[SOLVED] Game crashing and in some cases system reboot

Beetonl

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Jul 15, 2015
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Hi all,

Hoping someone can help a little here;

I recently re-built my computer from scratch (recycling the case, PSU and drives), as my older PC was running near 6 years old. I seem to be having system and game crashes sporadically and I cant seem to pinpoint he source of the issue, everything is pointing towards a faulty GPU. The GPU I purchased (as a stop-gap given 3080 supply issues) was a refurbished Gigabyte Aorus RTX 2070 SUPER, the refurbished GPU is from a reputable UK supplier (SCAN.co.uk), so I can return if faulty as it comes with 2 years warranty.

Here is the full spec of my re-build from Speccy*;

http://speccy.piriform.com/results/YpV7hui41alzMsYoxUBZhQs
PSU - Corsair RM850

*Please note that the GPU specified in the Speccy report is my older EVGA 980 I've put back in for testing purposes.

So, the behaviour;
Initially, everything looked fine, I installed a completely fresh version of Windows 10 64bit (So no conflicting drivers) the system booted, thermals, power, load all look well within acceptable levels of course, installed the latest drivers for the GPU. In the evening, I booted up a relatively low demand game and played through about an hour and the system rebooted, back to windows with some screen artefacts briefly, these appeared on the MB boot screen as well.

I played again, and it then crashed me out of the game, maybe 20 minutes in with weird nvlddmkm errors in event viewer all pointing to graphics in the descriptions, but in one case a kernal power error at the time of reboot.

Tried again and it rebooted the PC and this time had corrupted the device driver and was displayed at some weird low resolution.

Heres the steps i've tried since then;
  1. Used DDU to completely remove the drivers of the GPU, and installed an older version of the drivers. This appeared stable for maybe 24 hours, then while sitting idle my PC rebooted and I had the corrupt device drivers and low resolution issue.
  2. Re-seated the GPU on the MoBo (it is secure)
  3. Reverted to my older GTX 980, which since leaving it running, playing a game I have not seen a single crash, be that to desktop or system reboot.

Here are my thoughts;
  1. GPU Hardware failure - would seem to indicate this due to the artefacts on screen during MB BIOS boot screen.
  2. Power Supply - my PSU is amble for the load I'm putting through the rig. The marginal difference being about 60W between the two GPUs under load. Now the only thing is, my PSU is 6 years old, and i've heard of degradation, but I don't have another PSU to use and test with.
  3. Motherboard HW or Drivers - My Mobo is very new, released Q2 this year and is running its stock F2 BIOS version. I could update this but I'm a bit reluctant to as I have seen system power reboots as mentioned above, but I don't think it is this as the GPU is not newer than the Mobo. Everything else in my system seems fine.
  4. I have a Thermaltake P3 and I'm using the riser cable that comes with it, I really don't think this is an issue as both the 2070 and 980 both run PCI3 and the 980 is fine on the new and my older build.


Any help would be really appreciated on my end before I RMA it.

Thanks in advance,
Luke
 
Solution
Update - I run a complete format of my SSD with Windows, deleting the partition then reinstalled all my motherboard drivers from scratch without the GPU installed. I then installed the GPU and immediately got artefacts on screen and crashing, with subsequent reboots, both in windows and the BIOS screen. I removed the device, put my old 980 in and haven't had a single issue. I've RMA'd the card.....
update the BIOS to version F5C
https://www.gigabyte.com/Motherboard/Z490-AORUS-ELITE-AC-rev-10/support#support-dl-bios

to have a look what the problem could be:
run userbenchmark.com and post the http link of your result, e.g. https://www.userbenchmark.com/UserRun/28977730

Reset the BIOS by jumper clrCMOS or JBAT or similar (eventually you will have to set the boot priority correctly after that)
reset the motherboard while the 2070 is installed (powerless)

check windows integrity
open the command prompt as administrator and type DISM /Online /Cleanup-Image /RestoreHealth
https://www.lifewire.com/how-to-open-an-elevated-command-prompt-2618088
https://answers.microsoft.com/en-us...em-files/bc609315-da1f-4775-812c-695b60477a93

clean boot
https://support.microsoft.com/en-us/help/929135/how-to-perform-a-clean-boot-in-windows

check the memory by running memtest.org usb autoinstaller (bootable USB flash drive)


check the hard drive for errors with its manufacturer´s tool



try without the riser


(eventually set the xmp profile for your RAM in BIOS (3200MHz))

uninstall any tuning tools like afterburner,..

install the latest nvidia.com driver after deleting with DDU uninstaller in safe mode of windows
 

Beetonl

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Jul 15, 2015
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Hey Helpstar,

Thanks for the response, here's what I have done so far;

  1. Updated my BIOS to vF5C
  2. Run a userbenchmark - https://www.userbenchmark.com/UserRun/34423346
  3. Run a memtest on my memory, all clean for all 4 passes
  4. Cleaned down the drivers in safe mode with DDU and installed the latest drivers

I will;
  1. Reset the CMOS battery when the GPU is installed at some point (its a bit tricky given the position of the GPU)
  2. Check windows integrity
  3. If I get the problem again, clean boot.
  4. I don't have any tuning tools installed.

I will report back with findings when I keep it online, or play a game with more info if I see the crash again.

Fingers Crossed.

Cheers
Luke
 
Oct 13, 2020
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What errors are you getting from windows event viewer? If kernel 41 is one of them, check the bugcode in the details tab, if it is 278(? I think) then it is caused by your gpu. I've been having the same issue with my 2070 super and am RMAing it right now.
 
Last edited:

Beetonl

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Jul 15, 2015
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Hey ultimatenerkmid, Just checked some of my older Event Viewer logs and can see at least one Kernal Power 41 entry, with bug code 278, although they are not all producing this error. I do think the source of the problem is the GPU, however I'm monitoring the system following a BIOS flash and update, removed tuning tools etc. Will report back if I get another crash, which unfortunately I fully expect....
 

Beetonl

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Jul 15, 2015
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So the inevitable has happened, the PC has been sitting idle all day in Windows, at 18:04 the system reboot unexpectedly. This is the source error just prior to the critical error;

The description for Event ID 56 from source Application Popup cannot be found. Either the component that raises this event is not installed on your local computer or the installation is corrupted. You can install or repair the component on the local computer.

If the event originated on another computer, the display information had to be saved with the event.

The following information was included with the event:

ACPI
2

The message resource is present but the message was not found in the message table


Followed b by the Kernal Power Event ID 41 power cycle with details;

details;

- EventData

BugcheckCode 278
BugcheckParameter1 0xffffc788172e8010
BugcheckParameter2 0xfffff8008867c408
BugcheckParameter3 0xffffffffc000009a
BugcheckParameter4 0x4
SleepInProgress 0
PowerButtonTimestamp 0
BootAppStatus 0
Checkpoint 0
ConnectedStandbyInProgress false
SystemSleepTransitionsToOn 1
CsEntryScenarioInstanceId 0
BugcheckInfoFromEFI false
CheckpointStatus 0


Think this is the GPU?

Thanks
 
Oct 13, 2020
6
0
10
So the inevitable has happened, the PC has been sitting idle all day in Windows, at 18:04 the system reboot unexpectedly. This is the source error just prior to the critical error;

The description for Event ID 56 from source Application Popup cannot be found. Either the component that raises this event is not installed on your local computer or the installation is corrupted. You can install or repair the component on the local computer.

If the event originated on another computer, the display information had to be saved with the event.

The following information was included with the event:

ACPI
2

The message resource is present but the message was not found in the message table


Followed b by the Kernal Power Event ID 41 power cycle with details;

details;

- EventData

BugcheckCode 278
BugcheckParameter1 0xffffc788172e8010
BugcheckParameter2 0xfffff8008867c408
BugcheckParameter3 0xffffffffc000009a
BugcheckParameter4 0x4
SleepInProgress 0
PowerButtonTimestamp 0
BootAppStatus 0
Checkpoint 0
ConnectedStandbyInProgress false
SystemSleepTransitionsToOn 1
CsEntryScenarioInstanceId 0
BugcheckInfoFromEFI false
CheckpointStatus 0


Think this is the GPU?

Thanks
Yeah, these are the errors I was getting with my gpu and it turned out to be the gpu. If you have any bugcheckcode 0 and the powerbuttontimestamp is 0 those are times you force shutdown holding the power button (I had those when I had to turn off my pc because it would get in a reboot loop so I had to force shutdown) if you had to do that. I'd just rma it if possible!
 
Oct 13, 2020
6
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10
In one last hail mary, I've updated my MB drivers for Intel I/O, chipset and all that good stuff.

One more crash and I'm going to RMA I think.
Okay, one thing I would check (I just realized you have integrated graphics) is to try to run your pc on it's integrated graphics (without the gpu) and see if it still reboots. Yes, there is less of a wattage pull but if it was let say your mobo or something like that it could narrow it down before you RMA if you want to just be more sure before sending it off.
 

Beetonl

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Jul 15, 2015
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Hmm, I haven't tried running for a period of time with the Integrated Graphics, however I did revert to my EVGA 980 for about 24-36 hours, left it running for a good 8 hours in a row without any reboots or HW failures etc. So my suspicion is still the GPU..... I got through about 2 hours solid gaming this evening on the 2070 Super following the BIOS updates.... that said, I'm sure that's coincidence.... I'll let you know how I get on and report the next crash, then it'll likely be RMA time. sigh
 

Beetonl

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Jul 15, 2015
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10,520
Hmm, I haven't tried running for a period of time with the Integrated Graphics, however I did revert to my EVGA 980 for about 24-36 hours, left it running for a good 8 hours in a row without any reboots or HW failures etc. So my suspicion is still the GPU..... I got through about 2 hours solid gaming this evening on the 2070 Super following the BIOS updates.... that said, I'm sure that's coincidence.... I'll let you know how I get on and report the next crash, then it'll likely be RMA time. sigh


I've just had a crash, exactly the same as before.

I'm going to RMA the GPU as I'm out of options I think?
 

Beetonl

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Jul 15, 2015
21
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10,520
Update - I run a complete format of my SSD with Windows, deleting the partition then reinstalled all my motherboard drivers from scratch without the GPU installed. I then installed the GPU and immediately got artefacts on screen and crashing, with subsequent reboots, both in windows and the BIOS screen. I removed the device, put my old 980 in and haven't had a single issue. I've RMA'd the card.....
 
Solution