I'm dealing with a really annoying problem where my gaming PC shuts down completely and instantly without any warning. It's completely unpredictable, almost like someone unplugged it. There are no performance glitches or error messages beforehand. When it shuts off, I can't get it to restart automatically; I have to press the power button to turn it back on as if nothing happened. I checked the Event Viewer, and all I find is a kernel 41 error, which isn't very helpful.
Initially, I thought it might be the power supply, so I bought a new Corsair 1000W PSU and replaced it, but the issue continues. I even tried plugging the PC directly into the wall instead of using my old power strip/surge protector. I checked and verified that my other devices plugged into the same outlet remain powered when my PC goes down, which makes me think the outlet and power strip are fine.
I've also tried quite a few troubleshooting steps: updating the BIOS firmware, updating GPU drivers (this issue has lasted over a year with various GPU drivers), toggling XMP settings, loading factory BIOS defaults, running check disk, running memtest86, using OCCT for stress tests, monitoring temperatures (which seem normal), and disabling c-state in BIOS.
I'm pulling my hair out over this! My system specs are: Ryzen 7 7800X3D, RX 7900 XTX, 32GB DDR5 RAM, an M.2 NVMe drive, and a Gigabyte Aorus Elite AX motherboard—all running at stock speeds with no overclocking.
What should I do next? How can I identify whether this is a hardware problem or something software-related? Any advice would truly be appreciated!
2 Answers
Have you thought about checking for dump files? When your system experiences a crash, it creates logs called dump files that can help diagnose the issue. You can find them in C:WindowsMinidump. Zip up that folder and upload it to a file sharing site, then we can analyze it for any clues about what's going wrong. If you don’t have any dump files, consider changing your settings to create small memory dumps.
It sounds like you might be experiencing voltage dips in your power grid. Other electronics may handle those fluctuations without a hitch, but your PSU could be more sensitive. It might be worth investing in an uninterruptible power supply (UPS) with an automatic voltage regulator to smooth things out. Alternatively, it could also point to a faulty motherboard. Definitely worth checking out!
Thanks for the suggestion! My house is relatively new, built in 2023/2024, so I didn’t think electrical issues would be a factor. But I see what you mean about UPS potentially helping. Is there a way to isolate the issue without just replacing parts at random? It's frustrating to not know when it’ll shut down again.