Kajper's Info Corner

The question mark is at the end of the sentence, but I'm totally lost on what they're actually asking...
...basically, I'm wondering what happened to him, but I have no clue.
I just caught Robert Rodriguez2's post, so... I guess that was supposed to be the answer rather than a question? 😁

Rachel Jones8 said:The question mark is there, but I'm lost...
...basically, I'm asking what happened, but I don't have the answer.

The guy's just asking if you saw it, but it probably flashed by too fast for you to actually read the whole thing.

Yeah... I totally missed that part, honestly had no clue what it said. Just caught the end of it.
Should I have just sat tight and hoped it would fix itself? Or was hitting restart the right move?

Rachel Jones8 said:Yeah... I missed that part, wasn't sure what it said. Just barely caught the end of it.
Should I have just waited to see if it fixed itself... or was hitting restart like I did the right call?

It would've just sorted itself out; macOS would've sent a notification saying everything recovered. Restarting wasn't a bad move either, so you're fine.

Rachel Jones8, can you please clear out your inbox 👍?

Robert Rodriguez2 said:Rachel Jones8, can you please clear out your inbox👍?

Yeah. Well, not really... I wiped a few posts pretty fast, but then some new ones popped up...🙂
Hit me up on my Gmail.😉
I just cleared them all again, so I'll read through them in the morning... sending tomorrow.😉

Robert Rodriguez2 said:It would’ve just fixed itself if macOS sent a notification that things were back to normal. Honestly, a restart wasn't even a bad call, so you're fine there.

Now I'm actually starting to get a little worried... this has happened three times already today.
And... it doesn't just fix itself. After a bit, I can manage to get Thunder open, but Google Chrome stays stuck. Even in Thunder, my mouse clicks don't work—I can't minimize or close anything. When I try to click on Google Chrome, all my desktop widgets (calendar, clock...) just vanish, then they pop back when I click again... and that's it, I still can't open it.
I have to reboot just to get everything working again.
It's happening way too often now and it's bugging me... what's the deal?
Is it a hardware issue, a macOS problem, or what?

Rachel Jones8 said:Honestly, this is starting to freak me out... it's happened three times already.
It doesn't just fix itself either. After a while, I can get Thunder to open, but Firefox stays dead. And when I do get Thunder running, my mouse clicks don't even work—I can't minimize anything or close the window. If I click on Firefox, all my desktop widgets (calendar, clock...) just vanish, then they pop back when I click again, but the browser still won't launch.
A full reboot is the only way to fix it.
It’s happening too often now and I'm worried... what's the deal?
Is it my hardware, or is it Windows acting up?

I doubt it's a hardware issue. Sounds more like Windows is glitching out and fighting itself.

Thanks... I'll just ask a buddy who helped me set up my macOS...
So, a little while ago, all my desktop gadgets just vanished out of nowhere (I've had my calendar and Google Calendar running forever, plus three weather widgets I added recently since my old ones died... just testing some new ones out). Suddenly, they were gone... then I reinstalled everything and there they are again.
Could any of those new weather widgets be causing this? The calendar and Google Calendar have been fine for ages.
I think I'll just ditch one of the weather ones anyway; I wasn't really feeling it.
Edit:

I ended up taking mine to the repair shop, turns out the graphics card was slightly loose.

I stumbled upon this text online... but since I don't have a dedicated graphics card, is that even an option?

If it’s been quite a while since you last did a clean install of macOS, you should probably just wipe the drive and start fresh with a brand-new version of macOS.

Sorry, I'm totally lost when it comes to all this tech jargon... (I'm a complete newbie).
If you mean "a while ago," then yeah, definitely. They weren't installed yesterday, so I'm not quite sure what you meant by that.
A buddy of mine actually just reinstalled Windows on her home office setup—it’s been about a month, can you believe how fast time flies?—and she even put in an SSD
officially. Before all that, things were mostly fine, though I think I hit a blue screen once or twice back then too. But this black screen and those on/off icons? That's a new one for me.
I did mess around with those new widgets for a bit, and who knows, maybe I accidentally changed a setting I shouldn't have...

Rachel Jones8 said:Sorry, I don't really speak tech... (I'm a total newbie).
If it was "some time ago"? Obviously some time passed, they weren't installed today, so I'm not sure what you mean.
Recently I reinstalled macOS on my home computer—time flies, maybe a month ago...—and put in an SSD (officially).
Before all that, things were mostly fine, though I think I saw a macOS Kernel Panic a few times back then too, but this black screen and the power icons toggling on and off is a new one.
I added those new gadgets during that period, maybe I messed something up along the way... I have no clue.

Your graphics card isn't going to delaminate. If I remember right, you're running an APU (CPU and graphics are one unit), so there's no such thing as delamination there.

Most likely macOS wasn't installed correctly, or something just glitched out after you started installing software following the install.

Robert Rodriguez2 said:Your GPU can't really desolder itself, right? If I remember correctly, you're running an APU where the CPU and graphics are one unit. No way for them to separate like that.

I'm not totally sure what you mean by that😁, but yeah... since you basically built this rig for me, I don't have a dedicated card. I'm just using the ASUS ROG Strix B550-F Gaming + Quote

maybe macOS wasn't installed properly, or something went haywire after installing some software later on.

What kind of software? I know you probably can't give me a straight answer to a silly question like that... I'm just asking generally, what kind of program could actually mess things up?
The new thing I added (as you know 😉) is a USB network adapter. Could that be causing these issues?

Rachel Jones8 said:I'm not totally sure what you mean 😁 , but yeah... you built my rig for me and I don't have a dedicated GPU, just this ASUS ROG Strix B550-F Gaming+

Which software? I know there isn't a single answer to a dumb question like this... I'm just asking generally, what kind of software can actually mess things up.
Something new I added (as you know 😉 ) is a USB network adapter, could that be causing these issues?

Any driver can cause problems, any poorly installed program, or even the OS itself if its files got corrupted.
I can't just pull an answer out of thin air. I'm not a psychic.😁

Here is a general overview covering some common causes and potential fixes

macOS Kernel Panic

macOS Kernel Panic Everything you need to know About The Kernel Panic

Robert Rodriguez2 said:It could be any of those drivers, or maybe some software just didn't install right. Honestly, it might even be the OS itself if something got messed up.
I can't just memorize all that. I'm not exactly a mind reader, you know? 😁

Haha... wouldn't it be killer if I could do this remotely? Not just run diagnostics, but actually get in there and fix things from a distance. 😁
Look, I wasn't exactly expecting you to have magic powers—though that would be pretty awesome—I just figured there might be something that happens more often than not. I'm ready to go. What's on your mind? What could be causing that? I mean, do you think it's the gadgets themselves—those timers—or could it be the USB adapter acting up?
Honestly, I haven't even touched anything lately—as far as I can remember, I haven't added any new programs or drivers. Maybe things just started acting up on their own after an automatic update? Who knows?
Since anything can go wrong at any moment for no clear reason, I guess we just have to figure out what's actually broken. Who knows?

Timothy Kim60 said:Here’s the general rundown on why this happens and how we might fix it.

Thanks for the links. I'll dive into these and pass them along to my buddy who always helps me out when I'm stuck.
So, here's the deal: the last three times, I didn't even get that classic Blue Screen of Death. Instead, it just goes totally black, leaving me with nothing but that bottom taskbar to work with. Sometimes I can actually get back to my desktop after a bit, but then Firefox won't open—clicking it just makes my desktop gadgets jump around like crazy. I end up having to force a restart anyway. Once I reboot, though, everything seems fine. Any ideas?

Tron... or anyone else
It "dies" on me every single day.... total blackout. A buddy who knows his stuff tried to help out... fixed the drivers and everything. He thought it would work, but nope... he can't figure out what the deal is. (For now)
View on imgur
That screen pops up and then I have to reboot
If anyone has a suggestion or advice I could pass along... maybe he can try it when he's free...
No clue what happened... all the drivers seem fine...
I can't get a hold of him for a bit, so I guess I'm just waiting (and maybe gathering some tips/info) ...then he can try something else or I'll just take the PC to a repair shop... though I don't know how they'll even diagnose it... It runs fine for 2-3 hours and then black screen. And then it happens again... and again...
The PC is about a year old. Not long ago (last month) an SSD was installed along with Windows 64... (they aren't official versions) ...the issues have been there... hmm, I lost track of time... it didn't start right then, but it's been going on for 3-4 weeks... so it was fine for about a month, and then it started.
My friend says it's not the OS, but something with the graphics...(integrated)...but he hasn't had time to dig deeper yet. (He gave it a shot, but still the same result)
I don't really get this stuff, but if anyone has an idea... I'll pass it on... maybe it'll help.
Feels kind of stupid that a PC only a year old might need a dedicated graphics card just to work... especially since the integrated one should be doing its job.
I don't game or anything special... mostly just forums and Google.
(I use Firefox... it's like it always freezes here... forums/Firefox.... but I don't know if that's significant... since that's basically all I do, maybe it's no wonder it freezes when Firefox is open)
Now I'm kind of regretting getting rid of my old one after 10+ years... which worked fine, just slow, when I traded it in for this new one. Not even a year in... and already problems... honestly, I don't even know if I'll finish typing this... before the screen goes black and everything goes south.

It’s most likely a software issue rather than a hardware failure on your PC.

Try downloading the latest drivers click (hit download when it automatically detects your system), then just run the installer (if you aren't sure what to do, just keep hitting "Next," "Yes," and so on). Once the installation finishes, it’ll prompt you to restart—just hit "Yes" or "OK" and then see if that fixes things.

Thanks for all the advice, seriously... but I’m not touching a single setting or clicking anything right now. The guy who helped me earlier really went above and beyond to get things sorted. He double-checked all the drivers and got everything running smoothly.
I’m not trying to fix this myself... though I’ll definitely pass your tips along. Eventually, he can either pick up where he left off or I'll just drop it off at a local repair shop. At least the diagnostic is free... plus there's that warranty sticker, which makes things even trickier. I just wonder if they can actually catch what's wrong if they aren't running the computer for hours on end until it starts acting crazy.

Yeah, he usually posts like this whenever his graphics drivers crash. He probably remembered to test out some different drivers. You can try those steps mentioned above yourself if you haven't yet; it’s pretty straightforward.

Most repair shops will give you a year of diagnostics, like an extended warranty. 😬
Honestly, this is almost certainly a software issue—worst-case scenario, you might just need to reinstall Windows. 😬