Computer Shuts Down While Playing

[flabebe.5209]

My computer completely turns off while playing Guild Wars 2 at random times. The computer completely shuts off suddenly and when turned back on it boots as if nothing wrong ever happened.

 

My first thought was that the power supply might be going bad so I checked my requirements and replaced it. No change.

 

I then thought perhaps something was up with the graphics card so I upgraded it (from a 650 to a gtx 1050ti). No change.

 

I ran Guild Wars 2 through the repair mode. No change.

 

This doesn't happen any other time - twitch, netflix, any other games including more modern ones like destiny 2. It's solely connected to Guild Wars 2 as far as I can tell.

 

I have a gw2.log file but it is pretty long to post in the open forum.

[Krypto.2069]

Is your CPU overheating? Try downloading and running Coretemp to see if you got a over-heating issue.

Good luck!

[MarkoNS.3261]

its probably overheating issue you should always monitor your component temperatues.

[Leamas.5803]

This has been a problem with GW2 since pretty much launch. I started having these crashes in December of 2012 on a brand new machine. This computer is still used by my kids every day and to this day, the ONLY thing I've ever had crashing problems with on it was GW2. There has never been a definitive explanation or fix for it or fix from ANet. Typically, it only affects GW2. Other games and software meant to stress the hardware such as Furmark or Intel's CPU stress test work fine. I've only ever seen people with nVidia cards have this problem. I've never seen anyone with an ATi have this problem.

 

Things that have worked in the past for some:

* Downclocking any overclocked hardware. i.e. GPU/CPU. Downclocking my video card (eVGA vNidia 670gtx SC) completely fixed this issue for me as well as many others, but it does not work for everyone. I played the entirety of HoT without a single crash as long as I remembered to downclock. If I didn't I would typically crash within an hour.

* Changing windows power management settings to performance rather than balanced has worked for some.

* Downgrading the video driver has worked for some, although this is a less than ideal solution for many reasons.

* Doing a clean install of the graphics driver has worked for some

* Lowering video graphics setting, especially setting the frame limiter to 60 or less, have helped reduce the regularity of these crashes, but doesn't completely fix it

* Doing a repair on the GW2 installation has worked for some.

 

In the end, there are still many who have the issue and none of these solution work.

[Seera.5916]

> @"Leamas.5803" said:

> This has been a problem with GW2 since pretty much launch. I started having these crashes in December of 2012 on a brand new machine. This computer is still used by my kids every day and to this day, the ONLY thing I've ever had crashing problems with on it was GW2. There has never been a definitive explanation or fix for it or fix from ANet. Typically, it only affects GW2. Other games and software meant to stress the hardware such as Furmark or Intel's CPU stress test work fine. I've only ever seen people with nVidia cards have this problem. I've never seen anyone with an ATi have this problem.

>

> Things that have worked in the past for some:

> * Downclocking any overclocked hardware. i.e. GPU/CPU. Downclocking my video card (eVGA vNidia 670gtx SC) completely fixed this issue for me as well as many others, but it does not work for everyone. I played the entirety of HoT without a single crash as long as I remembered to downclock. If I didn't I would typically crash within an hour.

> * Changing windows power management settings to performance rather than balanced has worked for some.

> * Downgrading the video driver has worked for some, although this is a less than ideal solution for many reasons.

> * Doing a clean install of the graphics driver has worked for some

> * Lowering video graphics setting, especially setting the frame limiter to 60 or less, have helped reduce the regularity of these crashes, but doesn't completely fix it

> * Doing a repair on the GW2 installation has worked for some.

>

> In the end, there are still many who have the issue and none of these solution work.

 

Without knowing if his CPU is overheating or not, we can't be sure if he is one of the unfortunate people who do have the random crashes that haven't had the cause identified.

[flabebe.5209]

Last night I did 2 mdsched.exe memory checks and that all came out good. I also did a full reinstall of the game and that did not help things.

 

This morning I ran coretemp and saw while playing Guild Wars 2 the temperature goes from 50s - low 60s to the high 70s and low 80s. I just shut the program down when it hit the low 80s. The temperature then adjust back down to the 50s - 60s.

 

So I'm guessing the CPU overheating is the problem? My sister suggested she would try adding thermal paste.

[No One.3716]

At the least blow out the heatsink/fan over your cpu; ideally completely remove and thoroughly clean it and reapply thermal compound (never just add).

[Leamas.5803]

> @"Seera.5916" said:

> Without knowing if his CPU is overheating or not, we can't be sure if he is one of the unfortunate people who do have the random crashes that haven't had the cause identified.

 

I agree, but with the exception of downclocking the CPU (Which I never had to do), everything I suggested, including the downclocking the GPU, is easy to test without tearing the computer down.

 

Here is a recent thread from Intel regarding the i7-6700 CPU (You'd have to look up norms for your CPU) running under a heavy load, such as GTA-V. 70°C to 90°C is considered within normal operating range for heavy load. (https://communities.intel.com/thread/112251) But, if if you're idling at 50-60C, if your heat sync is clear, you may need to replace your thermal paste or invest in a better cool.

 

1.While the system is idle:

You can expect temperatures from 30°C to 40°C.

 

2.While the system is under high load:

Temperatures may vary from 70°C to 90°C.

 

3.Which temps are dangerous:

Over 100°C

 

4.And which temperatures would be OPTIMAL while playing some heavy game like GTA V for 1 hour without break for an example?

As the temperature fluctuates, there isn't a specific temperature, it can go up to 100°C and could drop to 80°C or 90°C.

 

5. And is downclocking of the CPU safe? Could it lower the CPU temperature? Also would the game lag if the CPU is downclocked? Also on which temperature this CPU starts throttling, and how can I test it to know if it is throttling?And which temperatures could short the CPU's lifespan?

Altering the CPU frequency may affect the system stability and it is unsupported, it also voids the warranty of your product.

 

Intel® Processors will shut down your system automatically in case the system overheats, this to prevent any damage to the system.

[Taygus.4571]

> @"flabebe.5209" said:

> Last night I did 2 mdsched.exe memory checks and that all came out good. I also did a full reinstall of the game and that did not help things.

>

> This morning I ran coretemp and saw while playing Guild Wars 2 the temperature goes from 50s - low 60s to the high 70s and low 80s. I just shut the program down when it hit the low 80s. The temperature then adjust back down to the 50s - 60s.

>

> So I'm guessing the CPU overheating is the problem? My sister suggested she would try adding thermal paste.

 

Depends on the cpu. Mine goes into high 80's, low 90s and is fine. (Although it scares me a little lol.)

Can you get it to reach those temperatures in another game? And does it crash then?

 

Changing paste is often a good idea. Don't add too much.

Fans can also wear down. Not sure if this can be tested, normally it can be heard, with the fan being "louder/noisy" when spinning.

[Orimidu.9604]

How long has this been happening? Since it doesn't happen with other high-end games, I doubt the problem is thermal paste. I'd suspect a software over hardware before moving to thermal paste. Do you run any sort of software (graphics drivers or otherwise) that try to "optimize" your pc depending on the game? Have you overclocked your RAM?

[Feirlista Xv.1425]

There can be a couple of reasons this can happen the main on is heat. Heat is the enemy, double check all cooling paths and fans to see if their runnin. Never cover you computer with a cloth or put it in a confined space make sure nothing is blocking any of the vents. Next computers are major dust magnets even in the cleanest of houses the computer can suck up dust and that dust can clog up heat sink fins very quickly, when if ever was the last time you used canned air and blasted all the dust out.. Next a bad memery stick can cause a computer to shut down, try and get a memery test app like memtest and burn it to a CD or bootable usb stick and run it overnight. One other thing you may need to check is the motherboard for blown capacitors, if you don’t know what your looking for google it and find a picture of blown capacitors