Question Entire PC locks up after fullscreening video on second monitor

Aug 26, 2020
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Hello, I recently upgraded (most of) my PC and added a monitor that can do 1440p. This is the main monitor I use for gaming. On my second monitor, which does 1080p, I often have a stream of some sort running. Lately, whenever I go to exit out of fullscreen on the second monitor, it causes my entire PC to lock up. I cannot even bring up the task bar to close programs. It used to do this only when running games on my main monitor, but lately, even with simply a web browser open on my main monitor, leaving fullscreen on anything on the second monitor causes the same freeze up. (It does this with any sort of fullscreen video playing, be it Twitch, YouTube, HBO, etc.)

I'm assuming this is due to having my PC run multiple resolutions for each of these screens and something just isn't clicking? Thanks in advance for any help, posting specs below.

OS: Windows 10 Enterprise 64-bit
CPU: AMD Ryzen 5 3600
RAM: 16.0GB Dual-Channel Unknown @ 1330MHz
MOBO: Gigabyte Technology Co. Ltd. X570 AORUS ELITE WIFI (AM4)
GPU: 2047MB NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1660 Ti (MSI)
Main Monitor: VX2758-Series (2560x1440@144Hz)
Secondary Monitor: VE248 (1920x1080@60Hz)
 

Ralston18

Titan
Moderator
All drivers (GPU and monitors) up-to-date?

Try manually downloading, reinstalling, and reconfiguring.

What browser(s) are you using?

Look in Reliability History and Event Viewer for any error codes, warnings, or even information events that correspond to (or with) the screen exit process and subsequent lockup.

Does the display remain visible but simply frozen?

If so, open Resource Monitor and observe system performance while working as normal. Keep Resource Monitor open but place to one side - probably best on the main monitor.

Then exit full screen on the second monitor. You may spot something in Resource Monitor that will provide a clue as to what is happening.

Task Manager can be applied in much the same manner.
 
Aug 26, 2020
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Thanks for the help!

Drivers for monitors and GPU are all up to date.

I am using Chrome as my browser.

Reliability Monitor does show "Miscellaneous Failures" but they seem to be about Windows not being shut down properly (it says "The previous system shutdown at 2:30:00 PM on ‎8/‎26/‎2020 was unexpected."), which I'm guessing is from having to literally press the power button on my case as the entire PC locks up and I can't shut down or restart it from the Start menu.

I had Resource Monitor up when I tested a recent crash just a few minutes ago, but that too froze and I was unable to see anything on that.

The display is visible but frozen, yes. I can move the mouse to either monitor but I am unable to actually click on or interact with any programs, either on the monitor, desktop, or taskbar.
 

Ralston18

Titan
Moderator
PSU: make, model, wattage, age, condition?

Roll back to single monitor (Main) use to determine if the problem resolves.

If so, then add the second monitor again but no streaming. Determine if the problem resolves.

Lastly, add in streaming: first just audio, then video.

Do all the above with and without gaming at the same time.

Objective is to discover a repeatable configuration that locks the PC.

My thought is that two monitors, gaming, streaming is forcing a peak load situation and the PSU is not able to provide the power.
 
Aug 26, 2020
3
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10
PSU is a Seasonic Focus GM-650, 650W 80+ Gold Semi-Modular, ordered it with this most recent build so it's only a few weeks old.

As of late, I have tried experimenting with other browsers (FireFox instead of Chrome) and that actually seems to have fixed the issue. I've had a few nights without any lockup while streaming and gaming or exiting fullscreen videos. If the problem persists I will go through your troubleshooting strategy and try to narrow the issue down, one by one.

Thanks again for your help, Ralston.