[SOLVED] Computer crashes with no BSOD or other error messages. FIX: replaced the old dying PSU with a new one.

T

thatsjustpeachy

Active member
Joined
Aug 14, 2020
Posts
29
Location
Texas, USA
First and foremost, I must be doing something wrong in getting the collection app installed. When I run SysnativeBSODCollectionApp.exe, nothing happens. The CMD box pops up for a split second then disappears. I've tried running as administrator and the same thing happens. No new folders are created in my Documents folder. I'm guessing this is the first thing I need to get figured out before I can get some real help from here.

Second, I've tried running memtest86 and my computer has been crashing as described below in the middle of the test. I put the test on a USB stick and about 45 minutes into the test, when it was on pass 2 after completing pass 1 with no errors, the computer shuts off and turns back on. This happened twice at about the same time in the test.


My computer has been turning itself off and then back on for a few months now. The first time it happened was in the middle of a game I was playing and it was fairly infrequent. Recently, I have not been playing that game anymore and the crashes are still occurring. They have become more frequent, to the point that now my computer won't be on for more than a couple hours before turning off. It has also been occurring while completely idle, the only program I will have open is Firefox but I haven't been actively doing anything and it still crashes. I have been getting no BSOD, and checking the event viewer does not show any obvious cause.

I have used OCCT to test the CPU, GPU, and power supply. My CPU temps got pretty high on that test, but everything else checked out okay. I checked the voltages of my power supply in the BIOS and both the 12v rail and 5v rail are normal. I have run the Windows memory diagnostic tool and found nothing wrong with the RAM, but memtest86 was not able to finish. I have booted into xubuntu to check my drives with Gparted and everything was fine. I looked at the SMART data of my SSD where my OS is installed and everything was normal. I updated to Windows 10 version 2004 and the crashes are still occurring. Yesterday I went to plug in my Blue Yeti microphone to one of the USB ports on my case and as soon as I plugged it in, the computer turned off and turned back on. I thought maybe the wiring of the port was causing an issue so I unplugged that port from the motherboard so it is no longer usable. The crashes still occur. I am at a loss.

· OS - Windows 10, 8.1, 8, 7, Vista ? Windows 10
· x86 (32-bit) or x64 (64-bit)? x64
· What was the originally installed OS on the system? Windows 10
· Is the OS an OEM version (came pre-installed on system) or full retail version (YOU purchased it from retailer)? Full retail version
· Age of system (hardware) 3 years
· Age of OS installation - have you re-installed the OS? 3 years

· Intel i7-7700K
· Gigabyte GTX 1070 8GB
· MotherBoard - MSI Z270-A PRO ATX LGA1151
· Power Supply - EVGA SuperNOVA G2 550W 80+ Gold Certified

· Self-built

· Laptop or Desktop? Desktop
 
Hello and welcome to Sysnative :-)

The download of the app most likely went wrong in some way or you have hardware failure that is interfering with getting reliable downloads. Please try to download the app again and retry.

Just in case you have hardware failure it would be as well to backup your data as soon as possible.
 
I've tried downloading the app three different times, switching between Firefox and Chrome, and still can't get it to work. Is there a particular hardware issue that this might point to? Other downloads have worked just fine from the past few days, including today.

I am trying to back up all my data, unfortunately it is not easy as my computer turns off before I can get very far in the transfers.
 
Is your Power supply faulty? Do you have another PSU you can try.
 
My power supply is getting normal voltages, what else should I look at to see if it's faulty? I do not have any spare parts to try switching out at the moment and I'm doing what I can to find the culprit before spending money on a bunch of parts I might not need to replace.
 
From my experience a computer that just shuts down with no blue screen or warning is either a bad power connection that is intermittent or could be an overheating PSU that cuts out (lots of dust can sometimes trigger this), however, I rather think that is not your situation if it starts up again by itself. So I'd suggest trying all your internal connections to make sure they are all pushed fully home.

Run HWMonitor if you can download it and see if the temperatures and voltages are all stable and within spec.
 
I'll get HWMonitor and see what it gives me.

I did switch my two RAM sticks from slots 2 and 4 on my motherboard to slots 1 and 3 yesterday. After having the computer restart on me 4 times yesterday prior to switching the RAM, it was fine the rest of the evening. Today it was fine and went about 9 hours before finally shutting off and back on again. Could this point to possible bad RAM, or an issue with the motherboard?
 
thatsjustpeachy said:
I'll get HWMonitor and see what it gives me.

I did switch my two RAM sticks from slots 2 and 4 on my motherboard to slots 1 and 3 yesterday. After having the computer restart on me 4 times yesterday prior to switching the RAM, it was fine the rest of the evening. Today it was fine and went about 9 hours before finally shutting off and back on again. Could this point to possible bad RAM, or an issue with the motherboard?
Click to expand...
That's very helpful information and you could be right about the hardware. With unknown hardware failure you have to work through each item starting with the most likely. What size are your RAM modules? If your system will function with one module, operate with just one stick of RAM at a time and start with slot 2 and see if you get a day with no shutdowns. Repeat with the other RAM,. Then start testing the other slots and by a process of elimination you should be able to identify the bad RAM module or bad slots.
 
I have 2x8GB modules, so I should be able to function just fine with only one in for a time. I'll see what happens when I work though each slot and each module individually.

I downloaded HWMonitor and my temps all looked good. I'm not quite sure what normal voltages would be, I couldn't find what the normal range is when I googled around.
 
OK, I'd be looking to check that the +12V, +5V and 3VCC voltages are all stable at the nominal values of 12, 5 and 3.3

I'll be interested in how your system works with a single RAM module and the results of the slot tests. It will take a few days but I hope it gives some good answers. If you get a BSOD you can immediately change the RAM module or slot and keep going through the combinations. Post up new files so we can check the mini-dumps as you work through the tests.
 
If you are getting more stability have another go at using the log collector and this time turn off the anti-virus for a short period while it collects the data. Normally this is not necessary but you may be using an AV that blocks it.
 
I am on my third pass of the test right now. So far I've tried module #1 in slot 2 and slot 4 and both times the computer turned off after 2-3 hours of use. Currently I have module #1 in slot 1 and will see how long it stays on.

I have attached a screenshot of my voltages and temperatures. I can see the 3VCC, but I can't find the +12V or +5V voltages. This feels like a simple question, but what exactly am I looking for?

I have tried downloading the log collector again to no avail. I save the executable file in my Documents folder, and I've tried running it twice, once the standard way and once as Administrator. The CMD window pops up for a split second then disappears before any text appears. I'll try disabling my AV, but I am only using Windows Defender. I do not have a third-party AV that I have downloaded. Is the .exe file supposed to be 167 KB in my documents folder?
 

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That's great progress with the RAM tests.

I can't explain the missing 12V and 5V voltages - they appear in mine as shown below in the top section.

2020-08-17.png

I'll dig into the log collector problem a bit more - the CMD window appearing and disappearing triggers a faint memory that I have seen this before but I can't recall the details. I think there was some part of the windows system missing. The file size is correct.
 
A week and a half ago or so, I did go into the hardware monitor tab of my BIOS and watched the 12v and 5v readings of my power supply for several minutes. Those readings were normal with very little fluctuation. I don't know why it isn't showing up in the HWMonitor program.

This is partly just for my own record keeping, but there is another update on my RAM tests. Test #3 (Module 1 in slot 1) failed after about an hour, shorter than the first two tests. I am currently on test #4 (Module 1 in slot 3) and am 2.5 hours in. If my computer turns off again soon, I'll move to module 2 and try each slot individually again.
 
xilolee said:
After you tried all 4 slots with the same RAM stick, I'd do the tests with the other RAM stick.
Click to expand...
Yep, just had my computer turn off with the first stick in the last slot to be tested. This one lasted the longest of the four, about 6 hours. Now I'm starting over with the second stick by itself. I'll update with results.
 
Using the second stick of RAM in slot 2 (first slot to be tested), computer shut off after about 8 hours of being awake and in use. It was up for 2 hours yesterday evening before being put into Sleep mode for the night, then about 6 hours today before finally shutting off. Moving on to the next slot now.
 
xilolee said:
I also suspect the PSU.
You could try another cable, buy a PSU tester (and test your PSU), try another PSU (borrowed).
Click to expand...
I haven't ruled out the PSU yet, and that's what I plan to test next. I've been trying to think through this issue logically to try to make sense of why it is shutting off at seemingly random intervals, and whether or not I have a load on it. If the issue is indeed with the PSU, why does it sometimes shut off after 1 hour and sometimes lasts 9 hours before shutting off?
 
Another update, I used a multimeter to test my PSU. I tested the cable itself as well as the 24-pin motherboard connector. The cable measured 125V AC and every pin was within tolerance. I can give you a table with all my measured readings if you're interested.

The next thing I'll do is plug in my computer to a different surge protector plugged into a different outlet. Any other suggestions are welcome, I'm beginning to run out of ideas for what could be causing my issue.
 

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