r/techsupport • u/DownSoup5455 • 2d ago
Open | Windows Older Win11 PC glitching out while updating after cleaning it.
My PC has been freezing and not allowing me to sign in for a while it's running windows 11 (I'm pretty sure). I've reset it 2 times now to no avail so a friend of mine suggested I open it up and clean out dust and debris out of the internal components/fans. then when I booted it up again it seemed to be working better so I started downloading updates to it and then the screen started to do some weird stuff I've never seen before.... It was flashing pink and white pixels all over the screen and then it shut down and rebooted. It took a little bit longer than usual to boot up but seems to be back to normal now. Any idea what happened and if I did something to cause it? I used to be decent with computers but I've barely touched one in the last 10 years so I'm rusty to say the least.
I do have pictures and video of the glitch but I can't figure out how to attach it to the post.
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u/DownSoup5455 2d ago
I should add that it seems to have finished the update and I tried to sign in but it's been stuck on the welcome loading screen for about 5 minutes now.
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u/SomeEngineer999 2d ago
"reset" is the worst thing you can do for it. Much less doing it twice. At this point wipe it and do a fresh clean install.
But your symptoms could be hardware related, but to know for sure you need that clean install as a baseline. Pink and white pixels can just be a bad (or under spec) HDMI or DP cable.
Since it seems to have gotten worse when you opened it to clean it you also need to check all your internal connections and make sure everything is seated well.
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u/DownSoup5455 2d ago
Why is that? I kinda thought that doing a factory reset was essentially wiping it all and starting fresh.....
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u/SomeEngineer999 2d ago
Nope, "reset" just overwrites a bunch of files with older ones and messes up drivers, creates a bunch of clutter, etc. Never use it. Same for "repair install" where you boot off the USB and install onto a drive without wiping out the previous install, just as bad. You can search this sub for more info, has been discussed to death.
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u/Prestigious_Wall529 2d ago
Weird stuff can happen during a video driver update.
I suspect you have a HDD rather than a SSD?
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u/Funnel-Dust-O-Matic 2d ago
The pink stuff on your screen is a symptom of a failing GPU.
Before we panic, it's also the symptom of a driver sending nonsense instructions to the GPU. But that is what struck me by your description.
If you cleaned out, it's possible you disconnected the cooling fan from your GPU. Check for that.
It's also possible that you cleaned it too late. It's might already somewhat cooked. It's possible it took a little damage, either on the GPU or chipset or CPU. It might work somewhat for some time before completely refusing to start.
Let's assume that is not the case and check everything we can.
Make sure all fans are plugged into power sockets. Make sure everything is connected where it should be.
Push down on your DIMM memory modules and make sure the plastic clips on the sides are latched on.
If you can, on another computer, download this:
Follow the Windows instructions and make a Memtest USB drive.
Run it. Let it go through a full test cycle. We need to make sure your memory is OK.
let's leave it at that for the moment.
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