Question Windows 10 / Asus Zenbook UX430UNR - laptop turns off / loses power when unattended, possibly during sleep mode

[GACattak]

Hi all - I am having an issue with my laptop turning off unexpectedly. Apologies for how vauge this description is, when I go to use the computer after being left unattended for a period of time, I expect to be waking it from sleep mode, but it won't turn on. In order for me to turn it on I need to hold the power button for approximately 10 seconds, at which point when I release the power button, it boots up.

This always happens when it is left unattended, meaning I have never had it crash, BSOD or otherwise while using it. It's also not reliably reproducible. I would say that about 50% of the time I leave the computer unattended, this happens.

The Event Viewer shows a Kernel-Power error (ID 41) but there is no BugcheckCode and no memory dump in c:\windows (which I've learned are two ways to start diagnosing this)

I have read that the "hold the power button" trick is indicative of a power related issue, but I don't know how to diagnose that. The computer works fine on battery and has a long battery life.

I have tried updating the BIOS, reinstalling Windows 10 (not a full clean install, but rather the 'preserve your files' install) but the problem still exists.

If anyone knows of any diagnostic steps I could take to isolate the issue, it would be greatly appreciated.

Some summary system information below:

OS Name Microsoft Windows 10 Home
Version 10.0.18363 Build 18363
Other OS Description Not Available
OS Manufacturer Microsoft Corporation
System Manufacturer ASUSTeK COMPUTER INC.
System Model UX430UNR
System Type x64-based PC
Processor Intel(R) Core(TM) i7-8550U CPU @ 1.80GHz, 1992 Mhz, 4 Core(s), 8 Logical Processor(s)
BIOS Version/Date American Megatrends Inc. UX430UNR.308, 4/17/2019
SMBIOS Version 3.0
Embedded Controller Version 255.255
BIOS Mode UEFI
BaseBoard Manufacturer ASUSTeK COMPUTER INC.
BaseBoard Product UX430UNR
BaseBoard Version 1.0
Platform Role Mobile
Secure Boot State On
PCR7 Configuration Elevation Required to View
Windows Directory C:\WINDOWS
System Directory C:\WINDOWS\system32
Boot Device \Device\HarddiskVolume1
Locale United States
Hardware Abstraction Layer Version = "10.0.18362.387"
Installed Physical Memory (RAM) 16.0 GB
Total Physical Memory 15.9 GB
Available Physical Memory 11.0 GB
Total Virtual Memory 32.9 GB
Available Virtual Memory 27.3 GB
Page File Space 17.0 GB
Page File C:\pagefile.sys
Kernel DMA Protection Off

 

[Colif]

Kernel-Power error (ID 41) is the result of a report windows runs at startup, if it finds the PC wasn't shut down properly the time before, it creates this event.

With no BSOD or events it would appear windows doesn't know why it restarted.

the 30 second trick - Pressing the power button completes the circuit, which discharges the capacitors. Also known as a "hard reset" or "hard reboot." I'm surprised no one has pointed out that you only need to press the button for a second.
link

Does it only happen when you running off the adapter or can it happen if you on batteries as well? I assume if you can charge it, the adapter works to some degree

 

[GACattak]

Thanks for the response. It happens both when on power and when on battery. I also have two different power adapters, and it happens on both of those.

I wish I knew of some way to get more diagnostic information.

I've tried experimenting with decreasing the length of time I press the power button (out of frustration of having to wait) and 12-15 seconds seems to be the sweet spot that returns power back. I'll try pressing for 1 second next time but my experience is that it's not long enough. Maybe after pressing for 1 second it doesn't snap right back to life the same way it does after 15 seconds. Maybe 15 seconds is the total amount of time to bring it back to life and the button itself only needs to be pressed for 1 second.

 

[GACattak]

For what it's worth... I've tested this twice now and I need to hold the power button down for at least 10 seconds in order to initiate a restart.

Any other ideas would be appreciated.

 

[StevieQman]

Hi all - I am having an issue with my laptop turning off unexpectedly. Apologies for how vauge this description is, when I go to use the computer after being left unattended for a period of time, I expect to be waking it from sleep mode, but it won't turn on. In order for me to turn it on I need to hold the power button for approximately 10 seconds, at which point when I release the power button, it boots up.

This always happens when it is left unattended, meaning I have never had it crash, BSOD or otherwise while using it. It's also not reliably reproducible. I would say that about 50% of the time I leave the computer unattended, this happens.

The Event Viewer shows a Kernel-Power error (ID 41) but there is no BugcheckCode and no memory dump in c:\windows (which I've learned are two ways to start diagnosing this)

I have read that the "hold the power button" trick is indicative of a power related issue, but I don't know how to diagnose that. The computer works fine on battery and has a long battery life.

I have tried updating the BIOS, reinstalling Windows 10 (not a full clean install, but rather the 'preserve your files' install) but the problem still exists.

If anyone knows of any diagnostic steps I could take to isolate the issue, it would be greatly appreciated.

Some summary system information below:

OS Name Microsoft Windows 10 Home
Version 10.0.18363 Build 18363
Other OS Description Not Available
OS Manufacturer Microsoft Corporation
System Manufacturer ASUSTeK COMPUTER INC.
System Model UX430UNR
System Type x64-based PC
Processor Intel(R) Core(TM) i7-8550U CPU @ 1.80GHz, 1992 Mhz, 4 Core(s), 8 Logical Processor(s)
BIOS Version/Date American Megatrends Inc. UX430UNR.308, 4/17/2019
SMBIOS Version 3.0
Embedded Controller Version 255.255
BIOS Mode UEFI
BaseBoard Manufacturer ASUSTeK COMPUTER INC.
BaseBoard Product UX430UNR
BaseBoard Version 1.0
Platform Role Mobile
Secure Boot State On
PCR7 Configuration Elevation Required to View
Windows Directory C:\WINDOWS
System Directory C:\WINDOWS\system32
Boot Device \Device\HarddiskVolume1
Locale United States
Hardware Abstraction Layer Version = "10.0.18362.387"
Installed Physical Memory (RAM) 16.0 GB
Total Physical Memory 15.9 GB
Available Physical Memory 11.0 GB
Total Virtual Memory 32.9 GB
Available Virtual Memory 27.3 GB
Page File Space 17.0 GB
Page File C:\pagefile.sys
Kernel DMA Protection Off

Exactly the same thing happens to me. Brand new Zenbook 13. Anybody have a solution for this??

 

[GACattak]

For what it’s worth, I am getting mine replaced under warranty, and I’d suggest you do the same. I have researched this for a while and without a memory dump or other crash info, I don’t think it’s possible to diagnose. So, you’d be left with trial and error swapping parts (memory, etc.) or adding thermal pads, etc. but who has time for that.

If I had to guess, the issue relates to overheating while sleeping which causes a crash. I have also noticed Event Log errors where one of my processor cores is being limited due to overheating.

 

[StevieQman]

Exactly the same thing happens to me. Brand new Zenbook 13. Anybody have a solution for this??

I updated the BIOS and all is OK.