Question Windows resets itself (don't know if BSOD, File Explorer crash, etc) while HDMI is unplugged and Chrome is up ?

[Dr_Cheesesteak]

I work from home and sometimes unplug my HDMI cable from my PC and into my work laptop so my laptop displays on my main monitor.

I have noticed when I plug the HDMI cable back into my PC video card, Windows has reset. Every program I had up is off, it is as if Windows just freshly started and shows my desktop with no open apps. So I'm assuming it's crashing and resetting somehow. I am not sure if these are BSODs or something else.

But what I have noticed that is if I close Chrome on my PC, or even minimize it (I tested minimizing it just once), then Windows does not crash/reset while the HDMI cable is unplugged. I am not sure if this has to do with the video card not having an HDMI plugged in or the fact that I do still run a screensaver and that somehow is causing some bad interaction with Chrome to cause crashes/resets or what. I do not think it is the screensaver, because I have seen the screensaver come up before while the HDMI is plugged in and there was no crash/reset. Although I did not keep track if Chrome was the main tab.

But yeah, basically, if Chrome is the main Windows tab, something is causing Windows to crash/reset while I have the HDMI unplugged. And I'm 99% sure this is not caused by the screensaver if the HDMI cable IS plugged in.

I do have the crash event docs in a Google Drive folder below from one of these crashes/resets today. I was not able to attach the memory.dmp file as it is deemed "File unreadable" by Google Drive. My PC specs are in my signature.

https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/1cnxwpe4S-XHwymWGMt43ZRtrfVvVjG1I

Any help or input is appreciated! I've obviously found a workaround (close/minimize chrome when I unplug the HDMI), but I'd like to still see if the problem can be narrowed down to something specific I can maybe fix. Thanks.

 

[Aeacus]

but I'd like to still see if the problem can be narrowed down to something specific I can maybe fix.

I'd use KVM Switch to switch between two PCs, rather than unplugging/plugging the HDMI cable constantly.

E.g this thing: https://www.amazon.com/Monitors-Computers-Switches-Keyboard-Controller/dp/B0D5D4FK1H

This way, you will not wear out the HDMI port on your GPU/laptop. Also, switching around would be far faster and more convenient.

As of why your PC reboots while you don't have HDMI connected - hard to tell.
PC should not reboot when there is no monitor connected (unless you've enabled some setting that makes PC act like so).

PSU - SeaSonic 100-240VAC M12ii Bronze Evo Edition 620W

I suggest that you replace it sooner than later. Since it is a miracle + then some, that it still works.

Seasonic M12II-620 Evo was released in 2013. And it ever came with 3 year warranty. So, your PSU now is 12 years old and WAY past it's service life (that's Seasonic reliability for you). Still, nothing lasts for forever and better to replace the PSU.

Do note that your PSU is group-regulated and doesn't do well with CPU low power states, making the PC to reboot. (Usually manifests itself when putting PC to sleep and then waking it up, where PSU fails to wake up the PC, instead rebooting it.) So, it could very well be the PSU issue.

In regards of new PSU, 650W unit does fine and good PSUs to go for, are: Seasonic Focus/Vertex/PRIME, Corsair RMx/RMi/HXi/AXi, Super Flower Leadex Gold/Platinum/Titanium.
Or if you want the latest ATX 3.x PSU, then: https://hwbusters.com/best_picks/best-atxv3-pcie5-ready-psus-picks-hardware-busters/

(My 3x PCs are also powered by Seasonic. I have 2x PRIME TX-650 units and one Focus PX-550 unit. Full specs with pics in my sig.)

 

[ubuysa]

Are you unplugging the only monitor on the PC?

From that limited information, the BSOD you're seeing (yes, it's BSODing) is a 0x116 bugcheck. That's a VIDEO_TDR_FAILURE, meaning that Windows detected a graphics hang and the timeout detection and recovery feature (TDR) attempted to reset the graphics driver and graphics card but failed to resolve the issue. This might well be consistent with you unplugging (or plugging in) the only monitor.

A KVM switch would be much safer, as suggested.

 

[Ralston18]

Also look in Reliability History/Monitor and Event viewer for error codes, warnings, and informational events that occurred when you unplugged or plugged in something.

Agree with the preceding posts regarding KVM switch and new PSU.

 

[johnbl]

interesting error code
0: kd> !error 0xc000009a
Error code: (NTSTATUS) 0xc000009a (3221225626) - Insufficient system resources exist to complete the API.

I would look for gpu overclocking problem, or bad software running on gpu. (look for common reasons for a gpu hang)
best to provide the actual memory dump file so we can look at in the debugger.

if you can not figure out the reason, you might google "how to force a memory dump using a keyboard on windows" make the registry changes. Then change the memory dump type to kernel and then the next time your system hangs you can force the memory dump and someone can look and see what the problem is.
(assuming it does not bugcheck before the forced memory dump)
it could be something like video streaming software using up the resources.

 

[Dr_Cheesesteak]

Thanks everyone for the reply. I apologize for the late reply, this week has been busy and I lost track of this problem. I will look into the KVM and definitely a new PSU. And to answer another question, yes, I am unplugging the only monitor on the PC.

However, it happened again today, this time while the HDMI was plugged in. So I think it has to do with Chrome or...

interesting error code
0: kd> !error 0xc000009a
Error code: (NTSTATUS) 0xc000009a (3221225626) - Insufficient system resources exist to complete the API.
...
it could be something like video streaming software using up the resources.

Yes, streaming software. So a couple times in the past few weeks, my PC has froze while I have Twitch up. No BSOD or forced reset, I had to hard reboot myself.

Just today, I had YouTube up on a looped Short (reel), went afk for 15ish mins, came back to a restarted desktop.

So I think it does have to do with streaming software and still maybe some interaction with my screen saver (which prompts after 5 mins). I do not believe it has to do w/ the HDMI, but rather that was just a coincidental factor. My friend suggested to try using Firefox, see if it's a problem with Chrome or something else. I'm also thinking of disabling my screen saver, see if that changes things.

I've attached a new event log of the Critical and bugcheck reboot Error to the Google Drive link in the OP. However, Google Drive still isn't allowing me to attach the memory.dmp. Any other way I can share it? I looked into other file sharing sites and they all require payment or have some limited trial, etc.

 

[Aeacus]

Just today, I had YouTube up on a looped Short (reel), went afk for 15ish mins, came back to a restarted desktop.

So I think it does have to do with streaming software and still maybe some interaction with my screen saver (which prompts after 5 mins).

I'm leaning towards PSU issue.

Screen saver means that PC is put into sleep mode. Not the full sleep, since that would turn video signal off but instead "partial" sleep to say so. And you PSU is ancient, made back then where CPU sleep states (e.g C5, C6) weren't much of a thing.

Disabling screen saver and other sleep/idle functions should make your PC not to reboot anymore. If so, issue is most likely PSU.
To use modern CPUs with that ancient PSU, it is advised that you disable CPU sleep states from BIOS (or set them lower: C5, C4, C3). This is workaround for PC reboots.

Seasonic M12II Evo and S12II PSUs doesn't have official support for higher CPU sleep states. So, they either work fine, or don't. 50:50 chance basically.

~9 years ago, when i bought my i5-6600K, i was running Seasonic S12II-520 (it's fully wired version of your M12II-620 Evo), and i did in-depth testing of my CPU sleep states. 1st setting max sleep state in BIOS, e.g C6, boot to OS, put PC into full sleep, wait for 5mins or so and then wake up the PC to see if PC reboots or wakes up just fine.
Now, i tested C6, C7, C7s and C8 sleep states and during my testing. And every time, my PC was able to wake from sleep just fine, without reboot.

Just because my Seasonic S12II-520 worked fine with my i5-6600K, doesn't mean that the same PSU works fine in another system. Like you have issues with Seasonic M12II-620 EVO, paired with R5 3600.

 

[Dr_Cheesesteak]

Okay, thank you. I will test out the disabling of the screen saver, but I will likely just order a new PSU as well. I knew I needed to upgrade this one anyway, but I tend to be slow with upgrading hardware.

 

[BFG-9000]

Yep, at the time only the 80plus GOLD Seasonics were advertised as "Haswell Ready" which means they were designed to handle C7 sleep state which can have as low as 0.05A load on the 12v rail and remain stable.

The 80plus BRONZE M12II was not Haswell Ready, and many group regulated PSUs like it don't work well with only a small load on 12v.

The screensaver should be fine but for now, best to disable C7 or higher sleep states in the BIOS or just disable sleep in Windows entirely.

 

[hussaj]

Is this setting active?

https://imgur.com/a/c59aUE5

View: https://imgur.com/a/c59aUE5

 

[Dr_Cheesesteak]

Is this setting active?

https://imgur.com/a/c59aUE5

View: https://imgur.com/a/c59aUE5

That setting is currently Off.

It could be a GPU, driver or power issue try updating graphics drivers and checking event logs for errors.

Thanks for the reminder of updating GPU drivers. The event logs are posted in the Google Drive in OP. I don't understand how to read them, which is why I post on these forums. =) I just added another one, as my comp froze while watching YT on Firefox. So it is not a Chrome problem. I restarted while it was frozen, I think before a BSOD could occur, so there was no memory dump just now. But I still posted the Critical error in the Google Drive.

I will say, disabling the screensaver did seem to help. No more BSODs/resets while I'm afk since I disabled it 4 days ago. But again, just now, got a freeze while watching YouTube on Firefox.

I still need to buy a new PSU to test that out. I'll try to get one by next week. But since this is always related to YouTube or Twitch, I still think it has SOMETHING to do with

it could be something like video streaming software using up the resources.

But I did just update video drivers, so we'll see if that helps.

 

[Dr_Cheesesteak]

Okay, just ordered a PSU, so we'll see if that helps.

I did get a freeze while gaming tonight and a memory dump did generate, as I let the system sit and it restarted itself (no visual BSOD, but I suppose it's a BSOD in spirit).

And good news - I'm now able to attach the memory dumps into the Google Docs page. So it has 2, one from today and one from over a week ago, both named appropriately. If anyone can read those and get a better idea of what is going on, I'd greatly appreciate it.

here's the link again. https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/1cnxwpe4S-XHwymWGMt43ZRtrfVvVjG1I

Thanks!

 

[Dr_Cheesesteak]

Could be a GPU display driver issue. Try updating graphics drivers and disabling hardware acceleration in Chrome.

I really hope I do not jinx it, but for the past 5 or 6 days, ever since disabling hardware acceleration on both Chrome and Firefox and updating GPU drivers AGAIN (there were 2 updates in the past few weeks, one was dated 7/1/25, iirc lol, the day you replied), there have be no freezes or crashes. 🤞

The PSU came in, as well. So hopefully this has been resolved. Hopefully the cause was just hardware acceleration causing freezes due to competing resources or something, and/or it was GPU drivers.

I did read another thread with similar problems as mine and there was discussion how there should be a fix besides disabling hardware acceleration, since the OP in that thread did not want to disable it. But I won't worry about it, although it is an interesting topic to me (proxy fixes, workarounds, etc). Thanks again, everyone!

 

[Dr_Cheesesteak]

Well, for the first time in almost 2 weeks, since July 2, my PC crashed and restarted while the HDMI was not plugged into the desktop GPU and YouTube was up and running on my desktop.

I had a long vacation from work, so I always had the HDMI plugged into my GPU for the past 12 days. I disabled the hardware acceleration, as stated in my previous post, and my PC never crashed, even when leaving Twitch or Youtube up, so I thought that fixed it. But today, back to teleworking and plugging my HDMI into my laptop instead of desktop, and it crashed during the same HDMI + streaming situation as before.

So I maybe I had 2 problems before - something with the HDMI and something with streaming. Disabling hardware acceleration seems to have fixed the streaming crash problem while the HDMI was plugged in. But something is still causing it to crash when HDMI is not plugged into the GPU. Memory dump and crash/error reports have been attached to the Google Drive.

As a note, I did get the new PSU, but have yet to install it. I will try that this week, possibly tonight. And I have yet to get KVM switch, but will also look into that this week.

edit:
After some more troubleshooting, I get an Error 605 "Specified buffer contains ill-formed data" when I run DISM. And sfc /scannow does not compete, stating Windows Resource Protection prevents it. Looks like I should just reinstall Windows (which I loath doing). Or just try the KVM switch next time I telework and hope it works as a work-around and ignore the DISM and sfc scannow errors lol.

 

[johnbl]

the internal log for nllStm.sys shows a lot of errors:
I think the gpu was reset and then what ever this driver does it did not recover correctly.

FxIoQueue::CanThreadDispatchEventsLocked - Current thread 0xFFFFF80132D27A00 is not at the passive-level 0x00000002(DPC), posting to worker thread for WDFQUEUE 0x00005D78FE1FB7B8
-------------
something is attached to explorer.exe and holding a lock.
other threads are backing up waiting for access.
Contention Count = 722715

looks like it goes until it gets a error
!error 0xc000009a
Error code: (NTSTATUS) 0xc000009a (3221225626) - Insufficient system resources exist to complete the API.

the system then tries to reset the gpu and will bugcheck since all of the memory has been allocated.
-----------------------
do you know what these drivers are for: (pretty new)
(norton???)

nllArDisk.sys Mon Jun 16 09:11:19 2025 (68504227)
nllArPot.sys Mon Jun 16 09:11:05 2025 (68504219)
nllbidsdriver.sys Mon Jun 16 09:14:33 2025 (685042E9)
nllbidsh.sys Mon Jun 16 09:14:30 2025 (685042E6)
nllbuniv.sys Mon Jun 16 09:14:37 2025 (685042ED)
nllElam.sys Tue Oct 15 02:20:07 2024 (670E33C7)
nllKbd.sys Mon Jun 16 09:11:11 2025 (6850421F)
nllMonFlt.sys Mon Jun 16 09:11:59 2025 (6850424F)
nllNetHub.sys Mon Jun 16 09:12:15 2025 (6850425F)
nllRdr2.sys Mon Jun 16 09:11:26 2025 (6850422E)
nllRvrt.sys Mon Jun 16 09:12:24 2025 (68504268)
nllSnx 09:12:24 2025 (68504268)
nllSP.sys Mon Jun 16 09:12:32 2025 (68504270)
nllStm.sys Mon Jun 16 09:12:29 2025 (6850426D)
nllVmm.sys Mon Jun 16 09:11:05 2025 (68504219)

you have many drivers that are also paged out to the pagefile.sys
this is may indicate malware hiding.


nvngx_update.exe
6 copies of NVIDIA Overlay.exe using a lot of memory.

ArL2 pooltag is using the bulk of the driver memory, more than your gpu driver.

you should seacrh your driver for this pool tag "ArL2"
https://mskb.pkisolutions.com/kb/298102

Arl2 tag is not listed on https://github.com/jjzhang166/windbgtool/blob/master/Dependecies/x64/triage/pooltag.txt#L159

 

[Dr_Cheesesteak]

the internal log for nllStm.sys shows a lot of errors:
I think the gpu was reset and then what ever this driver does it did not recover correctly.

FxIoQueue::CanThreadDispatchEventsLocked - Current thread 0xFFFFF80132D27A00 is not at the passive-level 0x00000002(DPC), posting to worker thread for WDFQUEUE 0x00005D78FE1FB7B8
-------------
something is attached to explorer.exe and holding a lock.
other threads are backing up waiting for access.
Contention Count = 722715

looks like it goes until it gets a error
!error 0xc000009a
Error code: (NTSTATUS) 0xc000009a (3221225626) - Insufficient system resources exist to complete the API.

the system then tries to reset the gpu and will bugcheck since all of the memory has been allocated.
-----------------------
do you know what these drivers are for: (pretty new)
(norton???)

nllArDisk.sys Mon Jun 16 09:11:19 2025 (68504227)
nllArPot.sys Mon Jun 16 09:11:05 2025 (68504219)
nllbidsdriver.sys Mon Jun 16 09:14:33 2025 (685042E9)
nllbidsh.sys Mon Jun 16 09:14:30 2025 (685042E6)
nllbuniv.sys Mon Jun 16 09:14:37 2025 (685042ED)
nllElam.sys Tue Oct 15 02:20:07 2024 (670E33C7)
nllKbd.sys Mon Jun 16 09:11:11 2025 (6850421F)
nllMonFlt.sys Mon Jun 16 09:11:59 2025 (6850424F)
nllNetHub.sys Mon Jun 16 09:12:15 2025 (6850425F)
nllRdr2.sys Mon Jun 16 09:11:26 2025 (6850422E)
nllRvrt.sys Mon Jun 16 09:12:24 2025 (68504268)
nllSnx 09:12:24 2025 (68504268)
nllSP.sys Mon Jun 16 09:12:32 2025 (68504270)
nllStm.sys Mon Jun 16 09:12:29 2025 (6850426D)
nllVmm.sys Mon Jun 16 09:11:05 2025 (68504219)

you have many drivers that are also paged out to the pagefile.sys
this is may indicate malware hiding.


nvngx_update.exe
6 copies of NVIDIA Overlay.exe using a lot of memory.

ArL2 pooltag is using the bulk of the driver memory, more than your gpu driver.

you should seacrh your driver for this pool tag "ArL2"
https://mskb.pkisolutions.com/kb/298102

Arl2 tag is not listed on https://github.com/jjzhang166/windbgtool/blob/master/Dependecies/x64/triage/pooltag.txt#L159

Thanks for the reply.

I do not know what all those drivers are for. I Googled a few at random and 1 was for Norton (nllStm.sys as you pointed out) that also caused problems for someone else, and the other 2 didn't have exact matches, but 1 of those other 2 seemed to be associated with threads about malware. If I cannot find what these drivers are for, I assume they are safe to delete?

Should I just uninstall Norton and just use MS Defender?

I looked into the duplicate Nvidia overlay files via WizTree. All the nvngx_update.exe dupes say I need SYSTEM permission to delete. Is that something I should go ahead and do?

 

[SkyNetRising]

Is that something I should go ahead and do?

What monitor are you using?
Does it have only single HDMI input?

You could connect your pc with Display Port cable and laptop with HDMI cable and
have them both connected simultaneously.

There would be no need to connect/disconnect video cable from pc then.

 

[johnbl]

-Gen Digital bought both Norton and Avast, looks like the drivers are new names for a combined product.
- the system was only running 11 minutes, that was a pretty short time for all the memory to be used up. (by a driver)
-I think a lot of the mentions of the drivers being malware are bogus.

I would focus on deleting the pagefile.sys
turning off the nvidia extra software for overlay and the nvidia containers. (remove it and just install the base nvidia driver and nvidia sound driver)

then retest with the norton driver still installed and see if the system fails again. You should be able to start task manager and see the system resource and look a paged pool and non paged pool.

if the system fails with the norton drivers, I would uninstall and retest again for failure. if it looks like norton is the cause I would see if they have a update or fix via their support.

debugger indicates that you have 29 GB of active used memory and 4 gb standby memory used. (high numbers)

the driver that has the pool tag = " ArL2" is using the bulk of your device driver memory. This is a limited shared resource and is the most likely reason the system is locking up. you need to search inside the files in your drivers subdirectory to find the name of the driver file that is using this tag. It will tell you who (which driver)is using all of your memory. my guess would be a norton bug in there general stream filter scanner (nllStm.sys).

note: your real tek network controller reports that it is asleep.
this is unexpected. (if it is actually being used)
rt640x64.sys Thu May 23 23:57:12 2024

 

[johnbl]

-Gen Digital bought both Norton and Avast, looks like the drivers are new names for a combined product.
- the system was only running 11 minutes, that was a pretty short time for all the memory to be used up. (by a driver)
-I think a lot of the mentions of the drivers being malware are bogus.

I would focus on deleting the pagefile.sys
turning off the nvidia extra software for overlay and the nvidia containers. (remove it and just install the base nvidia driver and nvidia sound driver)

then retest with the norton driver still installed and see if the system fails again. You should be able to start task manager and see the system resource and look a paged pool and non paged pool.

if the system fails with the norton drivers, I would uninstall and retest again for failure. if it looks like norton is the cause I would see if they have a update or fix via their support.

debugger indicates that you have 29 GB of active used memory and 4 gb standby memory used. (high numbers)

the driver that has the pool tag = " ArL2" is using the bulk of your device driver memory. This is a limited shared resource and is the most likely reason the system is locking up. you need to search inside the files in your drivers subdirectory to find the name of the driver file that is using this tag. It will tell you who (which driver)is using all of your memory. my guess would be a norton bug in there general stream filter scanner (nllStm.sys).

note: your real tek network controller reports that it is asleep.
this is unexpected. (if it is actually being used)
rt640x64.sys Thu May 23 23:57:12 2024

you might go into windows control panel ->device manger right click on the network adaptor to bring up properties and tell window to not disable the device to save power. looked like the device was waiting to wake from d3 state. (not sure if this would be a cause of your problem or an effect of being out of memory)

 

[johnbl]

I looked at the kernel dump some more:
looks like a service was running called:
afwServ.exe
it was trying to talk to nllNetHub
but just never completes. (maybe because the network driver does not wake up)

looks like afwserv.exe : AFwServ stands for Avast! Firewall Service

nllNetHub would be one of the new norton drivers. not sure exactly what it does but it never completed. I think it is waiting for the network card to wake back up.

note: you have a older bios version installed
dated v p7.40 dated

you have a newer network driver dated:
rt640x64 Thu May 23 23:57:12 2024
the driver on your oem website is older:
https://www.asrock.com/MB/AMD/Fatal1ty AB350 Gaming K4/index.asp#Download

windows implemented new sleep states, it could be your bios does not support them but you installed a updated driver that does. you might consider rolling the network driver back to the old version or telling windows not to let the network driver sleep..

 

[Dr_Cheesesteak]

What monitor are you using?
Does it have only single HDMI input?

You could connect your pc with Display Port cable and laptop with HDMI cable and
have them both connected simultaneously.

There would be no need to connect/disconnect video cable from pc then.

It is an ASUS VG248, mounted. And it has just 1 HDMI port. HOWEVER, I am using a DVI to HDMI cable. I am not sure why I am not just using a standard HDMI cord. I think because I am using the only standard HDMI cable I have for my Wii U lol, and I just happened to have a DVI to HDMI cable already, so I didn't bother to get a 2nd HDMI cord? I never really thought to consider what kind of cable I am using. Would that matter in this case? I never even really thought that Windows (or a GPU) would react a certain way if a monitor was not connected.

you might go into windows control panel ->device manger right click on the network adaptor to bring up properties and tell window to not disable the device to save power. looked like the device was waiting to wake from d3 state. (not sure if this would be a cause of your problem or an effect of being out of memory)

Thank you, I just now did this.

I have looked into deleting pagefile.sys before, but it seemed a bit out of my element, as every thread and article I read said it should not be deleted. But I'll try that and look more into disabling Nvidia and testing around with Norton. One of my IRL tech savvy friends also suggested to rollback Nvidia drivers when this first happened, but I have yet to.

edit:
also, I'm going to uninstall GeForce Experience/Nvidia App. I presume and am reading that it is a huge resource hog and causes unnecessary background processes.

 

[SkyNetRising]

It is an ASUS VG248, mounted.

What is full model name of the monitor?
Anyway - it should have HDMI, DP, DVI inputs.
Connect all your devices to different video inputs.

PC - use Display Port cable.
Wii U - use HDMI cable.
Laptop - use HDMI to DVI cable.

 

[Dr_Cheesesteak]

What is full model name of the monitor?
Anyway - it should have HDMI, DP, DVI inputs.
Connect all your devices to different video inputs.

PC - use Display Port cable.
Wii U - use HDMI cable.
Laptop - use HDMI to DVI cable.

Okay, thank you. I will do that.

And the monitor says, Model No: VG248 Version No: VG248QE
Power: 100-240V-, 50/60Hz, 1.5A

edit:
And yes, I know the monitor is ancient lol. I generally don't upgrade until emergencies or drastic things are brought to my attention. Like the low Hz rate lol.