Game causing computer to shutdown/reboot [solved]

[WearyExile]

I've been having a lot of issues with this game and I can't figure out why. During cutscenes a fan (sounds like GPU fan maybe?) spins up and becomes very loud, then sometimes normalizes in gameplay. But whether it's in a cutscene, in the menu, or during gameplay my PC crashes. And by crashes, I mean it's like the PSU is just switching itself off for a few seconds, then rebooting the computer.

The problem was happening most consistently after completing a level. I'd be in the middle of the results screen where it was counting studs or saying how many minikits I've collected and my PC will just shut off with no warning. My computer meets the requirements for the game and even plays beefier games than this with no problem. I don't understand why a Lego game makes my computer crash but Fallout 4, Doom, Rise of the Tomb Raider, Hitman, etc are perfectly fine. Even other Lego games (as recent as Lego Marvel's Avengers) work just fine.

Troubleshooting steps I've tried:
-Made sure GPU drivers were up to date
-Cleaned out the case, checked connections, checked to make sure all fans were spinning
-Checked temps with Hardware Monitor. CPU temps stay under 50C, GPU mid 70s to 80
-Tried lowering all of the games settings and putting everything down as low as it goes - exact same performance. Last crash was actually in a hub world on lowest settings.
-Switched from DirectX 11 to 9 - crashes on both
-Tried full screen, windowed, and borderless window - crashes on all.
-Ran the above mentioned "beefier" games at Ultra settings - no crashes.
-Read countless tech support forum threads about how this is totally indicative of a PSU going bad yet I remain unconvinced that Lego Star Wars: The Force Awakens is the only program with THE SIGHT to see my PSU's doomed future.
-Sacrificed a cantaloupe to the Old Gods - no help, but the cantaloupe was delicious.

System specs:
Intel Core i7-4820K
16GB Quad Channel DDR3 at 1600MHz
AMD Radeon r9 290x with 4GB GDDR5
And *sigh* running Windows 10.

Any help is appreciated.

Edit: Solved. Turned on v-sync and haven't had a problem since.

[WearyExile]

Not sure if it's at all relevant, but the only other time I experienced a crash like this recently was when running Netflix on this PC. Seriously, like overnight every method I tried to run Netflix on my PC would cause it to turn off after less than five seconds of video. Didn't matter if it was in Firefox, Chrome, Edge, or the Windows 10 Netflix app.

[SenMithrarin85]

Its not the game causing the shutdown, its windows. Either you're overheating, your hdd/ssd is going bad and causing read errors or its a driver conflict. Try testing your ram also.

I feel your frustration as I had a similar issue and turns out it was a driver conflict. Try a program called "whocrashed". next time it happens, that program will analyse the crash dump and tell you what caused it.

[WearyExile]

Originally posted by SenMithrarin85:

Its not the game causing the shutdown, its windows. Either you're overheating, your hdd/ssd is going bad and causing read errors or its a driver conflict. Try testing your ram also.

I feel your frustration as I had a similar issue and turns out it was a driver conflict. Try a program called "whocrashed". next time it happens, that program will analyse the crash dump and tell you what caused it.

WhoCrashed doesn't even show a crash dump report because the computer is so suddenly losing power. Also it's very hard to believe it's not the game when every other game works perfectly fine.

[SenMithrarin85]

Originally posted by WearyExile:

Originally posted by SenMithrarin85:

Its not the game causing the shutdown, its windows. Either you're overheating, your hdd/ssd is going bad and causing read errors or its a driver conflict. Try testing your ram also.

I feel your frustration as I had a similar issue and turns out it was a driver conflict. Try a program called "whocrashed". next time it happens, that program will analyse the crash dump and tell you what caused it.

WhoCrashed doesn't even show a crash dump report because the computer is so suddenly losing power. Also it's very hard to believe it's not the game when every other game works perfectly fine.

Are you getting shut downs with reboots or complete shut downs where you have to reboot the system yourself?

I have never known a game to force a complete shutdown on its own. Its either a driver conflict, disc failure or bad RAM.

Try using the windows driver verifier. And tick all drivers and restart. If you can reboot without a bluescreen, your drivers are not the problem. If you get one, then whocrashed will tell you which driver caused it (since unless configured otherwise, windows will restart too soon to read the screen fully).

When it happened to me it was either my laptop's fingerprint driver or the intel rapid storage. Once I updated the former and removed the lattter, the weirdness stopped.

[BushwalkerSP]

If it's your GPU/CPU that forces the shutdown due to overheating, try switching on V-sync. It might help.

[WearyExile]

Originally posted by SenMithrarin85:

Originally posted by WearyExile:

WhoCrashed doesn't even show a crash dump report because the computer is so suddenly losing power. Also it's very hard to believe it's not the game when every other game works perfectly fine.

Are you getting shut downs with reboots or complete shut downs where you have to reboot the system yourself?

I have never known a game to force a complete shutdown on its own. Its either a driver conflict, disc failure or bad RAM.

Try using the windows driver verifier. And tick all drivers and restart. If you can reboot without a bluescreen, your drivers are not the problem. If you get one, then whocrashed will tell you which driver caused it (since unless configured otherwise, windows will restart too soon to read the screen fully).

When it happened to me it was either my laptop's fingerprint driver or the intel rapid storage. Once I updated the former and removed the lattter, the weirdness stopped.

The crashes are like instantaneous power losses. Like someone yanked the plug out of the back of the computer. PC stays off for may 3 to 5 seconds, then automatically powers itself on again. No error screens after it boots up again.

I'll try driver verifier and see where that leads me, and I'll try turning V-sync on per BushwalkerSP's suggestion. I'm becoming less convinced it's in any way hardware-related since this is the only game that does it, and it's hardly the Crysis of its time.

[WearyExile]

Originally posted by BushwalkerSP:

If it's your GPU/CPU that forces the shutdown due to overheating, try switching on V-sync. It might help.

Ding ding ding! Winner. lol I must have had v-sync off this whole time because when I turned it on the fans were quiet. I didn't think they were overheating that much but I guess that was it. Still amazed that a Lego game could cause my PC that much trouble. >__<

Thanks for the help!

[Ole]

I had a similar problem running the game .
you helped me alot thx.

[SenMithrarin85]

Originally posted by WearyExile:

Originally posted by BushwalkerSP:

If it's your GPU/CPU that forces the shutdown due to overheating, try switching on V-sync. It might help.

Ding ding ding! Winner. lol I must have had v-sync off this whole time because when I turned it on the fans were quiet. I didn't think they were overheating that much but I guess that was it. Still amazed that a Lego game could cause my PC that much trouble. >__<

Thanks for the help!

I originally thought of overheating, but your OP said temps were normal. Glad you sorted it anyway.

[WearyExile]

Originally posted by SenMithrarin85:

Originally posted by WearyExile:

Ding ding ding! Winner. lol I must have had v-sync off this whole time because when I turned it on the fans were quiet. I didn't think they were overheating that much but I guess that was it. Still amazed that a Lego game could cause my PC that much trouble. >__<

Thanks for the help!

I originally thought of overheating, but your OP said temps were normal. Glad you sorted it anyway.

Yeah, it's weird. When I was looking, temps never went above what I got playing the new Doom or Fallout 4 so I didn't consider them high. Must have creeped up to far when I looked away or something.