[SOLVED] Sleep/shutdown goes back to login screen, restarting requires a system restore

[Knightsundere]

Bit of a headscratcher. Specs at bottom of post.

Basic Issue:
On pressing the power button once (which is set to put the computer to sleep), screen briefly goes black before re-appearing with the login screen. No fans or peripherals lose power during this. Selecting Shutdown from the start menu gives the same, but closes programs first - note that logging back in after the Shutdown does not seem to go through a full startup cycle (MSIAfterburner doesn't need to open - no, I'm not overclocking anything, I just like the temperature info).

Only way to shut down the computer is by holding the power button or manually flipping the PSU switch. On attempting to restart the computer, the ASRock logo comes up and loads for a few cycles of the logo before failing and restarting the computer (after a few times this feeds back into the Automatic Repair). A System Restore is the only way I can get back in, after which everything seems fine.
I've System restored once every 3 days or so for 3 weeks now.

Performing the System Restore makes the computer function normally, including standard shutdown/restart/sleep actions, for a certain amount of time. More on that farther in the post.

Notes:

• On a successful startup, the ASRock logo will appear, cycle 2 times, and then the peripherals receive power, at which point I go to the login screen. This normal function is what occurred at all times before the issue started somewhere between 2/26 and 2/28. It still occurs when shutting down the computer and restarting after the system restore, which is why I'm very certain the issue isn't hardware related. On a NON-successful startup, the peripherals receive power after the 2nd logo cycle, and then lose power. The computer restarts itself shortly after.
• I have plenty of time to enter BIOS in this boot loop state.
• The time before the computer has this issue after a system restore is inconsistent, but after a System Restore I've had 100% success with normal function - whatever is causing the issue isn't present at the time of the System Restore.
• My current Restore state date is now 3/18 - I've been stacking up the days by restoring over and over again.
• Computer functions quite normally otherwise.

Fixes attempted:

- Power settings.
- Hybrid startup/fast startup turned off.
- Peripherals-able-to-wake-up-computer turned off.
- Startup apps noted, none of them were new at the time of first issue.
- Drivers
- GPU driver updated.
- IME driver updated (per Device Manager auto-update-search, not a manual).
- BIOS
- Set UEFI settings to default.
- Considered doing a CMOS reset because of a forum post found that ASrock motherboards sometimes suffer from similar issues. Not sure if the UEFI default fix I did counts as a CMOS reset or not.

Troubleshooting:

I got a tip from someone on /r/techsupport that the weird intervals of the issue reappearing might have something to do with Task Scheduler. I'm making this forum post after having done a SysRestore, opening Task Scheduler, and waiting until the first task completed to see if I could put the computer to sleep normally (sleep function tested to be working correctly BEFORE the task went off, by about 20 mins, 10 mins after the SysRestore today) - sure enough, after the first task completed (name in a moment), computer fails to Sleep normally and we're back to square 1.

Task was: GoogleUpdateTaskMachineUA

I can't find anything on a basic google search for what this exactly deals with, though I imagine it's Chrome. I can't even get close to finding a decent search result for whether it might have anything to do with my startup.

If you need any more information at all, let me know. Any help at all is hugely appreciated, I sleep in the same room as this thing and shutting it down at night is quite nice. I would also really, really, really hate to do a Reset on it because of 3 years of love and customization I've put into everything installed on here. I want to stress that it was working COMPLETELY fine before the 26th/28th of last month. Thanks for reading.

Specs:
Windows 10 (ofc)
- version 1903, Build 18362.592
Intel Core i5-6600 Skylake Quad-Core 3.3 GHz
ASRock Z270 KILLER SLI/AC
Rosewill BRONZE-Series 1000watt
ZOTAC GeForce GTX 1070 Mini
3x Samsung 860 Pro SSD's
16GB HyperX Fury RAM

 

[Colif]

Not sure if the UEFI default fix I did counts as a CMOS reset or not.

it should. but stranger things have worked in the past.

see if a clean boot helps. Even if start up apps haven't changed, doesn't mean you didn't get an update -
Try a clean boot and see if it changes anything - make sure to read instructions and make sure NOT to disable any microsoft services or windows won't load right - https://support.microsoft.com/en-au/help/929135/how-to-perform-a-clean-boot-in-windows

if clean boot fixes it, it shows its likely a startup program. You should, over a number of startups. restart the programs you stopped to isolate the one that is to blame.



did you look in Reliability History? It might at least show what was updated on the days before the problem started.

run Asrock app store? it might find some driver updates that Device manager missed - https://www.asrock.com/mb/Intel/Z270 Killer SLIac/index.asp#Download

Task was: GoogleUpdateTaskMachineUA

I can't find anything on a basic google search for what this exactly deals with, though I imagine it's Chrome. I can't even get close to finding a decent search result for whether it might have anything to do with my startup.

https://superuser.com/questions/400216/which-google-updater-is-the-one-that-i-should-allow-to-run

it runs at startup. you can use this to stop it - https://docs.microsoft.com/en-us/sysinternals/downloads/autoruns

 

[Knightsundere]

@Colif

Sorry for the delayed response, was giving some time to the fixes.

Clean boot did nothing, unfortunately.
Disabling the task also did nothing.

ASRock app store went... interesting. Updated drivers, or at least I think I did, because when it restarted to let the drivers take effect, the issue reared ye ugly head, but this time, because (at least I think) the BIOS drivers had been updated/recently changed, there was no System Restore point. Oof, man.

I have since System Reset'd the computer (only apps, not files) and installed Firefox as my browser instead of Chrome as a final precaution. Thankfully I didn't have as much to reinstall as I thought I might, but then again, I won't know what I'm missing till I need it or issues I've solved in the past come up again.

I will edit this post if the issue reappears after the reset. Good luck to anyone else finding this post.

 

[Colif]

The drivers being changed should have created a restore point, not removed old ones. Win 10 is meant to create one every time it installs new drivers. you can have multiple. Only things that remove system restore points are programs like ccleaner or Windows 10 version updates.

if system restore "fixed" it and then over time it reappears, it has to be something you install after that time.. or something system installs.
System restores roll system registry settings back to date you pick. this uninstalls any drivers or removes any changes, including windows updates.
figuring out what that change is.

Problem with system restore is it can mess with antivirus programs and their updates.

hopefully reset fixes it by replacing whatever cause was. Sorry it caused you to reset.