Question PC shuts down unexpectedly when running IDA ?

Dec 31, 2021
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Hello and happy new year!

I've recently run into this problem and I'm having trouble troubleshooting it. I have a fairly old PC that I use from time to time. Specs:
  • Win 10 20H1 (ik, a bit out of date)
  • Intel Core i5 3470
  • 8GB + 4GB (unmatched sticks)
  • HD7770
  • SSD + HDD (this specific program runs from SSD)
  • no OC
This specific problem started recently and goes like this: whenever I run a specific program that is CPU (single core) and RAM bound, my PC shuts down unexpectedly after a while (between 10-30 mins). I've been using this program for years and never had a problem until recently. I tried to run the program alongside a HW monitor but everything seems alright:
  • CPU temps are ok (they do not go over 65c)
  • RAM temps are ok
  • SSD temps are ok
  • GPU is barely used
  • indeed, 1 CPU core is mostly maxed out because as mentioned before, this app is CPU intensive. However, the load is not constant -- it goes up and down from time to time
However, there are 3 things that bother me:
  • right before PC shuts down, it displays an error message box. The problem is that it shuts down so fast that I can not read it. I tried to search the system logs in Event Viewer, but nothing comes up except that 'my PC shut down unexpectedly'. Not very helpful. Maybe I am missing some filters?
  • if I try to start my PC right away, it will crash again very fast (usually after it hits login screen)
  • after I finally boot up the PC, the fans will stay at almost full speed for hours and they are noisy, even thought the temps are ok and the PC is idle. From what I see, it seems that the GPU fan is the one that acts funny, even though there is no reason for it to do that. The app has nothing to do with rendering or any GPU related operations. This bothers me the most since it never happened before. Usually, fans go quiet in 1 minute (maximum) after boot.
What could it be?
  • software/drivers bugs? I havent installed new SW since last time I ran this app.
  • temps? They never approach 75c, let alone 100c. However, why are the fans at high speed after reboot?
  • faulty GPU? maybe
  • faulty RAM? maybe
  • faulty PSU? maybe
Any way to troubleshoot this further without swapping parts? it is still holidays season and it is kinda hard to come across spare parts these days :d
 
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Welcome to the forums, newcomer!

Can you parse the make and models of the sticks of ram used? BIOS version for your motherboard? Speaking of which, make and model of the motherboard?

Hey! Well there's a problem. It seems that my PC wont boot up anymore so I can not provide you with this info. After the POST screen, it gets stuck. I can still enter the UEFI setup and from there all seems fine: RAM sticks and SSDs+HDDs are recognized properly. Looks like after all I will have to get some spare parts.

All I can tell you is that the mobo is an ASRock ZH77 Pro3 and most likely with the newest firmware installed.

I would try running Memtest for an extended period of time. The longer, the better. See if your RAM throws any faults. If not, well... Have to look into deeper options.
Thanks for the suggestion. Looks like I will indeed have to get my hands into it.

LE: looks like the GPU is the culprit. As soon as I removed it, PC booted up. Will have to inspect this further.
 
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