Computer rebooting while playing games

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Jennifer Tribbett

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Apr 12, 2014
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I have a custom built PC that was a gift for my birthday over a year ago. It has been working normally until late 2013 when the computer started rebooting at random while playing games. It only happens while playing games. I can surf the internet, check e-mail, watch videos, and use chat programs without any issue.
This has been going on since November 2013. I'll sit down to play a game, be it a Flash game like Farmville on Facebook, PC Game like Warcraft, or a Java game like Minecraft, and my PC will reboot without warning. When the reboot will occur is at random, generally ranging anywhere from 3 minutes of game play, to little over an hour of game play. When it does occur, there is no warning. The game doesn't freeze, the screen just goes black, and the restart cycle begins. Its like someone hit the restart button.

I've checked the event logs, and all I get out of that is the same "Critical Error":
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Event 41, Kernel Power
The system has rebooted without cleanly shutting down first. This error could be caused if the system stopped responding, crashed, or lost power unexpectedly.
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My boyfriend and I have been troubleshooting this since the issue started.
- We've checked the fans to make sure they were working and that the cards were not overheating. Everything was pristine and clean.
- We checked the hard drive to make sure it wasn't locking or crashing. We even formatted the drive and re-installed everything.
- Checked the power supply, and the multimeter readings show no fluctuations in the voltage.

The only thing we can think of is the video card, but we don't have another to swap it out with. I've never really known the video card to cause the whole PC to reboot the way its been doing.

Here are my System Specs:

Hard Drive: 1TB
Processor: AMD FX-4100 Quad-Core 3.60 GHz
RAM: 8.00 GB (3.25 GB usable)
System Type: 32-bit Operating System
Windows 7 Home Premium
Video Card/Display Adapter: NVIDIA GeForce GT 630

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All my drivers are currently up to date.

At this point, we are stumped as to what is causing the random reboots. So if anyone can help or provide other options we can troubleshoot with, it would be greatly appreciated.
 
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Tom Tancredi

Tom Tancredi

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May 9, 2013
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Okay you all did alot to check things. I had a computer that BSOD because there was a short int he case. Since you reformatted and reinstalled even on a base image it was doing it, then yes it sounds like the Video Card is damaged and broken. The only 'test' method is to replace it then try the very same Facebook games, etc. and see if it reoccurs. There isn't a way otherwise to absolutely determine it.
 
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J

Jennifer Tribbett

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Apr 12, 2014
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Well, I replaced the video card, and tested it with my games. Still getting the random reboots. I am at a loss right now. The video card was not cheap. :(
The new card is a: NVIDIA GeForce GTX 660
All new drivers are installed and working properly.

So now, I'm out of ideas and am open to suggestions.
 
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M

marcushann

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Nov 3, 2013
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Hi,

This might be a long shot, but I had a similar issue and what had happened to me was that (for some unknown reason) my motherboard had attempted to over-clock my CPU by 350mhz and this caused the system to become unstable. So maybe check the clock speed that BIOS is displaying and compare it to what the speeds for your CPU should be.

You could also try resetting bios and see if that helps.

Also, what is the make and model of your Motherboard and what is the error you get when it goes to BSOD?

Thanks,
Marcus
 
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J

Jennifer Tribbett

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Apr 12, 2014
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Well, I'm not getting a BSOD. As I described in my first post the games play normally. No Lag, and no freezing, then the screen suddenly just goes black, and the restart cycle begins. Its like someone hit the reset button on the tower.

Motherboard is Gigabyte GA-970A-UD3
Processor: AMD FX(tm)-4100 Quad Core Processor
 
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J

Jennifer Tribbett

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Apr 12, 2014
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4,510
On a side note; Trying to monitor the power supply using Speedfan 4.49. All voltages monitored by this program are showing stable in the acceptable ranges EXCEPT for the -12v which is jumping around from -12 to -1.5 when running games like Minecraft and Farmville. Haven't tried any big PC games yet because that usually causes reboots within about 3-5 minutes.
 
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JesseLM

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Dec 4, 2014
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Hi, I am having the exact same problem, every game i try just shuts down after 10-15 mins of play time, its a custom built pc, and the only thing i went cheap on is the psu, did you ever solve this problem? if so, was it the psu? or what was it? I am dying here, just spent a fortune on my pc, and cant even play on it, films are fun and all, but i can do that on something else xD
 
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Tom Tancredi

Tom Tancredi

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May 9, 2013
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That is a common sign of overheating. Now overheating isn't JUST the video card, but can be the PSU, never ever 'cheap' on a PSU as that will kill any system (remember where do all the parts get power from?).

I would run MSI Afterburner and set the OSD to show while playing your temps, and see what you see. Also swap the PSU with a decent rated one, they don't need to be expensive, and can be under $100.

My common steps to make sure we don't have a hidden problem confusing us are:

Open the computer, reseat all the connections you did or MIGHT have touched/bumped. Leave the case door open when you turn it on, any odd sounds? Are all the fans turning on? Any special beep patterns you hear?

Download and run SPECCY, copy and paste the first tab to show your idle temps and full system specs.
Download and run MSI Afterburner, set the OSDs. what temps are you getting when underload? Try changing the graphics level (not screen size always leave screen size like your default screen size) and see if anything changes to the temps/numbers you see?

Remove whatever AV your using and go to www.filehippo.com and download AVira (recommended), Comodo, Panda or AVG (AVAST! got hacked so I do NOT recommend them). and do a full system scan - this repeatedly has resolved alot of people issue relying on MS Essentials or have REPEATEDLY replied that it was Norton getting in the way.
Download Malwarebytes do a full system scan (AV doesn't pick up alot of malware) - this resolved almost ALL other similiar posts to date as most had Malware the AV didn't pick up.
Repeat the AV/Malware scans till the system comes up clean.

Did you install all Windows Updates? Including options except BING? Check them and repeat till ALL are installed.
Download and run Slim Drivers, install all the latest updates but you don't need to reboot until you do the last update

TO AVOID CONFUSING YOUR ANSWERS WITH OP:
Post reply/start a NEW thread with this information, it will help everyone to focus just on YOUR problem and show you did the 'basics'
 
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Z

Zom-B

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Nov 12, 2014
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4,510
I had the same. The ventilator of my video card had stopped and started to deform from the heat.

nb, I had the same symptoms as the first post, not the same cause or even the symptoms he described later.
 
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