My computer suddenly shuts down to a blank screen without any warning?
My computer suddenly shuts down to a blank screen without any warning?
I believe this could indicate unstable RAM.
Most of the logs seem normal, but in your Application log there are numerous application error messages (far more than expected), all related to memory issues—primarily 0xC0000409 (buffer overflow) and 0xC0000005 (invalid memory access).
Here are some examples if you wish to review them...
Spoiler:
Application Errors
Log Name: Application
Source: Application Error
Date: 22/08/2025 08:33:22
Event ID: 1000
Task Category: Application Crashing Events
Level: Error
Keywords:
User: S-1-5-21-2521731664-2290514165-2767927691-1001
Computer: DESKTOP-TGMNO60
Description:
Faulting application name: GalaxyClient Helper.exe, version: 2.0.86.13, time stamp: 0x686d34ae
Faulting module name: ucrtbase.dll, version: 10.0.26100.4768, time stamp: 0xc0b2eb6a
Exception code: 0xc0000409
Fault offset: 0x0002da51
Faulting process id: 0x881C
Faulting application start time: 0x1DC1326461246FE
Faulting application path: C:\Program Files (x86)\GOG Galaxy\GalaxyClient Helper.exe
Faulting module path: C:\WINDOWS\System32\ucrtbase.dll
Report Id: 3909f5af-b865-48fc-a5a8-a2dd5dbaee14
Faulting package full name:
Faulting package-relative application ID:
Log Name: Application
Source: Application Error
Date: 22/08/2025 23:11:28
Event ID: 1000
Task Category: Application Crashing Events
Level: Error
Keywords:
User: S-1-5-21-2521731664-2290514165-2767927691-1001
Computer: DESKTOP-TGMNO60
Description:
Faulting application name: GalaxyClient Helper.exe, version: 2.0.86.13, time stamp: 0x686d34ae
Faulting module name: ucrtbase.dll, version: 10.0.26100.4768, time stamp: 0xc0b2eb6a
Report Id: 1554fb71-756a-44bd-b204-83fe8d16161d
Faulting package full name:
They are a sufficient hint for me to examine the RAM more closely. Instead of using a memory tester (which you've done), a more reliable approach would be to remove one stick for a few days, or until you encounter a BSOD or crash. Make sure the single stick is correctly seated in your motherboard slot (usually A2). With two 16GB sticks, this shouldn't pose too much of a challenge.
If the device fails or crashes on either stick individually, it likely isn't a RAM problem—we should investigate another component.
I've already completed this task before. I own 64GB spread across four sticks. A few weeks ago I removed two and ran with 32GB, still experiencing black screens though less often. That brought a small stability boost but not complete. Last week I replaced the two sticks I was testing with the other two. It's more stable than using all four slots yet occasional black screens persist.
Last year I had faulty RAM and the symptoms changed. Every time I encountered random BSODs regardless of activity, I could still see video and detect errors. This year it only occurs during gameplay, screen goes black with no errors. Could this indicate persistent RAM issues and what are the chances RAM fails consecutively like this? Might it point to problems with the DIMM slots?
Bad RAM slots can still occur. I plan to test each stick individually, first in slot A2, then one at a time in slot B2. If issues persist with all sticks in both slots, we might rule out the RAM and those specific slots. However, I'm hesitant to conclude yet, as the application log shows problems consistently across every stick in those slots.
I will attempt this, though it may take some time before I see results. The black screen has appeared intermittently over the past few days, meaning processing all the sticks will require effort. I also overlooked mentioning that none of the programs mentioned in the crash report were actively running during these incidents. Galaxy is a game launcher I haven't used recently, and two other apps are for work purposes where I've never experienced crashes. The final one is related to a game that frequently causes black screen issues.
It's possible these applications are still active in the background. Any programs you no longer need should be completely removed.
OK, let's move on from the RAM then. I notice from the System log that you have EasyAntiCheat installed....
Code:
Log Name: System
Source: Microsoft-Windows-FilterManager
Date: 02/09/2025 03:49:11
Event ID: 11
Task Category: None
Level: Warning
Keywords:
User: SYSTEM
Computer: DESKTOP-TGMNO60
Description:
File System Filter 'EasyAntiCheat_EOSSys' (Version 10.0, 2025-08-28T09:54:06.000000000Z) does not support bypass IO.
Supported features: 0x4.
Easy Anti Cheat is a known cause of BSODs on many systems, all the anti cheat tools cause BSODs often. You mentioned in your OP that the BSODs happen 'when playing a game'. Are you able to uninstall Easy Anti Cheat and still play that game? If not, can you plesae reboot (to unload the Easy AntiCheat drivers) and try and make it BSOD without playing a game? Or, without playing a game that uses Easy Anti Cheat? Easy Anti Cheat is such a common cause of BSODs that we need to eliminate it.
I'm puzzled that we're not seeing any dumps written by these BSODs. Can you check that all the following are true please, if not then set them to these settings...
The page file must be on the same drive as your operating system
The page file size should be "system managed"
The system crash/recovery options should be "Automatic memory dump"
The "Overwrite any existing file" box must be checked
The "Write an event to the system log" should be checked
The dump file location should be %SystemRoot%\MEMORY.DMP
Windows Error Reporting (WER) system service must be set to MANUAL
User account control must be running
In addition, the following can also prevent you seeing dumps...
SSD drives with older firmware may not create dumps (update the drive firmware)
Cleaner applications like Ccleaner or the Windows Disk Cleaner delete dump files, so don't run them until you are fixed
Bad RAM may prevent the data from being saved and written to a file on reboot, so if all else fails test your RAM
I could exclude Easy Anti Cheat, but then I wouldn't be able to run any games that depend on it. They would need me to install it before moving past the menu screen if it even allows progressing further.
Could you explain these options like page file settings and overwriting existing files? Where can I find them? I'm not very familiar with any of these terms.
I haven't used Ccleaner or Windows Disk Cleaner. My RAM tests have always passed successfully. Only one of my SSD's firmware was updated about a month ago, while the others are probably outdated.
Another observation about these black screens is that when playing games like "Clair Obscur: Expedition 33" for 22 hours, I've experienced a black screen at least once each session. Sometimes it takes 30 minutes, sometimes an hour or two, but it always happens. However, I've managed to play "skate" for about 16 hours without any issues. The game "Deadlock" has accumulated 434 hours of playtime and occasionally causes black screens, though not consistently. Some titles seem to trigger it more than others. "Need for Speed Unbound" has 42 hours of playtime with no black screens. I initially suspected a connection to the Unreal engine, but since these games use different engines, that theory doesn't hold.
And there are no related error codes, alerts, or notifications in Reliability History/Monitor or Event Viewer. Check for references to the game, Easy Anti-Cheat, or any activity that is recorded immediately before or during reported BSODs. Verify that an unnoticed or unexpected application isn’t running in the background. Also confirm no other application is being launched or activated through Task Scheduler while the game is running.
The screen disappeared abruptly without any clear cause, making it seem unpredictable. The only solution was a complete restart, but there’s no record of temperature or memory fluctuations beforehand. I’ve also tested other monitors and cables (HDMI versus Display Port).
I checked the Event Viewer, but either I’m not familiar enough with it or I can’t locate relevant information. I do have some older logs from late July when a black screen occurred (this has been happening since May, with no hardware changes).
Here are links to the Event Viewer and Reliability Monitor logs for July 31st:
- Dropbox link to Event Viewer Application log for July 31st
- Dropbox link to Reliability Monitor images from July 12th
- First image shows a black screen followed by a reboot on the 30th
- Second image captures several short black screens around July 12th
- Third image details errors in the reliability monitor, with one error labeled "BAD_DUMPFILE"