Black screen while playing any game

[JR98]

For the last year now my PC has had this issue where it just goes to a permanent black screen after around 5 minutes of play. Doesn’t matter if it’s a game from 1997 that runs at 120+FPS or a game from 2018 that runs at 5

I’ve searched around and did everything I can to fix the issue such as opening the PC and cleaning almost everything (although I haven’t done the GPU itself yet). I’ve also used DDU to uninstall the graphics drivers and NVIDIA GeForce Experince to reinstall them. I’ve also used AVG PC Checker to clean the software in my pc and even after all this, the issue is still there.

If anyone else has any other possible solutions I would be very grateful.

Specs
PC: Acer Aspire M3985
OS: Windows 8.1
CPU: Intel Core i3-3220 @ 3.3GHz
GPU: NVIDIA GeForce GT 610
RAM: 6 GB

 

[TenEightyOne]

Clean the GPU.

Is it only when you play or during normal desktop/window use? Have you tried older drivers rather than the most up-to-date? You might need to install them without GF Experience to try this.

Is there anything in the Windows error logs that gives a clue?

 

[sesselpupser]

Try running MSI Afterburner to see if that reveals anything, have you tried a different monitor and/or display cable with it? I'm guessing the GT 610 didn't come with the PC, while I'd be astonished if excess power draw is causing it it's not impossible if the PSU is old enough, and with that CPU I'd say it's about 8 years old now? That's probably old enough for an OEM PSU to become problematic. Same goes for the motherboard, actually, there could be some filtering caps that have dried up which could mean the card has a noisy supply, or decoupling caps meaning any sudden spikes in power draw are browning it out.

 

[JR98]

Is it only when you play or during normal desktop/window use? Have you tried older drivers rather than the most up-to-date? You might need to install them without GF Experience to try this.

Normal use is fine, but its when I run an application of any kind. Recording software and such usually lasts around 10 minutes before the display goes off but it's usually closer to 5 when playing any games at all. I tried installing drivers for my GPU using Device Manager but that didn't fix it either.

Is there anything in the Windows error logs that gives a clue?

I've had a look and it looks like there are a few "Kernel-Power" critical issues which correspond to the times where the display has gone off and date back to when the issue first started cropping up.

Try running MSI Afterburner to see if that reveals anything,

Spoiler: MSI Afterburner

This is just on desktop.

This is while on rFactor on medium settings

have you tried a different monitor and/or display cable with it?

I only have the 1 monitor which is my TV so I don't think that's an option but I will try and see if using a different HDMI cable on a different source will work.

I've had this PC since late 2012 I believe and the GT 610 came with it, I haven't changed anything in it. Was working perfectly fine up until over a year ago when this started happening.

Spoiler: Logs

Log Name: System
Source: Microsoft-Windows-Kernel-Power
Date: 24/05/2018 21:08:11
Event ID: 41
Task Category: (63)
Level: Critical
Keywords: (2)
User: SYSTEM
Computer: jason
Description:
The system has rebooted without cleanly shutting down first. This error could be caused if the system stopped responding, crashed, or lost power unexpectedly.
Event Xml:
<Event xmlns="http://schemas.microsoft.com/win/2004/08/events/event">
<System>
<Provider Name="Microsoft-Windows-Kernel-Power" Guid="{331C3B3A-2005-44C2-AC5E-77220C37D6B4}" />
<EventID>41</EventID>
<Version>3</Version>
<Level>1</Level>
<Task>63</Task>
<Opcode>0</Opcode>
<Keywords>0x8000000000000002</Keywords>
<TimeCreated SystemTime="2018-05-24T20:08:11.283168800Z" />
<EventRecordID>82823</EventRecordID>
<Correlation />
<Execution ProcessID="4" ThreadID="8" />
<Channel>System</Channel>
<Computer>jason</Computer>
<Security UserID="S-1-5-18" />
</System>
<EventData>
<Data Name="BugcheckCode">0</Data>
<Data Name="BugcheckParameter1">0x0</Data>
<Data Name="BugcheckParameter2">0x0</Data>
<Data Name="BugcheckParameter3">0x0</Data>
<Data Name="BugcheckParameter4">0x0</Data>
<Data Name="SleepInProgress">0</Data>
<Data Name="PowerButtonTimestamp">131716660594585347</Data>
<Data Name="BootAppStatus">0</Data>
</EventData>
</Event>

 

[TenEightyOne]

Normal use is fine, but its when I run an application of any kind. Recording software and such usually lasts around 10 minutes before the display goes off but it's usually closer to 5 when playing any games at all. I tried installing drivers for my GPU using Device Manager but that didn't fix it either.


I've had a look and it looks like there are a few "Kernel-Power" critical issues which correspond to the times where the display has gone off and date back to when the issue first started cropping up.

Spoiler: MSI Afterburner

View attachment 738498

This is just on desktop.

View attachment 738500

This is while on rFactor on medium settings

I only have the 1 monitor which is my TV so I don't think that's an option but I will try and see if using a different HDMI cable on a different source will work.

I've had this PC since late 2012 I believe and the GT 610 came with it, I haven't changed anything in it. Was working perfectly fine up until over a year ago when this started happening.

Spoiler: Logs

Log Name: System
Source: Microsoft-Windows-Kernel-Power
Date: 24/05/2018 21:08:11
Event ID: 41
Task Category: (63)
Level: Critical
Keywords: (2)
User: SYSTEM
Computer: jason
Description:
The system has rebooted without cleanly shutting down first. This error could be caused if the system stopped responding, crashed, or lost power unexpectedly.
Event Xml:
<Event xmlns="http://schemas.microsoft.com/win/2004/08/events/event">
<System>
<Provider Name="Microsoft-Windows-Kernel-Power" Guid="{331C3B3A-2005-44C2-AC5E-77220C37D6B4}" />
<EventID>41</EventID>
<Version>3</Version>
<Level>1</Level>
<Task>63</Task>
<Opcode>0</Opcode>
<Keywords>0x8000000000000002</Keywords>
<TimeCreated SystemTime="2018-05-24T20:08:11.283168800Z" />
<EventRecordID>82823</EventRecordID>
<Correlation />
<Execution ProcessID="4" ThreadID="8" />
<Channel>System</Channel>
<Computer>jason</Computer>
<Security UserID="S-1-5-18" />
</System>
<EventData>
<Data Name="BugcheckCode">0</Data>
<Data Name="BugcheckParameter1">0x0</Data>
<Data Name="BugcheckParameter2">0x0</Data>
<Data Name="BugcheckParameter3">0x0</Data>
<Data Name="BugcheckParameter4">0x0</Data>
<Data Name="SleepInProgress">0</Data>
<Data Name="PowerButtonTimestamp">131716660594585347</Data>
<Data Name="BootAppStatus">0</Data>
</EventData>
</Event>

If your card is indeed running at 99C (and those sensors aren't always accurate) then your primary problem is temperature.

If you're getting kernel power issues (and, again, those readings aren't always bulletproof) then you should tot up your power usage and check that your PSU is (a) up to the job and (b) not on the fritz. However, a kernel power report may mean nothing more than an unexpected shutdown caused by issues other than direct power to the CPU.

The options could be any/all/some of the following (to start with):

* Fan power is decreasing due to power choking
* Overtemps may be causing PSU shutdowns (a cyclical diagnosis best checked by blowing an externally-powered desk fan into the case)
* PSU is faulty

 

[JR98]

Looks like cleaning the GPU has fixed it. Thanks to both of you for your help, I really appreciate it.