[SOLVED] System crashes and restarts with no clue from the PC itself as to why that's happening

Aug 10, 2020
5
0
10
Good afternoon, ladies and gentlemen. About a couple weeks ago, the system I'm using and have used since I built it in March started to crash and restart without warning infrequently, no more than once per day. Now, it crashes at random times, always seemingly when I'm in the middle of something (including researching how to fix it), and that can include rapid crashes and restarts in which Windows doesn't even fully boot. This morning, one such episode happened before the system shut down completely, and the power button did nothing. Unplugging it and plugging it back in didn't work. The only thing that did (and what caused me to believe the problem was fixed afterward), was flipping the Econ switch on my PSU from ON to OFF.

Then, about an hour ago, it crashed yet again, this time while I was playing DOOM Eternal. My system is built for gaming, and for the first three months of its life, it flawlessly handled games such as DOOM Eternal at max graphical settings. Until recently, while I was playing games was actually one of the few times I felt my PC wouldn't crash. That of course has now gone out the window.

System Specs:
Mobo: ASUS TUF Gaming X570-PLUS (WI-FI)
BIOS Version/Date: American Megatrends Inc. 1405, 11/19/2019
CPU: AMD Ryzen 9 3900x @ 3.8 mhz
GPU: MSI-brand Nvidia GeForce RTX 2080 Super
RAM: Corsair Vengeance RGB Pro DDR4 2x8 GB
PSU: EVGA G5 Supernova (750 watts)
SSD: Samsung 970 EVO w/ M.2 NVMe @ 1 TB
OS: Windows 10 64-bit

My system is clean with no dust inside and perfectly-working fans. Things I have already tried include:

  1. Running "sfc /scannow" in the Command Prompt
  2. Running the integrated troubleshooter in Windows, which found nothing
  3. Checking the Reliability History, which has been as useful as swim trunks in Antarctica. It shows the crashes plain as day but not anything regarding a cause or what I can do (just "the previous system shutdown was unexpected")
  4. Ensuring Windows 10 was up-to-date (along the way fixing an update error I had, which ended up not being the cause of the crashes)
  5. Ensuring all my drivers were up-to-date
  6. Uninstalling latest updates
  7. Resetting the PC
  8. Switching antivirus software
  9. Monitoring CPU temps (it's fine)
  10. Used the Memory Diagnostic Tool to see the RAM was fine (and the PC crashed in the middle of one attempt at it)
  11. Running System Maintenance
  12. Running SFC Utility
  13. Disconnecting peripherals
  14. Turning off Link State Power Management
  15. Checking for malware and viruses
  16. Disabling Fast Startup
  17. Changing the power plan from Balanced to High Performance and back again.

These are all possible solutions I found and tried. None work. If it helps, once my PC comes back from having crashed, the RGB on my memory sticks don't come back on. I thought that meant the RAM was somehow faulty but now I don't think so (and all evidence points to that not being the case). I really hope the issue is simpler than I'm making it because I just don't see how this problem is software-related.

If anyone can diagnose for me why I'm experiencing these crashes and restarts and point me towards a solution, I'll be extremely grateful.
 
Solution
Hey all, I just wanna update you on my status since you took the time to assist me. When I cracked the case open and took a look at the PSU, I saw the culprit immediately. The mobo cable had come out of its socket on the PSU somehow. It turned out to be a simple fix after all, and I feel like some of you gave me too much respect with your solutions haha, but I do appreciate that.

Everything runs fine now. No crashes whatsoever in the 24 hours since I posed this question here. Thank you so much for your advice!
Good afternoon, ladies and gentlemen. About a couple weeks ago, the system I'm using and have used since I built it in March started to crash and restart without warning infrequently, no more than once per day. Now, it crashes at random times, always seemingly when I'm in the middle of something (including researching how to fix it), and that can include rapid crashes and restarts in which Windows doesn't even fully boot. This morning, one such episode happened before the system shut down completely, and the power button did nothing. Unplugging it and plugging it back in didn't work. The only thing that did (and what caused me to believe the problem was fixed afterward), was flipping the Econ switch on my PSU from ON to OFF.

Then, about an hour ago, it crashed yet again, this time while I was playing DOOM Eternal. My system is built for gaming, and for the first three months of its life, it flawlessly handled games such as DOOM Eternal at max graphical settings. Until recently, while I was playing games was actually one of the few times I felt my PC wouldn't crash. That of course has now gone out the window.

System Specs:
Mobo: ASUS TUF Gaming X570-PLUS (WI-FI)
BIOS Version/Date: American Megatrends Inc. 1405, 11/19/2019
CPU: AMD Ryzen 9 3900x @ 3.8 mhz
GPU: MSI-brand Nvidia GeForce RTX 2080 Super
RAM: Corsair Vengeance RGB Pro DDR4 2x8 GB
PSU: EVGA G5 Supernova (750 watts)
SSD: Samsung 970 EVO w/ M.2 NVMe @ 1 TB
OS: Windows 10 64-bit

My system is clean with no dust inside and perfectly-working fans. Things I have already tried include:

  1. Running "sfc /scannow" in the Command Prompt
  2. Running the integrated troubleshooter in Windows, which found nothing
  3. Checking the Reliability History, which has been as useful as swim trunks in Antarctica. It shows the crashes plain as day but not anything regarding a cause or what I can do (just "the previous system shutdown was unexpected")
  4. Ensuring Windows 10 was up-to-date (along the way fixing an update error I had, which ended up not being the cause of the crashes)
  5. Ensuring all my drivers were up-to-date
  6. Uninstalling latest updates
  7. Resetting the PC
  8. Switching antivirus software
  9. Monitoring CPU temps (it's fine)
  10. Used the Memory Diagnostic Tool to see the RAM was fine (and the PC crashed in the middle of one attempt at it)
  11. Running System Maintenance
  12. Running SFC Utility
  13. Disconnecting peripherals
  14. Turning off Link State Power Management
  15. Checking for malware and viruses
  16. Disabling Fast Startup
  17. Changing the power plan from Balanced to High Performance and back again.
These are all possible solutions I found and tried. None work. If it helps, once my PC comes back from having crashed, the RGB on my memory sticks don't come back on. I thought that meant the RAM was somehow faulty but now I don't think so (and all evidence points to that not being the case). I really hope the issue is simpler than I'm making it because I just don't see how this problem is software-related.

If anyone can diagnose for me why I'm experiencing these crashes and restarts and point me towards a solution, I'll be extremely grateful.
Do you have older spare GPU, RAM and PSU to start switching these parts for testing ?
 

Ralston18

Titan
Moderator
In Reliability History were you able to right click ("View technical details" should appear) any crash related entries to obtain more information?

Also, Event Viewer is another source for more error related information.

How old is the PSU? Purchased new = 5 months? Or was the PSU previously used or perhaps refurbished?

Power down, unplug, open the case.

Doublecheck that all cables, cards, RAM, and jumpers are fully and firmly in place. Do so both by visual inspection and by touch. Gently feel and rock into position.
 
Aug 10, 2020
5
0
10
Do you have older spare GPU, RAM and PSU to start switching these parts for testing ?
I have parts from my old dead PC that was an Intel system, but it has a GTX 1070 Ti that probably still works. Other than that I have to worry about obvious compatibility issues, and I don't know that the GPU is the culprit here . . . unless I should? I don't know.
 
I have parts from my old dead PC that was an Intel system, but it has a GTX 1070 Ti that probably still works. Other than that I have to worry about obvious compatibility issues, and I don't know that the GPU is the culprit here . . . unless I should? I don't know.
GPU, PSU and RAM are the more likely culprit. Swapping the GPU would be a good start.
After that I would test each RAM module individually
And is your old PSU still working ?
 
Aug 10, 2020
5
0
10
In Reliability History were you able to right click ("View technical details" should appear) any crash related entries to obtain more information?

Also, Event Viewer is another source for more error related information.

How old is the PSU? Purchased new = 5 months? Or was the PSU previously used or perhaps refurbished?

Power down, unplug, open the case.

Doublecheck that all cables, cards, RAM, and jumpers are fully and firmly in place. Do so both by visual inspection and by touch. Gently feel and rock into position.
No, View Technical Details shows no useful information at all. I checked Event Viewer as well to no avail.

The PSU was brand new when I bought it in early March.

Thank you, I'll do that general hardware inspection and report back.

EDIT: I checked everything and it's all solid. The bad part is waiting to see if everything crashes again.
 
Last edited:
Aug 10, 2020
5
0
10
GPU, PSU and RAM are the more likely culprit. Swapping the GPU would be a good start.
After that I would test each RAM module individually
And is your old PSU still working ?
It might still work, but I have concerns about putting an underpowered PSU in a system. Are they valid?
 

Turtle Rig

Prominent
BANNED
Jun 23, 2020
772
104
590
No, View Technical Details shows no useful information at all. I checked Event Viewer as well to no avail.

The PSU was brand new when I bought it in early March.

Thank you, I'll do that general hardware inspection and report back.

EDIT: I checked everything and it's all solid. The bad part is waiting to see if everything crashes again.
So sorry for your issue my friend and all that troubleshooting you did to no avail. You did say on a test of RAM the system crashed and what not. When a computer just reboots without error it is the RAM my friend. If it was the PSU the game would show artifacts and freeze or probably kill the CPU if it is low wattage and ampage on the 12v rail is not enough. Do the RAM test first things first as I can almost guarantee it is the RAM. Possibly the RAM is ok but Ryzen is tricky with RAM so you might have to go to BIOS and manually set your RAM speed and the voltage and the timings of the KIT to what it says it is at stock of course. Good Luck 😏
 
Aug 10, 2020
5
0
10
Hey all, I just wanna update you on my status since you took the time to assist me. When I cracked the case open and took a look at the PSU, I saw the culprit immediately. The mobo cable had come out of its socket on the PSU somehow. It turned out to be a simple fix after all, and I feel like some of you gave me too much respect with your solutions haha, but I do appreciate that.

Everything runs fine now. No crashes whatsoever in the 24 hours since I posed this question here. Thank you so much for your advice!
 
Solution
Feb 24, 2020
80
3
45
Hey there, i noticed you have Corsair ram. Im not an expert but im just going to put this out there, while i was at the store the other day having my pc checked we were talking about components and basically the technician told me that ryzen has compatibility issues with corsair ram.

Just saw that you dont have issues anymore, happy for you!
 

Isaac Zackary

Commendable
Aug 11, 2020
213
12
1,595
Hi folks! This is my first post so I hope I'm not butting in where I shouldn't.
I also have an Asus Tuf Gaming X570-PLUS (WI-FI)
But with a:
CPU: Ryzen 5 3600
RAM: 32GB (16x2) 3600MHz G Skill Trident Z
GC: Asus ROG Strix RX 580 O8G Gaming OC Edition

The Computer also is running an M.2 and couple hard drives. I'm not sure what BIOS, Windows and other drivers it's running, but I do try to keep them up-to-date. I can check tomorrow or another day.

The reason I posted here is because I also get random restarts. Some times it just reboots, and sometimes it boots to a black screen, and other times the screen boots up to a snowy static that reminds me of flipping through channels when I was a kid on the ol' tube TV. Sometimes it won't reboot until I reset the MoBo by shorting the reset pins (unplugged and all of course).

It doesn't seem to matter what I set the RAM speed to in the BIOS. Reguardless if I leave it all in automatic, or set the RAM really slow or any speed up to 3600MHz, the computer will start and run fine, and then suddenly crash, sometimes after a couple minutes, sometimes after a couple hours, sometimes after a couple days. However, there doesn't seem to be anything in particular that increases or decreases the time it takes before it crashes. I must say though I don't know much about what I'm doing. A couple times it beeped a code, and looking up the code I found it said it was RAM problems. But I ran Windows Memory Diagnostics and it says the RAM is fine.

Thinking it was the 550W PSU (which I had taken from an older computer) I replaced it with a new 750W unit and still have the crashing problems.

Sometimes I wonder if it might be the GPU. The GPU sometimes flashes red on the side when the computer won't boot.

I don't have parts from another computer, so if I need to try another RAM, CPU or GPU I'll have to buy it.

And thanks to all in this forum! I've read many a post in this forum and have gotten lots of help long before even attempting to post.