[SOLVED] PC problems, psu suspected

[theoisalive]

So I recently splurged and bought a pricy hp Omen 30L a few months back, nothing but smooth sailing and beautifully running games for awhile but then the problems started. First time something went wrong was during an update to windows, during the update the pc got stuck during a restart (LEDs on the rig on, no monitor picture, fans spinning), left it for over 12+ hours and no change so against my better judgement I pulled the power plug, then manually restarted the pc and reapplied the update, everything seemed fine after that for awhile. Unsure if the problems during an update are related to the current issue but more info is always better right? Some time after the update incident the real problem starts, when I game my computer will occasionally randomly shut down without warning like the power has been pulled, when I go to power it back up, the LEDs and fans come on for 1-5 seconds before shutting right down again, this repeats several times until it powers on correctly with no problems. I have noticed that this power up issue can be avoided if I wait a couple minutes before trying to power it on. Usually this issue occurs 1-3 times a day and only when gaming, browsing the internet, streaming, etc all work fine with no hiccups. I figure its a psu issue, I know my pc is malware free and diagnostics say nothing is wrong, but I'd like the opinions of some folks more familiar with computers than I am. Thanks!

 

[Lutfij]

First time something went wrong was during an update to windows, during the update the pc got stuck during a restart (LEDs on the rig on, no monitor picture, fans spinning), left it for over 12+ hours and no change so against my better judgement I pulled the power plug, then manually restarted the pc and reapplied the update, everything seemed fine after that for awhile. Unsure if the problems during an update are related to the current issue but more info is always better right? Some time after the update incident the real problem starts,
That reads to me like your OS ended up corrupt prior to you pulling the plug.

Using HP's serial number for your prebuilt, try and locate the support page for your system. Once here, save all drivers on a drive that does not have the OS. Use CPU-Z to see what BIOS version you have at the moment, under Mainboard tab. Cross reference the BIOS version with that listed on HP's support page. If you have a number of BIOS versions pending update, don't jump to the latest. Gradually work your way to the latest, noting any ME firmware updates between BIOS updates. You can find your OS version by Right clicking on Start>Left clicking on System, the version should be on the bottom of the new window.

I'd ask you to keep your bootable USB installer for Windows 10 handy in case you need to reinstall the OS, since restoring the OS doesn't do much good.

It could also be a PSU but if your OS is corrupt and the system isn't optimally working, it can draw more power than necessary and needlessly tax the PSU. Mind sharing what games you tax the system with? Use HWMonitor to show you the temps you're seeing both at idle and taxed. Stress test the system to see if the issue is only when taxed. That could be a more confident stab at your PSU being faulty, if your BIOS, OS, drivers and thermals are all ok.

 

[theoisalive]

First time something went wrong was during an update to windows, during the update the pc got stuck during a restart (LEDs on the rig on, no monitor picture, fans spinning), left it for over 12+ hours and no change so against my better judgement I pulled the power plug, then manually restarted the pc and reapplied the update, everything seemed fine after that for awhile. Unsure if the problems during an update are related to the current issue but more info is always better right? Some time after the update incident the real problem starts,
That reads to me like your OS ended up corrupt prior to you pulling the plug.

Using HP's serial number for your prebuilt, try and locate the support page for your system. Once here, save all drivers on a drive that does not have the OS. Use CPU-Z to see what BIOS version you have at the moment, under Mainboard tab. Cross reference the BIOS version with that listed on HP's support page. If you have a number of BIOS versions pending update, don't jump to the latest. Gradually work your way to the latest, noting any ME firmware updates between BIOS updates. You can find your OS version by Right clicking on Start>Left clicking on System, the version should be on the bottom of the new window.

I'd ask you to keep your bootable USB installer for Windows 10 handy in case you need to reinstall the OS, since restoring the OS doesn't do much good.

It could also be a PSU but if your OS is corrupt and the system isn't optimally working, it can draw more power than necessary and needlessly tax the PSU. Mind sharing what games you tax the system with? Use HWMonitor to show you the temps you're seeing both at idle and taxed. Stress test the system to see if the issue is only when taxed. That could be a more confident stab at your PSU being faulty, if your BIOS, OS, drivers and thermals are all ok.

Thanks for getting back to me! I appreciate it, my BIOS version matches HP's. So if I determine that I need to reinstall the OS I should do so from a USB rather than resetting the pc from my settings?

Generally what the game crashes on most frequently are more recent Total War games (Warhammer, attila, thrones of britannia, etc), heavily modded skyrim + fallout 4 (which arent always stable but until recently they've just done a ctd when crashing. now they usually trigger a shutdown when they would normally ctd), games such as Man of Medan with pretty intensive graphics, and American Truck Simulator. Never had a crash on any of the older or less detailed graphics games I have.

How can I easily run a stress test? Sorry, this will be my first time getting familiar with that sort of thing.

 

[SamirD]

I too believe it is your power supply, but as Lutfji mentioned it could be an OS issue. To eliminate the OS, boot up a linux live cd/usb and see if you have any issues.