Screen Turns Solid Color and Goes to Blue Screen

[csmofo]

I have an HP OMEN Obelisk with Nvidia 2080 graphics card that I bought at Best Buy.

About a month ago I started using it for VR with my oculus rift and the computer crashed mid game and went to the Windows blue screen of death. The first time it had the stop code DRIVER IRWL NOT LESS OR EQUAL.

After that first crash it would go to BSOD shortly after rebooting. Another stop code I got was WHEA UNCORRECTABLE ERROR. After several reboots the system would sometimes not crash to the blue screen but the monitor would turn a solid color (black, white, grey, light brown) and would require power cycling in order to get to the desktop again.

I ran memtest86 on it and the memory diagnostics came back clean without any errors. I dusted out the computer with no improvement. I updated drivers and uninstalled practically all third party software. I did a Windows Reset, All with no effect.

The only thing that seemed to work was a fresh install of Windows 10 and that only lasted about a week before the problem came back.

The other day I tried another GPU intensive program (folding@home) and the symptoms came right back. I uninstalled the program, turned off the computer for awhile but now I can't boot up the computer and use it for more than 2 minutes without it crashing or without the screen going blank. 

The computer should be within warranty since I bought it less than a year ago but HP warranty checker says otherwise. I submitted my receipt to HP support but the warranty checker still doesn't appear to have updated and I can't get through to a human support representative. 

Any other ideas on what I could try? My suspicion is a hardware issue with the graphics card.

Thank you,

[csmofo]

UPDATE

I was able to get in touch with an HP Omen technical support representative by phone. Based on the BSOD errors I gave him he believes it could be a software/firmware issue. He suggested I update the BIOS with the HP Support Software. He also suggested updating the drivers with Windows device manager.

Unfortunately, I am unable to use the PC long enough to fully set up the HP support software. The PC almost immediately goes to a solid light blue screen. Restarting the monitor seems to bring the desktop back for only moments at a time.

[csmofo]

UPDATE

I reinstalled windows 10 again and the problem was persisting this time. I updated BIOS outside of windows with a flashdrive, no immediate improvement. I noticed that I was able to boot into safe mode and everything still worked. I booted outside of safe mode and disabled the display drivers and it seemed to work. I downloaded and installed the nvidia studio driver as opposed to the game ready drivers and it seems to be working now. I will try some kind of stress test to make sure.

[csmofo]

UPDATE

I definitely spoke too soon. I just ran blender stress test and issue persists. 

[praveen196]

@csmofo Welcome to HP Community!

Thank you for the update.

I understand the computer gets a blue screen error, However, since you haven’t captured the error code or message, 

I would request you to follow the below steps to capture and reply back with the error message/code to identify the issue and find a permanent fix: 

• In Windows, search for and open View advanced system settings. 

• In the Advanced tab, under Startup and Recovery, click Settings. 

• Under System Failure, remove the check mark next to automatically restart, and then click OK. 

• Restart the computer to apply the change. 

• The computer no longer restarts automatically when a blue screen error occurs. 

For more details: click here 

​​Please reply back with the error code as the issue is code specific and it would be rather easier to provide an accurate solution using the same. 

Let me know how that pans out,
If you feel I was helpful, simply click on Accept as Solution to help the community grow,
That said, I will have someone follow-up on this to ensure you've been helped,
Just in case you don't get back to us within 24 - 48hrs, and have a good day, ahead.

[csmofo · Accepted solution]

Thank you for responding. I was able to get in touch with an Omen Technical Support rep over the phone and they opened a repair ticket for me after I went through all the suggested troubleshooting steps. 

[praveen196]

@csmofo

Thank you for the update.

In the future, if you have any concerns. Please get back to us.

We will assist you.

Have a nice day!!

[Troger]

Mine is doing the exact same thing.  Windows will not run long enough for me to diagnose the problem, even after reloading Windows.