Question Overheating & Unavailable Programs

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drumone

Junior Member
Aug 29, 2022
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6
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Last December (2021) I built my first computer system (see specs below). All has been running fine until about the last month or so. PROBLEM #1 - I started having problems with random programs no longer functioning/being allowed on Windows. I kept getting the error message "This app can't run on your PC". I would download the software again and re-install it and it would work fine. I would shut down the system and reboot the following day to find a program or two not working again. This has happened with Adobe Acrobat Reader, Avira anti-virus, Avid's Sibelius, Revo Uninstaller, Mozilla Thunderbird Mail, and Microsoft Office 2016. I can't get Office to be recognized with my account and I'm going to contact Microsoft and ask what to do. However, that doesn't fix the problem with the other software. Sometimes it will reload and be okay, other times it quits working on reboot. I can't get Thunderbird or Acrobat Reader to stay loaded and working no matter what I try. I've also tried installing it as an administrator to no avail. I'm ready to wipe the hard drive and re-install windows from scratch, but that is a lot of work I'd rather avoid, if possible. Does anyone have any suggestions on how to solve this issue??

PROBLEM #2 - My system is overheating to the point of shutting down. It started with the last few cumulative updates on Windows. I got the error message about overheating when I rebooted and had to go into the BIOS to get the system to boot again. It has done that twice. It happened again when I was working on clearing out an external back-up drive. The last time it happened I was copying my music library to my back-up drive (the one I cleared out). This overheating issue has only happened on the Windows side of my machine, never on Ubuntu. I installed the temperature sensor programs for Linux and have been watching it today to see what it does. For the most part, things stay within range. However, I have noticed that things occasionally spike high while doing minor things on the system, e.g. opening a program. On Windows it runs fairly hot consistently. I double checked the thermal compound on the processor and found that it wasn't the best job. I cleaned off the old compound and reapplied it using suggestions I read on the ROG forum. I opened up the third and final panel on the top of the tower. I opened up the side port on the tower. The entire bottom of the case is vented and has a removable screen that I checked and cleaned. The two front fans were not clogged but I cleaned the screen anyway. I also cleared out the dust in the case with a vacuum and compressed air can. Originally, I ran the two front fans as intake and the rear fan as an exhaust. I had the CPU cooler fans running as exhaust to push hot air out. Yesterday I took out the radiator and cleaned it and reversed the direction of the fans to pull cool outside air into the radiator. The system still seems to be running hot. I'm scared to death the run the Windows OS because I can't afford another computer (and if I can't work on my degree and get done with school I'm in trouble with my wife!) I built this system with the intention of eventually running music notation and production software. Up to this point, I haven't really done that or anything else that should be particularly taxing, I didn't think. Is there anything I should be doing in the BIOS settings for the fans to properly cool things down? Is there something I can do in the Armoury Crate software settings? Do I need a different CPU cooler? Am I screwed? I will greatly appreciate any insight into this issue. Thank you!!!

SPECS:

Asus ROG Crosshair VIII Dark Hero AMD X570 ATX motherboard
AMD Ryzen 9 5950x processor
Fractal Lumen S24 CPU liquid cooler
Asus Dual-RX6600 GPU
G.Skil RipJaws V 64GB RAM
Samsung 980 Pro SSD – 1TB NVMe – 2 (Ubuntu OS on one, Windows OS on the other)
Corsair RM850x power supply
Fractal Define R5 ATX Midtower case
Fractal Dynamic X2 GP-14 140mm case fans – 2 in the front,1 slightly smaller fan in the rear
 

BoomerD

No Lifer
Feb 26, 2006
62,063
10,235
136
BoomerD - I did check my fan connections early on to make sure I had everything assembled correctly. The AIO pump is connected to the AIO pump header and the fans on the radiator are connected to the CPU Fan header. I think the pump on this unit is right next to the radiator (on one end) at the top of the loop. As it's a sealed system, is there a way to release any potentially trapped air?

I'm contemplating putting in an Arctic Liquid Freezer II 280 as a replacement for my Fractal Lumen S24. It's slightly larger and looks like the pump is on the CPU block. Thoughts on that?

Funny enough, if I connect the pump connection on my POS Coolermaster AIO to the motherboard pump header...the PC overheats. Can't explain it. it's enabled in the BIOS. If I connect it to another fan header, it works fine. (well, as well as it can)

You can't release any entrapped air from an AIO without doing some kind of major surgery. There's ALWAYS a small amount of air in these systems. The manufacturers leave a bit for thermal expansion of the liquid...plus it's nearly impossible to totally fill the radiator, pump and tubing to 100% full without getting a bit of air in it somewhere. A small amount of air is normal and not problematic...as long as it doesn't cause problems for the pump or cooling block.

I've read good things about the Arctic Freezer models. Never ran one, but they're SUPPOSED to be decent.


Apparently there is an issue with them that Arctic is addressing voluntarily:

If you buy a new one, the fix may have already been applied.
 

drumone

Junior Member
Aug 29, 2022
17
6
36
OK, but if the BIOS is telling you the CPU is overheating, that's not a Windows issue.

I believe it to be Windows specific due to the fact that it only happens on the Windows side of my machine, never in Linux. It is also highly suspect that my software issues coincided with my overheating issues.

I'm seriously considering swapping out the current cooler for the Arctic model, just as a precaution. In addition to wiping the hard drive and starting over. I can't seem to fix the software issues and I'm over it.
 

BoomerD

No Lifer
Feb 26, 2006
62,063
10,235
136
Before you reformat...have you tried these two steps?

If you find that there are no signs of infection, it is possible that there are corrupted Windows system files. The Deployment Image Service and Management tool (DISM) is a utility in Windows that scans for corrupted Windows system files. If it finds a problem, it would replace the problematic system files from a cached version that's on your PC. Here's how to run the DISM utility:
  1. Press the Start button, then type command prompt, then right-click Command Prompt, and select Run as administrator. If you are prompted to enter a password or confirmation, enter the password or provide confirmation.
  2. At the command prompt, type the following command and press Enter:
    • dism.exe /Online /Cleanup-image /Restorehealth
      • Kindly take note of the spaces between the command.
  3. If DISM finds corrupted files and replaces them, restart your PC and see if that improves the system.
Note: You must be connected to the Internet to use DISM, and it might take several minutes to finish.

If DISM can't replace the files, the System File Checker (SFC) tool could check your system for corrupted files then download and replace the files through Windows Update. Here's how to run the System File Checker tool:
  1. Press the Start button, then type command prompt, then right-click Command Prompt, and select Run as administrator. If you are prompted to enter a password or confirmation, enter the password or provide confirmation.
  2. At the command prompt, type the following command and press Enter:
    • sfc /scannow
      • Kindly take note of the space between.
      • Note: Scanning would take a few minutes.
  3. If SFC finds corrupted files and replaces them, restart your PC and see if the problems persist.
 
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Tech Junky

Diamond Member
Jan 27, 2022
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One thing came to mind....

It's possible you got crypto jacked and it's causing the windows issue. Doesn't really explain the missing apps but would coincide with excessive CPU heat if it's hashing in the background.
 
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drumone

Junior Member
Aug 29, 2022
17
6
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One thing came to mind....

It's possible you got crypto jacked and it's causing the windows issue. Doesn't really explain the missing apps but would coincide with excessive CPU heat if it's hashing in the background.

That's a horrifying thought! How would I determine if such a thing has happened to my system? Would wiping the hard drive and starting over solve that issue?

I tried BoomerD's suggestions first and the DISM just said "The restore operation completed successfully. The operation completed successfully." I ran the SFC as well and it said "Windows Resource Protection did not find any integrity violations."
 
Last edited:
Jul 27, 2020
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That's a horrifying thought! How would I determine if such a thing has happened to my system? Would wiping the hard drive and starting over solve that issue?
Rootkit resides in UEFI so nothing short of changing the BIOS chip AND wiping HDD/SSD will remove it.

An experiment if you can try: Run Linux and install Windows in a VM and then use that guest Windows full screen and see if the overheating happens or you experience just Windows freeze or full system freeze, causing both Windows and Linux to lock up.
 

drumone

Junior Member
Aug 29, 2022
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Igor - I ran Malwarebytes and Avira today and nothing came up. I did notice that there have been multiple updates for my BIOS version since I built this system. Should I update the BIOS version? I read somewhere that to only update the BIOS if you are having issues and to leave it alone if the system is running fine.

When I look in the processes list in Task Manager I don't see anything that is using much of the CPU. CPU is 1% and Memory is at 21% as I type this. I don't know anything about the Services list or what to look for. At the age of 44, I'm working on a software development degree and we haven't touched anything of this sort so far, but I'm only 6 months in to the program.
 

drumone

Junior Member
Aug 29, 2022
17
6
36
A rootkit can get Task Manager to report false data. Only way to be sure is to check CPU temp with infrared thermometer during idle use in Linux and Windows. If Windows idle is hotter than 50 degrees Celsius, something is fishy.

Will HWInfo (Windows) and Psensors (Linux) be enough to show that without the fancy thermometer? I idle around 45 degrees in Linux and 45 degrees for most of the cores in Windows ( a few cores get up to around 49) according to those two programs.

I'll be updating the BIOS version in a few minutes.
 
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drumone

Junior Member
Aug 29, 2022
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I did a few things tonight. 1. Updated the BIOS version. 2. Looked really hard at the settings in the UEFI. Seeing as how I have a ROG motherboard, it came with a lot of options to tweak, overclock, and just generally mess with the system. In my search I came across something that looked like it boosted the CPU somehow. I disabled anything that looked remotely like a "boost" to anything in the system. 3. I also kicked the fans up to keep them running a little faster. 4. I deleted all of the Asus software. 5. I updated the drivers for the CPU, chipset, and GPU. I don't know which of these things has made the difference, could be a combo of all of them, but the system has not run over 58 degrees so far!

As for the software issues...I'm in the process of reloading all of them. We'll see what happens next.
 
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Jul 27, 2020
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Hmmm...this means that last month you installed something (maybe bundled Asus software) or some software got updated automatically and started causing problems. Good work trying to isolate the issue.
 

drumone

Junior Member
Aug 29, 2022
17
6
36
It looks like the temperature issue is resolved. I'm guessing the boost settings in the UEFI were probably the culprit. As for Windows, I'll be doing a complete wipe and re-install of the whole drive. I'm tired of dealing with it.

Thanks for all your help to everyone that responded!!!