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Question

My computer shuts off randomly?

by Sep 30, 2012 6:17AM PDT

My comp shuts off randomly whenever I run anything that is graphics heavy. Examples...just about any gaming, videos, etc. I know it's not heat related because it will shut down even seconds after loading up a game or video. On the other hand, it will let me play for hours other times and not shut off. I have 7 case fans, both graphics cards are Nvidia GTX 570's with fans running in SLI and the motherboard has liquid cooling. 8 gigs of RAM, 2 500 gig hard drives running in RAID 0. Windows 7 64 bit.

This computer is a beast but this has been happening since I got it about 2 years ago. I sent it back to the manufacturer 3 times and they have replaced almost everything but it is still doing it. The warranty is now up on it so I'm on my own. I've asked everyone I know but no one seems to be able to figure it out.

It's not BSOD or normal shut down. It is just instantly off. No warnings or anything. It always starts right back up with no problems. The only thing I can think of is that the system is set to shut off at a lower temp than it should be. I've run Speed Fan and the temps are never high.

Any help with this would be greatly appreciated. I'm to the point that I just want to sell it and start over. Please let me know if any other info is needed. Thanks!

Discussion is locked

9 Posts
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Clarification Request
Let's try a simple thing.
by r. proffitt Former Forum moderator Sep 30, 2012 6:22AM PDT

Did you test the heat idea?

That is, the old leave the cover off and point a fan at it test?
Bob

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Simple thing...
by mhatch2 Sep 30, 2012 6:30AM PDT

Yes, I've had the cover off and run a fan pointing inside the case. Doesn't make any difference. It's so strange because I can run games, videos, etc for 2 weeks and not a problem at all but then it will shut down 3 or 4 times in a row in just few hours. I can put my fingers and everything right when it shuts down and nothing is hot, warm yes, but never hot. Plus, having 7 case fans, liquid cooling and each graphic card has it's own fan, heat should never be an issue. I clean all the dust from it at least once a week from the inside and outside using compressed air and a mini-vac.

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Clarification Request
You'll have to supply details.
by r. proffitt Former Forum moderator Sep 30, 2012 6:32AM PDT

Remember that the PSU after 2 years has aged so less power there. The same thing for the video cards. The aging of the usual electrolytic caps can have them pull a bigger current spike and the PSU detects that and shuts down.

My prime suspect is age.
Bob

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Age...
by mhatch2 Sep 30, 2012 6:39AM PDT

Hey Bob,

This has been happening since the computer was 3 days old. Plus, the manufacturer replaced the motherboard, RAM and graphics cards a little over a year ago. I originally had 2 GTX 560's but they didn't have any on hand so they upgraded me to the 570's. I did go and buy a new PSU right after that too. Upgraded from 650 watt generic PSU to an 800 watt ThermalTake PSU. I was told that the PSU may be the problem then so that's why I upgraded. The 800 watts should be overkill and tripled the ability to handle spikes.

Sorry, should have thrown that info in there in the original post.

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I wish I had known that.
by r. proffitt Former Forum moderator Sep 30, 2012 1:00PM PDT

Your story made it sound as it was OK for 2 years.

It wasn't so on with the show.

800 Watts is not what I look for. I look at AMPERES. If that 800 Watt PSU has split rails then it's very easy to overtax a rail.

For now the only test to try is to pull back to a single video card and unplug optical drives for a test run.
Bob

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Answer
Another guess
by Former Forum moderator Sep 30, 2012 6:27AM PDT

The PSU idea. Graphics cards use a lot of power (and so produce a lot of heat).

Kees

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Event Log
by mhatch2 Sep 30, 2012 6:55AM PDT

Here is what the event log shows for each time it happens. It looks like from 9/1/12 until today, it has happend 17 times. Not sure if this helps or not. I don't think it really shows what happened but I'm far from an expert.

Error 9/30/2012 4:01:23 PM Service Control Manager 7006 None
Error 9/30/2012 4:01:18 PM Service Control Manager 7006 None
Error 9/30/2012 4:01:18 PM Eventlog 1101 Event processing
Critical 9/30/2012 4:01:00 PM Kernel-Power 41 (63)
Error 9/30/2012 4:01:16 PM EventLog 6008 None

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Re: event log
by Kees_B Former Forum moderator Sep 30, 2012 7:46AM PDT

I read (4th line):
Critical 9/30/2012 4:01:00 PM Kernel-Power 41 (63)

To me, that seems power related.

Google finds a lot of hits for KERNEL POWER 41 63 and even more for KERNEL POWER 41. The search help even suggest "kernel power 41 63 solution". That looks promising.
I looked at the first hit http://www.techsupportforum.com/forums/f299/solved-kernel-power-41-63-error-434613.html and in that case the solution was surprising: disable one of the two audio cards. It's unclear why.

I would scale down the system somewhat, if only for experiment. Start with removing one of the 2 video cards if google doesn't come with a solution that works for you.

Kees

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Kees
by mhatch2 Sep 30, 2012 8:08AM PDT

I think I'll give that a try. Even 1 GTX 570 should be plenty to run about anything. I don't have any sound cards since the motherboard has on board 7.1 surround sound and I don't use any speakers (Logitech G35 7.1 surround sound headphones are awesome by the way. Well worth the money.)

I'll try the video card solution and see how that works out. I'll post an update if it doesn't work and if I don't have any shut downs after a couple of weeks, I'll post that too. It's so random that I don't want to jump the gun and call it a solution until I let it run for a couple of weeks.

Thanks to all that posted their help. After dealing with this for so long, I really appreciate your help.

TheSqunt

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