Random crash/reset

[Jase]

I'm just trying to work out how to sort out this problem which has just started.

I was playing BF2042 earlier and the PC crashed, think it then went to a blue screen before resetting.
It would then not boot up and the Asus MB startup prompted to fix issue and diagnose. This failed a couple of times but eventually got to windows (10).

The PC now randomly crashes/resets, it quickly pops up with a blue screen with large white text saying something like device has problem (it's on screen for so short of a time I can't read it all before the PC resets).

I tried a Windows system file check and drivers etc but same issue. This can happen at desktop, when downloading a file etc there appears to be no obvious cause.

Any ideas? likely to be hardware or software issue?

 

[Jase]

Full specs inc psu

dxdiag could help perhaps

Any ocing or undervolting?

How was temperatures for gpu and cpu.

Check event viewer and look at the critical section when in summary window, anything reported?

Thanks all, was OK nothing changed for months.

Temps were good and low, no OCing or Undervolting.

I looked under the critical section of the event viewer and the following is there :

Event ID: 41
Source: Kernel-Power
Log: System
Last hour: 0
Last 24 hours: 9
Last 7 Days: 9

No idea what that means though.

PSU is a Corsair platinum

 

[Jase]

in addition to above in the error section I see:

Event ID: 0
Source: OVRServiceLauncher
Log: Application
Last Hour: 1
Last24 Hours: 12
Last 7 Days: 1


Event ID: 2
Source: Kernel-Event Launcher
Log: Microsoft-windows-kernel-event-Tracing/Admin
Last Hour: 2
Last24 Hours: 2110
Last 7 Days: 2110

The latter seems a lot whatever it is ?

 

[Jase]

How to Fix a Windows Kernel Power Error in 5 Easy Steps

Does your Windows computer shut down without warning? Here's how you can fix Kernel-Power Event ID 41 and stop Windows from crashing.

www.makeuseof.com

Theres one link i picked at random for things to test for the 41 error, from past experience its often from cpu needing a little bump in volts when trying to oc a system. But can be other issues.

Cheers I'll look at that, any idea about what I posted above, are they related?

 

[Jase]

First googled and found this.

Reddit - Dive into anything

www.reddit.com

Second doesnt seem to be too problematic i think.

Thanks.

I've now figured out the problem but not the cause.

I found that when when downloading an update it kept crashing/resetting the PC. I thought this may be an issue while writing the the SSD so I manually tried copying some files to my SSD C: sure enough it would start copying and after a second or so the transfer speed would drop suddenly and the PC would reset giving the device error message.

Would I be right in assuming this is an SSD issue and would have to be replaced or could it be something else causing it?

the SSD is a Seagate FireCuda 520, Gen4

 

[Jase]

You can check your SSD by running SMART diagnostic software. Crystal Disk Info comes to mind but SSD manufacturers often have their own tools - Seagate has SeaTools, for instance.

Thanks I ran a couple of drive tests earlier and have just tried SeaTools and they report the drive is OK.

But definitely when I try to copy files to it the PC crashes.

 

[Jase]

Is their a heatsink on the ssd, could it be overheating past about 85c or i think is the limit for m2 drives isnt it?

Do you have a diff drive u can stick windows on to test?

Seagate FireCuda Gaming SSD Experiencing Sudden Disconnects or I/O Errors | Seagate UK

Found this, dunno if it helps.

Edit - Dunno if ur on win 11 but i spotted this, probs not really ur issue but it does state ssd slow issues, bsod, and other bad things, so heres link i doubt its related but u never know.

KB5025239 is causing major Windows 11 issues for some users

Windows 11 KB5025239, a mandatory security patch, is causing issues for some users. The problems range from File Explorer (explorer.exe) crashes to icons disappearing from the desktop to performance issues and even SSD slowdown. This article is based on user reports received by Windows Latest...

www.windowslatest.com

Thanks so much for the info.

I'm running Windows 10.

The SSD doesn't have a heatsink as such but it has the thermal compound and fits under the cover on the Asus Motherboard. Temps are around 37-41 deg C so that seems OK. Its been in there for a couple of years.

 

[Jase]

SeaTools should be able to tell you if there is a firmware update available.

Thanks, I updated the Firmware and tested by copying a few files, total 10GB to the drive, it copied about 5GB before the speed dropped and the PC crashed and reset.

 

[Jase]

That's very interesting. Can you repeat the test? If the same thing happens then your PC might be crashing when the drive's cache gets full.

I've done the test a few times and get the same thing

Oh yea how full is the drive?

Just over 50% full, I don't install much there so it's never much over that.

 

[Jase]

@Quartz

I've just done the test again and recorded on my phone so you can see what happens from start to final crash message/reset (PC automatically resets afterwards).

 

[Jase]

Right. We're making progress! You now have a repeatable error. What happens if you use another drive?

I'll do some tests this afternoon but when I tried copying from C: to D: it seemed OK but need to re-check

 

[Jase]

Can you take a picture of this cover? Where are you getting the temps from? The temp you stated is what I would expect for the motherboard area but they are low for an ssd m2 under stress.

Will do. The temps I got from a utility called Hardware Monitor which is presently showing the drive temp at 29 Deg C after being on for 5 minutes.

 

[Jase]

Right. We're making progress! You now have a repeatable error. What happens if you use another drive?

I'll do some tests this afternoon but when I tried copying from C: to D: it seemed OK but need to re-check

Having done more tests:

Copy C: to D: OK
Copy D: to C: Crash
Copy C: C: Crash

 

[Jase]

Is C or D got a sata connection u can swap i.e the cable if its normal ssd, or a diff m2 socket if its a m2.

The c: and d: are both M.2 directly into the motherboard.

 

[Jase]

Did u see if power plan set to highest do anything?

Did you try /sfc repair stuff?

Tho im thinking its more hardware issue myself like maybe a controller has knackard or something.

Yeah I tried the power plan and repair, no difference It's strange how the Seagate software says the drive is fine though.

I'm pretty convinced it's a hardware issue, I've been using the PC for an hour now including a game and it's been OK but write something to the drive and it crashes.
I have read that an SSD can become read only when it is starting to fail, not sure if that is true but..

So I think I'll order a new M.2, I have an enclosure so I'm hoping to make a clone of the c: to save reinstalling everything seeing that reading from it is OK.

Any recommendations for software to make a clone of the drive?

 

[Jase]

Windows i think is good enough for cloning. Tho i think i used some other tool after gooling best free clone software 202x.

Btw, do u have a usb stick handy that can hold a windows install. Just wondering if booting from that to temp see if transfers is any better if that was used then see how file transfers are moving stuff from usb to other ssd drives.

Thanks, found a few options for doing the cloning next week.

I have a USB stick with windows, I'll give it a go.

 

[Jase]

@SkeeterUK
@Quartz

Sorry guys I forgot to update this thread, I replaced the drive and it worked.

I looked at various free cloning software but in the end went for a paid version: EaseUS Disk Copy which was great. It was simple to use, no confusing options etc. It costs £24 for a year (cancel anytime) but if you go to the site and leave or use the trial they give you various offers so you'd get it a minimum 10% less.