Check the bios USB settings for the keyboard. Sometimes I have noticed that the bios will be set to start some USB devices but not all. You can set the bios to activate all USB devices which should help with that.

Is 9C on cold/fresh boot by any chance? Or is it after a reboot?

turn Off fast Boot in BIOS, if you have not already done so

Hey guys.  Thanks for the replies.  Bee, yes it has been a fast 5 months!  
 
Anyway, not sure about the "9C".  Not anything that really does anything, just something I noticed.  
 
As for the USB devices, not sure.  I do have a couple of wireless "dongles" plugged into the back USB ports for mouse and headset.  But I can have nothing changed, and will get the "9C".  I mostly just ignore it.
 
On the occasional time when I get the 6 beeps, and the keyboard not working, where I have to unplug it and plug it back in,...it only does it on rare occasions.  I'm not sure what the causal factor is.  After I plug it back in, it works fine.  
 
Now, today, I did get a system freeze.  Probably a fluke.  \
 
Cool GTX, Fast Boot is off in BIOS.
 
Hoggle, I have my PSU listed in below, but it is:  EVGA SuperNOVA 1000 G5

I am using the EVGA Z15 keyboard.  Right now, it is currently "working",....but none of the lights are.  Not the RGB,....not the LEDs that indicate whether you are Cap Locks or Num Locks on.  It is very weird.  
 
Unplugging it, and plugging it back in, now the lights all work.
 
BTW, what driver are you suggesting I download?

RAVENEVGA
I am using the EVGA Z15 keyboard.  Right now, it is currently "working",....but none of the lights are.  Not the RGB,....not the LEDs that indicate whether you are Cap Locks or Num Locks on.  It is very weird.  
 
Unplugging it, and plugging it back in, now the lights all work.
 
BTW, what driver are you suggesting I download?

I have this problem as well, but assumed it was because I was using a Drop ALT keyboard with a cable longer than 6' (this keyboard's notorious for needing more power).  I regularly do the USB disco/reco shuffle on boot.
 

I had another incident with my computer randomly freezing, causing me to have to do a hard reboot.  It's confusing why this still occasionally happens.

Honestly,....I wish I had someone with FAR more computer knowledge come to my place and look it over to see if it is actually set up as it should have been.  At this point, I'm at a loss of how to proceed.  I'm very much a novice/noob, being my first build and all.  I feel like I am not even close to the knowledge base to have done this build...and should have just got a pre-built system, or had a boutique shop build me one.
 
This morning I had another system freeze...where I had to hold the power button.  I had run for quite some time without this happening, but in the last week, it's happened three times now.  I'm quite frustrated about this build.  It still works...and I can do things on it.  
 
I am still using the Beta Bios, BTW.

Well, I guess I screwed something up.....and it figures.  Probably didn't do your steps right, Cool GTX.  I held the shift key when powering off.  I didn't unplug everything...figuring the on/off switch on the back of the PSU would be the same, so switched it to 'off'.  Held the button for 30 seconds.  Turned the PSU switch 'on' and started the computer.  BIOS does have Fast Boot 'off'.  The system comes on fine, but now, my case fans are stuck at full speed.  I have Lian Li fans, with the software, and had to set the Fan Mode to 'manual' [normally have them set to PWM] to get them to not run at ~ 1930 RPMs.   In the BIOS, I have everything pointing to PWM, except for the two fans on the cooler, which are pointing to CPU.
 
I suck at this.  

RAVENEVGA
Just this morning, in the space of 2 1/2 hours, I had two freezes where I had to hold the power switch for a hard shutdown.  I have been okay for quite awhile.  I have no idea why these freezes are starting again.  
 
On a sidenote, whenever it happens, the NUM LOCK on my keyboard is off when the system comes back up.   
 
Is it possible that I have faulty components?  A motherboard or something?  
 
And at this moment, I really am uncertain if my BIOS setup is how it actually should be.  And again, I'm currently using the Beta BIOS.  Do I need to do a newer one?

 
ur version of BIOS is fine. possibly re-flashing it is a question to ask. but only if any reason to believe it needs to be. i don't think u need to. and anything but like discussed before (Optimal Defaults + EMP + all others u used successfully for five moths) are all that is needed. remember i still use v1.03 NPs watsoever.
 
Are u have both freezing in Windows and sometimes while Booting?
 
If the PC is freezing while in Windows, then it could be software, Hardware, or both causing it.
 
If Freezing occurs in Windows AND sometimes while Booting, then it's likely Hardware related. But, ur using a UEFI (not a Legacy BIOS) and other ppl may have to chime in whether or not it is just as likely software causing freezing while Booting.
 
For now start by replacing ur existing KB in order to rule it out. Use anything u have that works or grab an inexpensive KB online to have around for testing.  Example: Amazon Basics Low-Profile Wired USB Keyboard with US Layout (QWERTY), Matte Black Replacing a KB, for the sake of ruling it out as a cause/ contributing factor, is as easy as it gets.
 
GL
 
 
Edit: And in addition to ^^, because i think it might solve all problems during Booting with a UEFI, and especially in Windows, video drivers could be at fault, so a clean video driver is overdue!
 
See:
https://forums.evga.com/FindPost/3559604 
 
For how to, go to ^^ post from ur 1st Thread and scroll down to "For the sake a Clean Video Driver Installation..."
 
if it works, thank CoolGTX for it working so well five months ago, and again now. i learned how and the importance of doing so from him, 15+ years ago.
 
 

RAVENEVGA
It is only freezing in Windows...and for no specific reason.  I think it was doing this before the EVGA keyboard, but who knows at this point if the keyboard is sometimes causing it.  
 
Yeah, I did the clean video driver install awhile back and haven't downloaded any new drivers since then.

 
it is freezing very likely because a clean driver install is needed.
 
u can use the same version used last time a clean driver install was done.
 
 
 

RAVENEVGA
I'm obviously a noob, but I'm not sure how a clean install is needed again when I did it not that long ago.  I've not updated any drivers since.
 
BTW, I've had no issues today.

Hi Raven,
 
Not to answer for Bee really as I'm not sure on their theory, but for example: sometimes Windows updates can cause some weird driver stability issues. I've had Windows update install an old or bad intel graphics driver and had that cause some odd corruption before. I had to go find the correct intel driver for the integrated GPU (that's in the CPU) and run that fresh, then do a clean install of the Nvidia driver (making sure PX1/Afterburner/HWiNFO/any other monitoring software were closed) just to clean things up and get it all back to normal. It is usually good to keep your Windows up to date, but every once in a while updates cause more harm than good (which is why some people decide to just turn off Windows updates or intentionally run an old version they know was good and just risk any security issues or compatibility problems with new games, etc.). It is those times where you sometimes need to either wait for a new driver or update to fix an issue or you try to clean install things to see if that helps.
 
I would have no idea if that's what your issue is though. We can try to get a clue through the event viewer again, but you'd have to know when it froze so you can look at the Windows System logs during that time to see if it was, for example, the Nvidia driver that locked up at the time. If you freeze again, take a look in there to see if anything sticks out before the power-loss ("unexpected power failure" or whatever it calls it which is when you hold the power button to shut the system down because it's frozen). I remember last time we were looking for this code, you had all the WHEA errors and the beta BIOS had fixed that for you.
 
Also, I didn't see anybody answer your question about 9C code on the screen. I'm assuming you're talking about your monitor screen because you said right after the z690 splash screen. I've seen that too. 9A, 9B, 9C, and 9D are USB initialization, reset, detect, and enable and they're one of the last parts of the POST before it boots windows or goes into setup (which would be A9). Sometimes USB detect takes a second or two, which is why you actually see that code. I think the others go by pretty fast and we just only notice the ones that take longer. I regularly see codes 69, 55, and 75 on my POST readout during boot, but it isn't stuck on them, it just takes longer on those steps than some others. I think 55 pauses because there's no memory installed in 2 of the 4 slots for example. It generally just means something is wrong if it stops there and does not continue to post, or if it beeps (the angry beeps) while showing you a code. It sounds like you have an issue with the keyboard for example where sometimes it does the angry beeps at you unless you unplug the keyboard and plug it back in. I don't have a solution for you for that one, other than to try and put in a support ticket about it to see if they can help with any suggestions.
 
Going back to your freezing issue, if it isn't driver related, it may not be easy to track down. Without some sort of code or specific time it happens, those can be really tricky, even for experts so no need to beat yourself up. Can you tell us more about exactly what you were doing when it froze? Do you have any on screen monitors/OSD/overlays running while playing games? What I'm wondering is: if you're playing a game, is your CPU or GPU running really hot, is your GPU running at 5000FPS (or some crazy high number for some reason), or anything else that seems out of the ordinary when it happens? Do your fans ramp up when it freezes? Does the screen completely freeze or turn black or look fuzzy or anything? If playing a game, does the audio continue to sort of work normally? Those are the kind of clues you can look for.

RAVENEVGA
Nothing seems out of the ordinary when it freezes.  It seems fine...then freezes.  Whatever sound is happening at the time "strobes" [for lack of a better word] on whatever was playing through the speakers.
 
One time I was just clicking in the internet.  Another time, I was in a Fortnite game.
 
If I continue to have issues, I may have to resort to the clean install.
 
And I'll consider what you said in PM as well.
 
Thank you!

 
"[One time I was just clicking in the internet.  Another time, I was in a Fortnite game.]"
^^ sounds like a driver stability issues with ur Video Card's drivers. And if u don't attempt a clean driver install now, while u can, u might later on wish u had when u had the chance to.
 
NOW'S THE TIME! and not later... better done before things get worse... and not after they do.
 
GL
 
 
 
 

RAVENEVGA
So,...I did the clean install, yesterday.  
 
A few moments ago, while in a game, my computer decided to randomly restart.  When it started, the NUM LOCK, once again, was no longer on.
 
Update.  It came back up.  I was getting back into posting here again, when it rebooted on it's own again.
 

k it's time to consider reinstalling the OS.
 
And i guess the question of why, should be answered.
 
i'd guess that the many times u pulled the power cord out when ur Desktop froze, may be one possible reason as to why u need to reinstall ur OS; but it's just one of them. Too many others to list. Just say congratz! u made it this far on ur 1st build without re-installing the OS. After all, u configured everything too. And that wasn't easy.
 
and maybe 1st, something called SFC (System File Checker) and CHKDSK (CheckDisk), should be mentioned. Feel free to try them.
 
And before a complete reinstall of the OS; maybe attempting a Repair of ur OS is also possible.
 
There's many things to consider -- but backing up stuff comes 1st.
 
So a backup scheme is wat u would need. u'd start by considering if u'd like to have something like all the contents of ur "My Documents Folder", things on ur Desktop, Internet Browser Settings and Bookmarks, etc. (But there's always things that u wish u had also backed up but u missed out on doing so.)
 
And a little more confidence-wise is... that ur PC was fine in Safe-Mode doing the clean vid driver installation? Meaning it never froze or randomly rebooted in safe-mode? if yes, then that's a good sign ur Hardware is AOK.
 
Bottem line:
After backing-up stuff, reinstall ur OS from scratch.
 
 
GL
 
 
 

So, I got home from work, and came in here to reply.  Got a few lines down.....then the system froze.    I was about to push and hold the power button, then the system started to restart on its own [probably better than holding the power button, I suppose].  During the restart, Windows updated something, restarted again, and now here we are.  
 
Anyway, to answer a few questions, whenever anything stopped working, I definitely never pulled the power cord.  Just the keyboard chord from the USB slot, then back in.  
 
Not sure why the unexpected restarting.  And not sure if that has anything to do with the PSU.  
 
The GPU is using three separate power cables to the PSU. 
 
I really hope it doesn't have anything to do with needing the OS reinstalled.  I've downloaded quite a few things, including my DAW music software.  Ugh...this is a pain in the butt.

Do you have hwinfo set to open at startup? I was having random lockups then reboots with later bioses and having hwinfo open while another app (3dmark, cpuz) checks memory settings seems to have been the cause. Removing hwinfo from opening at startup has solved so many issues I've had with my z690 kp.