Reboot issue

Bloodweiser

Solid State Member
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Location
USA
Hey all. So my wifes laptop is crapping out on me. Its an MSI GT 783R running win 7. I am stumped and could use some help sorting this out. The symptoms are that it will randomly reboot itself (Usually within less than an hour). my first thought was maybe either virus or some crap on it. But problem still persisted. Next i thought maybe the ram or HDD. so i repaced the HDD and ran memtest86 twice to check the ram. First time was about 4 hours with 2 passes second was for over 8 hours with no errors. Then i checked the CPU with a diagnostic tool. still no errors. What confuses me about all this is that during that time not one time did the system reboot itself. It only happens when the OS is live. My next step was to uncheck the box for system restart if there is an error. problem still persists. Dont think it is the fan cause i can hear it running and if it was the fan i would think that it would just shut down. not reboot. I was monitoring temps as well. it never went over 70C and the laptop did not feel hot at all. i want to say its a hardware issue but why the heck does it only happen when in windows. new HDD (fresh install).
 
One way to see if it's hardware or software...get a Linux LiveCD (such as Ubuntu) and boot of of it and use it like normal. This will rule out any software/Windows or even HDD issues. If it reboots/powers off while inside the LiveCD environment...then it's definitely a hardware issue. If it works fine...then it's a software or driver issue.
 
Hey all. So my wifes laptop is crapping out on me. Its an MSI GT 783R running win 7. I am stumped and could use some help sorting this out. The symptoms are that it will randomly reboot itself (Usually within less than an hour). my first thought was maybe either virus or some crap on it. But problem still persisted. Next i thought maybe the ram or HDD. so i repaced the HDD and ran memtest86 twice to check the ram. First time was about 4 hours with 2 passes second was for over 8 hours with no errors. Then i checked the CPU with a diagnostic tool. still no errors. What confuses me about all this is that during that time not one time did the system reboot itself. It only happens when the OS is live.

Reboot the laptop hit F8 button so you can start up safe mode.
If you get access to it login and access the event viewer:
Diagnostic tools to use in safe mode - Windows Help
Open Event Viewer by clicking the Start button Picture of the Start button, clicking Control Panel, clicking System and Security, clicking Administrative Tools, and then double-clicking Event Viewer. Administrator permission required If you're prompted for an administrator password or confirmation, type the password or provide confirmation.

Once you have access to even viewer check the system log and os log.
Check for any errors if there are any red X marks read the description and bring it back.

If there are multiple exclamation marks look at them and the description and see if the warnings are in a steady time line.
Bring that back too.
 
Reboot the laptop hit F8 button so you can start up safe mode.
If you get access to it login and access the event viewer:
Diagnostic tools to use in safe mode - Windows Help
Open Event Viewer by clicking the Start button Picture of the Start button, clicking Control Panel, clicking System and Security, clicking Administrative Tools, and then double-clicking Event Viewer. Administrator permission required If you're prompted for an administrator password or confirmation, type the password or provide confirmation.

Once you have access to even viewer check the system log and os log.
Check for any errors if there are any red X marks read the description and bring it back.

If there are multiple exclamation marks look at them and the description and see if the warnings are in a steady time line.
Bring that back too.
ya i had been checking that. i get a critical event ID41 kernel-power and an error that follows it showing the system did not shut down properly. other than that i have some network errors but nothing that falls within the timeline that would be causing the reboot. i am still testing it but it would seem just being on windows does not replicate the problem. It has to be doing something. like downloading or playing a game. i will be testing that further. only other thing i have noticed is that my AC adapter (PSU) gets really hot when the computer is working. Its been my wifes settup for a while so i dont remember how warm it got when it was new. is that normal or do you think it could be the ac adapter? keep in mind its a laptop so it has battery backup. so i am not sure why it would cause a restart if the adapter had a hiccup.
 
only other things i think it can be are my GPU or my Mobo. and other than a gpu stress test which i did and had no problems other than a shutdown at around 90c which i think should be normal since that is pretty hot and i was about to kill the program at that point anyway. the system never gets above 70c when doing normal routine.
 
ya i had been checking that. i get a critical event ID41 kernel-power and an error that follows it showing the system did not shut down properly. other than that i have some network errors but nothing that falls within the timeline that would be causing the reboot. i am still testing it but it would seem just being on windows does not replicate the problem. It has to be doing something. like downloading or playing a game. i will be testing that further. only other thing i have noticed is that my AC adapter (PSU) gets really hot when the computer is working. Its been my wifes settup for a while so i dont remember how warm it got when it was new. is that normal or do you think it could be the ac adapter? keep in mind its a laptop so it has battery backup. so i am not sure why it would cause a restart if the adapter had a hiccup.

The AC brick getting warm is usually alright if you're doing something power hungry since it has to feed more power from the wall socket, through the brick, and into the laptop in order to keep all the components properly powered.

Have you tried repasting the CPU/GPU to bring the temps down further? The MSI GT series is pretty easy to do - should only take about 20 minutes or so, including cleaning the old paste off.
 
If it gets hot quickly after bootup and blowing out warn air I would get that fixed.
Call MSI and ask them if they can repaste your cpu and fix any fan issues.
If they so no because of your warranty ask them if they can ship you the parts needed to fix it correctly.

It's a gaming PC, so it's going to be blowing out warm air with that GTX 580m in there :p. There aren't any parts other than a philips screwdriver, getting a tube of thermal paste, some 90%+ isopropyl alcohol, and coffee filters (to clean the old paste off). MSI GT's are one of the easiest to repaste both CPU/GPU - I've done my previous GT780DX several times (haven't had to do it to my current GT70 yet).

@OP: If it's still under the 1 year warranty then you'd want to send it in and not break the warranty sticker on the bottom. If it's not under warranty..then it wouldn't hurt to repaste. Are you getting those high temps with or without the Cooler Booster functionality running? My GT780DX would get to around 70*C while in game while I had the Cooler Booster running...and around 80*C or so if I left the fan on auto.
 
@carnage don't start start that up again, when I said if the laptop is blowing hot air consistantly..
It would be a wise idea to check and see if the fan is clogged up or messed up.
Or he can check the heatsink and thermal pad.
So let me ask you this, sInce your suppose know much of IT support and repair.

Wouldn't it be a good idea to checked and see if the thermal pad needs replacing ?
If it hasn't been changed since leaving msi headquarters and its been over a year.
I would atleast attempt to change that or find a local shop that can do this.
I suggested he call MSI so he could see if get the parts or items to do the job.
A screw driver is best for opening and closing things down doesn't really help with heating problems on laptops and desktops.
 
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