Skylake hard locks seeminly when IDLE / CStates ON

[GGlyn]

Myself and others have been struggling with a different hard lock problem with Skylake and we have ran out of options but to assume it is a CPU fault/issue. Does anyone have any comments or feedback?

The long thread is over here, but I will summarise. http://www.tomshardware.co.uk/forum/id-2830772/skylake-build-randomly-freezing-crashing/page-7.html New Skylake Build Randomly Freezing/Crashing - Page 7 - windows 10 - Windows 10

Our systems hard lock randomly but appears on the most part to be when IDLE or next to IDLE. The hardlock can come when playing video, browsing (reading) or mostly when not interacting at all. Some (like myself) noted that they seem to occur more often if you are doing a large amount of disk IO (partition move for example or copying 40+ GB of data disk to disk).

Hard locks happen in either Windows (7,8,10) or Linux.

With CStates on, the crashes are often and usually within 10 minutes of IDLE. With CStates disabled completely most find that the system remains "mainly" stable for days. Generally, no one has reported locks when gaming or under high CPU load (so I do not think this is the Prime95 example but then, since compilers / drivers use the latest instructions (according to CPUID) I cant be sure).

The symptoms happen on many different manufacturers motherboards, RAM types and setups. We have successfully removed or replaced all components and the only change that seems to make a difference is CPU for a few. CStates off in the BIOS is absolutely a guarenteed way to stabilize significantly but not fix.

I changed CPU (after trying everything else) and find it now mostly stable with CStates ON. I must be clear that my system is 100% identical, CPU # 1 crashes all the time and must have CStates off, CPU # 2 does not crash so often even with CStates ON. One may argue this is a problem with my PC, a fault, but with so many people having the exact same issues I cant believe it is a defect. And with Cstates/SpeedStep so specifically (a known new part of Skylakes architecture), I remain convinced that this is something real.

Others were not so lucky, a replacement CPU did not make the situation better. Batches from different factories as well etc etc

My new CPU has hard locked but not when IDLE like the last one (not yet anyway). Mine can lock when under full load, video transcoding, but not more than 1 in 10 sessions. Cstates ON seems equally stable on this CPU as OFF.

Thanks for any suggestions you can give.

[MRuni]

I have fixed my issue. 11 days no freezes.

Turn off ALL power saving bios features and all of Cstate, Then set XMP Profile to 1/or whatever your default XMP is.. Restart. No lock ups 11 days now

[FHeik]

Disabling power saving features isn't a fix, it's a temporary workaround at best.

IF the problem really is related to C-States or other power saving features, the ultimate solution has to be to solve those issues, not to disable the respective features.

[MRuni]

True, I never said the issue at large was fixed, I said my issue is fixed. Its a bandage more than a fix, but I can atleast use my pc again, since RMA was worthless and didn't resolve a thing for me. But we are, afterall, talking about Intel, who send you emails directing us to this thread, which was created by another user, and they attempt to claim this was their support thread. The I9 will be released before Intel does anything to fix the issue,

They botched a few batches and are now trying to ignore the issue instead of resolving it. Typical Intel, and for any fanboys who think I am wrong, just Google I7 6700K Freeze when idle and look at all the pages after pages of unresolved issues. Doesn't look like Intel has any desire to handle this anytime soon. 6 month later and the official word is"We will post the fix on this thread when there is one".

Bottom line Intel doesnt care about the few, since the majority is working fine.

[TLund3]

I have also disabled all C-states powersavings and my system seems stable - I still hope that that Intel will fix this issue, since it is not fix but af bandage solution.

i5 6600K

Gigabyte: GA-Z170-HD3 DDR3

[CCris2]

Have u updated bios to last version F5c ?

[Ronny_G_Intel]

Hello All,

I would recommend that you make sure that you are running the latest microcode update for your Processor. The microcode update usually comes with the BIOS update for your system so the Board/System manufacturer includes it on your BIOS update files.

I understand that this is not much of a help and also very dependable on the Board/System manufacturer but there has been some recent patches that may help.

Regards,

[MRuni]

I guess you are new to this issue. Everybody with this issue who are actively waiting for a fix, have updated bios. Intel hijacked this thread that was created by another who also posted on tomshardware, I know you want to help, but giving that carbon copy Intel employee style reply, really makes me want to go burn a rabbit, Its helpful to newbiews, but I am pretty sure 99% of us on these forums are well past bios updates

[TLund3]

Hello Ronin,

I have given it a thought, but the F5c is in beta, which means it misses some other updates, and I am not sure which i prefer... I hope for and will give Gigabyte / Intel a chance to release a new bios update, that fixes the "idle" issue. For now i have changed my C-state parameters in the bios and that seemed to reduce the idle freezing, but I still see Freezing, so that is not a Fix but a bandage...

Thank you for your input

Sincerely Thomas

[CCris2]

Hi,

Actually on all gigabyte bioses is written "beta "

I have an old gigabyte mainboard also and all biosses I used were beta .

If you wait for gigabyte to releasea a non-beta bios it maybe possible that you don't get a new bios, and to continue have problems ...

Gigabyte uses dual bios, and if u do a bios update it will update only first bios, so you can load anytime the other bios and rewrite the first one.

So make the update without any fear.

Good luck !

[TLund3]

Hi,

THX - I'll give it a try.... But i stille think it only fixes if the workload is high.... my problem is when the system is idle....

[CCris2]

Hi,

it depends what bios version your mainboard have. If is the first version then last version it will fix everything that is written on the versions between.

And sometimes is not written everything that it fixes.

[FParr]

Hi everyone, I just got my third and my I5 6600K preset RMA apparently is a new revision of this.

In the box that comes, in the first two I had, I placed the reference S-spec SR2BV, resulting in those two judgments freezing some past applications an average of 35-60 min.

Now is S-spec SR2L4 me; I think I insist, a new revision, if someone has more information would be nice, the fact is that after installing the latest BIOS update for the Asus Maximus Hero VIII: V.1504, update Windows with the latest version, Driver and Nvidia, this is crashing.

For those who seek a solution to the freezing and screenshots on the desktop, say I have another system for a year and a half based on AMD, Asus motherboard, Windows 10 64bit UEFI and also freezes up temperature alone and doing nothing and occasionally giving a blue screen.

It's a real mess between manufacturers of motherboards and processors each with their problems and not Windows 10 service pack plays once and for all to fix this mess.

I hope you serve something information about the processor.

[JT8]

@HeroVIII Just to add I have the "SR2L5" spec i5 6600 (non-k) and have still face system freeze.

[FParr]

Jimsoft Hi, thanks for your info, because with this information seems not get anything clear.

I would bet that we freeze the PC while using some applications with Windows 10, this is the big culprit, while that it freezes randomly on the desktop screen without doing anything and with different operating systems seems the problem is another, it is an opinion that bag mine this long post. And I would like to know if other means, forums or Microsoft themselves will sacnado something clear to clean this failure of its new ecosystem with Windows 10 and Skylake.

[TLund3]

Hi HeroVIII,

Got the i5-6600K - S-spec: SR2L4

MB: Gigabyte GA-Z170-HD3 DDR3 (Bios F5C beta)

Still got freezes....

Update: BIOS F5 (not beta) is released - updated and for 1 day no freezes... crossing my fingers...

[CCris2]

Well, it seems I was right about that they don't write everything that it fixes.

[FParr]

DragonDK Hi, I'm also crossing my fingers, I'm glad to know that it seems that if confirmed as mentioned in my previous RMA.

I however was not so lucky, when probe received the applications that give frostbite, and kept giving errors.

Two days after Asus launched a new BIOS, and two new updates, one of Asmedia and another in Beta phase called ASM1142 Driver V1.16.33.1, the latter would not have in principle no effect on performance as it is based on an update to be compatible with Oculus VR "among others".

I took a week trying my I5 6600K preset S-specs SR2L4 with new updates, and most notable has been a marked improvement in temperature making it up slower and less high way, compared with the previous model and running the same applications for the same time.

An anecdote and quite interesting unique is that with the game The Division game latest generation, in principle developped under Windows 10, I have not had any problems of freezing, so the response I received from Intel on some applications are not made with this operating system could be the answer to the failures of freezing.

Regarding freezes ... still there, although I have now moved from a margin of one hour, an hour and a half and being less chaotic. In short, both manufacturers of motherboards, processors, and OS among all must reconcile this new architecture

The system I have AMD with the latest Windows updates, and Nvidia, has stopped me blue screens and freezes on the desktop without doing anything .... for now ...

[CCris2]

Hi,

Uninstall the Asmedia sata /ahci driver if u have asmedia sata controller, by clicking delete driver files checkbox. Let windows install the default driver.

That driver created for me lots of problems, and on Asrock site they don't give the asmedia driver for windows 8.1 or 10. I didn't know why till I installed and my pc went to blue screen for few times

Hope this helps you.

[TLund3]

F5 Bios for Gigabyt MB and i5-6600K looking promising.... no freezes yet

[FParr]

Hey, none of that works with Asus me, the poor also once read enough to post back.

Each motherboard manufacturer has its own little world of errors and specific solutions, it is what I'm personally taking of conclusion.

[CCris2]

First of all I am also an Intel i7-6700k owner on a Asrock Z170 Extreme 7+ mainboard. Since i got the CPU I haven't got any cstates freeze problem. I even slept with PC on ...

Only problem I had was with the first bios release, which was setting memory voltages wrong.

Maybe that's why i have no problems because I noticed that most voltages that mainboards set on auto are wrong.... And I have all voltages set manually and on cpu I have them in offset mode and manually also. I use HWinfo to see voltages and I set them in bios accordingly to the values I see there.

I used pc for few days without touching voltages, and didn't noticed any freeze problem also.

Only problem was with igpu which had some driver issues, which were fixed from what I saw in latest beta.

And there is no problem with AHCI for the ppl. who found that AHCI problem. The problem is with the drivers from ASMEDIA uninstall them and let windows install default AHCI drivers.