The PC fails to restart properly, only a hard reboot succeeds.
The PC fails to restart properly, only a hard reboot succeeds.
Hey there, I just moved the CPU I had in my alienware X51-r2 into a new case with a fresh PSU. I upgraded the BIOS to the latest version and installed Windows 10 Home 64bit. I made sure to allocate enough memory and space for the GPU I wanted. Here are the system details:
CPU: Intel i7-4970
GPU: EVGA 1070Ti FTW2
Motherboard: ASUS Z87-PRO
RAM: 32GB Corsair Vengeance 1600MHz
Storage: Samsung 860 EVO 2TB
Cooler: Noctua NH-D15
Power Supply: Corsair RM850x
I’ve been having trouble with the system not restarting properly. When I try to restart in Windows, it shuts down completely, fans spin up fast, and it just stays that way. I have to perform a hard reboot. If the PC is off, it boots normally but runs fine.
Troubleshooting steps so far:
- Updated BIOS to the latest release.
- Disabled fast boot in BIOS settings.
- Tried CSM in Auto mode, Legacy OPROM only, and UEFI only.
- Experimented with SATA AHCI and IDE modes.
I’ve checked everything I could find online and tried various fixes, but nothing seems to work. This isn’t my primary machine, but it’s used for retro gaming and media playback downstairs. The constant need to shut down or reboot is really frustrating. I’m reaching out to fellow tech enthusiasts for help—any advice would be greatly appreciated! Thanks for your time and support.
Usually this relates to a sleep or hibernation problem, possibly caused by old or damaged drivers like those for the GPU. You can use DDU to remove the GPU drivers and then reinstall them via GeForce Experience. If issues persist, look for other drivers that might need updating. Another approach is to turn off sleep and hibernation in Windows and enable fast boot if available, to determine if that resolves the issue.
I removed the battery and reset the CMOS before updating the BIOS. I also included a screenshot of the CPU power settings.
I encountered a problem before installing the GPU, but I recently downloaded new drivers from the ground up since GeForce Experience wasn't loading them. I also disabled sleep, hibernation, and fast boot settings recently. Still no success, but appreciate your assistance.
GeForce Experience won't set up drivers, suggesting a GPU problem. Has this card been with you long or did you buy it recently?
Ok, next best option would be to try an in-place windows upgrade or again just manually updating every driver you can. If updating doesn't work and this is an install of Windows from prior to the CPU swap I'd say you may just want to do a fresh install anyway. Swapping CPUs/motherboards can have a very negative impact on Windows unless you fresh install it to circumvent any software instabilities or issues.