PC Shutdown Issue

Falkieri

Falkieri

Gone and back again.. and again..
FC/Active Member
Alright smart peoples, have an issue I'd like to narrow down but I'm very PC stupid so figured I'd ask around in here.

My PC will shut off (completely, no BSOD or any other warning) once per day after gaming for maybe 20-30mins. CPU temps seem to be good at the time of crash (having to check BIOS after the crash, temp is usually between 30-40c) and GPU's are usually between 80-90c for the primary card and 10 degrees lower for the secondary. Now here's the kicker.. After the reboot the PC will NOT crash again so long as I don't shut the PC off myself. If I turn the PC off, the next time I turn it on and start gaming again I'll go through the same process again.

Anyone ever heard of something like this before or have an idea what I should look at?
 
How old is your machine?

The important factors that come to mind:

1) As this is a complete blackout situation, it will likely be related to bad hardware most likely.
  • Consider your Power Supply Unit
  • Consider your Motherboard
  • Consider your BIOS and BIOS battery (since power control is also routed through the BIOS for S3/Sleep/Wake commands) -- BIOS pops up because you mention about the BIOS check after boot.
2) Again, related to hardware since it's a complete and sudden shutoff:
  • Consider wiring short, loose cable or even a a loose power chord.
  • Check you internal connections to make sure they are all seated properly including your GPU and RAM, anything with a edge contact.

Anyway, it would also be good to know how long this has been happening along with the age of the machine overall.
 
Machine is just over 2 years old and this issue has been going on for maybe 6 months or so. BIOS I go into myself just to check the CPU temp after the shutdown and restart. Exterior cords are all secure but I'll recheck everything inside and make sure something wasn't jiggled loose that I didn't notice last week when I dusted it. If that isn't it I guess I'll look at picking up another PSU.. which'll be fun to replace since I've never done anything like it before. Thanks much Aang!
 
Falkieri said:
Machine is just over 2 years old and this issue has been going on for maybe 6 months or so. BIOS I go into myself just to check the CPU temp after the shutdown and restart. Exterior cords are all secure but I'll recheck everything inside and make sure something wasn't jiggled loose that I didn't notice last week when I dusted it. If that isn't it I guess I'll look at picking up another PSU.. which'll be fun to replace since I've never done anything like it before. Thanks much Aang!
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Let's just make sure you exhaust all options for buying hardware until it's isolated to be the *most* likely cause.

CPU's --- Usually they will slow themselves down and make your system crawl before they'll just halt/shutoff. Does the BIOS force you to check it? And if the BIOS has a log function, is there any information inside the log that is useful?

I'm not convinced about the PSU since the MB could send a shutoff signal on it's own. What's puzzling is that it will run fine after a reboot.

I'll also check and see if there are any other obvious factors at play that we could identify to resolve your situation.
 
Nope, BIOS doesn't force a check and I just poked around in there and there isn't a log function in the unfortunately. There's no system slow down at all before the shutoff, just reboots a random amount of time after gaming (sometimes even while watching fullscreen movies or youtube video's).
 
Falkieri said:
Nope, BIOS doesn't force a check and I just poked around in there and there isn't a log function in the unfortunately. There's no system slow down at all before the shutoff, just reboots a random amount of time after gaming (sometimes even while watching fullscreen movies or youtube video's).
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Ok. Thanks for the additional details.

I hate these kinds of random shutoffs and reboots, it's really hard to pinpoint the issue.
 
Yeah got me baffled, which doesn't really take much.. If you need any more system info just let me know and I'll get on it ASAP.
 
While I'm certainly no expert, and I'd take any advice Aang offers over mine; if there is any possibility of replacing parts before buying a new one it's generally the best option. For example if you have a friends/SO's PSU you could use and try and replicate the issues would be a good option. Borrowing a whole MB is a pain in the butt and usually not feasible unless you know someone with the same CPU or same socket at least you use unfortunately. But if there are any parts you can replace without buying a new piece it's useful for narrowing down issues.
 
Good advice Shinare but, unfortunately, I donated all my old Alienware parts to a friend who needed a PC. Any parts we decide to try and test/replace will have to be bought new.
 
When you say gaming what do you mean? FFXIV? Steam games? Has playing a more intense game produce the shut-down quicker?

And did you make any sort of changes six months ago? Specifically to the power supply or PC location or power outlet? That is some weird stuff, but it sounds very much like PSU woes or maybe something needs reseated? At 'work' we had similar issues when our boss played games. The heat from his laptop caused things to loosen. But that was his older laptop.
 
Pretty much any game (except RAGE for some reason) will cause a crash. Haven't noticed crashes happening any faster on more intense games though, oddly enough. No location/outlet/PSU changes either. All interior and exterior connections are secure so I'm not sure what's up here. I've asked around elsewhere as well and no one can figure out what could cause a single daily crash.
 
Falkieri said:
Pretty much any game (except RAGE for some reason) will cause a crash. Haven't noticed crashes happening any faster on more intense games though, oddly enough. No location/outlet/PSU changes either. All interior and exterior connections are secure so I'm not sure what's up here. I've asked around elsewhere as well and no one can figure out what could cause a single daily crash.
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Sucks man.... It may be worth to take your RAM out and re-seat it. Or change the slots if you have extra that are free.

The only other option I can think of is start changing hardware, but would it be possible for you to post the mfg. and model number of your components?

Key things are PSU make/model, same for MB, GPU and Processor. RAM too if it's a name-brand model that's easy to track.

I can't think of any reason for a peripheral device (such as USB) to crash your system like that, so it's most likely in one of the key parts.
 
Oh! I lied unintentionally! Sorry >.<; Completely forgot that I used to have my rig plugged into a UPS that died and now I've got it plugged into a surge protector. Think that could cause something wonky like this?
 
Falkieri said:
Oh! I lied unintentionally! Sorry >.<; Completely forgot that I used to have my rig plugged into a UPS that died and now I've got it plugged into a surge protector. Think that could cause something wonky like this?
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Not unless your Surge Protector is faulty, but for the sake of testing, remove it and try it directly plugged in just for elimination sake.
 
Eden's laptop crashes like this about once every couple of days. I thought it was the temp but we got a new cooler for it and it doesn't seem that warm.
 
Yea this issue is just baffling because it only happens once when I turn the PC on. I can turn it on, let it crash, and then not turn it off for days and it'll not crash again.
 
Eticket said:
Eden's laptop crashes like this about once every couple of days. I thought it was the temp but we got a new cooler for it and it doesn't seem that warm.
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No, it still overheats. :( that is what causes it to shut down.
 
pixiehawk said:
No, it still overheats. :( that is what causes it to shut down.
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It's been awhile, but I think that was a burn. lol...

Your best bet is to clean out the cooling elements inside the laptop. You can try a vacuum to suck the dirt and dust out or compressed air. If the fan inside is dying, replace it. That should solve your overheating issues.
 
Aangeliceus said:
It's been awhile, but I think that was a burn. lol...

Your best bet is to clean out the cooling elements inside the laptop. You can try a vacuum to suck the dirt and dust out or compressed air. If the fan inside is dying, replace it. That should solve your overheating issues.
Click to expand...
I'll get my tech-dude right on it ;)
 
On a whim I downloaded MSI afterburner and set up a very aggressive fan profile. No crashes yet so they must've been caused by excessive GPU heat. Still strange that it'll only crash once..
 
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