Computer shutting Down in P3D

[falcon409]

This is a recent problem that has me stumped (doesn't take much really). It seems to only show itself when I'm flying in V4 and only going back a few weeks (it doesn't happen, that I've noticed, if I'm just doing browsing and the Sim isn't loaded). Anyway, If I setup a flightplan, take off and get setup on AP within no more than 20 minutes the computer shuts down. . . .but not totally because any peripherals connected via USB ports remain active (lights are illuminated), even a small fan that runs off a USB port continues to work. The only way I can get things going again is to unplug. . .let the fan shutdown (takes a few seconds) and then plug the computer back in, hit the on button and let it restart.

I have two apps that monitor CPU temp and GPU temp and neither indicates any overheating. . .nowhere close. I've visually monitored the power supply fan and it runs fine and even at the point of shutdown, the power supply is almost cool to the touch. The interior of the tower gets plenty of circulation as the side cover is off and open to circulation. I have checked the "Power" options for the OS and those are set to high performance settings, no "sleep", no "hibernation" and so on.

I'm not sure why this would only happen in P3D, it seems unlikely that something within the Sim is triggering a power outage, but that is when the system shuts down. Anyone have any suggestions on what this might be?

[Butcherbird17]

Do you have any other Sims or games installed that you can try to see if it does the same thing? Is the rig still running when it happens,
like your monitor goes black and you can still hear the sim running? If it shut down completely then none of your peripherals would still
be on.

Joe

[falcon409]

Do you have any other Sims or games installed that you can try to see if it does the same thing? Is the rig still running when it happens,
like your monitor goes black and you can still hear the sim running? If it shut down completely then none of your peripherals would still
be on.
Joe

P3D_V4 is the only Sim installed. When the computer shuts down I am in the process of flying a flightplan. . .the computer shows all the signs of having turned off. . .both monitors go black, the power supply isn't running, the CPU and GPU fans are off but the CH Throttle light goes to "amber" instead of green, the fan plugged into a USB port continues to run and if my Logitech 3D joystick had a light on it, that would probably show "amber" as well. I have two buttons on the front of my tower. . .one to turn it on and the other I've never used, but in this situation it has no effect. So, as mentioned, I must pull the plug. . .after a few seconds the fan shuts off, I plug the power cord back in and restart the computer.

[paiken]

Sudden power shut downs sound suspiciously like your PSU is on the way out...even if it isn't hot to the touch, there is probably a bad component in there that creates the shut down. I had similar problems many years ago, and replacing the power supply fixed the issue. Just a guess on my part, but worth looking into.

[Butcherbird17]

OK, This could be heat related. (maybe) Can you do a test and set the sim up the way you normally do and run your
temp monitoring app and watch what the temps are when it happens. The one I like to use for this is HWiNFO64.
This one gives the temps for everything in your system. (CPU, GPU, motherboard, hard drives and much more)
Especially keep and eye on the CPU temp if that is getting too hot that can shut your system down to basically save
it's self.
I would also check and make sure everything is seated properly, and that all fans are spinning. And as paiken posted
it could be PSU. If you have a spare one you could try that and see if the problem persists. No need to take your system
apart just unplug the 24 pin, cpu, gpu and hard drives and plug in the spare psu to those parts and then test your
system under load.

Joe

[Daube]

Falcon, just for info, just two weeks ago I was suffering from computer freezes when flying P3D or any other sim.
I have an Asus motherboard with that monitoring tool (Asus AI Suite) which checks the CPU temps.
The CPU was around 55 degrees C when idle, which is a bit high, and I set some alarm @ 70 degrees C or something like that... I never heard the alarm.

I opened the computer and found there was a big carpet of dirt between the CPU fan and the CPU heat sink. Once I removed that, the computer didn't freeze anymore.
So the temperature monitoring is not always precise or reliable.

Aside from temperatures, it could be a PSU problem indeed, or a memory problem too (but PSU is the most probable one).
And finally, instead of unplugging the computer, you might want to keep the ON/OFF button pressed down for several seconds (more than 5). This forces a power down.

[falcon409]

. . . . .I opened the computer and found there was a big carpet of dirt between the CPU fan and the CPU heat sink. Once I removed that, the computer didn't freeze anymore.
So the temperature monitoring is not always precise or reliable.

I'll take a look at that this evening just to be sure.

Aside from temperatures, it could be a PSU problem indeed, or a memory problem too (but PSU is the most probable one).
And finally, instead of unplugging the computer, you might want to keep the ON/OFF button pressed down for several seconds (more than 5). This forces a power down.

Not in my case Daube, I've held the on/off switch much longer than that waiting to see how long it would take to go completely off....never does. Unplugging is all that works.

I also installed "HWiNFO64" and had that running when I tried a very simple flight from Eglin. . .up to 5000', hdg east, AP on and let it go. . .within 5 mins I got a warning for "Core0" (which only showed 38C) and a second or two later. . .shutdown.