BSOD, SMART error plus more. Desktop very unhappy... Please help D:

[Dom92]

Ok so, my PC is (nearly exactly) 1 year old. I am running Windows 11 and the PC has been running pretty much perfectly until now. I was playing a game called “Escape From Tarkov”, which I’ve been playing for a good amount of time now, again with no issues.

However a couple days ago I got a BSOD while playing said game but the PC rebooted before I could check the stop code.. While booting a black screen with AMI showed saying SMART Failure Predicted on SATA6G_3: (my SSD). I looked this up and multiple tech sites told me to disable the feature then do a defrag, which I did. The BSOD kept happening though while loading/playing EFT with various stop codes, unfortunately the only one I managed to take a note of was “UNEXPECTED_STORE_EXCEPTION”. I of course Googled this and followed the steps suggested to no prevail.

My computing knowledge is not that great, but I did all the troubleshooting I could and narrowed it down to EFT having (newly?) corrupted files (although I'm now assuming it goes deeper than this).

I honestly can’t remember the order in which I tried these and I'm probably forgetting some of the steps I took but I’ll try and list everything I’ve done in an attempt to fix this:

- Uninstall/re-install the game (I get the BSOD while the game is re-installing)
- Purchased a new M.2 SSD and installed the game onto it (Still triggered BSOD)
- Disable smart error feature
- Defrag
- Check Windows updates (all up to date)
- Check all drivers (all fine and up to date to my knowledge)
- cmd (admin) sfc /scannow (says it found and fixed corrupted files)
- cmd (admin) chkdsk c: /r /scan /perf (“The shadow copy provider had an error” & “A snapshot error occoured while scanning this drive”)
- cmd (admin) DISM.exe /Online /Cleanup-image /Restorehealth (Error: 2 The system cannot find the file specified)

So I moved on to completely resetting the PC. When I try using cloud storage to re-download and install Windows it just refuses. When I try from local it acts as it is restoring then just resets as if I’d literally just pressed restart.
I moved on to trying to get into Winre but that is just proving impossible. I have tried it straight from the recover menu, I have “shift-restarted”, I tried a cmd prompt to launch it, I even tried “disrupting” it boot sequence but I cannot get Winre up.

With restoring the PC in mind, I also tried:

- Downloading Windows ISO
- Downloading Windows Installation Media
(Both of which gave me an error when I tried to open them saying the files were corrupted)

“Go back” is unavailable – I guess either I turned it off at some point or the return files are corrupted..

And to top it all off – every single time the PC resets, whether done by a BSOD, purposely by me or otherwise, it seems to revert back to right when this started happening. It doesn’t matter what I do, I can literally delete/uninstall files/ programs AND empty my recycle bin but they all come back when the PC boots up. Almost like a groundhog day kinda deal. I feel like my PC is stuck in a loop and no matter what I do (or try to do) it just goes back.

The really strange thing is the PC appears to run normally as long as I don’t try to run or install EFT. (But still goes back to the same time when restarted).

I’m sorry if I’ve rambled on or repeated myself at all. I’ve gotten very frustrated at this point and just want some help D:

Mid-posting update: I have had to swap to my laptop to finish this post since while typing this my PC crashed but not fully? I'm scared to turn it back on again now in case I'm damaging it further. This web page was still on screen and my mouse moves but I can't interact with anything. I tried Ctrl Alt Del which worked, but when I click on task manager nothing happens. I restarted and got a new BSOD with the error code: "CRITICAL_PROCESS_DIED" and now the PC wont boot properly. I'm starting to give up hope at this point Starting to think I've picked up a virus somewhere?? Although I'm not sure where since I think I'm pretty careful, but mistakes happen!

There is nothing on the PC that I need to keep. Everything important is on an external HDD which I have disconnected from the PC, meaning I would be happy to be able to fully wipe it and start again, I don't mind re-downloading programs etc. Obviously I'd prefer to not have to re-buy Windows but if that is unavoidable I'll do it. And if it turns out the installed SSD is failing, I'm happy to just remove it since I have my new M.2 drive.

It is a PCS build, I have attached a picture of the specs in case they are relevant.

Any and all help is greatly appreciated!

 

[Dom92]

Oh I forgot to mention I swapped out the PSU for a slightly more powerful one (I think it's an 850, I am happy to check if necessary when I am back at my desk) and I have added 2 more sticks of 8GB RAM (32GB total). Both of these were done long before this issue occurred

 

[B4zookaw]

I'd certainly try a clean install of Windows. Download the windows media creation tool (https://www.microsoft.com/en-gb/software-download/windows11) and copy it to a USB stick. Probably best to do this on the laptop. Then on your desktop, detach your SSD (unplug cables), then boot the desktop from the usb stick. Install windows on the M.2 drive, but make sure you delete all partitions on the drive first, to ensure a clean install. This will wipe drive completely, so make sure you have important files backed up elsewhere first. Once Windows installed, run windows update repeatedly until no more updates are available, including optional updates (these will include drivers).

 

[Dom92]

Thank you both very much for your replies!

I should've included when I mentioned the extra RAM, I have also tried taking the new sticks out (Corsair) and running with the original PCS ones, equally I tried removing the PCS sticks and ran just the new Corsair sticks. Neither of these tests changed any outcome unfortunately.

B4zookaw, I actually didn't consider downloading it on the laptop first, I will try that ASAP. Unfortunately I have had to pop out but as soon as I am back I will try this (and any other advice that may turn up while I'm gone). Honestly I'm up for trying anything at this point! I understand you want to give the best advice so you mentioned backing up important files, by this do you mean my personal files or system files? Since I am fully prepared to lose everything that is currently on the PC. But obviously if I need to keep any system files or files the PC actively needs to run, I may need a little more guidance on this.

When I do try this, I can remove the newer RAM at the same time just to give myself the best chance of saving my PC if you think this is beneficial

Thanks again!

 

[B4zookaw]

Backup any files that are personal to you, so any documents, photos, etc. System files will be replaced with new ones when Windows installs, so it's more the files created by yourself, including maybe config files, saved games, etc.

I would also just have one set of RAM installed, maybe the corsair one. Generally you shouldn't mix and match RAM. They should be exact same models, including down to the timings.

 

[Dom92]

Backup any files that are personal to you, so any documents, photos, etc. System files will be replaced with new ones when Windows installs, so it's more the files created by yourself, including maybe config files, saved games, etc.

Okay good to know, I am happy to start a fresh as I said anything important I have stored on a seperate external HDD which is not connected so I risk nothing of importance. As soon as I am home I will try what you said and report back here with the outcome.

Thank you so much again, especially for the speedy response!

 

[ubuysa]

Definitely use the laptop to download the Media Creation Tool AND make the bootable USB. Using a known failing PC to do that and expecting it to work is not sensible.

I would also urge you to check that the M.2 SSD you bought is on the QVL for that motherboard. You can find out under 'Other Devices' here.

You might also check that your new RAM is on the QVL for that board, but even if it is mixing RAM is a no-no. You really want all your RAM as a matched set, so if you want four 8GB sticks buy a pack of four 8GB sticks. I know you've shown that RAM isn;t an issue in this case, but mixing RAM may well be a time bomb for the furture

 

[Dom92]

Definitely use the laptop to download the Media Creation Tool AND make the bootable USB. Using a known failing PC to do that and expecting it to work is not sensible.

I would also urge you to check that the M.2 SSD you bought is on the QVL for that motherboard. You can find out under 'Other Devices' here.

You might also check that your new RAM is on the QVL for that board, but even if it is mixing RAM is a no-no. You really want all your RAM as a matched set, so if you want four 8GB sticks buy a pack of four 8GB sticks. I know you've shown that RAM isn;t an issue in this case, but mixing RAM may well be a time bomb for the furture

Okay so you have shown me I know even less than I thought about computers! I have checked the QVL as you suggested and neither the M.2 nor the RAM are on the list for my MB (the M.2 is a Samsung 980 Pro 1tb, the RAM is Corsair Vengeance LPX 3600MHz CMK16GX4M2D3600C18). While there are multiple RAM variants with a single letter difference that ARE compatible (the D before 3600). Also the 960 Pro M.2 drives are compatible. I understand if they are different then it doesn't matter how close they sound, forgive me for asking anything you consider silly!

I am currently downloading the Media Creation Tool onto my UBS stick but figured while that is downloading I'd re-ask opinions about this. While my Corsair sticks are more powerful, I think my PCS RAM should suffice if that is the "safer" option. Unfortunate I appear to have wasted money but you live and learn!

If it wasn't obvious by now I had no idea about this QVL checking. So I don't bombard with *really* silly questions I did just google it to find it's a board for actual tested devices and shouldn't be taken as 100% incompatibility if the devices aren't on the list. I do hope this is the case as I'd hate to find my brand new M.2 drive is no good to me! I'd be happier to risk the M.2 and leave it in than the RAM, but again, I am asking since I appear to be a lost sheep in the world of computing.

 

[Dom92]

Honestly, I could kiss you guys So I have installed Windows onto my M.2 and removed the Corsair RAM (I'll take the hit on that, rather waste RAM than my entire PC).

SO FAR *touch wood* everything seems to be running perfect. I'm inclined to think, regardless of the cause; it was my old SSD failing. The first instance with the SMART SSD failure prediction is what convinced me to buy the new M.2 so perhaps I got myself worked up for no real reason

I know it's probably not considered a proper test, but I have now installed and opened EFT and it appears to be running fine. I thought since it seemed to be a sure cause for a bsod it would be worth trying.

That being said, I honestly can't thank you guys enough for your help. And the warning about mixing RAM. I won't make that mistake again! If I have any issues in the future I'll definitely jump on this forum!