[SOLVED] Another random restart issue, but I think I've tried everything??

[ac1711]

Hey there, I'm a new poster, but I've lurked for a while, even used a couple of threads to try to troubleshoot this issue on my own, but I'm officially out of ideas.

I've had this desktop PC since 2017, and to some extent, I noticed random restarts, but it wasn't my main computer (I primarily used a macbook for school) and beyond upgrading the hard drive to an SDD in 2019, I hadn't bothered much with it. Recently, it's become my main machine because I've been doing more PC-based gaming and the restarts have been driving me bananas.

Current specs:

• Windows 10 Home
• AMD FX-4300 Quad Core 3.8GHz
• Gigabyte Technology GA-78LMT-S2 (v 1.2) Motherboard
• GeForce GT 730
• 16 GB RAM (PNY -8GB 1.6 GHz DDR3 DIMM Desktop Memory x2)
• KINGSTON A400 SATA SSD 240GB
• EVGA - BR Series 700W ATX12V /EPS12V 80 Plus Power Supply DC-DC Technology

What I have done to resolve this issue:

• Uninstall/reinstall Graphics Driver/checked for updates
• Checked BIOS Version, fully up to date (Award Software International, Inc. F6, 1-9-2014)
• Run a RAM-Test - no problems detected
• Run dxdiag - no problems detected
• Windows 10 is updated
• Checked/Updated motherboard chipset drivers
• Changed out my PSU (old one was a 500W)
• Upgraded my CPU cooler (Cooler Master - Hyper 212 Black Edition 120mm CPU Cooling Fan – Black) – Also monitoring my CPU temp w/ core temp, never break 25*C)
• Upgraded my memory (Originally had 8GB – 2x4GB – don’t remember brand/model)
• Replaced all cooling fans in the tower except the fan attached to my GPU, but I gave it a thorough cleaning)
• Adjusted power settings so that my CPU min is 5%.
• Turned off automatic restart
• Turned off the fast boot

My peripherals have changed over time, so I don't think any of them are doing it and I'm being lazy and don't want to find all their model info, but I've got a keyboard, mouse, 2 LCD monitors, a webcam, and a mic).

I never get an error message when it restarts. There’s no warning. Sometimes I’m playing a game that’s graphics heavy, sometimes I’m on Discord and browsing the web. Sometimes it’s one hour into using my PC, sometimes it’s 9 hours. Sometimes it’s once. Sometimes it’ll do it once an hour after the first time until I give up and walk away from it for the day.

I simply just am out of ideas on what could possibly be causing this. I'm happy to provide any other details that you might want. Full disclosure: up until 5 days ago, I'd never opened a tower before in my life, the hard drive upgrade was done by a professional. I'm just on vacation and the thing made me angry enough that I started down this rabbit hole, but you'd be surprised how much you can learn with rage as a motivator.

Any input is so appreciated. Thanks!

 

[Ralston18]

Intermittent problems can be difficult to diagnose. Takes time and patience. Be methodical and careful.

Look in Reliability History and Event Viewer for error codes, warnings, or even informational events that correspond with the restart times.

Start with Reliability History. Much more user friendly.

Clicking on any given error can provide more information and details about what happened. That information and those details may or may not be helpful.

= = = =

One thing you can do - especially if the case has not been opened during the last few months:

Power down, unplug, open the case. (Get a knowledgeable family member or friend to help.)

Clean out dust and debris.

Verify by sight and feel that all connectors, cards, RAM, and jumpers are fully and firmly in place. (They do work loose on their own over time due to expansion/contraction and vibrations.) Only takes one little wiggle and disconnect to cause a restart.

Look for signs of damage: bare conductor showing, melted insulation, browned or blackened areas, swollen components. pinched or kinked wires.

Again get someone to help you.

 

[ac1711]

One thing you can do - especially if the case has not been opened during the last few months:

Power down, unplug, open the case. (Get a knowledgeable family member or friend to help.)

Clean out dust and debris.

Verify by sight and feel that all connectors, cards, RAM, and jumpers are fully and firmly in place. (They do work loose on their own over time due to expansion/contraction and vibrations.) Only takes one little wiggle and disconnect to cause a restart.

Look for signs of damage: bare conductor showing, melted insulation, browned or blackened areas, swollen components. pinched or kinked wires.

Again get someone to help you.
[/QUOTE]

Thanks for the reply. Will try the reliability history. Also the ship has sailed on anyone helping me. I just replaced my PSU, my CPU cooler, and all my fans myself. I also did a thorough cleaning of the whole tower. Everything has been disconnected and reconnected myself. It's all secure, no noticeable damage other than it being a bit dusty, which is now resolved.

 

[ac1711]

Hmmm, so all that reliability history says is that 'windows was not shut down properly' in a time that corresponds to each event. Event Viewer did log the events too, but only as follows:
Event 41 Kernel-Power
EventData

BugcheckCode 0
BugcheckParameter1 0x0
BugcheckParameter2 0x0
BugcheckParameter3 0x0
BugcheckParameter4 0x0
SleepInProgress 0
PowerButtonTimestamp 0
BootAppStatus 0
Checkpoint 0
ConnectedStandbyInProgress false
SystemSleepTransitionsToOn 0
CsEntryScenarioInstanceId 0
BugcheckInfoFromEFI false
CheckpointStatus 0
CsEntryScenarioInstanceIdV2 0
LongPowerButtonPressDetected false

 

[ac1711]

So upon referencing this https://docs.microsoft.com/en-us/windows/client-management/troubleshoot-event-id-41-restart - it would seem this is a power supply issue of somekind but if I've replaced the PSU (as of yesterday) and it's still happening...is there another reason it might happen?

 

[Bob.B]

Hey there, I'm a new poster, but I've lurked for a while, even used a couple of threads to try to troubleshoot this issue on my own, but I'm officially out of ideas.

I've had this desktop PC since 2017, and to some extent, I noticed random restarts, but it wasn't my main computer (I primarily used a macbook for school) and beyond upgrading the hard drive to an SDD in 2019, I hadn't bothered much with it. Recently, it's become my main machine because I've been doing more PC-based gaming and the restarts have been driving me bananas.

Current specs:

• Windows 10 Home
• AMD FX-4300 Quad Core 3.8GHz
• Gigabyte Technology GA-78LMT-S2 (v 1.2) Motherboard
• GeForce GT 730
• 16 GB RAM (PNY -8GB 1.6 GHz DDR3 DIMM Desktop Memory x2)
• KINGSTON A400 SATA SSD 240GB
• EVGA - BR Series 700W ATX12V /EPS12V 80 Plus Power Supply DC-DC Technology

What I have done to resolve this issue:

• Uninstall/reinstall Graphics Driver/checked for updates
• Checked BIOS Version, fully up to date (Award Software International, Inc. F6, 1-9-2014)
• Run a RAM-Test - no problems detected
• Run dxdiag - no problems detected
• Windows 10 is updated
• Checked/Updated motherboard chipset drivers
• Changed out my PSU (old one was a 500W)
• Upgraded my CPU cooler (Cooler Master - Hyper 212 Black Edition 120mm CPU Cooling Fan – Black) – Also monitoring my CPU temp w/ core temp, never break 25*C)
• Upgraded my memory (Originally had 8GB – 2x4GB – don’t remember brand/model)
• Replaced all cooling fans in the tower except the fan attached to my GPU, but I gave it a thorough cleaning)
• Adjusted power settings so that my CPU min is 5%.
• Turned off automatic restart
• Turned off the fast boot

My peripherals have changed over time, so I don't think any of them are doing it and I'm being lazy and don't want to find all their model info, but I've got a keyboard, mouse, 2 LCD monitors, a webcam, and a mic).

I never get an error message when it restarts. There’s no warning. Sometimes I’m playing a game that’s graphics heavy, sometimes I’m on Discord and browsing the web. Sometimes it’s one hour into using my PC, sometimes it’s 9 hours. Sometimes it’s once. Sometimes it’ll do it once an hour after the first time until I give up and walk away from it for the day.

I simply just am out of ideas on what could possibly be causing this. I'm happy to provide any other details that you might want. Full disclosure: up until 5 days ago, I'd never opened a tower before in my life, the hard drive upgrade was done by a professional. I'm just on vacation and the thing made me angry enough that I started down this rabbit hole, but you'd be surprised how much you can learn with rage as a motivator.

Any input is so appreciated. Thanks!

Test with one stick of ram in the proper slot.
Run a pass of crystal disk info and post a screen shot.

 

[dorsai]

So upon referencing this https://docs.microsoft.com/en-us/windows/client-management/troubleshoot-event-id-41-restart - it would seem this is a power supply issue of somekind but if I've replaced the PSU (as of yesterday) and it's still happening...is there another reason it might happen?

Sudden shut downs without a blue screen message are typically power related. You could try unplugging and reconnecting everything just in case something is loose. Is the 4 pin supplemental socket power connection in place ?

You may also just have a bad motherboard...the GA-78LMT-S2 was a low end board when new in 2012 and it's possible it may have been defective from the get go if the shut downs have been happening since you bought it.

 

[ac1711]

Test with one stick of ram in the proper slot.
Run a pass of crystal disk info and post a screen shot.

https://ibb.co/jfvScJc

Test with one stick of ram in the proper slot.

No issues with either stick.

 

[Bob.B]

https://ibb.co/jfvScJc



No issues with either stick.

CDI shows the ssd is fine.

This only happens when you use both sticks and enable dual channel.
With both sticks installed what does task manager/memory show for ram speed?

 

[ac1711]

Sudden shut downs without a blue screen message are typically power related. You could try unplugging and reconnecting everything just in case something is loose. Is the 4 pin supplemental socket power connection in place ?

You may also just have a bad motherboard...the GA-78LMT-S2 was a low end board when new in 2012 and it's possible it may have been defective from the get go if the shut downs have been happening since you bought it.

1) checked all connections, they seem good.

2) re: 4-pin supplemental—So I looked this up because I'm learning as I go, here, and the description I found (https://www.moddiy.com/pages/Power-Supply-Connectors-and-Pinouts.html) vs the manual for my motherboard (https://download.gigabyte.com/FileList/Manual/mb_manual_ga-78lmt-s2_v.1.2_e.pdf) leads me to believe that I do not have a 4-pin supplemental socket. The only 4 pin I have is a 2x2 for my CPU power, and that is connected. If I have misinterpreted this, please feel free to correct me.

3) re: the actual motherboard...this doesn't surprise me. I suppose I could learn how to completely install a new motherboard if necessary...I've done everything else.

 

[ac1711]

CDI shows the ssd is fine.

This only happens when you use both sticks and enable dual channel.
With both sticks installed what does task manager/memory show for ram speed?

Sorry, did you want me to run CDI when I tested each memory stick?

If so, here's what CDI looks like with just one memory stick: https://ibb.co/C295mv9

My speed with both is 1600 MHz: https://ibb.co/K0JDnYf

 

[Bob.B]

Sorry, did you want me to run CDI when I tested each memory stick?

If so, here's what CDI looks like with just one memory stick: https://ibb.co/C295mv9

My speed with both is 1600 MHz: https://ibb.co/K0JDnYf

I don't think your mobo supports 1600.
Looks like 1333 is the max.
Look in your bios for xmp/docp and disable it.
Reboot and see what ram speed task manager shows.

 

[dorsai]

3) re: the actual motherboard...this doesn't surprise me. I suppose I could learn how to completely install a new motherboard if necessary...I've done everything else.

It would be a good learning experience for sure In general when looking at motherboards, cheaper ones will have bare components or very small heatsinks on the board vrm next to the cpu socket. Better quality boards in general will have larger vrms with more phases and built with large heatsinks to dissipate the heat from the cpu power draw.