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Random black screen of death

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JoshIves

PCHF Member
Dec 24, 2023
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20
#1
I've been having an issue for a while where my computer will randomly crash. It normally crashes by the screen turning black but i can still hear audio and afterwards i have to force a restart to fix it.

This issue seems to happen randomly as it has happened during cpu and gpu intensive games as-well as while just watching youtube or even it just idling.

I have run RAM memory testers and theres no issue, i have also stress tested my pc which did not immediately cause any issues and the issue doesn't seem to be due to overheating. I have also checked event viewer and theres no major events there.
 
#4
From Speccy...

The C:\ drive is down to 58GB free, which should be plenty, but could disappear quickly during gaming for cache files, temp files, and even Windows stuff like pagefile, or multiple running background tasks.
So try reclaiming some space.
Use WizTree to find where the space is being used, then use CCleaner to see what can be reclaimed.

D:\ drive is showing some SMART error rates - disconnect that drive and test the system.

Your RTX4070ti card wants a min of 700w PSU, with sites like this one; https://support.lumion.com/hc/en-us/articles/360003476773-Which-power-supply-do-you-need- recommending 900w.
The Corsair RM850e is a solid unit so should be fine for your needs.

The Speccy report couldn't list your RAM. What is the make/model/speed of the memory sticks.

As to some troubleshooting options - reboot the PC into Safe Mode and see if it crashes during normal activity.
Also create another user account and login under that profile and see if the black screens still occur.
 
#5
Currently i am out of time so as soon as im back i will try booting into safe mode and disconnecting the hdd.

For space on the ssd i use spacesniffer and i am on top of making sure theres enough storage.

The RAM i have is Corsair Vengeance DDR5 2x16GB at 5200Mhz

Also thank you for taking the time to respond and help
 
#7
Yes i have disconnected the hdd and the problem still persists. Also is there any issue running it in safe mode for long periods of time as i have no way to confirming if the issue is still happening without just waiting. Sorry that the reply took so long.
 
#8
No issue at all in running in Safe Mode, just means some system services will not be running.
For example, way back, in Safe Mode it wouldn't detect USB devices, and you couldn't print, and you had no internet. You can now do a lot more in Safe Mode, but things like your monitor resolution will still be terrible.

If you are still getting black screens in Safe Mode, that would indicate a software issue when in normal mode.

Let's try a Clean Boot - resource here; https://pchelpforum.net/r/clean-boot-versus-safe-mode.227/
Basically, you start the PC with everything unticked, and one at a time, keep ticking an entry until the problem repeats, then you know the culprit.
 
#12
Re-opened with update from the OP.
Sorry for not responding to the thread. I didn't have any issues but wanted to make sure that they didn't come back. For the past 10 days I've ran my pc with only the necessary applications running. Up till today there were no issues but today its crashed once. I have a feeling it could be a hardware issue but I don't know whether it would be the PSU or GPU. But if it was a GPU or PSU issue surely it would happen more when playing high intensive games rather than idling.
Click to expand...
 
#16
JoshIves said:
For space on the ssd i use spacesniffer and i am on top of making sure theres enough storage.
Click to expand...

I'm afraid to say that that is not going too well because you have a few issues going on but the biggest issue atm is the lack of free storage space on the C: partition.

Partition 1
Partition ID: Disk #1, Partition #1
Disk Letter: C:
File System: NTFS
Volume Serial Number: 3A8AE51F
Size: 930 GB
Used Space: 879 GB (94%)
Free Space: 51 GB (6%)
Click to expand...

See my canned info below;

For the lack of free storage space;

For Windows to be able to run efficiently and to be able to update you need to have between 20 and 25% of the partition or drive available on a HDD and an SSD between 10 and 15% as free storage space at all times, if you don`t you risk Windows becoming corrupt or not being able to update which puts you at risk of malware attack.

Data only storage devices should not be allowed to get any lower than 10% of free storage space of the full capacity of the drive/partition on the drive, this also to avoid data corruption.

Please note that storage devices can physically fail if the amount of free storage space is allowed to drop below the required 10 or 20/25% minimum.

Uninstall as many unused programs, games, videos and music files as you can and get yourself another means of backing up to, post back when you have between 20 and 25% free storage space on the C: drive/partition and we can go from there.
Click to expand...

For how Windows should be installed;

Windows should always be installed on either its own drive or on a separate partition on a larger drive, this reduces the amount of free space that is required to be kept available + it makes creating a regular back a whole lot easier.

A 256GB SSD or separate partition on a larger capacity drive should be the minimum capacity allowed for.
Click to expand...

JoshIves said:
Today in the timeframe of about 2 hours I've had 5 crashes.
Click to expand...

Difference between crashing and a hard shutdown;

Software such as Windows can crash and when it does crash you get a BSOD and when enabled a crash dmp is generated, programs or games when they crash can on occasion close to the desktop but the computer will still be 100% functional.

Hardware failure such as a weak power supply and/or overheating are not software related and when a computer for example suddenly turns off, freezes or the screen goes black etc the behaviour should be described as the "computer shut down unexpectedly" or froze etc and not as having crashed as the latter implies a software issue as opposed to an obvious hardware issue when described properly.

Having the correct info means that helpers will not be looking for a software issue when the problem is clearly hardware related.
Click to expand...

Quick one from Speccy;

Power Profile
Active power scheme: High performance
Click to expand...

Get rid of this less than useless setting.

Change the Windows Power Plan to Balanced, Ultra and High Performance are a form of overclocking that is known to cause stability and overheating issues, the setting should only be used for gaming type notebooks that have a discrete GPU that needs the extra power.
Click to expand...

The above is enough for you to be going on with for now.

 
#17
I have now turned power scheme to Balanced and have created 300GB of space on my SSD. I will also look at getting another SSD just for Windows or i will try partitioning my current C Drive allocating 256GB to for Windows.
 
#20
Can you post a new Speccy url and MTB log;

Download MiniToolBox and save the file to the Desktop.

Close the browser and run the tool, check the following options;

List last 10 Event Viewer Errors
List Installed Programs
List Devices (Only Problems)
List Users, Partitions and Memory size

Click on Go.

Post the resulting log in your next reply for us if you will.
 
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