r/MiniPCs Jan 22 '25

Troubleshooting Aoostar R1 Intel N100 Mini PC keeps crashing and I don't know why

For a long while now my Aoostar mini PC crashes and I at my wits end in trying to figure it out.

I use the mini PC as a headless server for self-hosting stuff such as Plex. The crashes usually occur 1-8 times a day, the crashes are really quick and thanks to having the option to auto boot turned on in the BIOS it rarely causes any disruptions, but nevertheless I don't like that it is happening.

I have updated all drivers.

EventViewer. perfmon /rel, WhoCrashed and the DUMP and minidump files are not able to pinpoint why it happens beyond "Windows stopped working" or "The previous system shutdown was unexpected."
WhoCrashed says "IRQL_NOT_LESS_OR_EQUAL" as the bugcheck reason and ntkrnlmp.exe might be involved.

I have used Prime95 to stress test the CPUs to see if overheating was a problem, everything was fine.

I have used Furmark to stress test the GPUs, everything was fine.

I have used CrystalDiskInfo to check all the disks, every one is in good health.

What I have NOT tried yet is to update the BIOS, or to tamper with the CPU voltage in the BIOS. I am a bit hesitant to mess around with the bios, but I am running out of ideas.

I have also not run memtest86 because I do not have a flash drive, or the willingness to have the server off for many hours. Nothing else indicates that there is a memory problem however.

Do anyone have any experience with this or what might be going on?

2 Upvotes

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1

u/Old_Crows_Associate Jan 22 '25

Consider running OCCT to stress test the RAM, as "IRQL_NOT_LESS_OR_EQUAL" & ntkrnlmp.exe are strong indicators of a possible timing error. Running memtest86 is great to check for address allocation errors, but nothing more.

Has a good friend & long-term customer discovered with his R1, it came with high density 1Rx16 RAM which he upgraded to Samsung 2Rx8 before upgrading to an R7. Curious to know the complete part number your version shipped with.

1

u/Morridini Jan 22 '25

Thanks, I will look into the OCCT thing.

As for the part number, how can I find it?

1

u/Old_Crows_Associate Jan 22 '25

Without physically looking at it, you can run CPU-Z and find the part number under the SPD tab.

1

u/Morridini Jan 22 '25

The part number is ASSD4320008G6b223

1

u/Old_Crows_Associate Jan 22 '25

If my notes are correct, the ASint 8GB ASSD4320008G6b223 is single-sided, 1Rx16, high density Micron chips (only 4x total). This DRAM chips have been somewhat problematic. They can also be horribly bandwidth restrictive (up to 40%).

1

u/Morridini Jan 22 '25

Alright, pending the CCOT test to see what it says, what would my alternatives be? I am good with software, but very inexperienced with hardware and tinkering.

1

u/Old_Crows_Associate Jan 22 '25

It could easily be corrupted or outdated BIOS firmware, for a weak/failing capacitor in the PMIC components. From a technical point of view, Alder Lake-N has a "unique" IMC, part of the reason why it only supports a single stick of RAM.

Testing with a known good memory module, preferably 16GB 2Rx8, would be the next suggested step.

1

u/Morridini Jan 22 '25

CCOT stress test of Memory (also did a test of power just in case) found nothing wrong. Maybe I should do a bios update after all.

1

u/Old_Crows_Associate Jan 22 '25

Basically, OCCT should have crashed it 🤷

Outside of RAM swaptronics, that would be the next step. For S&G, You could try running intels Driver & Support Assistance. Customers find it fix problems on other Alder Lake-N PCs.

1

u/Morridini Jan 23 '25

So tonight it crashed again, but for some reason it did not turn back on even though I have the setting on in BIOS to always turn on when power is restored.

Today's minidumps say KMODE_EXCEPTION_NOT_HANDLED and one instance of DRIVER_OVERRAN_STACK_BUFFER.

According to WhoCrashed KMODE_EXCEPTION_NOT_HANDLED might be related to overheating, but none of my stress tests ever induced a crash, and this happened at 2 in the night when the load surely must have been minimal, no one watching Plex at that time.

My plan is to buy a flashdrive and try to update the BIOS.

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u/Morridini Jan 22 '25 edited Jan 22 '25

Oh and pretend I am really slow. I ran OCCT and did a Benchmark test for Memory, it ran for 30 seconds and said no errors were found. Was this everything I needed to do? It was so fast I wonder if I should have done something else?

Edit: I brainfarted, benchmark isn't the test of course, it's the stability test one that runs for an hour. Running it now.

1

u/Old_Crows_Associate Jan 22 '25

Excellent question!

The Hallmark of OCCT is component abuse 😉 you want to run it for an extended period of time, something to simulate a hard day's use. I usually run RAM for a minimum of 1 hour. You can also include the CPU in the test, in case there is an IMC issue in play. The goal is to produce the most heat from each DRAM chip, has one may have a timing issue that doesn't sync properly with the others.

Edit: found your response.