PC experiences unexpected shutdowns?
PC experiences unexpected shutdowns?
Hey everyone, I'm feeling a mix of sadness and frustration right now while writing this. To start, I want to clarify when I first ran into this issue. As someone who plays competitively and often streams on Twitch, I usually opt for top-tier PCs and spend long gaming sessions on them.
About two years back, I had a medium-performance system: an RTX3070 with a Ryzen 5 5700G processor and 32GB of DDR4 RAM. Around that time, I began experiencing unexpected shutdowns. These happened mostly during games, but occasionally even when I wasn't playing. Initially, I thought maybe I was overworking my PC by running demanding games like WoW, but then it started failing in other titles such as Valorant and League of Legends (which is what I usually play).
How does it happen? During a game or match, the screen would display a "Shutting Down" message, similar to pressing the shutdown button on Windows. After a short while, the PC would power off. This was the least severe shutdown I'd ever had, though sometimes the monitor would freeze and then the PC would restart instantly.
My first attempt at troubleshooting involved researching online. I discovered that common causes were a faulty power supply unit or overheating. Overheating wasn't the main issue because I had quality cooling components and tested everything thoroughly. I even took my PC to a nearby service center, which confirmed they had run it under stress and it hadn’t shut down. My old LENOVO Legion PC was decent overall, though it sometimes lagged and had shutdown problems.
So I upgraded to a much better machine built with friends who have extensive experience. On the new system, everything worked perfectly from the start. We ensured compatibility between components and selected a reliable PSU. The PC has been running smoothly for about a week now, and I’m quite satisfied.
Recently, while playing League, my monitor suddenly went black mid-game, and the PC entered sleep mode with flickering lights. I had to restart it manually, which felt frustrating. After a 30-minute break, the same issue occurred again—exactly like before. This was unexpected and really upsetting.
I've documented everything, checked forums, messages on Reddit, and even consulted ChatGPT for advice. I’ve looked into Windows Event Logs and found only minor yellow warnings about DistributedCOM events, which seemed harmless.
From my perspective, all hardware components are brand new and well-chosen. I’ve disabled the PCi Express from battery power mode, as some users report this causing shutdowns. I also checked for malware and system corruption using command prompts and chkdsk, but found nothing suspicious.
The only potential culprits I can think of are:
- The ACER VG271U 144Hz monitor
- The LED TN Samsung 60Hz secondary screen
- My wireless mouse Glorious Model O 2 Pro
- My wireless headset Razer Blackshark V2
I don’t have any viruses or malware, and I’ve scanned all files. However, I’m still unsure about the power outlet itself—maybe it’s faulty, or perhaps the old Samsung monitor could be the cause. I’m also considering whether the peripherals like Razer Synapse or HyperX NGNUITY might be interfering.
For now, I plan to try connecting everything via an extended cable from a different power outlet to see if that resolves the issue. Until then, I’m stuck trying to figure this out and need your help. Thanks in advance!
P.S.: I’ll share photos of my new PC once it’s fully set up.
Welcome to the forums, newcomer! During a League match or another game's session, the message "Shutting Down" appears on the screen just like pressing the shut down button on Windows, and then the PC turns off after a short time. That's unusual unless your pet cat touched the power button on your case to start the shutdown. It seems like you might have an intruder. It would be wise to run malwarebytyes on your system and check if anything shows up. On another note, where did you obtain the installer for your operating system on both devices? I even selected a very good PSU and made sure my CPU and GPU had enough power from it.
If you check here:
https://www.techpowerup.com/gpu-specs/xf...ion.b12281
you'll notice they recommend a 700W PSU, at the very least. In your current setup, you only have 50W of headroom. If I were you, I'd opt for an 850W reliable unit.
The only possibility I have is that your wall outlet might be faulty. If you suspect this, try using another outlet in your home. It would be a good idea to check the grounding with a professional electrician.
Besides that, I really don't understand what else to do—PC service can't help me. Why not?
What BIOS version are you currently running for your motherboard?
And was Windows reinstalled each time, restored from a backup or image, or did you reuse the drive from the prior system? I understand you mentioned everything was new, but this seems more like a driver, power, or temperature problem to me.
By the way, dcom errors usually indicate the system can't reach a site it's trying to access, which might be more common with a fresh install.
Initially, regarding the malware aspect, the PC is only about a week old. I've only installed Discord and games like League of Legends and Apex. I also downloaded Spotify and StreamlabsOBS for streaming on Steam. So far, I haven't installed any major or suspicious applications from the internet.
In terms of the PSU, since this was my budget purchase, I don’t really need another one now. However, it should function properly. I tested it on a website (I can’t recall the name), but it worked well—allowing me to select the PSU, GPU, and CPU together, even under stress.
For the faulty outlet, I recently bought an extended cord to connect my PC to another outlet in my room. All devices connected to my old outlet were transferred to this new cord, so I’ll test it to see if it works correctly.