Weird new issue

[Deleted member 280263]

EDIT: See the last post, I found the real issue!

So this occured a few times at the beginning of last week, and then hasn't happened since, then it occured on Thursday night once, and then last night twice...
The OS just randomly restarts the PC, when you're barely doing anything, it's happened when just sat on the forum, sat idle, but never when gaming?
Last night it did it after hours of use, then again within 10 minutes?

I haven't done anything to the PC other than recently tidy up the cable management... But I did check and nothing is loose?

Event Viewer has this to say:

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. (70368744177664)

Could my ram have gone bad? I tried to test it and it caused one of the restarts, usually it would halt on error after hours of loops. So I'm unsure if it is the ram in this case?

EDIT:
It's just done it again, this time whilst running Memtest64 on a loop with nothing else running, same Event Viewer error!

This occurs in both Windows and Linux, so it's not a software/OS issue.

Any ideas?

Thanks!

 

[Deleted member 280263]

Have you tried reseating the RAM? Triple check power connectors at both ends as well (mobo and psu). If it is crashing when running the memory test that does suggest faulty RAM. Have you tried again with x1 DIMM or stock timings if using XMP or EXPO?

I haven't, but I will try that when I test 1 stick at a time with the Memtestx86 bootable USB - I'm just currently waiting 2 hours for Windows to 'Fix' my drive, I stupidly decided to do a chkdsk scan
This problem occurs in Linux as well, so it is definitely hardware related and not a problem with software/OS.

I'm going to disable XMP and try that next, when I got the ram I did do a 8, 12, 24 hour Memtest and it passed with both XMP profiles, so it would be strange if it's randomly decided to not like it anymore, but I agree it sounds like the ram, it usually is, but I've never seen a restart when testing it before, usually it halts on errors, when I've tested faultly sticks.
I have checked all power connectors 3 times haha, twice this morning and once last night

 

[Deleted member 280263]

You might want to go back and check that all the lockable connections are tight and locked - at both ends.

Thanks, yeah I made sure. Will check again when I swap out my spare sticks of ram.

If it's going to be anything, I just want it to be the ram, if it has to be something

 

[Deleted member 280263]

I've decided before I pull the existing ram to Memtest86 it with the xmp disabled by manually specifying the speed, I've seen that work before on ram that is higher than the supported speed, this way I will know if it's just XMP playing games, despite it working before fine when tested
My moneys on the ram has become faulty.

 

[Deleted member 280263]

Opinions @Quartz @Firegod

do you use Memtest86+ the open source free program https://memtest.org
or the free or paid versions of memtest86 by PassMark https://www.memtest86.com

In the past I think it was the open source first option that found when I had errors before? But I have definitely used both.

I've just finished doing 4 passes with memtest86 by PassMark, and passed with XMP disabled and manually setting the MHz for the ram...
I'm going to do another 4 passes with XMP turned back on to see if I can get it to show any errors.

Which do you find is the more effective program?

 

[Deleted member 280263]

memtest86+ is better as it has more tests. It's also completely free. last update was around 2022 which gives full support for ddr5 and will be updated again once ddr6 comes around.

Cheers mate, I was hoping that was the case, the paid for one looks a bit of a con, charging you just to unlock looped runs etc.
I'm pretty sure what I used in the past was the opensource free one

 

[Deleted member 280263]

What's the PSU?

Corsair SF750 80+ Platinum.

Memtest86+ all day long!

Bear in mind that if you're manually setting DRAM frequency and leaving the timings on auto, the mobo will set really lenient timings; they will be nowhere near as tight as the XMP profile. For a true baseline test, it would be better to load optimised defaults and perform stability testing that way.

However, since it's been working for a while, test with XMP enabled and reseat the DIMMs just to cover that off. Memtest86+ tests 7 and 8 (random, IIRC) are usually good at catching intermittent memory faults.

Can you post your full rig specs?

It's just done 12 passes for 10 hours 14 minutes with Memtest86+ completely error free with manual DDR MHz set, so that's promising, I've set the MHz back to auto and enabled XMP profile 1 again, when I got this ram I did 8-12 hours on both profile 1 and 2, so I know it did work fine with no errors.
I have reseated the ram and unplugged and plugged in both sides of all the plugs, so we shall see how the next 10-12 hours of Memtest86+ testing goes

I'm hoping it's fixed now and somehow I must have knocked something when messing around in there redoing my cable management recently, but I did check it 3 times prior to redoing it again yesterday
Either way if it's fixed and I don't have to buy new ram or PSU, then I'm happy
I just hope real world it then behaves, as originally it didn't play up for days... Then for some reason it started doing it daily. Very strange.

Wish me luck

 

[Deleted member 280263]

BIOS up to date? the current bios might not like your ram

Unfortunately it is, dude; however, it is a beta version due to when AMD had that scare with:

CVE-2024-36877 security issue, AGESA ComboAm4v2PI 1.2.0.Cc update - Added security issue of SMM Lock Bypass uCode fix aka“Sinkclose”.

They haven't updated it since the end of September

I was quick to update it at the time due to this, so it's strange that it would randomly play up now if it was buggy, although not impossible, I guess.

I did think that could potentially be an issue though, but there's nothing I can do on that front, until they bother, if at all, to update it

Currently it's passed 9 runs of Memtest86+ with XMP re-enabled so it might have just decided to play nice now if it is the BIOS being mischievous , or my 4th reshuffling of the cables, and ram modules, last night has fixed something
I shall leave it going till I'm home later and give it the full 9-12 hours, after that I think it's safe to say the RAM is probably fine?

Either way if it's now fixed and behaves, I'm a happy chappy

 

[Deleted member 280263]

If you can run Memtest for 12 hours then I'd say the RAM is good.

TIme to let your usage of it be the next stability test, me thinks!

Yep, 12 hours has always been, a reasonable amount of time for me
Yeah, that's the part I'm a bit less excited about as it was some random when it would do it, then started occuring more frequently, there was no sense to it, and you couldn't make it do it on demand?
Hopefully it behaves now

 

[Deleted member 280263]

How's it looking now? OS still randomly shutting down while doing actual stuff?

Hello mate, I don't really want to jinx anything so I'll give it till the end of the week, as when it first did it, there was like a week apart, then another after it being on over 12 hours, then it became often and short up time before it did it, so I'll have to just keep using it and praying.

The silly thing is, it never had a problem if you were putting it under load gaming? It only occurred when idle or sat in a browser, so you can't really 'make it do it', as it were

 

[Deleted member 280263]

Very odd. The PC seems to have a mind of its own

It's bi-polar for sure

 

[Deleted member 280263]

Have you checked your voltages? If It's
happening at idle and the memory is testing good, it might not be getting enough juice.

It was showing 1.344V on the DRAM voltage, so I have changed that to 1.350V, is that common for it to be slightly under?
Originally, I wasn't sure if this was infact 1.350V, but the sensor/reading was lying ever so slightly?

 

[Deleted member 280263]

Update.
First of all, thank you to everyone that chipped in That was nice of you!

I think it's fixed
After messing around with XYZ, the TLDR is, I just wasn't trusting with it, so I did a clean reformat, and also chose to reflash the BIOS, to the existing one (as that's all there is) - now it was a BETA BIOS, due to the aforementioned security fixes, so I have to keep it on that.
XMP enabled, everything is setup how it was, bulletproof - the BIOS in the past has decided to be strange when I keep fiddling with it (I had recently changed my PWM %'s a few times tweaking the noise/temps), so I think it was just throwing a tantrum
I don't think it was a hardware issue with the cabling, but I did reseat everything multiple times, and managed to tidy up the cables and route them a bit better - so at least I got something out of it

Thank you again so your help, I'm glad that my ram wasn't duff, and nothing needed replacing - considering it's all brand new bar the ram, which I'd tested many times and again when this occurred. Nothing beats fixing something for free

 

[Deleted member 280263]

Holy thread update:

Guess what, it was the PSU!
It decided to start doing what it did before, and randomly restart when it was either idle or doing barely anything...
I then borrowed a mates PSU, and it didn't happen again!

All that time wasted playing around with different BIOS, and memtesting the ram, and reseating cables etc! Not what you expect from a 80+ Platinum PSU that's less than 2 years old!

RMA'ed it, and I have exchanged it for a rather nice 1200W ATX 3.1 fully modular Which should arrive by Monday

Just thought I'd let people know, as this may help someone in the future

 

[Deleted member 280263]

What PSU was the broken one, just out of interest?

SF750 80+ Platinum, barely used, I have it in the lounge next to the retro games consoles, the rest of the time I use a Mac Studio in my office.

From what I red, it's claimed to be the best of it's time, by the SFF community - yet when I googled my specific issue, Corsair themselves had even released a statement regarding this issue back in 2020 - claiming it only affected a certain batch, but was globally affected - well, clearly not if it's been happening to me 5 years later, for months randomly when it feels like playing up, and it was brand new when I bought it not long ago!

I do wonder if they shipped me one of X affected PSU's that they had left over in the warehouse? As it's now discontinued.

I had red horror stories regarding their PSU's in the past, but thought, well it's the top end model they offer for the SFX, so surely it must be good if the SFF fanboys regard it as 'the goat' of it's time?

I definitely will not be taking that risk again from them. It could have damaged my components, and I have planned to upgrade soon, so imagine the hassle that would have caused adding new hardware to the mix when still chasing this issue! And the possible major damage it might have caused?

This is the third time I've had a recent issue with their products, so never again on that basis - I get that they don't make X product, depending on what it is, but I've had 3 different product types have issues this year alone. What a shame, I have been buying their products for 20+ years... It does make you wonder, when you had X issue, in the past, was it one of their products causing to it - back then we didn't have the tools we do to diagnose it.

I'm very lucky my friend kindly risked and lent me a PSU to try for a few days.

 

[Deleted member 280263]

Great result!

It's rather unusual for a PSU to die in less than two years. You must've been boring it to death with all of that idle usage!

The stupid thing is, it just sits in the lounge downstairs, next to the Megadrive, SNES, etc, and is rarely used. So yeah, I guess it was bored to death

I fire it up every now and again to stream things on Netflix and Youtube in 4K, but that's about it

Pretty pathetic really, imagine if that was my main PC! Or had a 5090+9800X3D in etc, risking it's components, and frying them!

I'm lucky that I use a Mac Studio in my office!

 

[Deleted member 280263]

Corsair seem to be on a bit of a rough patch. I've been seeing crazy amount of RX and RXi newer, post 2020 models refurbished, meaning there are some underlying QC issues or design faults that make them go back. At least their warranty is solid.

So it would seem.
Ha, I beg to differ, they were trying to get my supplier to offer me some loud lesser model as a replacement. I pretty much told them to **** off, and that I wanted a like for like, just like I was reassured when buying, specifically inquiring about the warranty process, considering this was now discontinued, I certainly wasn't whiling to take a £60-80 hit on a lesser model!
Won't be wasting my time with them again, unless it's ram, maybe. But I've had issues with that in the past, despite them claiming it's 'lifetime' warranty...
You live and you learn I guess!

 

[Deleted member 280263]

That's interesting, I never heard of this happen so far - the usual was that they'd upgrad you, especially if it was no longer manufactured and no stock of refurbished available their end.
Im guessing you wend directly to Corsair right? They never involved the supplier in my case.

Not to break the 'rules' of mentioning other suppliers, but TLDR, they tried to argue the toss. And I eventually won, rightly so, and picked another brand.
A said rival competitor supplier, claims that that they are Corsair UK, distributor wise... So it makes you wonder, what's reality and what's smoke and mirrors. That's all I'll say, out of respect for OCUK, as I've had no problems with them, so far.
Put it this way, if you were buying something rather expensive, say a GPU from Nvidia, at this point, you'd be quite worried, if you were about to buy a 5090/6090, wouldn't you, warranty wise! Given the 12VHPWR issues... So it doesn't inspire confidence regarding warranty, despite the price difference of X product, does it.

 

[Deleted member 280263]

It could be. Old parts definitely do end up in the chain a lot. I got some RAM a few months ago (not Corsair) and was shocked to find it had been manufactured in the weeks prior

I remember when Seasonic had the issue with their Focus Plus and those models were still getting purchased and reported on forums several years later, even though they'd been replaced.

Oh, the one that almost exclusively sells their stuff in some categories? I did wonder about the nature of their relationship.

Yeah, they're not the same company they were. Their reputation was built on great support and quality, I can remember a time they had active and very knowledgeable and helpful reps on almost every hardware forum. But then again, what company IS still the same? Cutbacks happening everywhere.

I've also heard a fair few negative comments about their recent PSUs and memories, but since I assume they sell far more than most, it hasn't influenced my specs.

Thanks for your insight mate

Yeah, they literally used the words "when you RMA a product, it comes to us, we are Corsair UK"... So take from that what you will!

I think it's just like every industry now, a greed based cash grab, chancing their luck, hoping they don't have to honour warranties, and jumping through loopholes with warranties, when/IF they do have to!

It's safe to say, I got away 'lucky' that it didn't damage my hardware, that could or couldn't be at X time, out of warranty itself, thus, extra risk, I'm not whiling to take a chance on again, especially not after the planned future upgrade, **** that!
And that's as politely and graciously as I'll put it

My money will never go to them again, as aforementioned, this is the third time, this year, they've screwed me over with different components, all of which are made by different people, so yeah, they can go **** themselves, as far as I'm concerned, it's just another greedy brand that slaps their name on stuff they don't even make, with no care for brand loyalty, even if it's since they began (in my case) so they won't have my money again!
It's very obvious all the hype, is sponsored/backhanded, now. I definitely see the wood through the trees!

Oh, by the way, they tried to force me to accept a 'pro-rata' based refund, versus the 'like for like' replacement, based on my 'usage'... Nice huh? I said, what are you talking about? It's already a 7 year warranty despite being a 80+ Platinum 'high end/best of the best model'? When others offer 10 year warranty, and it's not even 2 years old?

After over half an hour of proving myself, qouting the Corsair official website's acknowledgement of this issue years ago - to be told 'but that was in 2020' - to which I replied "well it obviously hasn't been fixed? HOW do I know, that they haven't sent me and old stock product that was affected, it isn't up to ME to prove this, is it! If it has failed, regardless that isn't my fault, is it!"

They really did push for me to accept **** all in return based on a refund 'pro-rata' - no thanks!

Then pushed said ******* lower model, NOPE!

It rightly makes me so angry, if this was my only PC, and I didn't have the Mac Studio in my office, imagine the hassle it would have caused my business? Imagine if it was powering our server, etc etc, just not acceptable based on the quite frankly pathetic 'customer service' or lack there of, I've 'received'. No thank you!

It reminds me, of those dodgy takeaways, you read about in the local papers, that frequently give people food poisoning, but it's fine 'cause 'sometimes' we don't! **** off? Excuse my language, but I'm not having that? I expected more from a brand such as this? That's something that you'd expect from some random Chinese con artist on ebay, or Curry's/Comet, after ripping you off, from 'The Tech Guys' department.

Either way, I hope this helps someone. It saddens me, that a brand that I trusted for 20+ years, is now, to put it lightly, a greedy bunch of scumbags, with zero care about repeat business.

 

[Deleted member 280263]

Interesting. Funnily enough (if we're referring to the same company), they also built their reputation on great support, but I've heard so many negative stories in the last few years about how they handle RMA/warranty.

Hard to know what brand (if any) you actually can trust and even if they make good, might have to ship it to Taiwan first


Fair enough. At least, I haven't heard any horror stories about their PSUs killing things, most of the reports I've seen are just about early/unexpected deaths.

Personally, I think their best/most reliable line was the early Seasonic HX ones, a lot of those still working fine many years later, but I know they weren't 100% reliable either.


It doesn't even have to be deliberate. Having a good relationship with forums and reviewers automatically gets a lot of press and their brand still has a strong presence over several decades of good work.

Personally, I stopped being interested in their PSUs when they introduced some poor low-end stuff, like their VS line. Just slap a Corsair badge on it and everybody thought they had got something quality. I still see that on places like reddit to this day "just get a Corsair PSU, they're great". Hmm, short memories, I guess.

Sorry mate, I've just edited my post to provide a better context at the same time you replied - sods law , edit your reply once you've red the updated information. Then I'll reply
Sorry about that, I held back a fair bit at first, but thought, why should I? I've basically been majorly scammed at this point.
Thanks for your genuine support, and understanding, it means a lot, versus a biased 'but it's X brand, they're amazing' blindsided fanboy'ism's!