[SOLVED] System randomly powers off, then on again.

[gmwil]

I helped a good friend of mine with a build a week ago. All new parts except the case, the fans, and the DVD drive. I will list the new components here:

Ryzen 5 3600x processor
Asus Tuf Gaming X570-Plus motherboard
Sapphire Pulse Radeon RX 5600 XT graphics card
EVGA 850 G5 power supply
XPG SX8200 Pro 512GB M.2 2280 PCIe 3.0 x4 SSD
G.Skill Ripjaws V Series 16GB (2 x 8GB) DDR4 3200 (CL16, 16-18-18-38 timing) RAM
Brand new installation of Windows 10 Home

The build went fine. I wasn't use to the force necessary to mount the stock AMD CPU cooler to the MOBO, but that was about the only thing that was unfamiliar to me when putting in the hardware. We get the system powered up, it POSTs, then we go through the installation of Windows 10. We get the drivers installed from the drive, and we let ASUS' software package do its updates. We also get the graphics card the drivers it needs. All seems fine. A little later, when we are watching Youtube videos, the thing randomly powers off, then powers on again. I look at the error code in the Event Viewer. It gives me the '41' kernel-power critical failure code, but did not give me any accompanying debug codes when I viewed the error. I also found a '6008' error code. I read that it could be due to power settings from Windows, a driver issue, a BIOS issue, or perhaps a power supply issue. So, I went through the suggested steps that were listed in some forums (sleep and power settings). It looked like the errors on the forums were from laptop systems, but I figured that I would apply those same settings, just in case. I also disabled Fast Boot and made doubly sure that Asus' Armoury Crate had updated all of the drivers. There were one or two forums that mentioned making sure that there were no duplicate audio drivers, so I checked that as well.

Just to check and make sure, I looked to see if all of the RAM was being detected, and all 16 gigs of it showed up. I did change the default RAM speed to 3200 with DOCP (I believe that's what the utility is called in the motherboard settings) when I was first setting up the computer. But the CPU is rated for that speed, as is the RAM, so I chose the one preset profile on it that had the RAM at 3200 MHz. I also ran the Memory Diagnostic app, and that showed the RAM as being perfectly healthy. I did check G.Skill's website, and it did show it as being compatible with this particular motherboard.

After changing the Windows settings and turning Fast Boot off, everything seemed to be running smoothly. Until tonight. After he and I finished doing some gaming, he logged off for the night to watch some Youtube videos to unwind. He text messages me and tells me that the exact same thing happened again. Same error codes. He screenshared his computer, and he went through and verified that the Windows settings and Fast Boot were turned off. I checked Asus' website for drivers, rather than relying on their "Armoury Crate" software to make sure the drivers are current. Armoury Crate showed that both the BIOS and Chipset Drivers were up to date, but Asus' site showed that there were new versions available. I had him download the newer chipset drivers and use the installer included in the download to update the system. Since he is not very familiar with computers, I didn't want to have him do a BIOS update by himself.

As I previously stated, I read that it could be a power supply related issue. With it being such a new power supply with plenty of wattage, I would hope that it wouldn't be the culprit. I did also read that heat could cause this malfunction, so I had him run the HWMonitor software, and it showed that the temps were well within normal range when doing small tasks (between 40-45° C for the CPU on the stock cooler, and 30-35° C for the GPU).

So, I have come asking for advice. Will the BIOS update be likely to fix it? Is there a way to find out if his power supply is at fault without using a multimeter? If I were to get my hands on a multimeter, how would I go about testing the power supply? Is there something I am missing? Is there a Windows setting that I have not found that could be causing the issue? This is the first build I have ever had this problem with, so I'm a little out of my comfort zone. I really want my friend to not have the haze of possible unwanted reboots hanging over his head, and I'd like to do so as soon, and with as little cost, as possible. Any help would be greatly appreciated!

 

[The_Prophecy]

Power supplies that are faulty to the point of completely shutting off the machine: A) Usually manifest severe issues like a random sudden power drop FAR more often and B) Don't usually power the machine back on when they do.

The idle temps look fine, and unless the load temps are WAY out of whack, I'd say heat probably isn't culprit here either.

What I would suggest is to either check yourself, or have your friend confirm for you how long the machine powers off for, before turning back on automatically. The other thing I would try is moving the power cord from the power supply to the wall over to another power outlet on the wall if at all possible. A different receptacle may help here.

As for the BIOS update, I would definitely recommend it anyway, but hold off until the powering off issue at least looks like it's going to be resolved. Definitely don't want it crapping out in the middle of a flash operation. At worst, it's an RMA of a dead board. At best, it's a mild to moderate PITA to get working again yourself.

 

[gmwil]

Power supplies that are faulty to the point of completely shutting off the machine: A) Usually manifest severe issues like a random sudden power drop FAR more often and B) Don't usually power the machine back on when they do.

The idle temps look fine, and unless the load temps are WAY out of whack, I'd say heat probably isn't culprit here either.

What I would suggest is to either check yourself, or have your friend confirm for you how long the machine powers off for, before turning back on automatically. The other thing I would try is moving the power cord from the power supply to the wall over to another power outlet on the wall if at all possible. A different receptacle may help here.

As for the BIOS update, I would definitely recommend it anyway, but hold off until the powering off issue at least looks like it's going to be resolved. Definitely don't want it crapping out in the middle of a flash operation. At worst, it's an RMA of a dead board. At best, it's a mild to moderate PITA to get working again yourself.

He told me that it automatically restarted pretty much immediately, and took between 3 to 5 minutes between the machine shutting off and getting back to the Windows page where you enter in your password. I'm thinking it was probably faster than that, but seemed longer when it was happening. At least, if the first time it happened, which I was there for, is any indication.

I will suggest that he switch wall outlets. I had him buy a pretty decent surge suppressor because I thought that his very old power strip could have been the culprit. But if it is the wall outlet that is at fault, the new surge suppressor probably wouldn't help nearly as much as I had hoped.

The next time I go over there, I'm going to crack open the case and ensure that all of the cables are seated fully, just to be thorough. Or, I'll have him check if he's comfortable doing so.

After trying these, I think we'll go for a couple of weeks to see if the problem persists. If it seems to have fixed it, great. We can update the BIOS then. If it continues having this error every so often, should I try and update the BIOS anyway, or should I just have him send the board back and not risk bricking the motherboard entirely?

 

[The_Prophecy]

I'd say for the BIOS update that it depends on how often it's happening. Nothing wrong with not wanting to risk it and just doing the RMA though if the other fixes don't help.

 

[gmwil]

I'd say for the BIOS update that it depends on how often it's happening. Nothing wrong with not wanting to risk it and just doing the RMA though if the other fixes don't help.

We'll give it a shot. If the changes make it to where the random restarts don't happen anymore, awesome. If it keeps doing it though, I think I'm gonna try to do a BIOS update. Since it hasn't happened often, I'm hoping that it won't do it while I'm updating. If we're going to RMA anyway, might as well give a new BIOS a try.