PC Restarting Randomly When ALT-TABbing or Switching Between Applications (Only in DirectX 12 Games)
I’ve been experiencing random restarts of my PC. Sometimes the system keeps running for a while, and sometimes it restarts immediately. I’ve encountered this issue roughly 30 times, and I’ve identified a few patterns:
• The problem sometimes happens when ALT-TABbing out of a game or switching between windows.
• Once, I got the restart while trying to change the windowed mode in Call of Duty.
• Another time, I got the restart after trying to launch Battlefield 2042.
After these incidents, it only seems to happen when ALT-TABbing. It can work for hours without issue, even if I switch between windows a lot, but eventually, it crashes.
Important Detail: When the issue occurs, the PC stays on and continues running. I can still hear the sound from the game or application, but the screen goes black, and the PC restarts after a few seconds.
Here’s everything I’ve tried so far (which didn’t fix the issue):
• Uninstalled and reinstalled drivers using DDU (including both older and newer versions).
• Reinstalled Windows.
• Reseated RAM.
• Reseated GPU.
• CMOS reset.
• BIOS update and reverted to an older BIOS.
• Updated and downgraded chipset drivers.
• Reduced GPU max frequency.
• Monitored temperatures using HWInfo — everything seems fine, no unusual spikes.
• Checked 12V, 5V, and 3V PSU rails using HWInfo — no issues detected.
• Checked all PSU cables (disconnected and reconnected).
• Installed only minimal GPU drivers.
• Ran OCCT stress tests for RAM, PSU, GPU, and CPU.
• Ran GFX Bench DX12 and Cinebench for stress testing.
• Ran Memtest86 for 2 hours with no errors.
• Set power plan to High Performance.
• Reinstalled DirectX.
• Turned off FreeSync.
• Tested with only one monitor connected.
Despite all this, the issue persists. The Event Viewer shows only Kernel Event 41, which appears after the system restarts. Nothing else appears in the logs to give a clue.
However, the issue does not happen in DirectX 11 games. For example, I can play Hell Let Loose (DX11) without any issues. The problem only seems to occur in DirectX 12 games, particularly when ALT-TABbing or switching between applications.
I would appreciate any insights or advice! Has anyone else experienced something similar or have any suggestions on what could be causing this issue?
Hardware Setup:
• Motherboard: MSI B650 Tomahawk WiFi
• GPU: AMD XFX 7900 XT Merc
• CPU: AMD 7900X
• RAM: Corsair Vengeance 6000MHz CL30 - 32GB
• PSU: BeQuiet 850W Pure Power 12M
• Main Storage: Sx850 NVMe
• Secondary Storage: Crucial MX500 SSD
I’ve been experiencing random restarts of my PC. Sometimes the system keeps running for a while, and sometimes it restarts immediately. I’ve encountered this issue roughly 30 times, and I’ve identified a few patterns:
• The problem sometimes happens when ALT-TABbing out of a game or switching between windows.
• Once, I got the restart while trying to change the windowed mode in Call of Duty.
• Another time, I got the restart after trying to launch Battlefield 2042.
After these incidents, it only seems to happen when ALT-TABbing. It can work for hours without issue, even if I switch between windows a lot, but eventually, it crashes.
Important Detail: When the issue occurs, the PC stays on and continues running. I can still hear the sound from the game or application, but the screen goes black, and the PC restarts after a few seconds.
Here’s everything I’ve tried so far (which didn’t fix the issue):
• Uninstalled and reinstalled drivers using DDU (including both older and newer versions).
• Reinstalled Windows.
• Reseated RAM.
• Reseated GPU.
• CMOS reset.
• BIOS update and reverted to an older BIOS.
• Updated and downgraded chipset drivers.
• Reduced GPU max frequency.
• Monitored temperatures using HWInfo — everything seems fine, no unusual spikes.
• Checked 12V, 5V, and 3V PSU rails using HWInfo — no issues detected.
• Checked all PSU cables (disconnected and reconnected).
• Installed only minimal GPU drivers.
• Ran OCCT stress tests for RAM, PSU, GPU, and CPU.
• Ran GFX Bench DX12 and Cinebench for stress testing.
• Ran Memtest86 for 2 hours with no errors.
• Set power plan to High Performance.
• Reinstalled DirectX.
• Turned off FreeSync.
• Tested with only one monitor connected.
Despite all this, the issue persists. The Event Viewer shows only Kernel Event 41, which appears after the system restarts. Nothing else appears in the logs to give a clue.
However, the issue does not happen in DirectX 11 games. For example, I can play Hell Let Loose (DX11) without any issues. The problem only seems to occur in DirectX 12 games, particularly when ALT-TABbing or switching between applications.
I would appreciate any insights or advice! Has anyone else experienced something similar or have any suggestions on what could be causing this issue?
Hardware Setup:
• Motherboard: MSI B650 Tomahawk WiFi
• GPU: AMD XFX 7900 XT Merc
• CPU: AMD 7900X
• RAM: Corsair Vengeance 6000MHz CL30 - 32GB
• PSU: BeQuiet 850W Pure Power 12M
• Main Storage: Sx850 NVMe
• Secondary Storage: Crucial MX500 SSD
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