PC is Suffering Unexpected Shutdowns

[Deridder45]

I just built a new PC at Christmas and every now and again the PC is shutting down unexpectedly. It seems to happen randomly when the PC is idling. It doesn't happen every time its idling(maybe once every other day, seems to be completely random) and may not happen for days. Here are the PC specs:

Asus Maximus VII Hero (latest BIOS, problem happened on older BIOS also)
Intel i7 4790k (no OC)
16GB Corsair Vengeance 1866 (only running at 1333)
be quiet! Dark Rock 3
EVGA GTX 660 ti (had this in my old system with no issues, latest drivers)
Antec 520W (had this in my old system for over 2 years with no issues)
Samsung 840 EVO 250GB (Boot drive, Windows 8.1)
Seagate Barracuda 2TB (used for my doc, video, pics ,etc..)
Fractal Design Define R4

It has only shutdown once while i was using the PC and i was only watching a movie so it was practically idling.
Here is a list of things i have discovered though troubleshooting that might help narrow down the problem:
-I have been able to play demanding games without issues
-i have ran memtest for over 8 hours with no errors
-i have stress tested the entire system with no issues
-while stress testing CPU temp never goes over 70.
- I had AIDA64 installed and came across this thread I have uninstalled AIDA64 but the problem still exists
-I let the system sit in the BIOS while
I wasn't using it for many days to see if it would still shutdown and it did not (could have been luck I dont know)

In my opinion based on what I've seen, it's a software/driver issue or at least I hope it is . If all else fails and we are unable to find the problem I think my next step is to reinstall windows.

Thanks for the help

 

[Xavier Bouttier]

Control Panel -> Power Options

Select High Performance and see if that helps. If no unexpected shutdowns in that setting, then it's a software issue.

 

[Deridder45]

Control Panel -> Power Options

Select High Performance and see if that helps. If no unexpected shutdowns in that setting, then it's a software issue.

It has been in High Performance since i built it so that doesn't help, Thanks for the quick reply

 

[Rit_86]

When you boot up after the unexpected shutdown, do you get the message that windows had shut down unexpectedly last time and the option to to boot in safe mode, or it boots up normally?

 

[Deridder45]

When you boot up after the unexpected shutdown, do you get the message that windows had shut down unexpectedly last time and the option to to boot in safe mode, or it boots up normally?

The pc does not restart itself. After pressing the power button it boots normally with no error messages. When I go into the system logs I can see the unexpected shutdown.

 

[Rit_86]

Then most probably it is windows itself or some other software that's shutting down the PC normally and not a hardware issue.
What AV are you using? Also, are you using any power regulation or utility software? If possible give a list of all the software that are running by giving a screen shot of the task manager. Some of the above mentioned software automatically shuts down the PC after their task is completed (generally as an option), and some of them may have got activated accidentally.
Also, go to control panel -> power options -> change plan settings -> advanced power settings and check all the options present there to never to go to sleep or shut down. See if it helps.

 

[Deridder45]

Then most probably it is windows itself or some other software that's shutting down the PC normally and not a hardware issue.
What AV are you using? Also, are you using any power regulation or utility software? If possible give a list of all the software that are running by giving a screen shot of the task manager. Some of the above mentioned software automatically shuts down the PC after their task is completed (generally as an option), and some of them may have got activated accidentally.
Also, go to control panel -> power options -> change plan settings -> advanced power settings and check all the options present there to never to go to sleep or shut down. See if it helps.

Unfortunately I have left for work so I'll post that screenshot later. I am using Norton 360 and have disabled background tasks. As far as I know there is no other software for power regulation running. Other software that I know is running: Logitech Gaming software (keyboard), roccat kone xtd drivers(mouse), GeForce Experience, supremefx drivers(audio), steam.

Power options have been set to never for a while now.

 

[Deridder45]

here is all the tasks running, hope it helps:

Spoiler

 

[Rit_86]

OK, nothing unexpected in there.
Can you say, when the PC shuts down, does it show the normal shutdown screen or just goes black in an instant?
Also go to Norton's scan schedule option and check whether the shutdown automatically after scan is enabled. Put it to stay on mode.
Also, download CCleaner and disable all programmes at the startup except the AV.
Give an update if possible.

 

[Deridder45]

OK, nothing unexpected in there.
Can you say, when the PC shuts down, does it show the normal shutdown screen or just goes black in an instant?
Also go to Norton's scan schedule option and check whether the shutdown automatically after scan is enabled. Put it to stay on mode.
Also, download CCleaner and disable all programmes at the startup except the AV.
Give an update if possible.

When it shuts down unexpectedly the screen just goes black instantly. I have made the changes you suggested and will report back if the PC shuts down unexpectedly. Could be a few days, could be in a hour, lets hope it doesn't happen at all. Thanks

 

[Deridder45]

OK, nothing unexpected in there.
Can you say, when the PC shuts down, does it show the normal shutdown screen or just goes black in an instant?
Also go to Norton's scan schedule option and check whether the shutdown automatically after scan is enabled. Put it to stay on mode.
Also, download CCleaner and disable all programmes at the startup except the AV.
Give an update if possible.

Its been over a week since i made the changes you recommended and it had not shutdown once, all was looking good. But just a couple of minutes ago it shutdown unexpectedly. The only thing running was Norton and Geforce Experience. I dont think its the anti virus as i have looked through the settings many times and disabled all the idle tasks and if norton was to shutdown the computer surely it would shut it down correctly instead of powering off instantly to a black screen...I still think its some sort of driver issue, do you think ive missed installing something i should have when i first installed windows? maybe a motherboard driver? some intel driver?

Thanks

 

[Rit_86]

Sorry for being late to reply.
Yes, it is always a good idea to reinstall the latest drivers (chipset, GPU, audio etc.) to see if it helps somehow. After all the new drivers are meant to rectify bugs in previous versions.
There is no need to worry about missing anything while installing windows messing up your computer. Any and all drivers can be installed / updated later even if you had missed anything and still your PC should keep on working. Windows is that robust an OS.
Anyway, can you go to the CCleaner and see if any program has put itself in the startup menu without your knowledge.
Check the BIOS with the help of this guide to see everything is OK
http://www.tomshardware.com/reviews/bios-beginners,1126-8.html
Get back if you need any further assistance.

 

[Deridder45]

Sorry for being late to reply.
Yes, it is always a good idea to reinstall the latest drivers (chipset, GPU, audio etc.) to see if it helps somehow. After all the new drivers are meant to rectify bugs in previous versions.
There is no need to worry about missing anything while installing windows messing up your computer. Any and all drivers can be installed / updated later even if you had missed anything and still your PC should keep on working. Windows is that robust an OS.
Anyway, can you go to the CCleaner and see if any program has put itself in the startup menu without your knowledge.
Check the BIOS with the help of this guide to see everything is OK
http://www.tomshardware.com/reviews/bios-beginners,1126-8.html
Get back if you need any further assistance.

Sorry for the late reply, ive been away over the weekend. Nothing has come up in CCleaner that wasnt there before. I went through that BIOS guide and changed nothing. Either i couldnt find the setting mentioned in the BIOS or the settings were already disabled.

I was just checking the system logs when i came across this warning:
The driver \Driver\WUDFRd failed to load for the device ACPI\PNP0A0A\2&daba3ff&2.
Source: Kernel-PnP
Event ID: 219

This warning has been showing up in the logs since i built the computer but didnt think much of it until i read about ACPI in that guide you sent me. Ive done alittle research on this and found that there is lots of other people with Asus MB's reporting this error, but none of them that i read have reported unexpected shutdowns. Do you think this could be linked to the shutdowns?
This thread on the ROG forums has lots of info on the topic. There are a couple possible workarounds posted there but they dont seem to work for everyone so i dont know if its worth trying. Id like to know what you think about this.

Thanks again.

 

[Rit_86]

Have you updated the BIOS? If not do it.

 

[Deridder45]

Have you updated the BIOS? If not do it.

Ya BIOS is up to date.

 

[Deridder45]

Just a little update... I mentioned in my original post that it seemed to shutdown when it was idling. I was just playing and game and experienced a unexpected shutdown. I had been playing the game for a couple hours already. If someone has any suggestions that would be awesome. This issue is starting to get annoying

 

[Rit_86]

OK, let's take some more measures. Disconnect the 2tb Seagate and run only the ssd with OS. See if that helps.
We have to eliminate all the components one by one till we get the faulty one

 

[Deridder45]

OK, let's take some more measures. Disconnect the 2tb Seagate and run only the ssd with OS. See if that helps.
We have to eliminate all the components one by one till we get the faulty one

Okay, only running the SSD now...will report back if and when i get a unexpected shutdown

 

[Deridder45]

Experienced a shutdown this morning. 2TB was completely unplugged... 🙁

 

[Rit_86]

Hmm. Then check the RAMs now. I am assuming you have at least 2 sticks ?
Try running with only one, if it still shuts down, try the other one, if still you face the problem, change the slot.
Don't worry, we will get to the bottom of the problem, it will just require some patience.

 

[Deridder45]

So its been almost two weeks since i last posted and since my PC has shutdown unexpectedly... My original plan was to play around with the RAM to see if that was the issue but i cleared the CMOS and cleaned up my OS using: "DISM /Online /Cleanup-Image /RestoreHealth". After a few days of no shutdowns i figured i would see if the CMOS clear and repairing the corrupt OS had fixed the issue. As i already said its been almost 2 weeks since i first made theses changes and i was fairly certain it had fixed the issue...Unfortunately my PC did shutdown unexpectedly today while i was at work. It seems pretty ridiculous to me that the PC could be on for almost 2 weeks straight and have no issues then just randomly shutdown...I ran the SFC scan to make sure nothing had gone wrong with the OS and it reported no issues. My next step i guess would be to try and eliminate the RAM as the issue...What do you guys think?

-Sorry for the late reply but it can take some time to experience a shutdown 🙁

 

[Rit_86]

Hmm. Try the RAM. Also, download HD Tune software and check the SMART data (under "health" tab). Post a screenshot if possible. This will help us understand whether it is a HDD issue.

 

[Deridder45]

Hmm. Try the RAM. Also, download HD Tune software and check the SMART data (under "health" tab). Post a screenshot if possible. This will help us understand whether it is a HDD issue.

Here is the screenshot for both my drives. We know its not the 2TB drive as ive unplugged it and still experienced the shutdowns.

Spoiler

 

[Ernst7]

Hi Deridder,

Did you find out what caused the trouble?

I have a similar configuration and the same problem of unexpected shutdowns.

Asus Z97-A
Intel i7 4790K
Fractal Design Define R4

My guess is the casing. I can reproduce the shutdowns when touching some parts of the case. There seems something wrong with the front panel or fan controller forcing my mainboard and PSU to shutdown.

I found out something interesting, too. My computer shuts down when activating the digital IO processing of the audio driver software and then plugging in a headphone jack. This does not happen when switching to analog IO processing.

There is definitely something wrong with the case.

 

[Ernst7]

Okay, I took out the cable tree of the manual fan controller and connected the fans to the mainboard.
It seems to work!