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7486
Problems with gaming Aurora R7
Hi all,
So normally I do my best to help others, but seems I am need of help this time.
I purchased my R7 around July, no real issues other than the recent bios update struggles that some were having.
Anyway, a couple days ago, my video card had an update notice (always keep them up to date), an msi Vega 64 oc. Did my update, pc restarted as usual, upon entering windows I had the "updating windows" screen as it loaded current hotfixes etc I assume.
Following this, I had booting problems, so I made sure the bios was in check (set my boot order #1 to windows), couple resets later, I got in.
Everything was fine again...up until I tried firing up black ops 4 and pubg (playing them for a while without issues).
Now all of a sudden, I will get maybe 5-10 minutes of game time before the games shut down on me.
For COD it simply closes (sometimes with the infamous black ops 4 "fatal error" screen), but mostly it just closes.
PUBG I get a steam crash screen.
I never had these issues before and it really is driving me crazy. The timing of it all was directly after both updating my graphics card and receiving the minor windows update.
Attempts to verify and fix the error have been
-uninstalling graphics driver and installing fresh
-disabling overclocking on cpu and gpu (cpu oc is simply oc level 2 in command center)
-disabling real time scanning via Mcafee
-checking temps while under load in game via HWmonitor and GPU-z (all temps as they normally were).
I am baffled, everything else works fine, it's just until gaming occurs (where muscle is needed).
Any ideas here?
I would rather stay away from a fresh windows install etc (always a very extreme measure and doubtful it would help).
specs
i7 8700k oc level 2 4.8ghz (aio liquid cooled)
msi Vega 64 oc
64gb hyper x fury xmp1 2933
512gb oem ssd (main boot)
850w oem psu
additional hdd for data storage etc (just audio files from my guitar studio recordings, and save files from production software, etc)
2 additional 250gb sata ssd drives (nothing on them yet)
Edit:
Just tried disabling oc and xmp in bios, then reactivating in windows. Also tried installing the most recently stable amd video card driver I could remember, but still no luck.
Bit of sparse info out there about "windows update closing/crashing games", but no real user fixes.
Could this be psu related? I am using the 850w dell oem, most likely Delta as I haven't had noise issues.
The timing of it all though, was right after both the windows update and video card update (followed by blue screens and bios visits). Flawless prior to that! So my belief is something software related, not hardware.
I want to add that the games crash back into my desktop, most of the time without an error. Just as if I alt F4'd my way out.
I found a YouTube video of a guys solution to his overwatch crashing due to the "game mode" within windows. But mine looks disabled by default already. Will check it out further when I can though.
Looking for additional ideas folks.
PentatonicSteel
240 Posts
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December 27th, 2018 15:00
Update:
I ran the windows memory diagnostics again after re-seating all of my Hyper x Fury ram. Tested fine with both passes (non oc). Tested via ePSA and was hit again with the error codes.
I then installed the 32gb of oem 2666 ram I had with my original system purchase, and ePSA tested it just fine.
Started my games up for a small period of time and wasn't booted out, nor did I receive a blue screen.
So apparently it's my Hyper x Fury ram and now I gotta deal with finding a possible warranty coverage option. Purchased this ram new for near $900 via Amazon, and I am hoping I am covered somehow.
Found this link via Hyper X website.
https://www.hyperxgaming.com/us/support/rma-enduser
Does anyone have experience with warranty related interactions with these folks? Do I have an option for replacement? Picked up about 4 months ago.
I am hopeful there is nothing else wrong with my system, seems to be okay now.
Would faulty ram explain the failed OCCT tests?...and crazy high temps when running my virus scan etc?
Thanks to everyone who participated in this thread offering various opinions in an effort to help me fix this. I really appreciate it!
So apparently it was something "small and simple", but no it wasn't drivers, wasn't video card, wasn't windows, it was ram! A very very expensive issue if I am stuck with this broken stuff though :/
Edit:
So Kingston is very open to exchange the ram along with proof of purchase etc. They will entertain replacing my whole 64gb kit!
That is good news.
So what I learned here, is that if your pc is doing crazy weird stuff that makes no sense, turn to the ram memory first!
fireberd
9 Legend
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33.3K Posts
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December 22nd, 2018 03:00
Do you make disc image backups (you should be doing this)? If you had a disc image of before the video update and apparently all was well before the update you could recover.
I use the free Macrium Reflect and make full drive (all partition) backups to a separate USB connected drive. If there is a major problem such as you are having its easy to recover.
PentatonicSteel
240 Posts
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December 22nd, 2018 04:00
No, unfortunately I have been lazy in that regard.
Problem is though, that the windows updates are forced so for this particular situation, I would still probably be where I am now.
fireberd
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33.3K Posts
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December 22nd, 2018 05:00
I have all the latest Windows updates on my desktop (an ASUS ROG Gamer motherboard) and on a Dell G7 Gaming Laptop and both are working without problems.
I've been doing user/field testing on the new G7 laptop with NVIDIA video and fps and CPU use have not changed after the latest Win 10 updates.
PentatonicSteel
240 Posts
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December 22nd, 2018 09:00
Tesla1856
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December 22nd, 2018 11:00
Not necessarily.
Only software like games engage the full GPU engine.
Only things like games, benchmarks, and stress-testers really push the GPU to max. OCCT (PS-Tests) pushes all concurrently (CPU, GPU, PS, etc.).
PentatonicSteel
240 Posts
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December 22nd, 2018 11:00
Good point.
Recommendation on where I should start for stress testing? I have that Kombuster graphics tester that was included with my AMD software. Guess start with the graphics card? But what if it shuts down? Still doesn't narrow much down other than just a hint that the issue may not just be the games. Card still sounds fine, blows air fine, stays relatively in the same temps as it was before, up until crash.
I will give it a go anyway though. Super **bleep**'d that all this happened right when the good content started rolling into Black Ops...
I also want to add that the others I have seen in internet land that have the same issue as I have not been able to get rid of the problem even if switching graphics cards.
Others have reverted to a previous windows build (1803) and been able to rid themselves of the issue. But of course windows is going to update eventually.
Course it's all gotta be case by case. I just wish I had a good substantive lead on this issue.
PentatonicSteel
240 Posts
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December 22nd, 2018 11:00
1. Just a driver update for my video card (radeon software *always download from site not within app*), and the suprise small windows update when entering back into windows from restart.
2. Haven't done that yet, but will look at it (so very doubtful it is hardware related).
3. I leave all that off as default. PUBG is via steam, other games OW and COD are through blizzard (all three titles close out on me).
4. Did that already, and am familiar with how OC works within Alienware (I never do custom).
*I will say though, that when I entered bios last night, it showed my OC as "custom" so I manualy switched it over to OC 2 hoping it would fix my issue, but nope...issue still exists*
5. I have sata ssd's that aren't used yet, but formatted and ready to go. What are you implying though? Use it as windows boot and try from there?...Again though buddy, EVERYTHING else works outside of games...so to be real, it surely can't be a faulty ssd.
6. Haven't run the test yet, due to the amount of time people recommend leaving it testing for *hours and hours*...also again my serious doubt of it being hardware (not being ignorant, just using the information I have thus far).
7. I attempted to check yesterday, well the crash log, but nothing recorded (again typically no error message, or simply the standard in game error involved with COD that black ops 4 players are already fully aware of).
I will look further into windows reliability monitor and see if I can bring back more info.
Should I disable fullscreen optimizations with in my game exe files? Never had to before but possibly a compatibility issue with this updated windows and my graphics driver?
Also reading about "disabling driver signature" as being a possible fix...although I can't help but doubt it. Anyone tired that?
Is there anything else I could be overlooking? Try to focus on what happened here though...the "reinstall windows" or "re-seat this and that" stuff really shouldn't apply in this case.
System runs fine until a game title is fired up, get about 5 minutes of gameplay (longer if I sit in menus due to graphics not forcing the system to cool as hard). I noticed that Overwatch seems to stay fine for longer...and I assume it's probably because it's not as hungry as the other titles.
Tesla1856
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December 22nd, 2018 11:00
1. What updates from where and using what util? Was it a Video-BIOS firmware update for MSI card? Did you get a BIOS-Update from Dell?
2. Try OCCT (PowerSupply-Test). Remove games from equation.
Machine should pass ePSA first (a 90% hardware check) ... outside of Windows.
3. Turn off Steam Overlay, Windows Game-Mode, all that stuff for now. Find a minimal config that works.
4. Turning off all CPU/GPU Over-Clocks is first step. Be sure you understand how OC turns on/off in BIOS and AWCC . NEVER do anything important with OC's on (firmware updates, driver updates, general Windows updates, etc.). Corruption is hard to reverse.
5. Very easy to connect only a spare SSD and try it real quick.
6. Doubtful. There are ways to test PS.
7. What is showing in Windows Reliability Monitor around these crashes. Any other critical "red" errors showing for recent days?
Tesla1856
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17K Posts
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December 22nd, 2018 14:00
www.ocbase.com
OCCT
PentatonicSteel
240 Posts
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December 22nd, 2018 16:00
I already tried fresh installing an older one with same result though.
Tesla1856
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December 22nd, 2018 16:00
Same thing happened to my Aurora-R6.
Yet, in my case ... the critically bad Nvidia driver shipped pre-installed on my machine.
It exhibited like a hardware problem (power off with no BSOD or recorded error).
https://www.dell.com/community/Alienware-General-Read-Only/Aurora-R6-Hard-Lockup-and-crash-while-gaming-SOLVED/m-p/5504128#M6104
The best driver is not always the latest one.
PentatonicSteel
240 Posts
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December 22nd, 2018 17:00
So I fired up Kombuster and let it run a stress test for 10 mins, no issues. Then a benchmark test, again no issues.
But games still continue to close...
PentatonicSteel
240 Posts
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December 22nd, 2018 18:00
Here is my result after OCCT quickly stopped after about a couple minutes. Someone help me decipher?
Am I overheating? Regarding my cpu/psu?
Doesn't look to me like a gpu issue...
I should also state, that I quickly research this reading after receiving it. Some info out there seems to state that OCCT is known to have false readings and also be one of the most dangerous and unstable testing options for pc's. Feedback?
Tesla1856
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December 23rd, 2018 09:00
OCCT works fine for me. Unattended stress-testing is never recommended.
I consider a 30 minute session a pass.
You said all games only run 5 minutes or crash on start.
You can also start a full-disk virus-scan before starting OCCT . :Cool: