Frustrating problem: Boots into safe mode but bsod in Normal mode

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Here’ s what I have: Asus Maximus Apex z690, Intel i9 1300k, 64 Gb Corsair  ram at stock speed, 5200, bios 2403, Gigabyte 4090 gpa, Corsair Ax 1200i. Primary drive Samsung 4TB, Evo 840 pro. Windows 11 Pro, latest build (not insider). System self built and has been working for years without problem..

Here’s what happened. Updated the latest Intel ME using a bios 2703 that simultaneously ME. The bios update seemingly went without mishap. however, on boot up following apparently normal bios update with its usual entrance into setup, the system would not boot into Windows and gave various bsod repeatedly with varied messages the most frequent being an Ntfs.sys error. Thinking it might be system problem I successfully restored a full image that did boot into windows at first but upon shutdown and reboot it went back to bsod..

So far, I have run mem test  through multiple full passes without any errors. I have used a media created installation disk to run the usual DISM commands and SFC / Scannow, I have done a full disk check running /f/r and reports are no system file corruption and no disk file or sector disk problems. I’ve also tried clean booting, disabling services etc in msconfig. I’ve also backed up the EFI boot, rebuilt it in case there was boot sector corruption.  Apparently  not, because same problem, same symptoms. One thing more I will do is collect a boot log if I can.

The machine will boot reliably into Windows safe mode. Now I’m not an expert in troubleshooting and have been researching steps to take but have hit a “brick” wall. I’m wondering if the firmware update to the Intel ME could possibly have gone wrong and indeed “bricked” my machine. My uneducated hunch is that if it was an ME issue it wouldn’t boot into safe mode either but I’m not savvy enough to know if that’s the case. I haven’t tried casting chicken entrails yet… Finally, resetting the pc, an in-place repair, even a clean install have all failed.. I’m currently booting my full restored image into safe mode.

If anyone has any ideas, or knows if the ME gone wrong is likely and can cause issues like this, I would truly appreciate help.
RonH

 

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Does intel allow you to downgrade back to the prior bios release?

Susan Bradley Patch Lady/Prudent patcher

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Aesop

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Thank you for your reply Susan. It was the Asus bios update that also flashed the Intel ME firmware. I reverted to the previous (stable) bios but have not been able to roll back the firmware.

Ron

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You can disable Intel ME firmware and test if this effects your PC’s BSODs

https://github.com/darajnish/dell5577medisable

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Thanks Alex, I’m sure it would be worth trying if I had the requisite skills and apparatus but it’s beyond my tech grade,

Ron

 

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If, before all this happened you had, over time, tweaked the BIOS settings here and there, you could try resetting the BIOS to its default settings everywhere. I say this because the custom BIOS adjustments I’ve made on my Asus MB have been “sticky” and remained changed to the custom settings even when I’ve updated the BIOS to the a newer version.

Desktop Asus TUF X299 Mark 1, CPU: Intel Core i7-7820X Skylake-X 8-Core 3.6 GHz, RAM: 32GB, GPU: Nvidia GTX 1050 Ti 4GB. Display: Four 27" 1080p screens 2 over 2 quad.

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Aesop, windbg

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Thank you for your reply Susan. It was the Asus bios update that also flashed the Intel ME firmware. I reverted to the previous (stable) bios but have not been able to roll back the firmware.

Thanks TechTango I did set the Bios to Asus’s default values, but it made no difference.

Thanks Paul, will look see.

Ron

 

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Susan Bradley wrote:

Does intel allow you to downgrade back to the prior bios release?

Intel doesn’t release bios updates for OEMs.
Intel releases Intel Management Engine firmware.
Bios for his PC should come from Asus.

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Aesop

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Have you tried entering the bios and resetting to default ?

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Aesop

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Similar issue here: https://www.askwoody.com/forums/topic/blue-screen-3/

Might have some tips.

cheers, Paul

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Aesop

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Update: CPU checks out OK. Now have a boot log text file that shows what has loaded and what hasn’t but  it contains thousands(?) of entries and I’m not sure how to reach conclusion  but will research.

I used to have a dual boot (both Windows 11) each on its own drive. I had wiped the second drive free (as well as disconnecting all peripherals save mouse and keyboard), during troubleshooting that included trying all manner of reset, in place repair, clean install that all failed. I decided to restore the second Windows boot to its drive, disconnect the primary boot drive set bios to boot accordingly. Restore worked but the bsod problem is identically there for it too.

In all instances the offending bsod involves Ntfs.sys. Some site info suggested possible video driver issues but I used DDU to fully uninstall my Nvidia drivers with no improvement.

Am I completely off-target if I now suspect a motherboard issue? From Alex’s reply, Intel ME is deeply implicated in the boot up process.  I’ve run out of ideas for further hypotheses and my rational side won’t let me cast chicken entrails. I appreciate all the advice and welcome more.

Ron

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Aesop wrote:

Ntfs.sys

File system driver, suggestive of incorrect/missing driver for NVME, possibly a bad drive.

Might be a good idea to sleep on it and think over it tomorrow, rushing and throwing random ideas at it is likely to make matters worse.

Think about what you did during the last two sessions before the BIOS/IME ‘update/upgrade’.

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Aesop wrote:

Asus Maximus Apex z690, Intel i9 1300k, 64 Gb Corsair ram at stock speed, 5200, bios 2403, Gigabyte 4090 gpa, Corsair Ax 1200i. Primary drive Samsung 4TB, Evo 840 pro. Windows 11 Pro, latest build (not insider). System self built and has been working for years without problem..

Assuming i9-13900k, at less than one year old, can we have accurate ages and details of the hardware, please?

Aesop wrote:

would be worth trying if I had the requisite skills and apparatus but it’s beyond my tech grade

Aesop wrote:

Am I completely off-target if I now suspect a motherboard issue?

I’d leave everything alone until you’ve found someone who has the skills to get you out of this situation and you’ve written up exact details of what happened in the lead up to the BIOS upgrade, as my experience suggests that’s where the key lies.

Sysnative.com has the kind of expertise required to work this out with you and is less likely than most general computer fora to suffer from a surfeit of fellow guessers trying too hard to help before all facts are known and relevant logs are available.

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Have you disabled Fast Startup ?

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Just an update to put this frustrating problem to rest. Remember, could only boot into Safe Mode with BSODs galore in normal mode. Resolution involved:

1 Changing motherboard. This was done using known bios that safely worked before. Problem persisted exactly as before.

2 Changed memory, even though MemTest indicated no troubles. no change to problem.

3 Changed GPU for known working model.  Still no luck.

4 Despite Intel CPU check passing all tests, decided to change CPU from the i9 13900K to the CPU I upgraded from, an i9 12900KF. Don’t ask me to explain, but problem immediately solved. Bad CPU, bad CPU….

Rebuilt machine with recovered Macrium images and put paid to a long and frustrating episode. The CPU was the  last device I would have suspected to fail in this idiosyncratic way but I’ll chalk it up to experience.

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windbg, satrow, Alex5723, TechTango

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Wow.  Thanks for the detail.

Desktop Asus TUF X299 Mark 1, CPU: Intel Core i7-7820X Skylake-X 8-Core 3.6 GHz, RAM: 32GB, GPU: Nvidia GTX 1050 Ti 4GB. Display: Four 27" 1080p screens 2 over 2 quad.

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Glad to hear you figured it out but… WOW!

Unless your system was subject to some sort of internal electrical spike/static discharge (which “should” have taken out other components as well) the chances of an i9 CPU going bad after working for quite a while are less than 1%.

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