Forum Discussion

Re: Sims 4 causes computer to restart

@StairFax1705  Are you seeing BlueScreens while playing Sims 4, then the computer shuts down and restarts; or are the BSODs a separate issue, and your computer just straight restarts while playing?  I ask because I see two different types of BlueScreen in your dxdiag, and while they should be addressed regardless, it's important to know whether there's also a separate issue with non-BSOD-related restarts.

One way to tell is to check the timestamps on the crash dumps associated with the BSODs.  Open a File Explorer window and enter this in the address bar:

C:\Windows\Minidump

You'll see files from the recent BlueScreens, and you can compare their timestamps with the restarts.  Please let me know whether these happened while you were playing Sims 4, and regardless, I'd also like to see the most recent three or four files.  Right-click on each and select Copy, then right-click the desktop and select Paste.  From there, you can zip the files together, upload the .zip to a free filesharing site (Google Drive, Dropbox, etc.) and link it here.

I'd also like to see the results of some hardware logging.  Please download hwinfo (it's free) from here:

https://www.hwinfo.com/download/

You don't need to install anything; just choose the Portable version, unzip it, and launch it from Downloads or wherever you like.  If you do want the full installer, be sure to click the button for hwinfo itself, not for lansweeper.

Restart your computer, open hwinfo, choose Sensors Only, and click the button that's a sheet of paper with a + to start logging.  Save the log file to your desktop for easy access.  Wait five minutes, then open Sims 4 and play until your computer crashes.  The log should be intact up until that point.

Please upload the log to the third-party filesharing site of your choice (Google Drive, Dropbox, etc.) and link it for me.  Either leave it in .csv format or, if you're going to use OneDrive, create a .zip file, and don't open the log before uploading it, or else my log reader might not be able to interpret it.

Finally, please list the specs for the computer's power supply, for example Corsair 750W 80+ Gold.  The info should be on the documentation that came with the computer and also printed on the side of the unit itself.

12 Replies

  • StairFax1705's avatar
    StairFax1705
    2 years ago

    First, I want to thank you for getting back to me.

    To answer your first question, there is no BSOD; it just cuts straight to black and the computer restarts itself.  Unfortunately, I cannot open .dmp files on my computer, but I have them compiled as a zip on google drive which I will link here.

    I will also upload the .csv file like you have asked.

    And as for the power supply, it is a EVGA Supernova 850 G5, 80 Plus Gold 850W.

    If you need anything else form me or if I did something wrong, please let me know.  And thank you again for your help.



    Bluescreen files: https://drive.google.com/file/d/10q3WJW5ekEMcX80CriXln3u8Tmxh4vlY/view?usp=sharing

    HWinfo: https://drive.google.com/file/d/1AE850zrvCjEuSLputNEE2md5VLFbS4JZ/view?usp=sharing

  • puzzlezaddict's avatar
    puzzlezaddict
    Hero+
    2 years ago

    @StairFax1705  Sorry for the late-ish reply.  I looked over everything you sent me, and I will admit that I don't understand all of what I'm seeing.  But a few things are clear.  First, there is nothing in your hwinfo log that would explain these problems.  The power supply is stable and so are the power inputs into the various components; the temperatures are actually on the low side for gaming, and certainly nowhere near the point of thermal throttling; there are no suspicious readings elsewhere, that I could find anyway.

    Most of your crash dumps reference a component of Windows itself, one that's unlikely to be corrupt.  (By that I mean both that it's unlikely to get corrupted and that if it were, it's unlikely you could use your system effectively at all.)  The errors are all distinct, not even all in the same category, so I think the best place to start here would be by running some tests on your RAM.  A faulty module is one of the few single causes that could explain a wide variety of errors like this.

    The gold standard of memory diagnostics is MemTest86, testing each module separately and in at least two different slots on the motherboard.

    https://www.memtest86.com/index.html

    https://www.overclockersclub.com/guides/memtest86_memory_guide/

    If you're not comfortable with this test, you could start with the built-in Windows tool instead:

    https://docs.microsoft.com/en-us/previous-versions/technet-magazine/ff700221(v=msdn.10)?redirectedfrom=MSDN

    I wouldn't consider a pass from this tool to be even close to definitive, but if it does flag an error, that's probably accurate.

    I'd also like to know what RAM you're using, by product number.  If you don't have that handy, you can find it on the modules themselves.

  • StairFax1705's avatar
    StairFax1705
    2 years ago

    Nah, you're fine.  You're doing this out of the generousness of your heart; I'd understand if you had more pressing matters to attend to.  If anything, I'm just grateful someone is responding at all.

    To address the latter two items, the product number for my memory sticks is F4-3200C16-8GVRB.  There are two of them in my machine, sharing the same number. 
    I also figured I run the Windows tool first since it seemed easier to understand, although that came up negative.  Although I am wary of the inaccuracy of a negative result on that test like you said.

    I'm having trouble unfortunately trying to get memtest86 to work properly; this might go beyond my knowledge of computers.  If I can find some help with it though, I'll get back to you on what it says.

  • StairFax1705's avatar
    StairFax1705
    2 years ago

    Update: I figured out how to get memtest working and just finished a test.  However, there were no errors that it could find.

  • puzzlezaddict's avatar
    puzzlezaddict
    Hero+
    2 years ago

    @StairFax1705  I got a second opinion on this issue so that I wouldn't send you on a wild goose chase.  And I and the other person has a few suggestions.  But first, did you touch the system hibernation file?  It's called Hiberfil.sys and would be directly on C.  If you don't know anything about it and don't run any apps that have effects on power settings, then the answer is probably no, but let me know either way.

    One of the crash dumps points to critical data  corruption, so please run a virus scan with whatever antivirus you have installed.  The way to do this depends on the program, for example here's the method for Windows Defender (under "run a malware scan manually):

    https://support.microsoft.com/en-us/windows/stay-protected-with-windows-security-2ae0363d-0ada-c064-8b56-6a39afb6a963

    Please run a scan with Malwarebytes as well.  Download Malwarebytes (the free version is fine) from here:

    https://www.malwarebytes.com/mwb-download

    Open it, click Scan > Custom Scan > Configure Scan, check all the boxes both for scans and for your C, D, and E drives, and let it do its job.  This could take anywhere from a few minutes to multiple hours, so you may want to set it to run while you're doing something else.  Please attach its report so I can take a look.

    Finally, regardless of the results, please run a few checks of your Windows system files.  You may have earlier, but I'm including Checkhealth as well because the second opinion wants to see those results.

    • Hit Windows key-X
    • Choose either “PowerShell (Administrator)” or “Windows Terminal (Administrator),” whichever option is offered
    • Inside the window that appears, copy and paste “DISM.exe /Online /Cleanup-image /Checkhealth” without quotes, and enter
    • If the scan does detect corruption, stop here and let me know
    • Otherwise, hit Windows key-X again and open “PowerShell (Administrator)” or “Windows Terminal (Administrator)"
    • Inside the window, copy and paste “DISM.exe /Online /Cleanup-image /Restorehealth” without quotes, and enter
    • The system will start validating soon. If it throws an error, please list it here
    • After it reaches 100%, hit Windows key-X and open “PowerShell (Administrator)” or “Windows Terminal (Administrator)” again
    • Inside the window, copy and paste “sfc /scannow” without quotes, and enter
    • Post the message you receive here

    If none of that helps, please do a clean uninstall and reinstall of the graphics driver, as described here:

    https://crinrict.com/blog/2019/02/clean-re-install-of-graphics-drivers-with-display-driver-uninstaller-ddu.html

    After reinstalling the driver, please disconnect the secondary monitor (the Acer, not the primary HP), restart your computer yet again, and test the game.

  • StairFax1705's avatar
    StairFax1705
    2 years ago

    I don't recall seeing anything called " Hiberfil.sys" at all, so I guess that would be a no. LOL

    I finished running scans on all my drives using Norton and Malwarebytes.  You can find their reports as the zip file I will attach below, however they both found nothing.
    I also did the Windows system check like you instructed.  It too found nothing as well; I will include that report below as well.

    I have yet to try reinstalling the graphics driver, but that is going to be my next step.  I'll let you know what happens.

    Virus scan zip: https://drive.google.com/file/d/1q7LS7THoRIT49MJT1SqeBREMm1EdKpfo/view?usp=sharing

    Windows system test: https://drive.google.com/file/d/1TQGapuQoX83I8cSKb57Q39jFEdMKChmd/view?usp=sharing

  • StairFax1705's avatar
    StairFax1705
    2 years ago

    Update: Just tried the graphics driver reinstall.  Still crashed after about 2 hours unfortunately.

  • StairFax1705's avatar
    StairFax1705
    2 years ago
    @puzzlezaddict Update: My brother-in-law made a suggestion that I try removing my mods and running the game w/o them. I even tried an uninstall/reinstall as a last resort. But after two and a half hours, it still crashed and reset my computer.

  • puzzlezaddict's avatar
    puzzlezaddict
    Hero+
    2 years ago

    @StairFax1705  Try disabling the energy saving features in the BIOS.  I can't tell you exactly where to look since I don't know what motherboard you have, but if you're not sure, you can consult the board's manual.  Googling the motherboard itself should bring up an online manual as well.

    Bad mods wouldn't cause your computer to restart.

  • StairFax1705's avatar
    StairFax1705
    2 years ago
    @puzzlezaddict Before I wanted to give your suggestion a go, someone on Reddit suggested it might have been from a pack specifically. I neglected to mention at the start that this all started after I bought the "Get famous" pack. So far, after I uninstalled it, I managed to have the game go for about three hours without a problem. It might still be too early to say this has totally been resolved, but I have a good feeling so far.

    Still though, I will keep you suggestion in my back pocket should this happen again. If and when it does, I'll let you know what happens.

    And thanks for responding to me in the first place; I really do appreciate your help.
  • StairFax1705's avatar
    StairFax1705
    2 years ago

    Update: computer just reset anyway.  So I guess it wasn't the pack then.  I'll try disabling the energy saving options next like you suggested.  However, I'm going to be out of state of about a week so I'll have to do it when I return.  If you don't hear form me in while, that's why, just to keep you in the loop.

  • puzzlezaddict's avatar
    puzzlezaddict
    Hero+
    2 years ago

    @StairFax1705  Thanks for letting me know, and I'm not surprised that removing Get Famous didn't help.  This isn't the kind of problem that Sims 4 in-game content should be able to trigger.  I'll be around whenever you're ready to test further.