NUC10i7FNH - Random glitchy/froze crush problems

[Barryluo]

Hello All, 

First of all, let me show you what the problem is, please refer to the attached photos and videos.

Explanation:

This glitching/freeze/flicker error happens randomly, without putting performance work in my Nuc (only multiple Chrome tabs are running), when it happens, nothing runs from the Nuc, requires a power shutdown then restart.

Note: Just when I'm typing up this post, the NUC froze suddenly again, without the glitchy/flicker screen. 

Setup details: 

NUC 1010i7FNH + 2x16 Kingston KVR26S19D8/16 + 1 TB CRUCIAL P1 NVMe M.2 SSD

USB-C to DisplayPort cable, Samsung U28D590 (old but trusty monitor, current setting at 4K 60hz)

Windows 10 Pro

Usage:

This NUC was newly bought in early October this year, and this glitching/frozen crush thing has been constant ever since I finished my setup, so far it has not been put into heavy usage since I'm trying to figure it out if this is an hardware problem or just software/drivers issues. Most tasks done on this NUC was just browsing internet using Chrome. 

The crush happens randomly, it can happen when I watch Youtube videos or when it puts the screen to sleep; it happens at random time of the day, so far it somewhat happens on average once per day, but sometimes can happen 2-3 times a day as well.

Solutions I've tried:

Based on some researches online:

My BIOS looks normal, Device Manager properties shows nothing strange;

I changed Win 10 power setting to never sleep;

I updated all the drivers manually on Nov.14th from: https://downloadcenter.intel.com/product/188811/Intel-NUC-10-Performance-kit-NUC10i7FNH

Windows automatic update was on, and it is up to date;

I read through this post already: https://community.intel.com/t5/Intel-NUCs/NUC10i7FNH-Random-freezes-was-Wi-Fi-6-AX201-error-initially/td-p/661736

Here is what I'm wondering:

1. Does it look more like a software/driver issue or hardware issue? If it is can be determined, would be easier to decide on using the warranty or just some updates to patch up.

2. In Windows EventViewer, the only "critical" I'm seeing is "Kernel-Power" (Event 14, Keywords:(70368744177664),(2)), can this be the reason responsible? Any solutions to it?

 

So far I've type up the most of the things I can think of, if you need more information, please do let me know, I will try my best to provide. 

Thanks in advance! 

[n_scott_pearson]

Number one cause of issues like this is borderline bad memory. Try replacing the memory and see if this alleviates the issue.

...S

P.S. My personal opinion is that Kingston memory is junk and I won't use it any longer.

[Barryluo]

Never thought of that, I did remove the RAMs, cleaned and switch slots inside the NUC, not really help much...

If it really is RAM issues, I better replace them...

Will keep this in consideration.

[AndrewG_Intel]

Hello @Barryluo

Thank you for posting on the Intel® communities.

We are checking this thread and we would like to know if you need further assistance. Please do not hesitate to contact us back if you have additional inquiries.

Best regards,

Andrew G.

Intel Customer Support Technician

[Barryluo]

Hello @AndrewG_Intel,

I was actually expecting more experts or someone who had similar experiences to pitch in...... because I thought there might be more possibilities. 

Can you help to show this post to more ppl?

Thanks! 

[AndrewG_Intel]

Hello @Barryluo

Thank you for your response.

We would like to gather more information in order to check this further. Could you please provide the following details?

1- Were you able to test using different memory RAM as per the recommendation provided by n_scott_pearson? If yes, please provide details (RAM brand/model/part number).

If not, you may also test with only 1 stick of RAM at a time, trying different tests on both Memory slots one at a time.

2- Please run the Intel® Processor Diagnostic Tool to verify that both the processor and the GPU (Graphics Processing Unite) are fine. Please make sure that the Graphics test (GPUStressW) is performed.

To save the report, once the test is done, click on "File >> View Results File" and attach the .txt file to your reply.

3- Also, please run the Intel® System Support Utility (Intel® SSU) and attach the report to this thread to gather more details about your system.

• Download the Intel® SSU and save the application on your computer
• Open the application, check the "Everything" checkbox, and click "Scan" to see the system and device information. The Intel® SSU defaults to the "Summary View" on the output screen following the scan. Click the menu where it says "Summary" to change to "Detailed View".
• To save your scan, click Next and click Save.

Best regards,

Andrew G.

Intel Customer Support Technician

[Barryluo]

Dear @AndrewG_Intel ,

Thank you very much for reply.

I haven't tried different RAM yet, since I have no spare ones to use at the stage. I will try out using 1 memory in different slots, see if it makes any differences. Will update in this post once it is done.

Please find attached the test and scan results, personally I don't see any errors, but since I'm not an expert, I will leave it to you to judge.

If based on the current results, we can eliminated NUC hardware and Intel/Windows software/firmware/update related issues, then the only possibility will be on the RAM?

[Barryluo]

Hello @AndrewG_Intel  and @n_scott_pearson ,

I used https://www.memtest.org/ to test my RAMs today, tested piece by piece, the result of my RAMs both had 1 pass with 0 errors, so I guess my RAMs are good? along considered with the previous test results from Intel softwares. 

I'm going to get another USB C to Displayport cable, and testing among HDMI-HDMI, 4K and 1080p settings, to see if there's any changes shows up. Will keep this post updated if there's any lead.  

[n_scott_pearson]

1 pass? Run it for 24 hours.

...S

[Barryluo]

Hi @n_scott_pearson ,

I ran the MemTest86 v8.3 Pro yesterday, for over 15 hours, there were all passes and 0 errors (see attached below). Is this enough to tell my RAMs are fine? 

The earlier https://www.memtest.org/ test was a bit different from this software, but I guess the core method is the same.

I will continue to test my DisplayPort and HDMI ports and resolution settings, see if these will make any difference. 

[n_scott_pearson]

You might have been running MemTest86+ before. It doesn't support UEFI, so it can only be used on systems that are capable of Legacy boot.

Regardless, yea, this sounds like the memory subsystem is running ok. This means the problem is in a driver somewhere...

...S

[Barryluo]

That's right, I had to learn about the difference between UEFI and BIOS, and set up Legacy boot in order to run the MemTest, but anyways, I spent two days got both RAM test done. 

I will continue with my tests. If there's anything come up, will update it here. 

[AndrewG_Intel]

Hello @Barryluo

We are checking this thread and we would like to know if you were able to test using different video ports, cables, and/or resolution settings? If you need further assistance, please do not hesitate to contact us back.

Best regards,

Andrew G.

Intel Customer Support Technician

[Barryluo]

Hi @AndrewG_Intel 

Thanks for the follow up.

The testing I'm running is gonna take time, since my original issue happens randomly, it's impossible to tell immediately if cable switch did the trick or not. 

I'm switching between USB-C and HDMI on the NUC, also switching between DisplayPort and HDMI ports on my monitor, using USB-C to DisplayPort cable, HDMI to HDMI cable, and USB-C to HDMI cable, each switch I'm check for a few days to see the process, it's not done yet.

I will post an update when I can make some sort of summary out of these trails and errors. 

[Sebastian_04]

Hello, I am owner of a NUC10i5FNH and today I had exactly the same problem with my NUC (glltches and freezing)! I also have 2*8GB Kingston Memory installed. The glitches and freezing of the NUC  occurred during viewing SKY go (an app to watch soccer from SKY via stream) with GPU load of >40%. Today this happened for the first time. I had to restart my NUC. All drivers and firmware are 100% up to date. OS: Win 10 Pro. I changed the BIOS setting to "Cool" the NUC. I could watch the soccer game and no freezing with glitches happened again. What could be the reason for this glitches? BR Sebastian

[Sebastian_04]

Btw: Cable: HDMI to HDMI; Monitor: BenQ M2700HD; Thunderbolt on - no Thunderbolt devices attached, Wifi: off. BR Sebastian

[Barryluo]

Hi @Sebastian_04 ,

I'm not an expert myself, I created this post mainly to post my problem with my NUC10i7FNH.

I suggest you do a longer term monitoring your system, because if it is just one time, and when you were doing one thing, it's impossible to tell if anything went wrong. It can be due to system failure or can be a cat touched your plug, there's no way to tell... 

If this is a constant problem, make sure you keep an eye on when/how/what are the related things common when it happens, that way will be easier to sort out problems.  

[Sebastian_04]

Hello, I will do a longterm monitoring of my system, because it only happened once. Your pictures/videos are very helpful as they show how also my screen looked like. I now changed the aperture size back to 512 (Bios). Before the "glitch" I increased this value to 1024. I will post it here if my NUC freezes again. Best regards Sebastian 

[AndrewG_Intel]

Hello @Barryluo

Thank you very much for your response. We understand that you are still in the testing process. Feel free to share more details about the outcome once the tests are done. Thank you for your effort in this matter.

Best regards,

Andrew G.

Intel Customer Support Technician

[AndrewG_Intel]

Hello @Sebastian_04

Thank you for posting on the Intel® communities.

We understand that you have only experienced this behavior once.

Everyone's situation and environment are unique. If you need further assistance from Intel, we kindly recommend creating a new thread to isolate your case and system configuration, please make sure you add the information of the system model and specs, detailed information of the problem that you are having, plus all the information that you have added to this thread, so we can get more information about the problem.

Thank you for your understanding; hope to hear from you soon.

Best regards,

Andrew G.

Intel Customer Support Technician

[Sebastian_04]

Hello,

The problem disappeared after a new and clean Windows setup and making sure that I (offline - no Wi-Fi or LAN) installed the graphic driver 27 20 100 868 1. I still use a HDMI to HDMI cable. Today I had the same load on my NUC (SKY sport stream, Internet, Youtube, Firefox etc.., GPU Load 30-40%) as I had when the glitches and flickers occured. Today everything was running smooth. Btw. in the Bios settings are on "cool".

Kind regards Sebastian