PC Crashing when gaming (Heroes of the Storm, Witcher 3, Ark, etc.)

[dizzy0247]

I have a PC that is a little over a year old now, and is crashing while playing games. While League of Legends runs fine, Heroes of the Storm, Witcher 3, and Ark (on Steam) all have gone to a solid color screen (Green/Blue/Pink/White/Black) and my PC becomes unresponsive. This occurs on lower graphics settings as well as playing these games in windows. I have to hold the power button to shut off, and have received kernel 41 messages because of this. I have used OpenHardwareMonitor and the highest GPU temp was 63 Celsius. Any suggestions on a solution to this?

PC Build:
Intel Core i7

Ballistix Sport 8g (x2)

EVGA GeForce GTX 660

Gigabyte GA-Z77-D3H

Silverstone Strider 750 Plus 750W Modular Power Supply ATX 24PIN 135mm Fan 60A 80+ Silver Black

ADATA XPG SX900 256GB SSD

Seagate 3TB External

Using my 52" TV as a monitor currently.

UPDATE:
I received this prompt after restarting

Problem signature:
Problem Event Name: BlueScreen
OS Version: 6.1.7601.2.1.0.768.3
Locale ID: 1033

Additional information about the problem:
BCCode: 116
BCP1: FFFFFA8011DAB3A0
BCP2: FFFFF8800609BAD4
BCP3: FFFFFFFFC000009A
BCP4: 0000000000000004
OS Version: 6_1_7601
Service Pack: 1_0
Product: 768_1

 

[Darkbreeze]

I'll see if I can get you some help over here. I've got very little time to take on another issue at the moment. I'll check back though if nobody else comes to help. Include your motherboard model, check out the solutions at the following link and using the instructions there, run HWinfo (NOT HW monitor or openmonitor) and take screenshots (3 will be needed to get all the sensors) then post them here. Shots at idle AND 3 more while under a gaming load would be helpful.

http://www.tomshardware.com/faq/id-2583515/basic-troubleshooting-layman.html

 

[dizzy0247]

I'll see if I can get you some help over here. I've got very little time to take on another issue at the moment. I'll check back though if nobody else comes to help. Include your motherboard model, check out the solutions at the following link and using the instructions there, run HWinfo (NOT HW monitor or openmonitor) and take screenshots (3 will be needed to get all the sensors) then post them here. Shots at idle AND 3 more while under a gaming load would be helpful.

http://www.tomshardware.com/faq/id-2583515/basic-troubleshooting-layman.html

Thank you in advance, I appreciate the response and would be happy with any help I can get. I downloaded HWinfo as you suggested, and captured screens (top to bottom) for when the PC was idle and while loading to title screen. I posted this to an album online: http://imgur.com/a/XTmNP#0. I realized in hindsight posting the results just to get the loading screen was probably not the best way, so created a secondary album for when I loaded into a test game, which is here: http://imgur.com/a/47uA7#3. Currently using medium settings while in game.

Edit: after posting this, I alt+tab'd to get back to HotS and was in game for 2 minutes before receiving a white screen. Had to hold the power on the PC for reboot. No issues with the PC while having a game in the background, and working on creating/loading photos.

 

[Darkbreeze]

Under load does not mean "while loading to the title screen". Heh. I guess I should have been more clear. It means when under a gaming load. If you're unable to do so, then try running Furmark and taking a screenshot of the sensors while it's under load from the utility.

 

[Darkbreeze]

The idle sensor readings all look fine. I don't see a +5v sensor reading from the PSU though. Go into the BIOS and record the voltages for +3v, +5V and +12V system voltages and post them here. The secondary album you posted had only1% GPU load, so that won't work. Run Furmark and take another series of screenshots. I doubt we're going to see a problem there, but covering all the basics first is a necessary step. Sometimes something stands out. Usually, we don't get that lucky.

 

[dizzy0247]

The idle sensor readings all look fine. I don't see a +5v sensor reading from the PSU though. Go into the BIOS and record the voltages for +3v, +5V and +12V system voltages and post them here. The secondary album you posted had only1% GPU load, so that won't work. Run Furmark and take another series of screenshots. I doubt we're going to see a problem there, but covering all the basics first is a necessary step. Sometimes something stands out. Usually, we don't get that lucky.

I may not have fully understood this request to be up front, my apologies. I ran Furmark, captured screen while idle, as well as when in game in progress that typically crashes. I ran a burn in benchmark as well and included the score. I wasn't showing a +5v in my bios, the +3.3v was 3.363v and the +12v was 12.240v. Here is the link for the captures: http://imgur.com/B72MfNi.

 

[Darkbreeze]

Ok, my bad again. What I meant was, run Furmark, and take screenshots of the HWinfo windows again, while Furmark is running and the GPU is under full stress. This tells us what the PSU voltages, system temperatures, core loads and various other things are doing when it's under a simulated gaming load.

 

[dizzy0247]

Ok, my bad again. What I meant was, run Furmark, and take screenshots of the HWinfo windows again, while Furmark is running and the GPU is under full stress. This tells us what the PSU voltages, system temperatures, core loads and various other things are doing when it's under a simulated gaming load.

I ran Furmark burn-in test at 1920x1080 full screen, and recorded the information from HWinfo which can be viewed here: http://imgur.com/a/98fHj#3 Again, I really appreciate your help on this, even though you had your hands pretty full. Sorry about having to explain things like I'm 5, and I do appreciate your patience and assistance.

 

[Darkbreeze]

Well, the good news is, everything there looks good. The bad news is, everything there looks good. Heh.

Did you perform a clean driver installation using the Wagnard tools Display driver uninstaller utility? If not, I'd do so. Follow these directions:


**CLEAN DRIVER INSTALLATION**

The next big issue for many users is having a CLEAN driver installation. Many users upgrading from older cards or integrated graphics that use older driver versions by the same OEM, meaning Nvidia or AMD based, often assume it will be a bang, bang process. Sometimes it is if they've kept up with keeping the drivers current but more often it is not.

It's also often not enough to simply install the drivers that came on disk with the graphics card or to just find and download current drivers. In many cases the system has seen repeated driver updates, partial or damaged driver installations or the installation of differently tiered graphics products in addition to a variety of different "tweaking" utilities, all of which may have left behind varying levels of registry entries and system file versions that are likely to cause complications with the installation or implementation of new drivers.

This can have a wide variety of results including no problems at all, refusal of the new drivers to even install or anything in between as well as driver conflicts and poor performance. It's imperative that you start with a clean slate by removing ALL previous graphics drivers for that architecture or platform that might interfere with the transition to the new drivers. Making sure you are trying to install drivers INTENDED for use with your GPU model or Windows version is extremely important as well.

There has been a high level of success resolving these kinds of issues by doing the following.

Remove the current drivers or driver framework from the "Add/Remove programs" or "Programs and features" applet in Windows control panel first.

Download, but do not yet install, the drivers that are appropriate for your graphics card and operating system from the Nvidia or AMD website.

Nvidia graphics drivers

AMD graphics drivers


Download and run Wagnard tools "Display driver uninstaller" which I highly recommend and is fully endorsed by many top level tech websites including Guru 3D and Tom's Hardware. Choose the option from the drop box that applies to your platform, AMD, Nvidia or Intel, and when it asks to reboot into safe mode in order to perform the uninstall process, click yes and allow the program to proceed.

Guru3D Display Driver Uninstaller



After the uninstallation process is complete, install the new driver package you previously downloaded followed by a reboot of the system to ensure the new drivers are properly initiated.

Using the DDU to create a clean environment is sufficient for a large majority of users but is not going to be the immaculate solution for every user and every situation. Some issues are more involved and may require a new Windows installation or further investigation to determine hardware and other driver compatibility.

 

[dizzy0247]

Well, the good news is, everything there looks good. The bad news is, everything there looks good. Heh.

Did you perform a clean driver installation using the Wagnard tools Display driver uninstaller utility? If not, I'd do so. Follow these directions:


**CLEAN DRIVER INSTALLATION**

The next big issue for many users is having a CLEAN driver installation. Many users upgrading from older cards or integrated graphics that use older driver versions by the same OEM, meaning Nvidia or AMD based, often assume it will be a bang, bang process. Sometimes it is if they've kept up with keeping the drivers current but more often it is not.

It's also often not enough to simply install the drivers that came on disk with the graphics card or to just find and download current drivers. In many cases the system has seen repeated driver updates, partial or damaged driver installations or the installation of differently tiered graphics products in addition to a variety of different "tweaking" utilities, all of which may have left behind varying levels of registry entries and system file versions that are likely to cause complications with the installation or implementation of new drivers.

This can have a wide variety of results including no problems at all, refusal of the new drivers to even install or anything in between as well as driver conflicts and poor performance. It's imperative that you start with a clean slate by removing ALL previous graphics drivers for that architecture or platform that might interfere with the transition to the new drivers. Making sure you are trying to install drivers INTENDED for use with your GPU model or Windows version is extremely important as well.

There has been a high level of success resolving these kinds of issues by doing the following.

Remove the current drivers or driver framework from the "Add/Remove programs" or "Programs and features" applet in Windows control panel first.

Download, but do not yet install, the drivers that are appropriate for your graphics card and operating system from the Nvidia or AMD website.

Nvidia graphics drivers

AMD graphics drivers


Download and run Wagnard tools "Display driver uninstaller" which I highly recommend and is fully endorsed by many top level tech websites including Guru 3D and Tom's Hardware. Choose the option from the drop box that applies to your platform, AMD, Nvidia or Intel, and when it asks to reboot into safe mode in order to perform the uninstall process, click yes and allow the program to proceed.

Guru3D Display Driver Uninstaller



After the uninstallation process is complete, install the new driver package you previously downloaded followed by a reboot of the system to ensure the new drivers are properly initiated.

Using the DDU to create a clean environment is sufficient for a large majority of users but is not going to be the immaculate solution for every user and every situation. Some issues are more involved and may require a new Windows installation or further investigation to determine hardware and other driver compatibility.

I followed your steps, downloading my new drivers from the NVidia site, removing all NVidia drivers currently on the PC, used DDU to complete the uninstall and reinstalled the driver pack from the NVidia site. Heroes of the Storm played in high settings longer than managed before in the 1920x1080, but crashed around 8.5 minutes. I reloaded and dropped to medium, and crashed in about a minute and a half at the same resolution. I attempted other games I've had issues with, both also crashing.

Edit: (This is the same problem signature as before) Windows gave me this after the Witcher 3 crashed when I rebooted:
Problem signature:
Problem Event Name: BlueScreen
OS Version: 6.1.7601.2.1.0.768.3
Locale ID: 1033

Additional information about the problem:
BCCode: 116
BCP1: FFFFFA8012722010
BCP2: FFFFF880060C7AD4
BCP3: FFFFFFFFC000009A
BCP4: 0000000000000004
OS Version: 6_1_7601
Service Pack: 1_0
Product: 768_1

 

[Darkbreeze]

You're games aren't installed on your external drive are they? Just wondering. I'd disconnect the external drive just to eliminate it from the equation. I've seen USB drives and hubs cause some funky behaviors before. Probably not related, but it's best to eliminate all non-essential hardware as being part of the problem.


Did you run Memtest 86+ as described in the earlier tutorial?

If you have any older applications installed, I'd uninstall any that are really not essential or that are not being used anymore. Use the programs and features applet in control panel to slim down your list of installed applications. Sometimes older software can conflict with graphics card device drivers. This includes old games you may not play any more as well. If all else fails, a clean install of the operating system may be in order and if it comes to that I'll be glad to help your through it.

 

[Darkbreeze]

I'd also try running through the DDU again, but installing an older NVidia driver rather than the newest one. Some cards simply don't like the latest drivers with certain games. Make sure all your GPU settings are at default as well. Custom profile settings for cards can sometimes create conflicts as well. The Code 116 is definitely related to the GPU, but it could be due to a variety of reasons.

 

[dizzy0247]

I'd also try running through the DDU again, but installing an older NVidia driver rather than the newest one. Some cards simply don't like the latest drivers with certain games. Make sure all your GPU settings are at default as well. Custom profile settings for cards can sometimes create conflicts as well. The Code 116 is definitely related to the GPU, but it could be due to a variety of reasons.

Getting ready to head out to work, but I appreciate it. I do have games installed on the external, since the SSD was getting grotesquely full. I will remove the external and put a game on the SSD to test that out. I'll let you know how that runs, thanks again!

 

[Darkbreeze]

NP.

 

[dizzy0247]

I'd also try running through the DDU again, but installing an older NVidia driver rather than the newest one. Some cards simply don't like the latest drivers with certain games. Make sure all your GPU settings are at default as well. Custom profile settings for cards can sometimes create conflicts as well. The Code 116 is definitely related to the GPU, but it could be due to a variety of reasons.

I'll give this an attempt tomorrow, as well as memtest. I attempted Heroes of the Storm to be played of the SSD and still crashing.

 

[KingBru]

I'd also try running through the DDU again, but installing an older NVidia driver rather than the newest one. Some cards simply don't like the latest drivers with certain games. Make sure all your GPU settings are at default as well. Custom profile settings for cards can sometimes create conflicts as well. The Code 116 is definitely related to the GPU, but it could be due to a variety of reasons.

I'll give this an attempt tomorrow, as well as memtest. I attempted Heroes of the Storm to be played of the SSD and still crashing.

Hey there,

I know this has been a while, but has there ever been a solution? I'm experiencing the same thing, on Heroes of the Storm and once while netflixing. First couple of times it was driver crashing, with windows telling me "Display Driver NVIDIA Kernel Mode Driver version 364.72 stopped responding and has been successfully recovered.'', but this error doesn't show up anymore, instead the computer just locks up with a random screen color as he mentioned.
I've reverted back to a 352 version, using ddu and also tried re-updating to newest one, still no lluck.

I have
AMD FX-8320E 8 Core 3.2/4.0GHZ Processor AM3+ 16MB Cache 95W
G.SKILL RipjawsX F3-2400C11D-8GXM PC3-19200/DDR3 2400 8GB 2X4GB
SanDisk SDSSDHII-480G-G25 Ultra II 480GB SATA 3 SSD Up to 550/500MB/S(R/W)
Cooler Master G650M 650W 80+ Bronze Semi Modular ATX Power Supply
Asus GTX970 STRIX4GB
Corsair H60 water cooling

The temperature doesn't spike higher than 65, and it doesn't happen when computer is idle or during small demand, only when in game, and actually only once when netflixing.

I have to say its quite random too, sometimes it wont happen for a few hours, and sometimes it will crash in weird intervals, 30 mins, 10 mins, 2 hours. Really weird. It worked fine for months, this hasn't been happening since the beginning, and I haven't really done anything to provoke it as far as i'm concerned.

Did a clean install of windows 10 pro as well.
Just that i'm having a really hard time pinpointing the issue, so I don't know whether I should RMA the video card, the MB or the power supply, and obviously i'm trying to avoid doing any 🙁

 

[dizzy0247]

Hey, I wish I could personally be of more help, if you haven't tried to post a topic in the forum, give that a shot. After trying to trouble shoot, I took my pc into the local PC shop, and turns out my video card was shoddy (was overheating). I've got a completely different video card now, and have had no issues with any games (HoTS/The Witcher 3/Shadows of Mordor/etc). Best of luck to you.

I'd also try running through the DDU again, but installing an older NVidia driver rather than the newest one. Some cards simply don't like the latest drivers with certain games. Make sure all your GPU settings are at default as well. Custom profile settings for cards can sometimes create conflicts as well. The Code 116 is definitely related to the GPU, but it could be due to a variety of reasons.

I'll give this an attempt tomorrow, as well as memtest. I attempted Heroes of the Storm to be played of the SSD and still crashing.

Hey there,

I know this has been a while, but has there ever been a solution? I'm experiencing the same thing, on Heroes of the Storm and once while netflixing. First couple of times it was driver crashing, with windows telling me "Display Driver NVIDIA Kernel Mode Driver version 364.72 stopped responding and has been successfully recovered.'', but this error doesn't show up anymore, instead the computer just locks up with a random screen color as he mentioned.
I've reverted back to a 352 version, using ddu and also tried re-updating to newest one, still no lluck.

I have
AMD FX-8320E 8 Core 3.2/4.0GHZ Processor AM3+ 16MB Cache 95W
G.SKILL RipjawsX F3-2400C11D-8GXM PC3-19200/DDR3 2400 8GB 2X4GB
SanDisk SDSSDHII-480G-G25 Ultra II 480GB SATA 3 SSD Up to 550/500MB/S(R/W)
Cooler Master G650M 650W 80+ Bronze Semi Modular ATX Power Supply
Asus GTX970 STRIX4GB
Corsair H60 water cooling

The temperature doesn't spike higher than 65, and it doesn't happen when computer is idle or during small demand, only when in game, and actually only once when netflixing.

I have to say its quite random too, sometimes it wont happen for a few hours, and sometimes it will crash in weird intervals, 30 mins, 10 mins, 2 hours. Really weird. It worked fine for months, this hasn't been happening since the beginning, and I haven't really done anything to provoke it as far as i'm concerned.

Did a clean install of windows 10 pro as well.
Just that i'm having a really hard time pinpointing the issue, so I don't know whether I should RMA the video card, the MB or the power supply, and obviously i'm trying to avoid doing any 🙁