Hardware Failure Decision Guide

Hardware failure decision guide

DeckDoc uses four deliberately conservative outcomes.

Outcome	Evidence standard
Fixable application/configuration	A title, layout, route, plugin, AP, mode, prefix, cable, or setting follows the symptom and a reversible A/B changes it
Driver/firmware/OS	A timestamped subsystem transition fails, a previous build changes the result, or a reproducible upstream signature matches
Strong hardware suspicion	The failure persists in firmware or official recovery, across OS slots/stock config and known-good external components, or has new device-local physical/media/electrical evidence
Confirmed hardware failure	Valve/service diagnosis, qualified component-level test, or isolated replacement resolves the controlled reproduction

Never label an amdgpu timeout, one core dump, nonzero historical BTRFS counter, swap use, a hot chassis, low idle clock, zero idle fan RPM, or “black screen” alone as hardware failure.

Three-layer rule

Require:

1. the physical/user-visible symptom at an exact time;
2. subsystem evidence from that boot/window;
3. a controlled contrast or independent signal.

For example, a game freeze plus an AMDGPU timeout plus recurrence across unrelated stock titles is stronger than any one signal. A physically black LCD plus live audio, live Gamescope, connected eDP, readable EDID, active CRTC, nonzero backlight, and no reset localizes the display path—but still cannot inspect panel electronics.

High-value contrasts

• firmware/recovery/Rescue versus installed OS;
• current versus previous SteamOS image;
• stable versus beta/client update;
• clean stock versus plugins/mods/overlays;
• docked versus direct known-good cable/power/display/network;
• internal versus external display;
• cold boot versus resume;
• one title/API/Proton versus several unrelated titles;
• one AP versus a known-good hotspot;
• one SD card/peripheral versus another known-good device.

Change one variable and record the result. A reboot proves recovery, not root cause.

Stop conditions

Stop software testing for smoke, swelling, liquid, electrical smell, sparking, port/cable damage, abnormal heat while idle/off, fan stopped while temperature rises, new storage I/O/media errors, repeated failed GPU resets, or loss of safe backup access. Disconnect power if safe and escalate.

The full source audit and detector priorities live in the repository's docs/research/steamdeck-issue-deep-dive.md; the research index maps its primary sources into this wiki.