[SOLVED] PC Shutdowns and Restarts without warning.

[Rae_Ti]

Please bear with me, I've been googling, but my health issues make it hard for me to concentrate and take in new information without getting very tired, very quickly. I've made a few attempts to solve this myself but I would really appreciate some guidance.

OS: Win 10 Home
Version: 10.0.18362 Build 18362

Gigabyte Z97X-Gaming3
x64
Intel Core i7-4790K CPU@ 4.00GHz, 4 Cores, 8 Logical Processors
BIOS Version - American Megatrends Inc. F5, 30/5/14
SMBIOS - 2.7

RAM - 16GB - Available Physical Memory 8.71GB - Available Virtual Memory - 9.36 GB
GPU - Nvidia GeForce GTX 960
Realtek High Definition Audio

Everything has an up to date driver to the best of my knowledge.

There's something wrong with my PC. I don't know if the issues are connected or not. I'm fairly confident that it's not an overheating issue. Perhaps a too cold issue, but not an overheating issue. I've run a few diagnostic checks which check the load and temps of GPU and CPU etc and think they are fine, but I can run one tomorrow if the info helps. I'm going to list what started going wrong in order of it happening.

1st. My microphone audio started becoming distorted/robotic, especially when I have multiple apps, games, photoshop or video open at the same time. I haven't increased or changed PC usage and haven't had an issue doing these things previously. I did change my mic to a Fleuron and Focusrite solo not too long ago, instead of a headset mic but I didn't have a problem with audio immediately after the change. I currently have no speakers as they started to hum, were pretty old and had bits falling of them. I did investigate and it sounded like a 60HZ hum to me, not a 120 ground loop buzz, but the only audio output hardware I have atm, is a very simple headset with jack.

2nd. Video playback started freezing, but sound would continue. Sometimes the playback stopped working all together causing all browser tabs to freeze and I need Task Manager to end program. I don't get any error messages. I use Opera out of preference, but have tried Chrome and then Edge and it's the most stable for me. Chrome and Opera simply wouldn't play video at all. And I shouldn't need flash player?

3rd. I took some advice and reinstalled Windows a few days ago. This has helped, but not solved the issues. Audio distortion happens maybe 2-3 times a recording session instead of every 20 mins and the browsers will play video again. Edge is still the best, Opera will only play video at 360p but it is playing now. I reinstalled my programs, I installed GeForce Experience, and Razor Synapse. I also installed Killer Control Centre and Intel Driver and Support Assistant.

4th. My PC shuts down without warning and restarts. It started doing this two nights ago, and did it 3 times within an hour. I was playing Borderlands with a friend at the time, and lost all cosmetics, skill progression and storage items.

Today I tried running a system check, through the command prompt, and it found some corrupted windows files which it fixed. I also turned off auto restart in the settings and writing error report was already checked.

However, my PC has just restarted again. I don't know if it's crashing and restarting, or just restarting. There is no warning, just a quick black screen and restart. There is no error message. There is no update configuration before log in. It has only happened at night. I've no idea what could be wrong. I'd appreciate any help.

 

[R_1]

Hi Rae_Ti

My canned random reboot Rant
Random reboots are usually caused by the PSU, the RAM or software AND in that order of likely-hood.
PSU - If you can borrow/swap a PSU for testing. sibling/friend you can swap out the PSU and each system will be testing the other.
RAM - run the system with one stick of RAM see if stability returns if not Test all the RAM with memtest 86 for five passes or overnight. if you get no 0 errors after more than five passes the ram is good. with the random reboots I would suggest running this test after the PSU swap or after the PSU has been cleared.
Software - Drivers or other issues can cause reboots. Boot to a linux distro on a USB drive. mint linux will boot to memtest86. you can run the OS from the USB and await reboot.
end canned rant

What PSU unit do you have? make and model please? Age of the unit? you will need to get that information off the unit itself which may require opening the chassis. whenever you open the chassis take a few grounding precautions.

Canned Grounding Rant-
shut down system and remove side panel. with the power cable plugged into the PSU touch a bare unpainted metal area of the case. (my favorite spot is an unpainted screw securing the PSU) once you have grounded yourself you can unplug the computers power cable from the PSU and can touch the system.
if you move your feet, or shuffle in your chair, plug in the cord, reground yourself and unplug again.
end canned rant-

open the chassis and ground yourself and you should be able to get the information off the label.
some units are short-lived while others are made with much higher quality and longevity in mind.

 

[Rae_Ti]

Hi R_1

Thank you for your reply. I want to thank you too for it was easy for me to take in, and you didn't talk to me as if I was stupid, so thank you.

I've checked the PSU : Corsair VS 550 Model: 75-001836
It was installed when the PC was built around 2014, which makes it about 5 years old.
It also creates a rattling noise when it's cold, and has for quite a while. I no longer have a spare PSU or one I can borrow so will have to move on to test the RAM which I shall do later today. Do you think the PSU is the likely culprit based on this info?

 

[R_1]

the VS series has a 3 year warranty and is the most budget friendly unit corsair sells
I do think the PSU is the issue. the cold rattle furthers my view on this.