Computer RESTARTS randomly.

LeakingLava

Hey guys,

My computer had started just restarting randomly as you can probably deduce from the title.

It has happenes a lot just since yesterday and I can't figure it out.

- While streaming online game videos
- While doing nothing (it just restarted)
- While testing for an hour (but BurnInTest passed everything)
- While typing this whole thing up(which now forces me to type on my phone
- While on Windows logo
- Now it's just stuck on the Windows logo and would just restart at that point.

I have a sneaking suspicion that it's the SSD. Is this a possibility? The windows recovery thing came up once automatically so that's why I'm suspicious of the SSD. Any input is welcome. Thanks a lot!

BailMeOut

1st step would be to re-seat your memory and all other connectors inside the case.

Normally you'd get a BSOD but for a power reset like this then something maybe just lose or your power supply is going bad.

What does your event log say before and after the reset?

LeakingLava

BailMeOut wrote:

What does your event log say before and after the reset?

Sorry, but, where do I find this information? It does turn on sometimes like just now, but restarted again after just a few seconds so maybe I can try and find it while it's up.

Thank you for the suggestion, i'll do that now.

DesperateDan

Hmm restart rather than complete shutdown is odd alright my first guess is always the PSU. Recently couldn't figure out why a PC was randomly shutting down and the issue was one of the larger PSU voltage cables was ever so slightly mis-seated.

Also monitor your temperatures, maybe your CPU ain't cooling correctly.

LeakingLava

DesperateDan wrote:

Also monitor your temperatures, maybe your CPU ain't cooling correctly.

I would maybe lean towards the first bit of your reply in that case as my CPU idles at around 30-40c and it restarted at idle at one time so I think it may well be the power issue. Thank you very much!

Will try reseat everything inside. Thanks again guys.

BailMeOut

it it was a driver or bad hardware you'd normally expect a crash screen (BSOD) which you are not seeing which makes me think it is power related.

Events are under 'Event Viewer' and I'd look at Windows Logs / System.

Suckit

As has been said it sounds like it could be overheating, but more information on the build hardware or if it has a model number etc. might be easier to help pinpoint any issues.

PC Pitstop may be of some help http://www.pcpitstop.com/pcpitstop/

Wombatman

Good chance it is overheating. Maybe replace CPU thermal paste.

This can be good to check your chips temp.

http://openhardwaremonitor.org/

LeakingLava

Would Speccy be reliable enough regarding monitoring CPU temperature? That's what I was using and the highest it got while I was testing the computer out was 65c while I was streaming an online video. But as mentioned, it had also restarted on its own while idle. Could it still be the CPU temp? GPU was the similar, just a little lower.

LeakingLava

Suckit wrote:

As has been said it sounds like it could be overheating, but more information on the build hardware or if it has a model number etc. might be easier to help pinpoint any issues.

Intel i5-4690K
Coolermaster Hyper 212 EVO
MSI GTX970
ASUS z97 pro WIFI ac
beQuiet power supply (Can't remember exact wattage, but had a lot of headroom when purchasing)
16GB Crucial Ballistix RAM
Samsung 840 EVO 250GB SSD
3x HDDs in RAID for data storage

Thank you very much!

Suckit

You could try Aida64, Prime95 or Realbench also.

You could download Ubuntu (or mint etc) and use Etcher or Rufus to create a live USB.
Check if it still happening.

LeakingLava

Suckit wrote:

to create a live USB. Check if it still happening.

That's a very good point. Thank you very much. Will do that after trying to reseat everything. Will do everything in a little while as I have to cook for the family or else I will probably get reseated outside the bedroom for the night. :pac:

LeakingLava

Right, I have reseated literally everything that I could reseat in the computer, including GPU, with the exception of the CPU and the cooler it self. I am comfortable doing it, it's just that I wouldn't want to do it if it isn't necessary. I am now typing this using my computer, hopefully it doesn't crash.

The event logger is saying kernel-power ID 41. Which does lead to power related issues so hopefully it's the reseating that would fix it. Otherwise, hopefully not, it could be the motherboard, if I deduce it correctly. Thank you everyone. I will report back if it crashes again. If it's stable, I'll let you guys know as well. I will also run a software scan just to see if there's anything wrong software-wise. Thanks a lot yet again. Greatly appreciated.

EDIT: 20 minutes later, I'm still here. Going to start loading up things. Had Speccy on the whole time and it seems like everything is stable at CPU-34, MB-28, GPU-41, SSD-37, give or take 2. Will now load the streaming video that I was watching when it crashed.

EDIT2: An hour from turning on PC, it's still going. CPU-39, MB-28, GPU-49, SSD-39. No crashes or anything. I have a stream on one monitor, Facebook, Boards(using Chrome), Speccy, Task Manager, Skype, Viber, and file explorer windows open on two other monitors for about 40 minutes and it seems like everything is okay, for now. I will still keep an eye, and will try to load up more things for the computer to process, possibly a game to play on one of the monitors. Again, all your help are greatly appreciated. Thank you very much.

EDIT3: After a few games of FIFA 17, I've noted that my CPU and GPU went up to around 70c. But still, no crashes. I do think though that they are both running at a little high temperature under load than what I think they should be, so I may actually replace the faulty fans I have on the front of my case :pac: :pac:

LeakingLava

One thing I noticed actually, was my SSD running at 54c. Is that normal for a loaded SSD? Speccy was showing it as a RED temperature. However, the CPU at 65c was still orange so I was thinking there was something wrong with the SSD. Now though, it's running at 35c. Hopefully it keeps going at that temperature.

LeakingLava

Seems like everything is okay at the moment. Check post #13 for the updates if you're interested.

Thank you very much guys! That was a very quick troubleshoot. It's truly greatly appreciated.

LeakingLava

Well...


After all that...

It restarted again.. on idle..

Will try and get a laptop today from a friend to load ubuntu into a usb and try it out.. but I'm really not sure how that's gonna work out because yesterday, it was going well for around 3 hours straight and today it went within 2 minutes.. not sure how long i should wait..

Event logger in windows is saying ID 41 Kernel-power again. Could it be PSU or MB? I did notice weird things happening to the USB ports before, but I really don't know. I'm so confused right now.

Suckit

Sounds like PSU.
I would check all cables are correctly in and check again.

There are videos and sites that show you quick fixes for that error in windows 10, although i have never had cause to try any of them. Ultimately the best solution would probably be to replace the PSU assuming all cables are in correctly.
Could you swap a PSU to try?

LeakingLava

Suckit wrote:

in windows 10, although i have never had cause to try any of them. Ultimately the best solution would probably be to replace the PSU assuming all cables are in correctly. Could you swap a PSU to try?

Sadly, I do not own a second PSU and don't have the means to get one so I can't test that out directly. I will however attempt a few things such as change RAM, take out GPU completely, and run Ubuntu from a USB to see if the SSD was causing the issue. It will be a pain, but it's just to deduct all of those from possibly being the issue.
Thanks a lot.

Suckit

Did you try any of the options in Google results? It may save you some time. for example this one (i purposefully linked to the quoting of the other forum).

From HERE

RESOLVED:

Since placing this thread, I was addressing other errors I found in the event logs. One of those had to do with "Metadata staging failed".

Researching about this error let me to the URL:

http://www.eightforums.com/bsod-cras...-failed-3.html

where poster Saammy gave the following possible solution:

I have the solution for the problem.
Searches on regedit for the following entry: DeviceMetadataServiceURL
There you change the URL in the following: http://dmd.metaservices.microsoft.com/dms/metadata.svc
after you have closed the editor is saved the change.
Now the problem is solved and it will also re-loaded device information.

As instructed, I used regedit and searched for "DeviceMetadataServiceURL", and it's value was set to:

http://go.microsoft.com/fwlink/?Link...69&clcid=0x409

I changed the value to "http://dmd.metaservices.microsoft.com/dms/metadata.svc" and then rebooted.

The end result was that this did indeed fix the "Metadata staging failed" errors, and interestingly enough the Event ID 41 is no longer showing up in the event logs after shutdown/reboot. I did 5 shutdown/reboot sequences... 1 per hour, and neither problem has occurred since making the above change.

LeakingLava

I did see that one, however, I thought that it was a different issue. Well, in my point of view, I wouldn't have even considered it an issue and would've just moved on. As I understand it, isn't the issue in that case just the fact that event logger was logging the same error code but he wasn't actually getting sudden restarts or cutouts? He was getting the log even with properly shutting down and his solution was to get rid of that isn't it? I definitely wouldn't want to get rid of the log so I didn't think that that was a solution in my case.

I am of course open for correction. Maybe I'm just so pissed at the computer at the moment which is why my perspective may be a little cloudy.

EDIT: The reason why I'm doing the RAM change and GPU removal is due to a suggestion on one of those google results by the way, so please don't think that I'm disregarding your suggestions as I'm really not. All of it is greatly appreciated. Thank you very much.

LeakingLava

TESTING(POST WILL BE EDITED)

I am now testing the desktop with 1 stick of RAM that wasn't from the set of 4 that I was using previously. Also, the GPU was taken out so the onboard GPU is being utilised for 1 monitor(TV).

Also realised that my rear exhaust fan is faulty so I will have to replace that as well after all this is sorted.

Everything seems to be okay for now.

EDIT: Issue persists even without GPU and different RAM stick. The only real next step that I can see to do in terms of troubleshooting is to swap out the PSU, which, sadly, I just don't have the means to get at the moment.

Thanks again for all your help. Will update back here when I get my hands on a PSU even to just test it out. But being unemployed at the moment, I don't think that will come soon. Thanks yet again. Much appreciated.

game4it70

Check for a diagnostic tool from your ssd manufacturer's website.
No harm checking the ssd drive health.

LeakingLava

game4it70 wrote:

Check for a diagnostic tool from your ssd manufacturer's website. No harm checking the ssd drive health.

Used a SMART test software that I got online and the Passmark BurnInTest as well. Both passed all my 5 drives so I don't think it's faulty. Will still try run an Ubuntu on a drive though, just to see if it still happens that way. Thanks a lot though!

game4it70

LeakingLava wrote: »

Used a SMART test software that I got online and the Passmark BurnInTest as well. Both passed all my 5 drives so I don't think it's faulty. Will still try run an Ubuntu on a drive though, just to see if it still happens that way. Thanks a lot though!

Ah ok.Have you ran any tests on the ram like Memtest?

Suckit

I did not check his entire post, so apologies, it may be a totally different issue, i just grabbed that one at semi-random because it was the solution in two other forums.


There are so many variables to be honest.
Have a look here http://www.overclock.net/t/1611326/is-asus-going-too-far-asus-z97-pro-wifi-ac

LeakingLava

game4it70 wrote:

Ah ok.Have you ran any tests on the ram like Memtest?

I did, didn't really see the results on the 4 sticks. Not sure if the computer restarted on its own or if the test was complete. Couldn't be bothered doing it again so I just swapped out the RAM as mentioned above. Now I only have 1 stick of different RAM in the computer and it still happened.

LeakingLava

Suckit wrote:

There are so many variables to be honest. Have a look here

Thanks a lot for this. Will have a look at that setting tomorrow.

LeakingLava

Something funky just started happening. I always have a fan on in the room. I also leave my speakers on and whenever I turn them on, I always hear a mini pop, but that's very seldom because just as mentioned, I leave them on.

Just now, because everything is so quiet, I just noticed that my fan turned off for a split second and turned back on. And I also noticed that my speakers made that pop noise, twice so far. What's weird though is that they are on different sockets. And another weird thing is that I'm watching on my TV and the TV stayed on however the TV is on the same socket as the speaker.

I'm not really sure what's going on, but I know whenever I turn on the fan I also hear that pop noise from my speaker. So it could be just the fan causing voltage fluctuations? Maybe the motor in it is going or something? Maybe it's causing so much voltage fluctuation in the room that that 'crash protection' on my MB is acting up because of that and kills the desktop?

My steps for troubleshooting:
-Use the desktop with the fan off.
-Plug everything out and just leave the desktop and a monitor on.

If there's anything else you could suggest, fire away. Thanks a lot.

RESULTS EDIT:

- Still restarted even when fan was off.
- Tested with just TV and desktop on and no restarts so far. Had been on for an hour and a half.
- Computer restarted again.

Completely scratch all of this post then. :pac:

LeakingLava

Just went into the BIOS to look for the anti-crash/surge thing. Noticed that there is a voltmeter for all the rails. I am currently getting 12.288V, 5.080V, and 3.312V. Are these levels correct/safe enough for the computer? In short, are they the levels that I'm supposed to be getting from the PSU?

EDIT: System also restarted while I was in BIOS so I'm pretty sure my SSD/software is pretty clear from being the cause of this issue.

EDIT: Turning off the anti-surge support was of no use. Computer still restarted.

I really need to get a PSU...

game4it70

LeakingLava wrote: »

Just went into the BIOS to look for the anti-crash/surge thing. Noticed that there is a voltmeter for all the rails. I am currently getting 12.288V, 5.080V, and 3.312V. Are these levels correct/safe enough for the computer? In short, are they the levels that I'm supposed to be getting from the PSU?

EDIT: System also restarted while I was in BIOS so I'm pretty sure my SSD/software is pretty clear from being the cause of this issue.

EDIT: Turning off the anti-surge support was of no use. Computer still restarted.

I really need to get a PSU...

Those readings are fine imo.Although the fact you restarted in the bios would point to the psu being the cause of all the restarts.

If your in dublin I could lend you a psu in a couple of days to use to test if thats any use to you?

LeakingLava

I am Dublin, however, I have stumbled upon a little bit of unexpected cash income so I rushed over to a shop to purchase one so I could test it out overnight. Thank you so much though! That's greatly appreciated. I love Boards especially because of people like you.

TESTING RESULTS(will be updated):

- Just reassembled the desktop with a new PSU, (Corsair CX750). I know corsair has a lot of negative reviews regarding their PSUs, but it was the only one in the shop so I just took it.

- BIOS showed 12.0xxV and 5.0xxV so I believe that on its own is a +.

- Currently still running one stick of RAM and no GTX970, for testing purposes.

- Started PC @ 9.15pm. Hopefully things go well and hopefully no restarts.

- Well, same shiznitt. Restarted just at 9.24pm.

Conclusion:

I'm thinking it has to be the MB, unless I'm really stupid and blind and I'm missing something stupid.