ROG Flow X16 SSD/PCI issues and BSOD

[Yury_X16]

I love the X16 for its look and feel, performance, keyboard, and amazing screen! However, I have encountered a few issues:

1. I experienced three Blue Screen of Death (BSOD) occurrences at random moments, particularly during G-Meet calls. Unfortunately, no dump was collected, and the BSOD screen was unclear, displaying graphic defects that prevented me from reading the error. I increased the pagefile to 34GB just in case

2. The Windows system log reports errors related to the SSD:

   • 'Volume ?? (\Device\HarddiskVolumeShadowCopy3) needs to be taken offline to perform a Full Chkdsk.'
   • 'Volume C: (\Device\HarddiskVolume3) requires an Online Scan.'
     Despite performing both manual and Windows scans, no errors were detected.

3. When attaching a 1TB SSD via USB-C, Windows intermittently reports drive errors, and a Virtual Machine running from this SSD crashes. However, subsequent checks on the disk reveal no errors. The previously mentioned BSODs occurred even without this external drive connected.

4. Linux systems (Fedora 39, Ubuntu 23.10) spam errors related to PCI: ''pcieport PCIe Bus Error: severity=Corrected, type=Physical Layer.' These errors disappear with the 'pcie_aspm=off' boot parameter, associated with Active State Power Management (ASPM) and PCI Link State Power Management. However, Fedora still doesn't survive for more than a few hours, displaying a storage-related problem according to a photo I attached.

I'm running Windows 11 with the latest updates (23H2), updated drivers from Windows Update and the ASUS website, and the BIOS version is 318. There were no hardware modifications made, so I have a Micron 3400 SSD and MediaTek MT7922 Wi-Fi Card.

I found several discussions on SSD problems, such as:

• ROG Forum
• Reddit Thread 1
• Reddit Thread 2

WHEA event log is clear, MyASUS and WhoCrashed provide no information on the problem cause, likely due to the absence of dump files. Some users suggest that moving the Micron 3400 SSD to another PCI slot resolved their issues - I haven't tried this yet.

I would appreciate it if ASUS representatives could offer broader context on these PCI/SSD-related issues. Are these problems common to ASUS ROG X16 laptops? Is ASUS planning to address them through a BIOS update? I would prefer not to be instructed to send the laptop without additional information on the issue.

I also have NetBT-related errors in the Event log, not sure if they are connected to the BSODs.

EDIT: I've got the BSOD while reviewing this post in Firefox. The WHEA event log is still empty.
Here is what I have in the Event Log:

• EventLog: The previous system shutdown at 20:54:37 on ‎09/‎12/‎2023 was unexpected.
• EventLog: Audit events have been dropped by the transport. 0
• volmgr: Dump file creation failed due to error during dump creation.

[C-V-N]

I think it sounds like you have an SSD problem with a File corrupt or a failing SSD I would check the RAM as well to be sure.

My Event logs were empty as well when I started getting BSOD

[Yury_X16]

Thank you for your advice. I've checked the RAM, and everything is fine. Will try moving the SSD to another PCI slot as other users advise.

[C-V-N]

Do you have usb devices plugged into your system when you are using it? try unplugging them all an running your system for a while see if you have any problems.

[Yury_X16]

Dear C-V-N, I have a mouse, a keyboard, and an external SSD drive. However, all these work fine with another laptop, and I've had BSOD without an external SSD. Most of the BSODs occurred without an external display connected. Also, working without a mouse and keyboard isn't convenient, but I'll try later.

[Anbby_ROG · Accepted solution]

Hi @Yury_X16 ,

I'm delighted to hear that you are enjoying the ASUS ROG Flow X16. I would like to confirm with you whether the BSOD occurs consistently with specific software or if it happens sporadically. 
Based on your description and the provided information, the issue may be related to the SSD. Even though the WHEA event log is clear,MyASUS and WhoCrashed provide no information on the cause of the problem. We still recommend that you bring the laptop to the nearest authorized service center for further hardware diagnostics to ensure smooth use in the future. Thank you for your understanding.

[Yury_X16]

Dear Anbby,

I have ASUS ROG Flow X16, not Zephyrus.

BSODs happen sporadically, I don't see any pattern here.

It seems many X16 users have problems with SSD. Could you please query other departments and provide us a broader context on these PCI/SSD-related issues? Why do they happen? Are all Flox X16 2022 models have this issue? IS ASUS planning to address them through a BIOS update?

[Yury_X16]

Moved the SSD to another PCI slot - no BSOD so far.

[Anbby_ROG]

Hi @Yury_X16 ,

Thank you for the update. Since the causes of BSOD can vary for each user and may originate from either software or hardware issues, based on the information you provided, the problem may be hardware-related. We need to conduct further checks and tests to confirm the actual issue. Please continue to monitor the usage situation. If using another PCI slot resolves the issue, it may indicate a problem with the slot, and sending it in for repair might be necessary. Thank you for your understanding.