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Question

Computer randomly crashing.

Mar 24, 2018 3:25PM PDT

Hello,

My brothers pc is new build (except the case and a secondary drive) which has been running perfect for 3 months but now has started crashing. But for the life of me I can't figure why.

What's inside:

Geforce gtx 1080ti
Z370 Autos Ultra Gaming
2 x 8gb hyperx ddr4 ram
RM 850x
Intel i7-7700k 4.2 GHz
He has a SSD with Windows on but unsure of exact make but it's a Samsung one.

He can game all day with no problems then suddenly it'll crash (computer freezes and have to hold power button to turn off, sometimes leaving a weird noise in the headphones) and sometimes will not turn back on or just continously crash until left overnight then it'll run fine again for a while. I instantly thought heat problems but all checks I did came back with normal temperatures and tried running with side panel off with no difference.

I can't understand what would cause it to be so random with its crashes. It literally ran fine for 2 days and just now started to crash instantly.

Anyway what can I check to sort this problem? Or begin to problem solve it?

Any help much appreciated.

Damien

Discussion is locked

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Clarification Request
Let's cover a few basic areas.
Mar 24, 2018 3:53PM PDT

1. The BIOS is current. Due to many factors, let's make it current.
2. Did they turn off Windows Driver updates? This can mess up a good setup.
How is on the web.
3. While you're at it, disable update sharing. Read:
https://www.howtogeek.com/224981/how-to-stop-windows-10-from-uploading-updates-to-other-pcs-over-the-internet/

4. WHEN DOES IT CRASH? Do not answer random. I always find it's during gaming or a certain game. If more than one game, let's pick on one to start.

5: Any HDDs? I am going out on a limb here. Seagates?

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Let's cover a few basic areas. response
Mar 24, 2018 4:41PM PDT

Hey thanks for the response.

OK so I don't live with my brother so I'll cover what I can now and then the rest tomorrow when it's not midnight.

1) Not sure will get him to double check
2) I don't think so but again will double check with him
3) Will do if not already done
4) OK so I believe when the initial crash happens it's playing World of Warcraft but after that it can be anytime. When I was over tonight it crashed during WoW, then on start up, on desktop, then on loading WoW. All were freezes which locked out Ctrl Alt Del and required holding the power button to turn off.
5) There is, it originally held his windows on before upgrade to the SSD, it was formatted and now has I believe one game on it. I will double check the make tomorrow.

Cheers

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There are prior complaints about this.
Mar 24, 2018 5:13PM PDT
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No overclocking
Mar 24, 2018 5:21PM PDT

Hey thanks for that but nothing has been overclocked in the rig and the crashes aren't solely when playing WoW. It happened on desktop with nothing loaded and on startup. But I will make sure the basics are covered in the morning.

Cheers

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Here's the thing.
Mar 24, 2018 5:34PM PDT
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Web speccy link.
Mar 25, 2018 2:59AM PDT
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No overclocking
Mar 24, 2018 5:22PM PDT

Hey thanks for that but nothing has been overclocked in the rig and the crashes aren't solely when playing WoW. It happened on desktop with nothing loaded and on startup. But I will make sure the basics are covered in the morning.

Cheers

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Same problem
Mar 27, 2018 1:49PM PDT

I have the same problem and would like to know if you think a full reinstallation of windows 10 is a good idea

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I would start a new thread.
Mar 27, 2018 2:06PM PDT
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Answer
Speccy reading. Hmm, what's up with the CPU core count?
Mar 25, 2018 8:49AM PDT

1. The CPU count looks off. LOOK AT ITEM 7 re Vcore.
https://ark.intel.com/products/97129/Intel-Core-i7-7700K-Processor-8M-Cache-up-to-4_50-GHz calls out 4 CPUs and 8 threads. The Speccy reported "NUMBER_OF_PROCESSORS: 6"
The CPU in the Speccy did not match your CPU in top post. Let's check out the i5 in the speccy.

https://ark.intel.com/products/126685/Intel-Core-i5-8600K-Processor-9M-Cache-up-to-4_30-GHz notes 6.

Nothing here. Just how getting a Speccy gets us the real data.

This is not stock. It also opens up the possibility there are other areas that have been tinkered with.
If the OS has been too tinkered with, we wipe out and start over.

2. Some devices create issues on sleep or such. Look at Power Profile and set all to none until the problem subsides.

3. AVG. For now, just remove and go with Windows Defender until the problem subsides. Less things = less things that can go wrong.

4. SYSTEM PROCESS has a lot of connections. Turn off update sharing. No need for that at all. Read how at https://www.howtogeek.com/224981/how-to-stop-windows-10-from-uploading-updates-to-other-pcs-over-the-internet/

5. Why so many CONHOST.EXE entries? It could be item 4 and while it's usually part of Windows, reboot after stopping update sharing and see what Speccy reports. If still a lot of them, do a quick check for the following. NO, I don't think it's this but just want to be sure.
Read https://www.bleepingcomputer.com/virus-removal/remove-console-window-host-conhost.exe-monero-miner and see if that applies.

6. Skype? Many don't use it. Here's how to curb it from starting.
https://www.howtogeek.com/284864/how-to-stop-skype-from-running-in-the-background-on-windows-10/

7. Vcore looks low. http://www.guru3d.com/articles_pages/intel_core_i5_8600k_processor_review,4.html shows over 1V and yours is at
CPU CORE: 0.684 V

This is either an out of date BIOS or tinkering with the settings. I'd add a tenth of a volt and re-test.

Let's check out the BIOS.
Yes, the BIOS is out of date.
https://www.gigabyte.com/Motherboard/Z370-AORUS-Ultra-Gaming-rev-10#support-dl

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Wrong CPU
Mar 25, 2018 8:57AM PDT

Yer sorry I got the CPU wrong it's an i5 not i7. Will check the other stuff with my brother. Will let you know thank you.

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Answer
Re:Computer randomly crashing
Mar 27, 2018 5:14AM PDT

Two types of issue may be there, one is hardware issue another is software issue. Before remove or replace any hardware device please repair or upgrade your system software. Also please check for other software, specially gaming software.