I bought an MSI Cubi N ADL S-225BEU mini PC with an Intel N100 processor for my parents. I reused the RAM and SSD from an older mini PC that had stopped working. Windows 11 has been installed three times, but the problem keeps returning: after booting, the display goes black within about 10 seconds. Occasionally the computer restarts, but usually it stays powered on with no picture. I ruled out the display cable by trying another one. The system is usable when I replace the graphics driver with Microsoft's Basic Display Adapter in Device Manager, although sometimes the screen goes black before I can revert the driver. I have tried Windows Update's driver, the latest Intel graphics driver, and the driver from MSI's support page, with the same result. What else should I test, and could the reused RAM or SSD be causing this?
2 Answers
Since this is a barebones mini PC, MSI support is still the right next step. The fact that it works with Microsoft's Basic Display Adapter strongly points to a hardware or firmware compatibility problem that appears when the proper Intel graphics driver activates. Ask MSI whether there is a BIOS update or a specific validated driver for this exact Cubi model, and provide the exact RAM and SSD models.
Make sure you are comparing the source of each driver. Windows Update, Intel's generic package, and MSI's package can all be different. Do a clean installation of the MSI graphics and chipset drivers first, preferably after removing the existing display driver in Safe Mode. If the issue still happens with both Intel's and MSI's official drivers, test with different RAM or an SSD containing a clean installation, and consider a faulty unit or incompatible memory rather than assuming the cable is at fault.
I tried the automatic Windows driver, Intel's official driver, and MSI's support-page driver, and all produced the same black screen. The next things I'll check are BIOS settings, BIOS updates, and whether the reused memory is compatible.
It isn't a complete prebuilt—the RAM and SSD were installed separately—but I'll contact MSI with the part numbers and check for a BIOS update.