The PC shuts down unexpectedly and restarts?
The PC shuts down unexpectedly and restarts?
Hey everyone, I own a gaming PC that’s been acting up for four years now. Recently, the screen started showing flickering lines and it would shut down unexpectedly. The graphics card sometimes turns off on its own, so I have to manually restart it using Device Manager. I’ve tried fixing everything—restarting the PC, resetting drivers, even factory resets—but nothing seems to work. I’m really stuck and would appreciate any advice you can offer.
It might be several factors at play but I’d examine the GPU with the flickering screen problems. Do you have a friend or family member who could test your components or take it to a repair shop?
With the Seasonic S12III-650 80 PLUS Bronze, it comes with a 5-year warranty, making it wise to search for a replacement PSU before it fails because PSUs don’t maintain consistent power output and can deteriorate over time!
From what I found online, flickering lines on my screen followed by a reboot are common.
Possible reasons include:
Outdated graphics drivers – the most frequent culprit.
Overheating – excessive heat from the card can trigger visual issues.
Loose connections – ensure the card is firmly installed and all cables are tight.
Damaged hardware – a failing GPU or a frayed display cable might be involved.
Power supply problems – a weak PSU can lead to instability and flickering.
I experienced this precise problem again. Same exact issue consistently. Random shutdowns, completely unpredictable. I had to invest time in troubleshooting. Checked the dust buildup—no heat-related cause. Reapplied thermal paste on CPU and GPU, but it didn’t resolve anything. Removed everything and repositioned components, still no success. Swapped out memory, CPU, GPU, and even the HDD, but nothing changed. Focused on power supply unit and drives—unplugged drives and replaced PSU, yet the problem persisted. At this stage, very little remains to diagnose, though I’ve received some useful insights from the work we’ve done so far. My initial suspicion was a defective front panel switch. I took it to a local repair shop, but they didn’t have any new switches available; they only provided a used one for testing. That worked perfectly. The switch itself was faulty—it only opens and closes the circuit without any additional functionality.
Remove the PSU from the case and bring only the PSU to your PC repair shop. They offer small PSU testers that connect directly to the cables from the PSU out, instantly indicating whether the PSU is functional or not. If they require a lot of money for testing, say no and purchase your own tester yourself. You simply plug it in and it will tell you immediately if it works or not.