Question Netflix occasionally crashes system (with pictures)

[Christopher08]

Was previously running an older spec system which I've recently upgraded. The only part I didn't upgrade was the 1080ti. The old machine is still built and ready to be donated to my friend (when I can get the 3080).

One thing that was bothering me with the old system was that sometimes, if I opened netflix, my cursor and entire system would freeze for a few seconds. Any game I would be playing would run subsequently run no more than 3fps.

Anyway... built a new machine, running Windows 11 first time, completely fresh drive and installed latest drivers etc. Opened up netflix tonight whilst playing a game and bam! Same thing.

Is my 1080ti busted? I am running dual monitor, dp 1.4 into a samsung g7 (240hz at 1440p) and hdmi into 1080p at 60hz. I guess something to do with netflix and hdcp? Any thoughts on how I can narrow down the problem?

 

[InvalidError]

If you are using the in-browser Netflix player, you could try disabling HW acceleration in the browser to see if that makes the crashes go away. If crashes stop, then you have a pretty good reason to suspect something weird is happening with your GPU while decoding video.

BTW, if you leave browsers open in the background while doing stuff, with hardware acceleration enabled, keep an eye on browser VRAM usage as it can get surprisingly high. I had to disable HW acceleration in browsers due to games running out of VRAM and causing all sorts of trouble, though not outright system crashes.

 

[Christopher08]

I think it has to be either the GPU, the wires or the monitors (guessing since it only crashes when opening up something that requires hdcp it needs the monitor, gpu and cables to be working properly). The rest of the computer is completely new.

 

[Christopher08]

Managed to catch it doing it again - it froze for a moment, then the screen went like this, then finally recovered.

 

[InvalidError]

If you check Windows' event log, you will likely find out that drivers crashed / stopped responding and got reloaded. That usually happens when the GPU's state doesn't match what the drivers expect it to be, usually due to a hardware malfunction of some sort. Can be anything from conductive dust bridging stuff on the PCB which can be solved by a deep-cleaning, PSU producing too much noise, GPU going bad or faulty VRAM bit(s), the GPU's VRM components wearing out, etc.

 

[Christopher08]

Is it safe to say that it's the graphics card rather than a specific cable or monitor? I figured it was when HDCP got enabled that things get funny. I'm trying to reproduce it with a single monitor plugged in now.

 

[InvalidError]

Since all HDCP does is setup encryption keys between the GPU and monitor, I'm having a bit of a hard time imagining how it could cause crashes beyond initial HDCP initialization. Then again, almost anything is possible with enough bad luck. If you already have spare monitors and cables, it doesn't hurt to try different combinations to see if any can make the problem go away..

 

[Christopher08]

Annoyingly, after a few hours of restarting, I can't seem to get the problem to occur when running with just a single monitor and DP 1.4. I'm going to give the other monitor a try and see if I have any better luck reproducing it, since it would be good to narrow down whether it is a dodgy cable.

 

[Christopher08]

Update, been unable to reproduce it with just either or monitor but with both it is quite regular. Since I'm getting the 3080 I guess that will be the answer - does it happen with them.

 

[Christopher08]

Still having trouble diagnosing this, anyone have any thoughts?

 

[dwd999]

Just a thought: is this with the Netflix app from the Microsoft Store? If yes, then sometimes uninstalling it and downloading and installing a fresh version helps. Less pleasant thought: Windows 11 is not really sufficiently mature as an operating system and I personally would not use it until after the next major update.

 

[Christopher08]

This is with chrome - I've tested with hardware acceleration disabled and this still occurs.

I'm not sure this is a software issue given it happens on two separate machines where the only common components/peripherals are as follows. The problem is surely(?) either the monitor, graphics card or cables and I'm in the process of replacing the cables now. What I don't understand is why.

 

[dwd999]

This is with chrome - I've tested with hardware acceleration disabled and this still occurs. I'm not sure this is a software issue given it happens on two separate machines where the only common components/peripherals are as follows

Chrome and the version of Windows you are using are also common components, so you will have to consider changing one of them. Try the app from the windows store, unless your use of chrome is a hint that your Netflix access is not valid.

 

[Christopher08]

Not quite sure what you mean by access not valid.

Whilst you're correct that chrome is common, the version of Windows on the old build was 10 and the new one 11.

Even so, would we not see a lot of people complaining if using chrome and Windows to watch netflix caused the computer to crash. This seems to be an issue that I'm facing that isn't an every day issue for everyone using the same versions.

I'll try the app but that doesn't really help me understand why the crash is happening.