Computer RANDOMLY black screens and resets

[TheSonikku]

I heavily emphasize randomly because sometimes it's twice a day, sometimes it does it after 3 days; sometimes it resets 10 minutes after bootup, sometimes it takes 8 hours after bootup. It's seriously extremely random.

I have no idea what is causing this, but it started happening after I installed my new GTX 1060 6GB graphics card (SUPERCLOCKED EVGA, 06G-P4-6163-KR) about 2 months ago, but I've only decided to ask the question myself after trying everything possible aside from the PSU.

Description of the problem:

The computer simply, with NO WARNING, shuts the display off (black monitor screen) and the RGB lights on my keyboard and mouse shut off too (and I assume they also stop responding while they're shut off). The fans/LED lights of the fans don't stop working, and keep working fine.

About ~5 seconds later, the PC boots up again, a single beep, as if I had just booted it up or clicked the reset switch. This usually happens once a day if I leave the computer on all day. (I shut off the PC before going to sleep)

- I use a UPS with voltage stabilization, so it shouldn't be a voltage fluctuation problem.
- I've tested both of my 8GB memories using Windows 10's memory testing program, and they both work fine.
- I've recently cleaned the inside of the case and reseated the GPU to make sure it wasn't a loose seating problem.
- I have a 600w PSU, about 2-3 years old, a blue Zalman. It *has* shocked me in the past while the computer was totally shut off, but it only happened once and it stopped doing so; I didn't use a UPS during that time.
- I use Windows 10 64-bit, and all drivers for all of my hardware and software are updated.

Thanks for the answers in advance. I'll try to help with any extra information I can give, so feel free to ask.

 

[clarkjd]

I heavily emphasize randomly because sometimes it's twice a day, sometimes it does it after 3 days; sometimes it resets 10 minutes after bootup, sometimes it takes 8 hours after bootup. It's seriously extremely random.

I have no idea what is causing this, but it started happening after I installed my new GTX 1060 6GB graphics card (SUPERCLOCKED EVGA, 06G-P4-6163-KR) about 2 months ago, but I've only decided to ask the question myself after trying everything possible aside from the PSU.

Description of the problem:

The computer simply, with NO WARNING, shuts the display off (black monitor screen) and the RGB lights on my keyboard and mouse shut off too (and I assume they also stop responding while they're shut off). The fans/LED lights of the fans don't stop working, and keep working fine.

About ~5 seconds later, the PC boots up again, a single beep, as if I had just booted it up or clicked the reset switch. This usually happens once a day if I leave the computer on all day. (I shut off the PC before going to sleep)

- I use a UPS with voltage stabilization, so it shouldn't be a voltage fluctuation problem.
- I've tested both of my 8GB memories using Windows 10's memory testing program, and they both work fine.
- I've recently cleaned the inside of the case and reseated the GPU to make sure it wasn't a loose seating problem.
- I have a 600w PSU, about 2-3 years old, a blue Zalman. It *has* shocked me in the past while the computer was totally shut off, but it only happened once and it stopped doing so; I didn't use a UPS during that time.
- I use Windows 10 64-bit, and all drivers for all of my hardware and software are updated.

Thanks for the answers in advance. I'll try to help with any extra information I can give, so feel free to ask.

Reboots and resets are generally power related. Zalman is not one of the more recommended PSU brands, So the PSU would be my first suspect. What are your COMPLETE system specs(makes, models, capacities, ETC) ?

 

[neieus]

I also think it could be the power supply. I had a similar issue not to long ago which I was only able to resolve after replacing the PSU. That's not to say it can't be something else but it does sound like a possible PSU problem.

 

[TheSonikku]

I heavily emphasize randomly because sometimes it's twice a day, sometimes it does it after 3 days; sometimes it resets 10 minutes after bootup, sometimes it takes 8 hours after bootup. It's seriously extremely random.

I have no idea what is causing this, but it started happening after I installed my new GTX 1060 6GB graphics card (SUPERCLOCKED EVGA, 06G-P4-6163-KR) about 2 months ago, but I've only decided to ask the question myself after trying everything possible aside from the PSU.

Description of the problem:

The computer simply, with NO WARNING, shuts the display off (black monitor screen) and the RGB lights on my keyboard and mouse shut off too (and I assume they also stop responding while they're shut off). The fans/LED lights of the fans don't stop working, and keep working fine.

About ~5 seconds later, the PC boots up again, a single beep, as if I had just booted it up or clicked the reset switch. This usually happens once a day if I leave the computer on all day. (I shut off the PC before going to sleep)

- I use a UPS with voltage stabilization, so it shouldn't be a voltage fluctuation problem.
- I've tested both of my 8GB memories using Windows 10's memory testing program, and they both work fine.
- I've recently cleaned the inside of the case and reseated the GPU to make sure it wasn't a loose seating problem.
- I have a 600w PSU, about 2-3 years old, a blue Zalman. It *has* shocked me in the past while the computer was totally shut off, but it only happened once and it stopped doing so; I didn't use a UPS during that time.
- I use Windows 10 64-bit, and all drivers for all of my hardware and software are updated.

Thanks for the answers in advance. I'll try to help with any extra information I can give, so feel free to ask.

Reboots and resets are generally power related. Zalman is not one of the more recommended PSU brands, So the PSU would be my first suspect. What are your COMPLETE system specs(makes, models, capacities, ETC) ?

Let's see...
- NVidia GTX 1060 6GB EVGA SUPERCLOCKED GPU
- Two 8GB HyperX FURY Memory cards (I forget the mhz, but it's probably 1866; not higher than 2000 at the very least)
- 600w Zalman PSU
- AMD FX-8320 Eight-Core processor (~3,5GHz)
- ASUS M5A78L-M PLUS/USB3 Motherboard
- COSMOS SE Computer Case

Extras (not sure if relevant):
- LG 29UM68-P Monitor (2560x1080, 21:9)
- Razer Blackwidow and Razer Deathadder Chroma (Keyboard and Mouse, respectively; both have RGB capabilities)
- Bamboo CTH-470 Drawing Tablet (They don't update the drivers anymore, but it works fine)
- Generic Xbox 360 Controller (albeit not the official one)
- Razer Kraken Neon Blue (Stereo Gaming Headset)

Need anything else?

 

[Calvin7]

Memory part numbers? Some people think you can get good performance no matter what memory you install, as long as it fits the slot.

 

[clarkjd]

What is the EXACT model of Zalman PSU you have?

 

[TheSonikku]

What is the EXACT model of Zalman PSU you have?

Zalman ZM600-LE

 

[clarkjd]

What is the EXACT model of Zalman PSU you have?

Zalman ZM600-LE

According to this:
http://www.tomshardware.com/forum/id-2547993/psu-tier-list.html
The ZM version is no better than tier 3 on a 5 tier list. Not the best, but certainly not the worst.
That being said, even the best rated PSUs can have an occasional lemon.
Are you overclocking, or doing heavy gaming?

 

[TheSonikku]

What is the EXACT model of Zalman PSU you have?

Zalman ZM600-LE

According to this:
http://www.tomshardware.com/forum/id-2547993/psu-tier-list.html
The ZM version is no better than tier 3 on a 5 tier list. Not the best, but certainly not the worst.
That being said, even the best rated PSUs can have an occasional lemon.
Are you overclocking, or doing heavy gaming?

Nope, not overclocking, and while I *do* sometimes do heavy gaming, the resets are random; sometimes it resets while I'm watching a video or literally booting windows, or sometimes it resets in the middle of a intense game.

 

[clarkjd]

What is the EXACT model of Zalman PSU you have?

Zalman ZM600-LE

According to this:
http://www.tomshardware.com/forum/id-2547993/psu-tier-list.html
The ZM version is no better than tier 3 on a 5 tier list. Not the best, but certainly not the worst.
That being said, even the best rated PSUs can have an occasional lemon.
Are you overclocking, or doing heavy gaming?

Nope, not overclocking, and while I *do* sometimes do heavy gaming, the resets are random; sometimes it resets while I'm watching a video or literally booting windows, or sometimes it resets in the middle of a intense game.

As PSUs age, it gets harder for them to deliver rated output, which could cause their protective circuitry to kick in earlier. The problem here is that diagnosing a bad PSU is rather hard to do without a hard failure of the PSU. The symptoms could also indicate a bad motherboard. You could try replacing the one of your choice and see if your problem goes away. IMHO, I would replace the PSU first with a 550-600 watt unit from tiers 1 or 2 of the list I linked earlier.

 

[TheSonikku]

What is the EXACT model of Zalman PSU you have?

Zalman ZM600-LE

According to this:
http://www.tomshardware.com/forum/id-2547993/psu-tier-list.html
The ZM version is no better than tier 3 on a 5 tier list. Not the best, but certainly not the worst.
That being said, even the best rated PSUs can have an occasional lemon.
Are you overclocking, or doing heavy gaming?

Nope, not overclocking, and while I *do* sometimes do heavy gaming, the resets are random; sometimes it resets while I'm watching a video or literally booting windows, or sometimes it resets in the middle of a intense game.

As PSUs age, it gets harder for them to deliver rated output, which could cause their protective circuitry to kick in earlier. The problem here is that diagnosing a bad PSU is rather hard to do without a hard failure of the PSU. The symptoms could also indicate a bad motherboard. You could try replacing the one of your choice and see if your problem goes away. IMHO, I would replace the PSU first with a 550-600 watt unit from tiers 1 or 2 of the list I linked earlier.

Question: Would a Corsair RM750i be good enough of a replacement?

 

[clarkjd]

What is the EXACT model of Zalman PSU you have?

Zalman ZM600-LE

According to this:
http://www.tomshardware.com/forum/id-2547993/psu-tier-list.html
The ZM version is no better than tier 3 on a 5 tier list. Not the best, but certainly not the worst.
That being said, even the best rated PSUs can have an occasional lemon.
Are you overclocking, or doing heavy gaming?

Nope, not overclocking, and while I *do* sometimes do heavy gaming, the resets are random; sometimes it resets while I'm watching a video or literally booting windows, or sometimes it resets in the middle of a intense game.

As PSUs age, it gets harder for them to deliver rated output, which could cause their protective circuitry to kick in earlier. The problem here is that diagnosing a bad PSU is rather hard to do without a hard failure of the PSU. The symptoms could also indicate a bad motherboard. You could try replacing the one of your choice and see if your problem goes away. IMHO, I would replace the PSU first with a 550-600 watt unit from tiers 1 or 2 of the list I linked earlier.

Question: Would a Corsair RM750i be good enough of a replacement?

The Corsair RM series is very highly thought of, and the 750 watt model would certainly provide enough power (and then some!) for your system. While it is a bit overkill, it would get the job done.

 

[TheSonikku]

What is the EXACT model of Zalman PSU you have?

Zalman ZM600-LE

According to this:
http://www.tomshardware.com/forum/id-2547993/psu-tier-list.html
The ZM version is no better than tier 3 on a 5 tier list. Not the best, but certainly not the worst.
That being said, even the best rated PSUs can have an occasional lemon.
Are you overclocking, or doing heavy gaming?

Nope, not overclocking, and while I *do* sometimes do heavy gaming, the resets are random; sometimes it resets while I'm watching a video or literally booting windows, or sometimes it resets in the middle of a intense game.

As PSUs age, it gets harder for them to deliver rated output, which could cause their protective circuitry to kick in earlier. The problem here is that diagnosing a bad PSU is rather hard to do without a hard failure of the PSU. The symptoms could also indicate a bad motherboard. You could try replacing the one of your choice and see if your problem goes away. IMHO, I would replace the PSU first with a 550-600 watt unit from tiers 1 or 2 of the list I linked earlier.

Question: Would a Corsair RM750i be good enough of a replacement?

The Corsair RM series is very highly thought of, and the 750 watt model would certainly provide enough power (and then some!) for your system. While it is a bit overkill, it would get the job done.

Alright; Since I'm still looking to upgrading some other components I think I will be indeed getting the RM750i.

By the way, as extra information that I'd want some input on, if you could please help: Every time I boot up my PC, the motherboard displays a CPU fan error, which, from what I've read, seems to be related to the fan not spinning as fast as the motherboard expected it to on bootup. Not sure if that's a motherboard, power or fan issue, but it's there.

 

[clarkjd]

By the way, as extra information that I'd want some input on, if you could please help: Every time I boot up my PC, the motherboard displays a CPU fan error, which, from what I've read, seems to be related to the fan not spinning as fast as the motherboard expected it to on bootup. Not sure if that's a motherboard, power or fan issue, but it's there.

Look in your BIOS settings. There may be a way to either turn off that warning, or change the threshold that activates the warning.

 

[TheSonikku]

By the way, as extra information that I'd want some input on, if you could please help: Every time I boot up my PC, the motherboard displays a CPU fan error, which, from what I've read, seems to be related to the fan not spinning as fast as the motherboard expected it to on bootup. Not sure if that's a motherboard, power or fan issue, but it's there.

Look in your BIOS settings. There may be a way to either turn off that warning, or change the threshold that activates the warning.

I know there is a way to make it stop doing that; but I didn't do it because I wanted to ask someone more experienced if that could be linked to the PSU or MOBO being faulty or not providing enough energy to the components

 

[clarkjd]

By the way, as extra information that I'd want some input on, if you could please help: Every time I boot up my PC, the motherboard displays a CPU fan error, which, from what I've read, seems to be related to the fan not spinning as fast as the motherboard expected it to on bootup. Not sure if that's a motherboard, power or fan issue, but it's there.

Look in your BIOS settings. There may be a way to either turn off that warning, or change the threshold that activates the warning.

I know there is a way to make it stop doing that; but I didn't do it because I wanted to ask someone more experienced if that could be linked to the PSU or MOBO being faulty or not providing enough energy to the components

That warning is really not useful during boot up, as at that time period a lot of fans are just starting to spin up. Now, after everything is booted, Then the warning becomes useful should a fan stop working. It is not really indicative of a faulty motherboard or PSU.

 

[TheSonikku]

By the way, as extra information that I'd want some input on, if you could please help: Every time I boot up my PC, the motherboard displays a CPU fan error, which, from what I've read, seems to be related to the fan not spinning as fast as the motherboard expected it to on bootup. Not sure if that's a motherboard, power or fan issue, but it's there.

Look in your BIOS settings. There may be a way to either turn off that warning, or change the threshold that activates the warning.

I know there is a way to make it stop doing that; but I didn't do it because I wanted to ask someone more experienced if that could be linked to the PSU or MOBO being faulty or not providing enough energy to the components

That warning is really not useful during boot up, as at that time period a lot of fans are just starting to spin up. Now, after everything is booted, Then the warning becomes useful should a fan stop working. It is not really indicative of a faulty motherboard or PSU.

Alrighty, I'll get the RM750i (or at least the best I can) and tell you if anything happens later. If it doesn't, I'll mark one of your comments as the answer. Thanks for the help.

 

[clarkjd]

Hope I helped!

 

[TheSonikku]

Hope I helped!

I switched my PSU for an EVGA BQ 850W 80 Plus Bronze, and it worked fine for about two days... Until it happened again. Right now I can only think it'd be a power sag problem, or a MOBO problem. Maybe graphics card? I bought it about 1 month ago, so I doubt it, but who knows...

 

[TheSonikku]

Also, as an update, after installing the PSU, all the voltages seem to be fine, being at most 0,1 or so higher than they should be in the BIOS for the bigger ones (e.g. 12V is about 12.09, 3.3V is about 3.35, etc.)

 

[clarkjd]

Also, as an update, after installing the PSU, all the voltages seem to be fine, being at most 0,1 or so higher than they should be in the BIOS for the bigger ones (e.g. 12V is about 12.09, 3.3V is about 3.35, etc.)

The ATX standard allows for up to a +/-10 percent variance, the voltages you are measuring are well within the tolerance of the standard.

 

[clarkjd]

Hope I helped!

I switched my PSU for an EVGA BQ 850W 80 Plus Bronze, and it worked fine for about two days... Until it happened again. Right now I can only think it'd be a power sag problem, or a MOBO problem. Maybe graphics card? I bought it about 1 month ago, so I doubt it, but who knows...

The BQ series is not one of EVGA's best. It is possible that a local "Brown-out" could be the Issue, but it is impossible for me to say that that is the cause, as I have no access to the power delivery history to your house.

 

[TheSonikku]

Hope I helped!

I switched my PSU for an EVGA BQ 850W 80 Plus Bronze, and it worked fine for about two days... Until it happened again. Right now I can only think it'd be a power sag problem, or a MOBO problem. Maybe graphics card? I bought it about 1 month ago, so I doubt it, but who knows...

The BQ series is not one of EVGA's best. It is possible that a local "Brown-out" could be the Issue, but it is impossible for me to say that that is the cause, as I have no access to the power delivery history to your house.

I'm aware of the quality of the BQ series, however it was the only one accessible to me at the time :/
Is there any way for me to monitor the power delivery history by myself? Also, is there a way for me to confirm my UPS is actually working, to make sure that it's not a brownout issue?

Also, when the computer black screens, I can see the screen (or at least I think it's the screen. at the very least it's a white line) smushed into a small line for a split second, before it goes fully black.

 

[clarkjd]

I'm aware of the quality of the BQ series, however it was the only one accessible to me at the time :/
Is there any way for me to monitor the power delivery history by myself? Also, is there a way for me to confirm my UPS is actually working, to make sure that it's not a brownout issue?

Also, when the computer black screens, I can see the screen (or at least I think it's the screen. at the very least it's a white line) smushed into a small line for a split second, before it goes fully black.

The easiest way to test the UPS is,while the PC is running, to simply unplug the UPS from the wall. If everything plugged into the UPS continues to work, then I would say that the UPS is fine. Some UPS's even come with monitoring software that can perform a self-test of the UPS, as well as measure the supply voltage from the wall socket.

As far as the monitor goes, have you looked in the power settings in windows to make sure that windows isn't turning off the monitor?

 

[TheSonikku]

I'm aware of the quality of the BQ series, however it was the only one accessible to me at the time :/
Is there any way for me to monitor the power delivery history by myself? Also, is there a way for me to confirm my UPS is actually working, to make sure that it's not a brownout issue?

Also, when the computer black screens, I can see the screen (or at least I think it's the screen. at the very least it's a white line) smushed into a small line for a split second, before it goes fully black.

The easiest way to test the UPS is,while the PC is running, to simply unplug the UPS from the wall. If everything plugged into the UPS continues to work, then I would say that the UPS is fine. Some UPS's even come with monitoring software that can perform a self-test of the UPS, as well as measure the supply voltage from the wall socket.

As far as the monitor goes, have you looked in the power settings in windows to make sure that windows isn't turning off the monitor?

I've checked the UPS that way and everything connected shuts off, so I assume it's just working as a glorified voltage stabilizer. Also, I figured out what seems to be the problem by checking Event Viewer right after the crash:

" The computer has rebooted from a bugcheck. The bugcheck was: 0x00000124 (0x0000000000000000, 0xffff828a94cfa8f8, 0x0000000000000000, 0x0000000000000000). A dump was saved in: C:\WINDOWS\Minidump\070818-37453-01.dmp. Report Id: c2e09029-a4eb-458b-a1e0-8fb64478ae1f. "

The bugcheck is apparently caused by something related to fast startup; disabling it made the frequent crashes much less frequent, albeit one just happened this week after going a whole week strong (using the computer, like, 10-12 hours a day). It also happened as I was trying to update windows 10 from 1709 to 1803 and doing a bunch of stuff with the cmd, so it might be related to that.

So it's more than likely either a hardware issue (at this point, only the MOBO or the CPU can be the problem here) or a software issue (likely not driver related, but rather Windows 10 itself). I just have to find a way to make sure that error doesn't pop up again, but again thanks a lot for the help so far.

EDIT: Furthermore, another event error that happened around 13 seconds after the first one, implies it's an AMD problem:

"A fatal hardware error has occurred.

Component: AMD Northbridge
Error Source: Machine Check Exception
Error Type: 11
Processor APIC ID: 0

The details view of this entry contains further information."

And the only AMD component I have installed on my PC is the CPU.