Power issue?

[Jito463]

Okay, so I built my new Ryzen system about 2-3 months ago (full specs are in my profile).  For the most part, it's run incredible.  Games run smooth and Windows/applications run fast.   However, I've had an odd issue that's popped up very randomly (3 times so far) and it's bugging me because I can't seem to narrow it down, due to the intermittent nature of it.

 

When I leave to go to work, my computer is left running.  The CPU is allowed to idle down and the monitor goes to sleep, but the system itself does not go into sleep mode.  This is how I always run my computers.  My previous system ran for several years like this, no problem.

 

Now, however, I've come home a few times to find my keyboard and trackball unresponsive (the numlock LED is off), and the only option I have is to force shut down my system and power back up.  I'm at work right now, so I don't have the exact message, but the event log mentioned a power loss (yet the system was still powered on).  The last time it happened, it showed the power loss occurred roughly an hour after I went to work.  The one thing I have not tried yet is to swap out my power strip, but where it's located at makes it a pain to get to, and it's the same one I used on my old build without issue.

 

I can run the tests myself on the hardware (I'm a computer tech by trade), but I was curious if anyone had encountered an issue similar to this before, so I could narrow down my testing parameters.

[Windows7ge]

Did you try a different PSU? Perhaps one of the power rails is having random droops and it's causing the system to lock up.

[hconverse02]

Sounds like a windows problem or maybe you just got an unlucky psu

[Jito463]

Just now, Windows7ge said:

Did you try a different PSU? Perhaps one of the power rails is having random droops and it's causing the system to lock up.

It shouldn't be the PSU (it's a tier one), though anything is certainly possible.  I wonder if HWMonitor can read the voltages and log it from Windows?  I'd hate to swap all those cables out to test, considering it can take days or even weeks for the issue to rear its ugly little head.

[Windows7ge]

4 hours ago, Jito463 said:

It shouldn't be the PSU (it's a tier one), though anything is certainly possible.  I wonder if HWMonitor can read the voltages and log it from Windows?  I'd hate to swap all those cables out to test, considering it can take days or even weeks for the issue to rear its ugly little head.

If Event Viewer is claiming it's power loss then unless it's due to the hard reset then I'd think it's from something power related. I think it is unlikely to be main power related. The capacitors in the PSU would keep the system powered for just a few seconds during the mains droop (a brown out) which can be bad for the hardware but I would think the PSU could compensate. The next issue would be to blame the PSU itself.

 

Or Event Viewer is just spewing garbage information and it's actually a Sleep Mode related issue. Even though Sleep Mode isn't actually being used you said the Keyboard/Mouse would become unresponsive. I've heard similar issues before when people would put their machines in or out of sleep mode. Where the system wouldn't go into sleep mode or couldn't come back out of it. I'd check and make sure the system really isn't set to enter sleep mode and only is set to turn off the display because I've also heard issues of peoples displays turning off and refusing to come back without a hard reset.

 

Gotta love computers. They can be leaps and bounds more powerful than a console but when a PC stops working or has a bug (virus or just a issue) it can be a bitch to get it behaving again.

[Jito463]

2 minutes ago, Windows7ge said:

If Event Viewer is claiming it's power loss then unless it's due to the hard reset then I'd think it's from something power related.

It's not from the hard reset, as that happened many hours after when the EV claimed the power loss occurred.

 

3 minutes ago, Windows7ge said:

The next issue would be to blame the PSU itself.

Something I've considered, though I really hope it's not the case.  Still, it does have a 12 year warranty, so I suppose it's all covered, just in case.  I could throw in my previous PC Power 610W.  8 1/2 years old, but still runs strong and I know it's definitely stable.  It's just a pain to swap it all. 

 

Another possibility I've considered, is that the motherboard isn't regulating the power correctly.

 

5 minutes ago, Windows7ge said:

I'd check and make sure the system really isn't set to enter sleep mode and only is set to turn off the display

It's definitely not going to sleep mode.  I have all four of my power profiles (High Performance, Balanced, Ryzen Balanced and Power Saver) configured so none of them put the computer to sleep.  I use a command script to switch between power profiles depending on my usage (HP for gaming, RB for regular use and either Bal or PS for when I'm away).  Initially I thought perhaps it had something to do with the configuration of the PS profile, but after switching to Balanced and testing, it happened again.  At this point, it looks to be hardware related, just trying to narrow down the list of possible culprits.

 

13 minutes ago, Windows7ge said:

Gotta love computers. They can be leaps and bounds more powerful than a console but when a PC stops working or has a bug (virus or just a issue) it can be a pain to get it behaving again.

Oh, don't I know it.  I've been working on computers for nearly 25 years now.  They're great when they work and can be an absolute nightmare when they don't.

[Windows7ge]

29 minutes ago, Jito463 said:

Oh, don't I know it.  I've been working on computers for nearly 25 years now.  They're great when they work and can be an absolute nightmare when they don't.

Easiest way to rule out hardware would be to swamp out components one at a time but not everybody has at least two motherboards/CPUs that are compatible.

[Jito463]

Just now, Windows7ge said:

Easiest way to rule out hardware would be to swamp out components one at a time but not everybody has at least two motherboards/CPUs that are compatible.

Yeah, it is (though there are some good diagnostics tools I have available, too).  I was mostly making this post as a sounding board to bounce ideas off someone else.  I work better when I have someone to interact with.

[Windows7ge]

25 minutes ago, Jito463 said:

Yeah, it is (though there are some good diagnostics tools I have available, too).  I was mostly making this post as a sounding board to bounce ideas off someone else.  I work better when I have someone to interact with.

Well perhaps it has something to do with drive initialization. I believe by default if a drive is idle for a time it goes into a power saver mode. Perhaps the motherboard is having issues reinitializing the drive after it goes into idle. I can say that with Windows 10 when the drive idles it will periodically reinitialize itself then go back to power saver mode. If the issue only occurs when the system is left idle for extended periods of time it could be a potential lead as to why the system locks up and peripherals stop responding.

 

You could test this by going into the power saver advanced controls and disabling power saver for the drives. Don't let them spin down or uninitialize for SSD's. If the issue stops then a BIOS update might be in order but I'd use that as a last resort.

[Jito463]

5 minutes ago, Windows7ge said:

You could test this by going into the power saver advanced controls and disabling power saver for the drives. Don't let them spin down or uninitialize for SSD's. If the issue stops then a BIOS update might be in order but I'd use that as a last resort.

Actually, I've already got them all (the power profiles) configured to not power off the drives.  I find my drives last longer and run better if they stay spinning 24/7.  It's spinning the drives up-and-down the reduces their life span.

 

As for a BIOS update, I'm already waiting on the AGESA 1.0.0.6 update for my RAM, so that will be my next step.  I have a beta BIOS for my board, but I don't trust betas for something that critical.