Computer Randomly Blacks Out

[Dewam]

Hey everyone!

 

My computer has an issue, where it randomly from time to time (sometimes daily, sometimes weekly) goes black during gaming. The screen simply turns black, the sounds glitches, but the computer seems to still be "on". When plugging the monitor out and in again, nothing happens. the only fix is forcing the computer to turn off, and then turn it on again.

 

The computer was first built in 2015, but almost everything has been switched out since, except:

- PSU (Corsair CX600M, 600w)

- OS Drive (120 gb SSD from Kingston)

 

The computer is running windows 11. Specifications are:

- CPU: AMD 5600x

- GPU: MSI Gaming X Trio 3060 ti

- RAM: 16 gb DDR4 

- Motherboard: ASUS ROG Strix B550-F

 

My guess is that it is the PSU that fails to supply enough power, making the GPU crash or something. I have tried running a stress test with Furmark and Cinebench running simultaneously, but this fails to kill the pc. I don't mind buying a new PSU, but I just want some opinions on the matter before I go out and spend my money on something which may or may not resolve the issue.

[Mumintroll]

Are there any suspicious error or warning messages in the event viewer, especially at the time when it happens?

Are there any warning signs or something odd in the device manager?

 

Have you checked for any corrupt system files? Open a command prompt as admin and do a sfc /scannow

 

Have you checked the health of that Kingston ssd? If it has been used since 2015 maybe it's soon time to retire it.

Use an app, like CrystalDiskInfo, to see the health and the SMART values.

 

What is the cpu and gpu temperatures, especially during load?

 

Have you done a memtest?

 

 

 

Once you've checked those things you can troubleshoot with spare parts.

Borrow a powersupply from a friend to see if you still get those freezes, just to be sure.

[ChrisLoudon]

41 minutes ago, Dewam said:

but I just want some opinions on the matter before I go out and spend my money on something which may or may not resolve the issue.

Hi buddy, as @Mumintroll suggested, is there anything in the Windows Event Viewer > Windows Logs > System that might point to a driver crash?

 

You are looking for an amber warning (not a red critical) that says nvlddmkm has stopped responding but recovered or something like that.

 

You might even see a few of them in quick succession at the time of the last black screen.

 

You will also see a red critical entry (or 2) BUT these are just recording that the system wasn't cleanly shut down.

 

If you do see the nvlddmkm errors, this is your Nvidia driver crashing and supposedly recovering. Obviously, it hasn't fully recovered as your screen is still black but the PC hasn't fully locked.

 

From here, this is where you need to get your diagnostic hat on.

 

1. Use a tool called DDU to get rid of your existing drivers and do a reinstall with Nvidia's latest from their website.

2. Do a fresh install on Windows. Not a repair or an upgrade. A proper clean sweep fresh install. Its a bit of a ball-ache but usually a good way to rule out any software problems.

3. Check GPU and CPU temps under load with HWInfo.

4. Make sure the GPU fans are spinning and there's no gunk or fluff jamming up the works.

5. PSU is equally a likely candidate. Do you have another one you can use to test?

6. If you have any CPU, Memory or GPU OCs in place then revert to stock.

 

keep us posted

 

C

[Dewam]

These are the warning messages I found.

When I upgraded to windows 11 I did a fresh, clean install. The problem was occuring both before and after (I hoped upgradign and doing a clean install would resolve the issue). I checked the health of the disk using CrystalDiskInfo, and it says the health is good (96%). 

During stress test and such I checked the temperature of the GPU, and nothing out of the ordinary. Average temperature stayed below 70 degrees celsius.

 

[Dewam]

4 hours ago, Mumintroll said:

Are there any suspicious error or warning messages in the event viewer, especially at the time when it happens?

Are there any warning signs or something odd in the device manager?

 

Have you checked for any corrupt system files? Open a command prompt as admin and do a sfc /scannow

 

Have you checked the health of that Kingston ssd? If it has been used since 2015 maybe it's soon time to retire it.

Use an app, like CrystalDiskInfo, to see the health and the SMART values.

 

What is the cpu and gpu temperatures, especially during load?

 

Have you done a memtest?

 

 

 

Once you've checked those things you can troubleshoot with spare parts.

Borrow a powersupply from a friend to see if you still get those freezes, just to be sure.

I just did a memtest as well. No errors. I don't really have much suspicions left other than the PSU.

[Mumintroll]

1 hour ago, Dewam said:

I just did a memtest as well. No errors. I don't really have much suspicions left other than the PSU.

See if you can borrow a friend's PSU to test with for awhile before you decide to buy a new one, just in case.

[Dewam]

On 1/16/2025 at 7:44 PM, Mumintroll said:

See if you can borrow a friend's PSU to test with for awhile before you decide to buy a new one, just in case.

I might just go ahead and buy a new one. I don't really have an option to borrow one, and the old one needs replacement at some point anyways. Thank you for all the help! It means a lot