Question PC freezes completely when trying to run games using the Unreal Engine ?

[prendergast]

Hey folks,

Hope you are all keeping well. As the title suggests, my PC seems to be freezing/locking up when I try to run games based on the unreal engine, to the point that I have to hard restart. I've tried a dozen or so games and this appears to be common denominator. I recently purchased this PC secondhand, and the issue has been occurring since I've had it. Here are the specs:

Intel(R) Core(TM) i5-6600K CPU @ 3.50GHz 3.50 GHz
16gb RAM
Windows 10
NVIDIA Geforce GTX 1070
Notably, the motherboard/graphics card are the MSI variant. I'm not really familiar with what this means, or if there's some additional I require.

I've been googling solutions and such, so here's what I've tried:
Windows repair (not a complete reinstall.)
Reinstalling/verifying integrity of game files.
Uninstalling/reinstalling/updating drivers for graphics card, motherboard, etc.
Rolling back/reinstalling Windows updates.
Checking hardware, reseating RAM, checking cable connections etc.
Windows repair program from Tweaking.com (Mostly because I was having some permissions issues accessing the NVIDIA control panel, which have since been resolved.)
Underclocking.
Probably some other things that I've forgotten.

Please let me know if there's any further information that you require. Any ideas would be welcome!

 

[Roland Of Gilead]

Hey there,

Either CPU or GPU overclocked?

 

[prendergast]

Hey there,

Either CPU or GPU overclocked?

Thanks for replying! Well, I've never done anything like that, but the chap that sold it to me advised that there was software to do so, and that he had installed it. Still, I did a clean install of windows and then didn't touch anything so I don't think so. How would I check?

 

[Roland Of Gilead]

Thanks for replying! Well, I've never done anything like that, but the chap that sold it to me advised that there was software to do so, and that he had installed it. Still, I did a clean install of windows and then didn't touch anything so I don't think so. How would I check?

In that case, after OS Install, i'd say the OC (if there were any)would be reset.

What motherboard are you running? What bios is on it? You can check this in CPU-z. You can.

Also, please list all pc components, including case, fans, PSU exact models of ram etc.

 

[prendergast]

In that case, after OS Install, i'd say the OC (if there were any)would be reset.

What motherboard are you running? What bios is on it? You can check this in CPU-z. You can.

Also, please list all pc components, including case, fans, PSU exact models of ram etc.

Ah alright, here we go. Please let me know if there's anything else.

Motherboard: MSI Z170A GAMING M5 (MS-7977)
BIOS: American Megatrends Inc 1.9 05/11/2016 (this looks like it might be outdated?)
Fans: ACPI Fan
PSU: Corsair VS650
RAM: 2x8gb DDR4-2400 (16mhz) Corsair

I'm not sure about the case. Doesn't seem to be a relevant code anywhere on it. If I find it, I'll post it.

 

[Roland Of Gilead]

Ah alright, here we go. Please let me know if there's anything else.

Motherboard: MSI Z170A GAMING M5 (MS-7977)
BIOS: American Megatrends Inc 1.9 05/11/2016 (this looks like it might be outdated?)
Fans: ACPI Fan
PSU: Corsair VS650
RAM: 2x8gb DDR4-2400 (16mhz) Corsair

I'm not sure about the case. Doesn't seem to be a relevant code anywhere on it. If I find it, I'll post it.

Yes, that ones outdated. I'd go ahead and update it to the most recent, to ensure best compatibility, bug fixes, security enhancements. This is the most recent one: 7977v1H

Now, it might be worth an idea to update the bios from the one you're on all the way through to the latest one. Whilst this isn't always required, given yours is pretty dated, i think it would be good to do them incrementally.

 

[prendergast]

A

Yes, that ones outdated. I'd go ahead and update it to the most recent, to ensure best compatibility, bug fixes, security enhancements. This is the most recent one: 7977v1H

Now, it might be worth an idea to update the bios from the one you're on all the way through to the latest one. Whilst this isn't always required, given yours is pretty dated, i think it would be good to do them incrementally.

Alright, next step is figuring out how to do that! Thanks.

 

[prendergast]

Updated but no dice on the original problem, unfortunately. Still freezes trying to start up the same games.

 

[Roland Of Gilead]

Make sure to clear CMOS after the bios update. Normally you have to short two pins. This clears the RTC and defaults the microcode to the new bios. Without clearing it, remnants of old code can linger causing bugs.

 

[prendergast]

Make sure to clear CMOS after the bios update. Normally you have to short two pins. This clears the RTC and defaults the microcode to the new bios. Without clearing it, remnants of old code can linger causing bugs.

I couldn't find the pins, but after a quick tutorial I managed to remove the battery etc. So that should solve that. However, the problem persists. I'm starting to think some of the hardware might just be faulty?

 

[Dragos Manea]

Look in windows event viewer and reliability graph, try to find the errors there.