Very high power usage + frequent crashes

[ceruleansky]

I use a laptop - Acer Predator Helios 300 i7 9th Gen - (16 GB/1 TB HDD/256 GB SSD/Windows 10 Home/6 GB Graphics/NVIDIA GeForce RTX 2060) PH315-52-74DX (1 year old).
I recently updated to the latest NVIDIA Studio driver and since then, Chrome, SketchUp and Enscape softwares have started causing system crashes. I see blue screen of death errors like: “Kernel Data Inpage Error”, “Critical Process Died” very frequently. Once there was “DPC Watchdog Violation”, “System Service Exception”, “Page Fault in Nonpaged area” as well (screenshots attached). I have tried reinstalling these softwares, I have tried reverting back to the previous Nvidia Driver and then reinstalling the softwares, but the problem still persists.
I have also noticed that the task manager values of GPU usage reaches 100%, and the Power Usage and Power Usage Trend is “Very High” when these three software are in use. (Attaching screenshots below). I am wondering if these crashes and task manager values are interrelated.
I am unable to use Google Chrome and Sketchup+Enscape at the same time (I was able to do it before comfortably without lags or any crashes).
I have also tried the Command Prompt sfc/scannow, drive scans and fixes but it detects some corrupt files and fixes. It doesn’t make a difference though.
It barely used to crash (used for a year) before this update.

Since two days, when the laptop crashes and restarts, it gets stuck and doesn’t boot at all. I need to long press the power button for it to boot again, but then it gets stuck on the “Predator” welcome screen.

I would appreciate any help right now! Thank you!

[veeg]

Hello

Have you tried to use the windows reset your pc?

@Bastet

[Bastet]

Have you used system restore to before you updated the driver?
Have you used DDU to cleanly remove the graphics driver then installed a fresh version from nVidia?
The error points to a failing disk so please run a disk check immediately.
Right click start>powershell with admin & enter: chkdsk c: /f /r then restart the PC to run this. If you cannot log in to Windows due to the problem then force restart the PC three times to reach the troubleshoot menu, once there choose command prompt & run it from there. If still no good then use the Windows installation media to boot the PC then select troubleshoot/repair the PC.
More here: How to Fix Kernel Data Inpage Error 0x0000007a Windows 10/8/8.1/7 - MiniTool

[ceruleansky]

Hello

Have you tried to use the windows reset your pc?

@Bastet

Hi, I tried resetting the laptop but it showed this error “There was a problem resetting this PC” and then the changes got undone.

[ceruleansky]

Have you used system restore to before you updated the driver?
Have you used DDU to cleanly remove the graphics driver then installed a fresh version from nVidia?
The error points to a failing disk so please run a disk check immediately.
Right click start>powershell with admin & enter: chkdsk c: /f /r then restart the PC to run this. If you cannot log in to Windows due to the problem then force restart the PC three times to reach the troubleshoot menu, once there choose command prompt & run it from there. If still no good then use the Windows installation media to boot the PC then select troubleshoot/repair the PC.
More here: How to Fix Kernel Data Inpage Error 0x0000007a Windows 10/8/8.1/7 - MiniTool

Hi,
I have not tried system restore.
I tried the DDU cleanup and installed the latest drivers - the issue persists.
I’ve run the chkdsk a couple of times, there were issues but they were fixed and the laptop starts normally after that.
I’ve tried all the kernel data inpage error fixes listed in the forums.

Can it be a RAM issue as the laptop crashes only while rendering software is in use?

[Bastet]

It’s possible that the problem is RAM. How many RAM sticks are installed? If two or more then try with just one stick.

I would try system restore within safe mode to rule out any interference with antivirus software.

[Rustys]

Download then run Speccy (free) and post the resultant url for us, details here, this will provide us with information about your computer hardware + any software that you have installed that may explain the present issue/s.

https://www.ccleaner.com/docs/speccy/using-speccy/publishing-a-speccy-profile-to-the-web

Include the make and model of the Power Supply Unit if this is a Desktop.

To publish a Speccy profile to the Web:

In Speccy, click File, and then click Publish Snapshot.

In the Publish Snapshot dialog box, click Yes to enable Speccy to proceed.

Speccy publishes the profile and displays a second Publish Snapshot. You can open the URL in your default browser, copy it to the clipboard, or close the dialog box.

[ceruleansky]

Download then run Speccy (free) and post the resultant url for us, details here, this will provide us with information about your computer hardware + any software that you have installed that may explain the present issue/s.

Hi Rustys, please find the Speccy details in the link below:

http://speccy.piriform.com/results/R4AELVR7gxNpH1UBRXu6WpI

I’m using a laptop, I’m attaching the charging adapter details below for your reference if needed:
AC/DC Adapter
Model: ADP-180TB F
Input: 100-240V ~ 2.34A, 50-60Hz
Output: 19.5V – 9.23A

Thank you for your help.

[ceruleansky]

It’s possible that the problem is RAM. How many RAM sticks are installed? If two or more then try with just one stick.

I think there are 2 sticks installed - but I’m not sure how to switch to one? I’m not well-versed with this

I would try system restore within safe mode to rule out any interference with antivirus software.

I had created a few restore points before, but when I tried system restore, it says “no restore points found”. I’m not sure why this happened. I had created restore points with exact dates and info about the changes I had made to the laptop, but I can’t find those now! I found one that was automatically created yesterday, but it won’t be of any help. Is it possible to use system restore with no restore point?

I also tried reset option in recovery settings (remove all files option), but “there was an error resetting the PC, Undoing changes” error came up. I don’t know how to go about it now.

I would like to add that I tried to use “Who crashed” to figure out what triggers the blue screens ( Resplendence Software - WhoCrashed, automatic crash dump analyzer ) - but when I run the analysis, it says:
"Crash dumps are enabled on your computer.

Crash dump directories:
C:\Windows
C:\Windows\Minidump

No valid crash dumps have been found on your computer"

Yesterday I installed another rendering software “Lumion” to check if it’s only Sketchup+Enscape causing the crash, but no, all rendering software (except Photoshop and AutoCAD) cause crashes within minutes of usage.

Really unsure of what to do now!

[ceruleansky]

Sometime back this happened - I was able to work on Sketchup+Enscape, exported 30+ high quality renders and 3 videos - the laptop did not crash.
Then I opened photoshop to edit the images, after a while it got stuck and eventually the laptop crashed.
So random. There was no other program open.

[phillpower2]

No wonder you are having problems, never seen so many AV programs installed on the one computer.

Antivirus
[COLOR=rgb(226, 80, 65)]Norton Security Ultra
Antivirus: Disabled
Virus Signature Database: Up to date
[COLOR=rgb(226, 80, 65)]Windows Defender
Antivirus: Disabled
Virus Signature Database: Up to date
[COLOR=rgb(226, 80, 65)]Avast Antivirus
Antivirus: Enabled
Virus Signature Database: Up to date
[COLOR=rgb(226, 80, 65)]Malwarebytes
Antivirus: Disabled
Virus Signature Database: Up to date

In addition to the above;

Operating System
Windows 10 Home Single Language 64-bit
Computer type: Notebook
Installation Date:[COLOR=rgb(226, 80, 65)] 16-06-2020 11:33:22

Not one Windows update has been installed since the 16-06-2020 installation date, can I ask why not.

Until we can see a new Speccy url that shows Windows 10 is fully up to date no further assistance can be offered here, we have no way of knowing if your OS is legitimate and helping any further would be against the PCHF Terms and Rules that we are all bound by.

1. Discussion of or promotion of sites offering cracks, warez, torrents, *********** or any other illegal material or any software created to download any of the above will result in an immediate ban. [COLOR=rgb(226, 80, 65)]This includes nulled, copied or any other illegal software or operating systems.
   [COLOR=rgb(226, 80, 65)]
   [/COLOR][/COLOR]

[COLOR=rgb(226, 80, 65)][COLOR=rgb(226, 80, 65)][/color][/color][/COLOR][/COLOR][/COLOR][/COLOR][/COLOR]

[ceruleansky]

No wonder you are having problems, never seen so many AV programs installed on the one computer.

Not one Windows update has been installed since the 16-06-2020 installation date, can I ask why not.

Thank you for pointing this out - I installed Avast and Malwarebytes two days back to verify if there were some malware that weren’t getting detected. I was only using 1 before the issue started. Also, Norton is not installed but it still turned up here? I wonder how.

I’ve had a lot of issues with Windows update in my last Laptop, the driver updates used to mess up my workflow and rendering software so I paused them.
This laptop is only a year old and came with original windows installed. I have not fiddled with the OS at all.
But somehow resetting doesn’t work and even this error turns up when I download the updates (first picture - using the windows 10 update assistant)!! Please help! Why would this happen? I tried certain fixes so that updates get downloaded, but they don’t. The laptop had trouble restarting too, the “Critical Service Failed” blue screen popped up as soon as it was restarting. Had to boot in safe mode (which did a system restore to the last point).
I tried from the windows update settings as well, but it just shows as you see in the second picture. It’s checking for updates, but doesn’t show any pending ones. Yesterday a few got installed but none after that.

[ceruleansky]

I tried troubleshooting the “Windows Update” but it couldn’t detect any issues.

[phillpower2]

Download yourself the latest Windows 10 ISO from here and do a clean install, use the second option to create a bootable USB flash drive.

[ceruleansky]

Download yourself the latest Windows 10 ISO from here and do a clean install, use the second option to create a bootable USB flash drive.

Thank you so much. Will try this and let you know how it goes. Thank you for your patience and assistance.