Random Computer/Game Crashes Daily

TheHeroicZ

Refugee
Hello All,

My father-in-law has been playing 7 days religiously for two or three months now. Ever since the beginning of playing, it has crashed almost daily (use to be hourly). It sometimes wipes his character, sometimes only sets him back a few minutes or an hour. He is the most devoted man as he has dealt with it ever since playing it clocking in 523 hour (thats a lot of crashes). I have tried everything I can think of to prevent these crashes. Even going into the BIOS to tweak some stuff to reduce it. I do believe it may be an EAC related issue (as the event log has an error others have seen with other EAC crashes). If you'd like to see that error code, let me know and I can post it.

As for now, here is one of the many logs before a crash. https://pastebin.com/Nh2PtryC 

Windows 11

Gigabyte B560 DS3H AC-Y1

11th Gen Intel i7-11700F

16GB

1TB SSD

Let me know if there is anything else needed!

 
I wanted to add:

Mods are included but have been removed with continual crashes with or without mods.

EAC is disabled in the startup menu.

 
The most common reason for having both random crashing to desktop and restarts is ram errors. Try wiping the ram stick contacts (very carefully) and reseat the sticks to see if that helps. You can also do a free Memtest86 test to see if there's any errors. The DOS version of the test works better, but few ppl know how to do it that way.

 
@BeelzybubI'll get the latest log posted on here tomorrow!

@FoxI will give it a shot with the memtest. What's best to rub the ram stick contacts? Alcohol? Or is that too strong? Thanks you for the suggestions everyone!

 
I will give it a shot with the memtest. What's best to rub the ram stick contacts? Alcohol? Or is that too strong? Thanks you for the suggestions everyone!
Just a simple dry tissue will work (nothing abrasive). No solvents or liquids of any kind are needed. If you have canned air or air compressor, it's always good to give the PC a blast and be sure to blast the ram slots too.

Dust tends to build up on ram sticks over time, especially if you're using stock CPU coolers since those blast the air straight onto one of the ram sticks.

 
Also, it can be useful to check out eventviewer, look for a critical at the time of a crash.
Ya, I have done that several times and it gives out an error that when searching online, appears to lead to EAC problems (from other games that use EAC). I can try to get the error code later and post it here.

 
Ya, I have done that several times and it gives out an error that when searching online, appears to lead to EAC problems (from other games that use EAC). I can try to get the error code later and post it here.


Ahh okay. Yeah that can also point to a RAM issue. EAC runs checks on what's loaded into RAM, which if you have instabilities it can cause issues like such. 

Running XMP or any altered ram timings/frequencies? May be worth going into your BIOS and running a "default settings". 

 
Ahh okay. Yeah that can also point to a RAM issue. EAC runs checks on what's loaded into RAM, which if you have instabilities it can cause issues like such. 

Running XMP or any altered ram timings/frequencies? May be worth going into your BIOS and running a "default settings". 
Good thinking on that. My father-in-law wouldn't be messing with any overclocking or general settings. It is a pre-built however. 

He has pulled the ram out and reseated it a couple of times. However, people are suggesting RAM a lot. I will get him to wipe it, reseat it, and maybe run that ram memory test application to see if any errors or crashes occur.

 
Now, if the ram IS failing, sometimes giving it a tiny bit more voltage can give it the stability it needs. I've been there a cpl times with sticks.

And yeah, if my timings and such aren't stable (I am a tweaker, it took about a month of tinkering to get the tightest/fastest combination on my main sticks) I will fail EAC integrity checks sometimes if not crash.

Just a simple dry tissue will work (nothing abrasive). No solvents or liquids of any kind are needed. If you have canned air or air compressor, it's always good to give the PC a blast and be sure to blast the ram slots too.

Dust tends to build up on ram sticks over time, especially if you're using stock CPU coolers since those blast the air straight onto one of the ram sticks.


Heh funny you mentioned that. I worked on a computer with an unstable ram stick once and there were a few animal hairs trapped in the slot, my guess is the ram got seated on top of the hairs that were laying on the slot and pushed them inside it lol.

 
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The most common reason for having both random crashing to desktop and restarts is ram errors. Try wiping the ram stick contacts (very carefully) and reseat the sticks to see if that helps. You can also do a free Memtest86 test to see if there's any errors. The DOS version of the test works better, but few ppl know how to do it that way.
This is quite late. But we finally ran the memtest86 on the system and it passed with no problems. However, crashing is still consistent. Any other suggestions?

 
This is quite late. But we finally ran the memtest86 on the system and it passed with no problems. However, crashing is still consistent. Any other suggestions?
memtest isn't always 100% with the results, more like 95% accurate. I had brand new ram once where it would pass the test 50% of the time, which is why they recommend you to do 3 passes (which takes forever, but sometimes it's worth it).

Pre-built systems more than likely have heat issues, try removing the side panel (and put a desk fan or something at it if possible) and see if it still crashes. If it does still crash but takes much longer before it crashes, it may be a number of things getting hot which could cause a crash. The motherboard itself for example could be getting too hot (pre-builds ALWAYS come with the crappiest / cheapest motherboards on the market, which means they usually come with undersized heatsinks on the hot parts and when they get hot, they become unstable, especially if there's not enough ventilation in the case).

Aside from that, check file integrity of game files in Steam.

You also haven't mentioned what GPU he has. If it's an AMD based GPU, then update the drivers. Those cards almost always have some kind of issue at some point in my experience.

 
memtest isn't always 100% with the results, more like 95% accurate. I had brand new ram once where it would pass the test 50% of the time, which is why they recommend you to do 3 passes (which takes forever, but sometimes it's worth it).

Pre-built systems more than likely have heat issues, try removing the side panel (and put a desk fan or something at it if possible) and see if it still crashes. If it does still crash but takes much longer before it crashes, it may be a number of things getting hot which could cause a crash. The motherboard itself for example could be getting too hot (pre-builds ALWAYS come with the crappiest / cheapest motherboards on the market, which means they usually come with undersized heatsinks on the hot parts and when they get hot, they become unstable, especially if there's not enough ventilation in the case).

Aside from that, check file integrity of game files in Steam.

You also haven't mentioned what GPU he has. If it's an AMD based GPU, then update the drivers. Those cards almost always have some kind of issue at some point in my experience.
I will try all these suggestions.

He has a gigabyte 3070. Updates have been updated over the months with no change. Gonna investigate heat issues with CPUz and report back. 

 
Honestly if it's under warranty I would send it in. These issues scream hardware failure, better now while it's free than realize there were faulty parts right after the warranty ends and you're stuck with a brick.

 
Ya, one thing I always do when building a new system (in this case a pre-built system) is abuse the crap out of it... stress it out as much as possible for at least a half hour. Run stress tests on everything (GPU, CPU, Ram, SSD, PSU, Motherboard, etc). If just one of those stress tests fail, I RMA the part right away, no exceptions.

If it's a Dell / Alienware though... good luck. Those scam artists love to sell ppl a dozen warranties for a single product, but when it comes to honoring that warranty, they look for any excuse to bail.

 
Well fella's, We tried the Memtest 2 times and then tried taking the side panel off and blowing a fan into it. Sure enough, that fixed it. It only crashes in 7 Days and I assume that that it just uses parts of the MOBO that get extra hot. The GPU was cool, CPU cool but other parts of the MOBO was reaching 80+. That being said, new fans have been ordered and gaming is being done with the side panel off. 

Thank you all for your diligent effort in helping.

 
Well fella's, We tried the Memtest 2 times and then tried taking the side panel off and blowing a fan into it. Sure enough, that fixed it. It only crashes in 7 Days and I assume that that it just uses parts of the MOBO that get extra hot. The GPU was cool, CPU cool but other parts of the MOBO was reaching 80+. That being said, new fans have been ordered and gaming is being done with the side panel off. 

Thank you all for your diligent effort in helping.


Interesting, though. Usually motherboard parts are the coolest, mine doesnt get hotter than 36 - 40c under stress. What mobo is it? That sounds... dangerous hitting 80+c lol

Idk, I may still want to contact the warranty department, 80C on the motherboard just isn't right

 
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