I updated the BIOS on my MSI B450I Gaming Plus AC while preparing for a possible CPU upgrade, but afterward the system started restarting unexpectedly. It usually runs for around 30 minutes, then powers off and immediately boots back into Windows as if nothing happened. I've tried default BIOS settings and configuring XMP, but the issue continues. My system has a Ryzen 5 3600X, Radeon RX 7700 XT, 32GB of DDR4 memory, and this motherboard. How can I determine whether the restart is caused by Windows, the BIOS update, overheating, or a hardware power issue?
1 Answer
Check Event Viewer around the time of the restart to see whether Windows recorded a normal shutdown or an unexpected power loss. Kernel-Power Event 41 generally means the computer lost power or restarted without shutting down cleanly; it doesn’t identify the exact cause. To separate Windows from hardware or firmware, boot from a Linux Mint live USB and leave it running for a while. If it restarts there too, focus on BIOS settings, temperatures, the power supply, cabling, or other hardware rather than Windows.
The only relevant entry I found was Kernel-Power 41, which reported the restart as an unexpected power loss.