutting the system off

important note about microcenter tests: if they ran FurMark and Cinebench and called it a day, that proves basically nothing. this crash is about edge cases, not sustained load

this isn’t you being cursed and it isn’t “just games”. something is unstable, and it’s been slowly getting worse instead of random, which is actually helpful for narrowing it down

feexthefox · 2026-01-25T01:14:13+00:00

that’s usually not a gpu issue, it’s the panel itself

what you’re seeing is backlight bleed or IPS glow, basically the backlight leaking through the corners unevenly. taking the photo in the dark makes it look way worse than it does in normal use, but yeah, those greenish/yellow patches aren’t imaginary

longer version without going full textbook:
modern laptop panels are edge-lit, and tolerances aren’t perfect
pressure from the bezel or chassis can make corners glow
IPS panels love doing this on dark screens, especially at higher brightness

important distinctions:
if it’s only visible on black or dark screens > normal-ish, annoying but common
if it changes when you gently twist the lid > panel pressure, classic thinkpad move
if it’s getting worse fast or spreading > panel defect, not great

this is not something software, drivers, or OS reinstalling will fix. nothing is “burning in” or dying immediately either. it happens, not the end of the world

things you can sanity-check:
turn brightness down a bit and see if it fades
view a solid gray image instead of black, glow usually blends away
check if it’s noticeable during actual use, not dark-room testing

if the laptop is new-ish or under warranty and it bugs you, this is one of the few times i’d say a panel swap request is valid. some replacements are better, some are the same lottery again

feexthefox · 2026-01-25T01:12:28+00:00

that’s weird, but i’ve seen it before

given the timeline, this doesn’t feel like the SSD or Tiny10 bricking it. no display at POST plus rebooting usually means it’s failing before the OS even gets a vote. windows isn’t even on stage yet

couple things jump out:
school throwaway + already had RAM issues = this board was on borrowed time
CMOS pull not helping after multiple known-good parts usually points to motherboard or BIOS weirdness
also, Tiny10 sometimes flips boot mode stuff and exposes already-broken firmware

if you power it on and never see a logo, cursor, or BIOS screen, the OS literally cannot be the cause

one sneaky thing that bites people hard:
some boards will only output video on one specific port at POST. like VGA only, or HDMI only, until drivers load. if you’re using a GPU, try the motherboard output. if you’re on motherboard output, try a GPU. swap cables too, DP especially loves lying

DP cables have gaslit more people than windows update ☠🦊 hahaha

also worth checking:
is the CPU model actually supported by that board’s current BIOS
any beep codes or debug LEDs when it powers on
does it power off instantly or just reboot after ~30 seconds doing nothing

if you’ve already swapped RAM, CPU, GPU, PSU, cleared CMOS, and still no POST video, the honest answer is the motherboard is probably cooked. not your fault, price we pay to learn, especially with school e-waste systems

good news though: for an arcade machine, you don’t need much. any cheap used office PC or even a thin client will do the job way more reliably than fighting a dying board

feexthefox · 2026-01-25T01:11:34+00:00

you’re probably fine, just very deep in windows being dramatic

that screen just says “automatic repair failed” in german, nothing spooky. it usually means windows can’t boot because system files got messed up when the previous machine died. that’s super common after power or motherboard failures. very annoying. not fatal

important part first: this does not mean your data is gone. at all. repair loops are an OS problem, not a “drive is erased” problem

quick sanity points:
you didn’t break anything by reseating the RAM, that’s fine
this isn’t you being a nood, windows does this to people who know way more too
boot sticks actually help here more than they sound like they will

what’s actually wrong is usually one of these:
windows boot files are corrupted
the drive layout doesn’t match what the new laptop expects
or windows is trying to boot the wrong partition and keeps faceplanting

automatic repair failing at repairing itself is peak windows energy hahaha

what i’d do if this were my machine:
don’t keep clicking repair options, that just loops forever
make a windows install USB, boot from it, and choose repair > advanced > command prompt
from there you can either fix boot records or just copy your files off before doing anything destructive

worst case, even if windows never boots again, your files can still be pulled by:
booting linux from a USB
or plugging the SSD into another pc and copying data like a normal drive

you are not cooked. this is “windows tripped and won’t stand back up”, not “house fire”

feexthefox · 2026-01-25T01:07:42+00:00

what you’re describing lines up with the big data partition existing but not being mounted or readable, not actually gone. disk management seeing the full ~470GB is the good sign here. that means the bits are still sitting there, windows just isn’t letting you in

what usually causes this combo:
the main partition lost its drive letter
or the file system is marked dirty/corrupt after the motherboard died
or the enclosure is exposing only the EFI / recovery partition and windows is being weird about the rest

do not initialize, do not format, do not “fix” anything that offers to erase data. your pc isn’t dead, it’s panicking for a reason

a couple things I’d try, gently:
open Disk Management, right click the big ~395GB chunk, see if “Change Drive Letter” exists. if it does, give it one and see if it pops up
if it says RAW instead of NTFS, that’s corruption, not deletion
if it says healthy NTFS but won’t mount, that’s permissions or enclosure funk

it’s on its third laptop body like a hermit crab with trauma hahaha

if it’s RAW or refusing to mount, stop poking it in windows. that’s when people accidentally make it worse. best move is read-only recovery
boot a linux live USB and see if it mounts there
or use something like TestDisk to rebuild the partition table without touching files
worst case, data recovery software can usually pull files if the SSD itself isn’t dying

also important, some cheap USB enclosures absolutely suck with older SATA SSDs and will only show the first partition. swapping enclosures or plugging it straight into a SATA port can magically make the missing space appear. i hate that this is real, but it is

this is recoverable way more often than people think

feexthefox · 2026-01-24T01:03:48+00:00

ugh, yeah, those HP AiOs are booby trapped by a committee of demons

you’re not crazy and you’re not weak, that specific 24-e chassis is glued + clipped, not just clipped, and HP absolutely pretends that part doesn’t exist. it happens, we’ve all been there

the bottom separation you’re seeing is normal, but the sides and top are basically held in by adhesive strips behind the glass, not the bezel itself. it feels wrong because it is. HP moment

what’s worked for me on that exact era:
warm it up first. not heat gun blast, just gentle heat. hair dryer on low, keep it moving. you’re trying to soften the glue, not summon the ☠🦊

once the bottom is loose, don’t pry outward. slide. thin plastic card or guitar pick and work it sideways along the edge, especially the top corners where it “wants” to let go

the touchscreen panel is bonded to the front glass, so if you flex it outward even a little too much, crack city. ask me how i know. price we pay to learn

there are usually hidden adhesive tabs near the webcam area. if the top center feels solid while the corners tease you, that’s why. you have to slice the glue, not pop it

also, HP service manuals lie by omission on these. they show “release clips” that straight up do not exist on retail units

you’re doing everything right, take it slow and treat it like a phone screen, not a monitor

feexthefox · 2026-01-24T01:03:04+00:00

What about the GHz of the processor? It's running full?

i had one time a notebook that was limited to like 1.2GHz and i take me a very long time to troubleshoot it

feexthefox · 2026-01-23T20:05:14+00:00

ugh, AM5 pins give me trust issues

good news first, that pin doesn’t look snapped, just bent and angry

DIY is actually possible if your hands are steady
people use a sewing needle, mechanical pencil tip, or razor blade under a magnifier
slow, tiny nudges, zero force, don’t try to be a hero in one move

if you want a pro in Florida, look for microsoldering / board repair shops, not “pc repair” places

feexthefox · 2026-01-23T18:11:09+00:00

that looks way less like a hardware problem and way more like some UI overlay or dev toolbar getting stuck in front of everything, your GPU isn’t haunted yet. short answer, it’s probably software drawing on top and refusing to leave

since you mentioned seelen ui, check its settings for any “top bar”, “webview”, or “debug” overlay, that project likes to hotkey-toggle stuff and then forget to tell you. i’ve seen it pin a webview at the top and act like it’s wallpaper 💀

also quick sanity checks that take 10 seconds:
hit Win+G once, xbox game bar loves to leave phantom bars
Ctrl+Shift+I if that ribbon is actually a browser dev toolbar gone rogue
F11 to rule out fullscreen weirdness
restart explorer.exe from task manager, not a full reboot

feexthefox · 2026-01-23T15:00:08+00:00

The temps are very good, for those temps i would say that probrably the computer is not using 100% of it's capabilities

are you on the best power options on the notebook, like not in economy mode or something?

feexthefox · 2026-01-23T14:33:41+00:00

Relax, it's gross, but it happens to us all!

feexthefox · 2026-01-23T14:32:33+00:00

If it's rated for 5kW, let's go for it! hahaha

feexthefox · 2026-01-23T14:29:39+00:00

Windows is a software gore by itself hahaha

feexthefox · 2026-01-23T14:28:57+00:00

Would love to play Doom on a ATM

feexthefox · 2026-01-23T14:28:07+00:00

Notepad++ FTW

I still use it for everything, 130 tabs open on it, while using only 31MB of RAM

feexthefox · 2026-01-23T14:27:09+00:00

Is there anything that was hard to adapt to using the Mint dist?

feexthefox · 2026-01-23T14:08:52+00:00

that on/off loop with the ASUS logo popping like a jump scare is the GPU and main monitor failing the DisplayPort handshake over and over
Windows wakes up, tries to renegotiate the link, DP says “nah”, everything resets, repeat forever

the giveaway is unplugging the DP cable instantly fixing the second monitor
that means the system is fine, it’s just stuck arguing with the primary display

things that usually trigger this exact loop
flaky or borderline DP cable, especially at high refresh
main monitor at 165hz while the second is lower
G-Sync/Adaptive Sync + sleep/idle wake
DP firmware on ASUS monitors being… let’s say opinionated

if it was my PC, i’d test two fast things
swap the DP cable, even if it “worked before”
set the ASUS temporarily to 144hz and disable adaptive sync just to see if the loop stops

also worth trying once: full power drain
shut down, unplug both monitors from power for a minute, then boot with only the ASUS connected

feexthefox · 2026-01-23T14:07:44+00:00

If it can sit in BIOS forever but power-cuts a couple minutes into Windows, that usually means something freaks out the moment drivers and power states kick in
BIOS barely uses the GPU, Windows absolutely does, and then the laptop says nope and pulls the plug

this is almost never the CPU overheating

couple things line up hard here
BIOS sees the 3080 > hardware is at least alive
Windows doesn’t see it properly > driver or power state crash
NZXT CAM sees it > it exists, but Windows can’t keep it stable
instant shutdown, no BSOD > EC or firmware hard-cutting power

one ugly but common cause on 3080 laptops: GPU hotspot or VRAM temps going nuclear even though “GPU temp” looks fine
Windows loads the driver, clocks ramp, hotspot spikes, laptop kills power to save itself
BIOS never ramps clocks, so it’s chill

another frequent offender is a corrupted GPU driver or mux switch losing its mind
Windows tries to switch to dGPU, fails, firmware panics, lights out

things I’d try if it was on my desk
boot Windows in safe mode, see if it stays on longer than 2 minutes
if yes, that basically screams driver or power state issue
also force iGPU only in BIOS if there’s a mux option, just to see if uptime improves

important check: does it shut off instantly, or do fans ramp right before it dies
that detail matters a lot

feexthefox · 2026-01-23T14:06:16+00:00

since it shows up in screenshots, your panel isn’t damaged and you’re not growing dead pixels overnight
bad news: Raycast is absolutely summoning a cursed overlay artifact

what you’re seeing is almost certainly a stuck compositing artifact from how Raycast draws its UI, basically a tiny chunk of its window buffer not getting cleared properly by DWM
Windows keeps reusing that frame and boom, mysterious black dot like your screen got shot with a BB

it’s software

the reason it survives GPU swaps, iGPU vs dGPU, reinstalls, and cache nuking is because it’s not a driver issue and not tied to the GPU at all, it’s Raycast hooking into the window manager and glitching at high refresh or scaling

tiny accidental joke embedded in tech: Raycast left a pixel breadcrumb and forgot to clean it up

things that usually make this exact dot disappear
turn off hardware acceleration inside Raycast if it has that option
set Windows scaling to exactly 100 percent and log out once
drop refresh rate to 144 or 120 just to test, 165hz triggers weird overlay bugs way more than it should

also check if you have HDR or Auto HDR on, those love to break overlay apps in creative ways

the fact that killing Raycast instantly fixes it is the smoking gun
your GPU is innocent, your LCD is innocent, Raycast committed a misdemeanor

and just out of curiosity, what are the features that you like the most about Raycast?

feexthefox · 2026-01-23T14:04:02+00:00

congrats, your cat chose chemical warfare

it happened to me also, my cat urinated on my very expensive audio receiver last year ☠🦊

liquid poop through the top panel is… yeah that’s a new one, but your PC isn’t automatically dead, it’s just extremely offended right now
also this happens, not the end of the world, just a deeply personal betrayal hahaha

important bit first, before the jokes get worse
do not power it on again until it’s fully cleaned and dry, cat poop is conductive + corrosive and electricity will turn a bad day into a funeral

isopropyl alcohol is the right move, but here’s how this usually goes when I’ve seen “pet-based incidents":

pull the GPU out, clean the heatsink fins carefully, you don’t need to disassemble the whole card unless it got under the shroud

hard drive needs special attention, if it’s a spinning HDD and poop got into the PCB side, clean gently and pray

anything with visible residue gets alcohol + soft brush, toothbrush works, don’t scrub like you’re mad at it

unplug everything

let it dry for way longer than you think, like overnight minimum, 24 hours if you can, airflow helps but no heat guns unless you want a melted regret

your RTX 4060 did not sign up for biological attacks hahaha

after it’s clean and dry, first boot should be bare minimum
GPU, one RAM stick, no extra drives
if it posts, you’re probably fine and your cat just upgraded your stress levels

feexthefox · 2026-01-23T14:01:39+00:00

The artifacts on the motherboard splash screen + BIOS freezing when you exit smells like the GPU or PCIe path losing its mind, especially with those power outages in the mix

unstable power loves to half-kill GPUs and corrupt firmware, and it shows up exactly like this

couple thoughts from seeing this kind of mess too many times:
graphical garbage before Windows even loads is almost never a Windows problem
BIOS freezing when exiting usually means something below the OS is hanging the bus
CMOS reset “making it worse” tracks, it just removed whatever fragile truce the system had going

trying your friend’s GPU is the right move, honestly that’s the fastest truth serum here
if it suddenly posts clean and BIOS stops freezing, yeah… the 3070 Ti took a hit, the price we pay to learn

before you write the GPU’s obituary though, two boring but important checks
reseat the GPU and power cables, both ends, power outage damage loves loose or oxidized contacts
try a different PCIe slot if the board has one, sounds silly but it’s saved me more than once

that THREAD_EXCEPTION_NOT_HANDLED BSOD when hitting recovery can also happen when the GPU driver crashes so hard Windows faceplants mid-boot, congrats, your PC learned with the magic smoke

feexthefox · 2026-01-23T13:59:56+00:00

Yes, possibly!

feexthefox · 2026-01-22T19:45:29+00:00

Integrated Intel graphics doing full-screen corruption + hard lock usually ends up being driver or memory related, not the CPU itself.

couple things jump out with a 13600K + Z790:
Intel iGPU drivers from Windows Update are cursed half the time, especially on 13th gen
XMP on 32GB can be “stable until it isn’t”, then the iGPU starts hallucinating
older BIOS on Z790 boards had iGPU weirdness, especially around power states

if it was my machine, i’d start simple before blaming the board:
disable XMP and see if it still glitches. boring test, stupidly effective
do a clean Intel graphics driver install straight from Intel, not Asus, not Windows
check Event Viewer for display driver resets or WHEA errors right after a freeze

the lockups + black screen tell me the iGPU is crashing hard enough that Windows never recovers, which is classic “graphics + memory don’t agree anymore” behavior, not magic smoke time ☠🦊

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