Crashing with Immediate reboot, Help?

oEternal

Commendable
May 25, 2016
2
0
1,510
For a few months now, my PC has been turning off at completely random intervals. From gaming, to watching a video, and even sometimes rarely while it is just idle. Recently, the problems have begun to persist more frequently which is why I am requesting some advice. Whenever I seem to play games my PC does the usual after some amount of time, shuts off and reboots. Another really odd issue is that TV streaming services causing, not crashes really, but my computer just freezes. The screen will change to a random color and start buzzing in through the headphones. I've checked and tried many different solutions but none have really seemed to help. Any recommendations at all would be very helpful right now as it has become a struggle to really do anything but browse the internet. Thanks. (Thinking the GPU probably is having some sort of issue but would like to know if there could be another potential issue.)

PC SPECS:
CPU: I7-4770K
CPU COOLER: Corsair H100i
MOTHERBOARD: ASUS Z97-A
RAM: 2X8 Corsair Vengeance DDR3 1600
PSU: Corsair HX850
GPU: EVGA nVidia Geforce GTX 980Ti FTW Edition
Case: Corsair C70
Ive found that there is a specific error every single time the PC shuts off, so maybe this can eliminate some possibilities?

ERROR: Critical: 6/1/2016 6:55:17 PM Kernel-Power 41 (63)
DETAILS:
Log Name: System
Source: Microsoft-Windows-Kernel-Power
Date: 6/1/2016 6:55:17 PM
Event ID: 41
Task Category: (63)
Level: Critical
Keywords: (70368744177664),(2)
User: SYSTEM
Computer: Justin
Description:
The system has rebooted without cleanly shutting down first. This error could be caused if the system stopped responding, crashed, or lost power unexpectedly.
Event Xml:
<Event xmlns="http://schemas.microsoft.com/win/2004/08/events/event">
<System>
<Provider Name="Microsoft-Windows-Kernel-Power" Guid="{331C3B3A-2005-44C2-AC5E-77220C37D6B4}" />
<EventID>41</EventID>
<Version>3</Version>
<Level>1</Level>
<Task>63</Task>
<Opcode>0</Opcode>
<Keywords>0x8000400000000002</Keywords>
<TimeCreated SystemTime="2016-06-01T22:55:17.607580100Z" />
<EventRecordID>15598</EventRecordID>
<Correlation />
<Execution ProcessID="4" ThreadID="8" />
<Channel>System</Channel>
<Computer>Justin</Computer>
<Security UserID="S-1-5-18" />
</System>
<EventData>
<Data Name="BugcheckCode">0</Data>
<Data Name="BugcheckParameter1">0x0</Data>
<Data Name="BugcheckParameter2">0x0</Data>
<Data Name="BugcheckParameter3">0x0</Data>
<Data Name="BugcheckParameter4">0x0</Data>
<Data Name="SleepInProgress">0</Data>
<Data Name="PowerButtonTimestamp">0</Data>
<Data Name="BootAppStatus">0</Data>
</EventData>
</Event>
 
Solution
The first thing you should always do in a situation like this is test memory:

I don't really like Windows' tool, so: www.memtest86.com

1) download, burn to DVD/usb thumb drive
2) boot to Memtest (may need to change boot order in BIOS)
3) run on default settings for a full pass (about 30min per 8GB)

Other:
The problem might be other hardware or software. Examples:

Software:
1) malwarebytes free (check for malware/virus)
2) reinstall video drivers (do a "custom-> clean" install as prompted with the NVidia driver)
3) In-place Upgrade of W10 (if you have W10)->
a) W10 install media (Microsoft media creation tool)
b) with W10 running, start "setup.exe" from W10 media
c) choose to keep your data and applications
d) no need to insert key...
The first thing you should always do in a situation like this is test memory:

I don't really like Windows' tool, so: www.memtest86.com

1) download, burn to DVD/usb thumb drive
2) boot to Memtest (may need to change boot order in BIOS)
3) run on default settings for a full pass (about 30min per 8GB)

Other:
The problem might be other hardware or software. Examples:

Software:
1) malwarebytes free (check for malware/virus)
2) reinstall video drivers (do a "custom-> clean" install as prompted with the NVidia driver)
3) In-place Upgrade of W10 (if you have W10)->
a) W10 install media (Microsoft media creation tool)
b) with W10 running, start "setup.exe" from W10 media
c) choose to keep your data and applications
d) no need to insert key if prompted
(really should make a backup IMAGE first if you know how)
4) Linux:
- You can boot to a Linux distro DVD if stumped. It will run from there (don't install to HDD/SSD) and try to get your computer to crash. Browse web, play video etc. If it won't crash it's more likely your issue is SOFTWARE related within Windows 10 environment.

5) Clean Windows install if you have a spare HDD or SSD (but do NOT activate):
a) shut down, unhook everything not needed as per below (including graphics card)
b) Boot to Windows Install media
c) DELETE any partitions if they exist (make sure aren't needed) then finish install
d) install ONLY the necessary drivers (may not need anything)
e) test to see if it crashes (if it does, it's almost certainly a hardware issue)

Hardware:
1) Shutdown, then UNHOOK everything you do not need (unhook secondary drives, external USB devices, unneeded PCIe cards)
2) If above doesn't help, remove the graphics card as well (use the iGPU, so just attach the monitor to the motherboard DVI/DP as appropriate)
3) last resort: swap PSU, the motherboard

Summary:
How I'd approach this would depend on how often the system crashes. I'd run MEMTEST86 first, but then probably jump right to removing all unneeded hardware, but use your best judgment.
 
Solution


Thanks for the help. Ive found that there is a specific error every single time the PC shuts off, so maybe this can eliminate some possibilities?
(Already ran MemTest and most of the potential software solutions)

ERROR: Critical: 6/1/2016 6:55:17 PM Kernel-Power 41 (63)
DETAILS:
Log Name: System
Source: Microsoft-Windows-Kernel-Power
Date: 6/1/2016 6:55:17 PM
Event ID: 41
Task Category: (63)
Level: Critical
Keywords: (70368744177664),(2)
User: SYSTEM
Computer: Justin
Description:
The system has rebooted without cleanly shutting down first. This error could be caused if the system stopped responding, crashed, or lost power unexpectedly.
Event Xml:
<Event xmlns="http://schemas.microsoft.com/win/2004/08/events/event">
<System>
<Provider Name="Microsoft-Windows-Kernel-Power" Guid="{331C3B3A-2005-44C2-AC5E-77220C37D6B4}" />
<EventID>41</EventID>
<Version>3</Version>
<Level>1</Level>
<Task>63</Task>
<Opcode>0</Opcode>
<Keywords>0x8000400000000002</Keywords>
<TimeCreated SystemTime="2016-06-01T22:55:17.607580100Z" />
<EventRecordID>15598</EventRecordID>
<Correlation />
<Execution ProcessID="4" ThreadID="8" />
<Channel>System</Channel>
<Computer>Justin</Computer>
<Security UserID="S-1-5-18" />
</System>
<EventData>
<Data Name="BugcheckCode">0</Data>
<Data Name="BugcheckParameter1">0x0</Data>
<Data Name="BugcheckParameter2">0x0</Data>
<Data Name="BugcheckParameter3">0x0</Data>
<Data Name="BugcheckParameter4">0x0</Data>
<Data Name="SleepInProgress">0</Data>
<Data Name="PowerButtonTimestamp">0</Data>
<Data Name="BootAppStatus">0</Data>
</EventData>
</Event>