Cmputer reboots while playing in server

[Aenaya]

I actually put this message in over at steam but realised afterwards I should have placed it here so I have copied and pasted the message below:

 

For the past few weeks I have been pulling my hair out trying to get 7dtd to run on a server without crashing. I can play single player no problems but to be honest I have only let it run for about 35 minutes as a test so it could just be luck in that respect. I am renting a server through gtxgaming and they suggested reinstalling the game and doing a fresh test. I did this and was able to play for about 20 minutes without the computer rebooting. Today when I logged in I was lucky to be able to stay in the game for 5 minutes before it reboots.

 

I've tried running a local game between my daughter and myself and when I set it up the computer rebooted no longer than 10 minutes into the game. My daughter then set up a game from her computer and I was still playing without a problem 35 minutes later. I then tried the server we are renting again but this time I reinstalled 7dtd again and started once again from scratch. This time I didn't even last 5 minutes. I then tried logging into a server that we have been using for years, the guy runs it himself and we've never had a problem with it. I didn't even last 5 minutes before the computer rebooted.

 

I have run every sort of test I could find while looking for an answer to this problem but nothing has popped up. I bought a new motherboard, case and ram as my technician told me the motherboard and ram was faulty, I have tested the hard drive numerous times with zero errors showing up. I have swapped out my graphics card with my daughters and she is running fine with my old graphics card.

 

System specs:

Processor - Intel®Corei7-8700 CPU @ 3.20GHz 3.19 GHz

Installed RAM - 32.0 GB

Graphics Card - NVidia GeForce GTX-970

Gigabyte H310M S2P 2.0

Seagate ST2000VX003 2TB SATA Hard Drive

 

I am quite a novice when it comes to computer problems so if there is anymore info you need please let me know.

 

If anyone could help me me with some advice I would appreciate it more than you could know.

 

Cheers

Carol

 

Edit: I went and tried the game with a fresh install at the server hosting company I use so i could try it with EAC not selected but it only last 11 minutes before my computer rebooted.

[Beelzybub]

Maybe it's the power supply.

[SylenThunder]

Yes, he has a thread on the Steam forum started before this one. He's got a 500W PSU that just barely skirts the minimum requirement for his hardware.

[Fox]

Agreed, definitely a possibility of a PSU fail-safe kicking in as this game is a pig on resources which means it probably also consumes a lot of power. It's likely not so much that the PSU is faulty, it's just likely not equipped to handle the power load your hardware is asking from it. Before replacing it though, maybe run a stress test not related to gaming to see if you can exceed the power limits of your PSU causing the restart.

 

Also, your technician sounds like an amateur. Jumps straight to faulty motherboard or ram... really? Anyone who makes the assumption of faulty motherboard before doing any actual tests on other pieces of hardware is likely just an amateur who should be fired on site. You test / replace from the outside in not the inside out. Test memory (using memtest), hard drive (using Windows scandisk or Hiren's) (do not do a thorough scan on an SSD, file integrity scan only and only if you think there's a possibility of file corruption), PSU (stress out your CPU and GPU at the same time and anything else you think might consume power like opening and closing the dvd drive), GPU (benchmark it with games or software), CPU (with Hiren's), not necessarily in that order either, then if everything passes or you get inconsistent results, test the motherboard (with Hiren's). Because the motherboard can throw out errors and not even be faulty at all, and of course, it's possible for the motherboard to claim a ram fault or something else... but it's usually easier to swap out something minor like ram than an entire motherboard. And if you don't like wasting money... test everything before purchasing anything. Tests are free and only cost time, hardware isn't.

[Beelzybub]

@aenaya,

 

You might be able to test if the power supply is the problem by running a stress test on your system.

I do it by running Prime95 and Furmark at the same time. This maxes out your cpu and gpu at the same time, so

if the Power Supply is the problem, it should cause a reboot.

 

On your setup I'd assign 3 cores to Prime95 for the test so that Furmark has 3 cores to work with.

 

It'd be good to monitor your system temperatures while you're stress testing with an app like hwinfo or hwmonitor.

 

Good luck

 

B

[Data]

i immediately thought psu

 

some questions

 

1) how long have you had you nVidia GeForce GTX-970?

 

2) what are your psu ampage values on the 12v rails, as in on the side of your psu should be a label/sticker, look at the +12v1 and +12v2 etc ampage, it should be same or more than what your 970 needs, dont worry it wont "force" power into your card if the values are higher than what you card needs, look at it as "breathing room" so your psu wont struggle, most current graphics cards need at leat 24amps PER 12v rail (cable)

 

even a 1000w psu can be useless, if the ampage on the 12v is less than the graphics card requirements

 

something like this would possibly not be enough

 

 

this

 

 

should be fine

 

 

if like me, i didnt know this, when my psu went bang couple weeks after buying new graphics card, i then read up that my 450w although wattage was "fine", the ampage required by my graphics card wasnt enough being supplied by my psu, psu was over stressed, and gave up...bang

 

also if there are not enough gpu supply cables of your psu or the "ends" of those cable are not the same, NEVER use splitters/adaptors to "share" the cable to the 2 inputs on the graphics card, thats just asking for trouble - your halving the psu amperage supply!!

 

HEAT

 

when im in game, my system does get hotter, most motherboards have a failsafe that when it gets too hot, it switches off

 

check your fans out, clean them if you can by using compressed air can (turn comp off 1st, and disconnect fans)

 

reason why i say disconnect each fan as you clean them, is the compressed air can "blows" the fan, the fan is essentialy a voltage supply if going in reverse, which the compressed air can, can make it do depending on the direction you spraying from, sounds weird, but it can happen, and then some motherboards could be damaged by reverse voltage

 

blow each fan using short bursts, its suprising how much crap comes out of a clogged fan!

 

when cleaning gpu, disconnect from motherboard for same reason, and again short burst, of all fans and grill

 

if you dont feel upto do all this yourself, then take your comp to a reliable pcu expert, i say reliable as some "computer shop experts" are just idiots!

 

go with someone that has good reviews

[FileMachete]

Aenaya, there's some most excellent advice above. Fully concur, especially the load testing as a diagnostic method.

 

Also fully agree w Fox's comments related to jumping to replace the MB & RAM. Though of course there may be more to the story, if the 'tech' didn't provide you w full system stress testing results (especially power supply test), not just MB/RAM tests, then they likely didn't do them. Meaning they didn't have all the readily (and easily) available info prior to recommending pricy replacements.

 

One bit I can add that hasn't been mentioned is to make sure that the computer is able to pull all the power it needs, from the wall socket/circuit.

 

Typical US wiring will use a single 15AMP circuit for one or more bedrooms. Or an entire living room. The most you ever want to draw from a 15AMP ~115Volt circuit is about ~1400Watts.

When maxed out your 500Watt Power Supply Unit (PSU) may be trying to draw more than 800Watts from the wall.

 

Unless you know which sockets are part of which circuits already, well, you'll need to map them out or unplug everything else in the house to be at all certain that the socket your computer is plugged into can provide all the PSU needs.

(or hire an electrician to load test outlets, but that's pricey and almost certainly not needed.)

 

This may sound weird/unlikely, but it is possible. Any electric space heater can cause grief.

 

One pretty painless test for this is if you know there's another non or lightly loaded circuit nearby.

Use a heavy gauge extension cord (like an orange outdoor one) and plug the computer into that then into the other circuit, and see if that makes any difference.

 

(if you look at the PSU pics Data posted above you'll see info for "AC-INPUT". Volts multiplied by Amps = Watts.

Power Supplys convert AC (Alternating Current) to DC (Direct Current), and there is always a loss.

Newer PSUs may reach high 80s of even low 90s percent conversion, but only in the upper-middle range.

And it's important to recognize that -all- power lost in conversion is lost as heat, and PSUs, and computers, do not like heat.)

[Fox]

I am playing X3 TC Windowed.

 

While playing, I would like to press a Global Hotkey that controls another program.

 

I have used this Hotkey while other windows were active, however X3 seems to block it.

 

Is this true? Is there a work-around?

 

thanks.

Uhh, wrong game?

[SylenThunder]

Uhh, wrong game?

Spam bot

[Ti2xGr]

I am the owner of a PC Consulting company with 30 years experience. I agree with the comments above - Based upon your description, PSU. Definitely not RAM as it would affect programs and OS globally. Motherboard? Why would a tech even point to that. You'd be having all sorts of issues. Going straight to a reboot (not just crashing the game) and not giving a thermal warning (will give a specific code beep error) all point to PSU specifically. I wouldn't bother testing for thermal issue as it wouldn't boot back up immediately. I must assume the dual six pin power connectors are in use on your GPU. A higher quality 500 watt power supply should be enough, but I recommend a bit of headroom along with having a 650 - 850 if you plan on holding onto this system and plan on upgrading the video card later.