System Crashing - Windows 10 - Random Restarts

[common47]

Asked this in Systems forum a few days ago, no reply. So trying another forum topic.

Hi all,

I posted awhile back with this issue and then went off to try a few things.

My fathers PC is still being a right tool no matter what I do to correct it. He can be using it and the system will randomly lock up, BSOD stating Kernel error (hasn't done that in awhile), when exiting a game it will freeze or restart itself or a few minutes after sitting on the desktop after a game it will do one of the above.

Now, I have checked System Logs and noticed it has a Kernel Power log with error 41 (63) which upon looking up online and even here on TH forum, some were mentioning PSU issue. I previously put in a SSD after trying HDD with fresh Windows 10 installations, didn't correct it.

I had run sfc scans - nothing. Issue still continued.

I today put in a new PSU, checked all connections to everything and the system was up running for 6 hours or so, and he just mentioned he exited a game, was on the desktop for around 3 min and system restarted randomly.

System Specs

AMD FX-4300
Gigabyte 970a-d3p
4GB Geil DDR3
Intel 535 SSD 240GB (Around 2 months old)
Win 10 - 64bit (Fresh install on SSD which is only around 2 months old)
GTX 470
Antect VP600P PSU 600w (Brand New)

The oldest component in that system is the memory now. Fact of the matter remains that no matter what is replaced, same issue.

Note: Just tried to exit Magic The Gathering to check system log - PC freeze.

 

[techgeek]

Have you tried running Memtest86+ on it to check the RAM? Faulty RAM is a common cause of BSOD's and crashes.

Memtest can be downloaded as an ISO and burnt to a CD / DVD or put it on USB. Once this is done, you boot to it and let it run. Typically you let it run overnight and check to see if there are errors after that. I've personally experienced RAM that passes a few cycles of tests (hours) before it starts to error.

 

[common47]

Hi techgeek,

I ran memtets86 for a few hours once before and it returned nothing. Perhaps I should run it over night to check. I wasn't sure what settings to choose when first booting it I will admit. Never used it til that time.

 

[techgeek]

I've been tempted to try Memtest86, but I've always stuck with Memtest86+. They are different programs though named and perform similarly. Memtest86+ only has a few options, but usually you just let it run on boot without interrupting it.

 

[common47]

I actually didn't know there was a difference, so thanks for clearing that up. I will give it a go and hope that it find some errors.

As it stands the memory is the only non-replaced component now, and it is getting ridiculous. The system can run fine for hours or the whole day and no issue. Most the time it seems to happen when my Dad exits a game, as said Magic The Gathering through Steam, or even a simple game like Monopoly.

The other thing worth noting is that he can have his sound on, then it will randomly go distorted, like someone is all robotic and junk. All sound enhancements are off, sound input is on-board. But yeah.

 

[common47]

Running Memtest86+ now. RAM is only running at 1333mhz for some reason, when it is 1600mhz. Not that big of a deal I would think.

 

[techgeek]

I'm guessing, but I think the DDR3 1600 is actually a XMP profile. The motherboard will default to the fastest JEDEC standard, but the user has to manually select XMP. That is a "newer" AMD motherboard from GigaByte and they've added direct support of XMP, the setting can be found in the BIOS. That said, I would wait until you've sorted out the crashing issue before introducing any "improvements" as that could make it worse.

 

[common47]

I am not bothered by the speed of the ram or if it is running at the correct 1600mhz. Running at 1333mhz is perfectly fine.

Memtest86+ has since been run for 17hours and has produced no errors. So now I am unsure on what to do, or if I should run Memtest86, or find another test to run. Anything short of that I feel I need to take the PC a part and rebuild it.

Only other thing I noticed was when I used it the other day to check a few things, the lights on the keyboard when out (normally orange) as the system froze and sat there for 30-40 sec before BSOD and rebooting itself. The mouse, however, still functioned during that time.

 

[techgeek]

Well the RAM would appear to be alright. At 17 hours with no errors I fairly confident that this issue isn't RAM.

Do you have another graphics card to try? It's one possibility. The other possibility is the motherboard. You've eliminated a storage problem, OS problem, RAM and power problems, so those are the last two things left. I can't be sure, but my gut is telling me motherboard. I think if it were a graphics problem, it would crash while gaming, not while on the desktop. However there is certainly a chance it could be the graphics card. I'm assuming you've tried different graphics drivers?

Do you have any exclamation marks in the Device Manager? Something that would indicate a hardware problem or missing driver?

 

[common47]

Hey Techgeek,

The PC had a GTX 260 in it and it was doing all of this same stuff, only a few months ago I put a GTX 470 into the card, so the GPU can be ruled out too I am sure. The system was doing all of this before upgrading to Win 10 from Win 7. I have been thinking myself that perhaps motherboard, however that motherboard is only a few years old. Is very strange.

Sometimes BSOD is critical process died or alike. I will have to check device manager and get back to you. My Dad mentioned he was browsing the net the other day and it did it then too. So the system would not have even been under any load.

GPU drivers would need an update I am sure, hasn't been done for a little bit. But I don't feel that would cause these types of issues.

 

[techgeek]

Well after telling me that, it really looks like the motherboard is the issue. I'm wondering if you are running the latest BIOS? The latest is F6f from late 2014. It says it updated the CPU AGESA code (crucial), could be worth a try if you aren't already on this BIOS.

 

[common47]

I am not on the F6F revision of the BIOS, no. It is a beta BIOS so I am hesitant to even try that.

 

[techgeek]

I know that it might look questionable to install a beta firmware, but if you step back a bit and look at it objectively, it was released in late 2014. Surely if their was a problem with it, GigaByte would have pulled it from their download site. The update probably would have made it to an "official" version, but by this point the motherboard was quite old, well at least in terms of PC usage. So I'm sure firmware development stopped for that particular motherboard shortly after the beta BIOS was released.

On a positive note, if you eventually come to the conclusion that the motherboard is the problem, and assuming you don't decide to replace it with a new platform (Intel), there are still motherboards you can get new to replace it with. There are plenty of newer motherboards with some newer features. I guess that is one benefit to AMD's platforms, they tend to stay around awhile. Though one could argue that this causes stagnation in their PC market giving nothing for their customers to get excited about. Lets just say Zen is way over due.

 

[common47]

UPDATE: So the system is still having issues. I just swapped out 2x2gb DDR3 sticks of RAM in the system for some RAM a friend gave me to try out. Which is a 2x4GB, however I am just running the 1x4gb at the moment for testing.

The system booted fine after a little tinkering, however, problem still persists. Had YouTube running on the system, then the sound dropped out and the system began to lag then finally BSOD - Critical Process Died.

This is beyond a pain in the ass. The only last thing to try is to swap out the motherboard.

Any advice?

 

[techgeek]

Well there are a few choices, I like ASUS boards, so I tend to suggest them.

Here are a couple of options:

M5A97 R2.0

I have experience with this board. Pretty decent and stable. I wouldn't expect it to do any super high overclocks, but it should work with a modest overclock if you want to.

970 PRO GAMING AURA

This is a bit more expensive, but it's more geared towards gaming and it's got a bit of bling.

Now this is if you want to keep your present parts and just change the motherboard. If you want to change platforms, let me know your budget.