Far Cry 4 - computer froze. Only hard reset helps.

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lpiotrowski

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Oct 17, 2014
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Hello. Yesterday when playing Far Cry 4 my computer suddenly freezes with "BZZZZZ" sound.
Only hard reset helps. So after reset i again run Far Cry 4 and left for 12 hours in background. And after 12 hours without freez, all fine. But why i was had one single freez yesterday ( only hard reset helps ) ?
There is no any minidumps file to analyze. Minidump folder is empty.
I run even Prime95 for 10 hours, without errors.

My pc is:
4790 stock
8gb ram
Sabertooth Z79 Mark2
Asus Strix 980 ( Oc factory )
Corsair 750 RM
HDD 500GB SATAIII


I dont OC my pc, all is stock.
I am using 334.75 WHQL.

IS this game\software problem or hardware?
Like i say all is fine now, but i am worried about that one single freez ( only hard reset helps ) from yesterday.
Thank you for any suggestion.
Should i be worried?
It happens once, so thats why i create a topic problem. Because i want to know , what caused that one single freez. I never had freez like this even before.
 
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Was the sound coming from your speakers or from the hardware? If it was coming from your speakers I wouldn't worry about it. When a hard lock happens the sound device will continually play the last sound present in its buffer.

I would point to the power supply, or the quality of power that is feeding it from the outlet and any intermediary devices (surge protector, UPS), being the cause of the lockup. If there is any kind of significant ripple that causes the amperage to drop or rise, it could cause the hardware to lock up or even become damaged if the spike was significant enough. The only way to be certain is to use a multimeter to test all the lines coming out of your power supply.

The power supply itself that you have, the RM750, has some known issues. If it is an early production run, there was a problem with its thermal sensors and operation that is detailed here. If the first four digits of the serial number are less than 1341 then it is affected by this issue. Secondly, it uses cheaply made Chinese capacitors for the secondaries on the voltage regulator. This can cause the voltage ripple that made your hardware lock up.

If you're going with Corsair you should pay more money for the AX- or HX- series, the AX- being their top-of-the-line and highly regarded by the community. The RM- series is considered their "mainstream" line and they cut corners on quality to keep the price down.
 
But it happens once, not more, so thats why i create a topic problem.
Now i can run game 24 hours without freez.
I want to know , what caused that one single freez. I never had freez like this even before.
 
lpiotrowski said:
But it happens once, not more, so thats why i create a topic problem.
Now i can run game 24 hours without freez.
I want to know , what caused that one single freez. I never had freez like this even before.
Click to expand...
As I said, the voltage could have spiked high or low enough to cause the hardware to lockup. It's not something that will happen with regularity. You could go a year or more until another lockup occurs. Your hardware will generally operate just fine with a ripple tolerance of +/- 4%, even though that's not considered acceptable by any stretch of the imagination. It's not something you will know for sure unless you physically test the power supply.
 
Honestly, all software has bugs. Games are probably the hardest type of software to debug so I wouldn't say that a single hard lock is unexpected. 10 years or so ago this happened a lot. I remember having to reboot my system while playing Sin multiple times in a session because it used to hard lock or the sound would get stuck on a single ear-splitting tone.

Test it out some more and see what happens.
 
Quix said:
Honestly, all software has bugs. Games are probably the hardest type of software to debug so I wouldn't say that a single hard lock is unexpected. 10 years or so ago this happened a lot. I remember having to reboot my system while playing Sin multiple times in a session because it used to hard lock or the sound would get stuck on a single ear-splitting tone.

Test it out some more and see what happens.
Click to expand...

I agree...I would guess software bug before a hardware issue, especially in a new(er) game.
 
lpiotrowski said:
That can be reason to RMA PSU?
Click to expand...
I would not RMA the power supply at this point over a single lockup. Just be aware that the caps have a lifespan of 5 years, and invest more into a higher quality power supply when the time comes to replace it.
 
Ok thank you guys for replies and help. I will not RMA then :) Cheers. Hopefully that was software bug. Also i tested 3dmark 11 Extreme ( 10 loops + ) , Prime 95 Blend test for 10 hours, and other games without single lock up. Only in Far Cry 4 yesterday happened once single lock up. Huh, strange.
 
Sounds like you standard run of the mill Kepler/Maxwell boost voltage droop.
 
It can be software or hardware problem? Like i say it happened once 2 days ago. After that now i am 58 hours in game without single freez\crash.
Also Prime95 was tested without crashes.
 
sounds like a glitch in the matrix, wouldn't worry unless it keeps happening. Black ops 2 did it to me last night
 
lpiotrowski said:
I will not RMA then :) Cheers. Hopefully that was software bug.
Click to expand...
First, a supply could have been defective even when bought. Normal is for a defective supply to still boot and run a computer. Then a defect slowly gets worse with age. Computer becomes intermittent. Eventually fails.

Meanwhile that defect might have been seen long ago by meter. But that means a meter and some information from the fewer who know this stuff.

Electrolytic capacitors that fail in 5 years were defective when purchased. These items should be perfectly good even 20 years later. But again, many only recite hearsay. Do not first learn how hardware really works.

Entire power 'system' (which is more than just a PSU) could be verified with a meter. Long before accusing any part, one first identifies the defect. Other information sources may be system event logs. Anyrecommendation from speculating ('it could be the ...." reasoning) is best ignored. Definitive answers (that are not wild speculation) say why, include hard facts, and come with numbers.

Review and report from system event logs. Since that reports facts. Request instructions to probably use a meter.
 
westom said:
First, a supply could have been defective even when bought. Normal is for a defective supply to still boot and run a computer. Then a defect slowly gets worse with age. Computer becomes intermittent. Eventually fails.

Meanwhile that defect might have been seen long ago by meter. But that means a meter and some information from the fewer who know this stuff.

Electrolytic capacitors that fail in 5 years were defective when purchased. These items should be perfectly good even 20 years later. But again, many only recite hearsay. Do not first learn how hardware really works.

Entire power 'system' (which is more than just a PSU) could be verified with a meter. Long before accusing any part, one first identifies the defect. Other information sources may be system event logs. Anyrecommendation from speculating ('it could be the ...." reasoning) is best ignored. Definitive answers (that are not wild speculation) say why, include hard facts, and come with numbers.

Review and report from system event logs. Since that reports facts. Request instructions to probably use a meter.
Click to expand...
System event logs are empty. No minidump file.
Nothing appears in the Event Viewer other than the typical error messages stating that the previous shutdown was unexpected
 
A 500GB HDD makes me worry, how old is that thing? A crappy HDD can cause this, however, many things can as well.
 
Far Cry 4 crashes for me too sometimes during cut scenes, using a 4790k sabertooth z97/usb 3.1 and msi gtx 980.
 
Somebody told me that nothing in my minidump indicates that my hardware initiated the freeze
A clean minidump clearly indicates either a BIOS reset setting or a secondary hardware trip (power supply).

Is this true?
 
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Kind of concerning that even with awesome hardware this game crashes
 
On windows event log i have this:
Log Name: System
Source: Microsoft-Windows-Kernel-Power
Event ID: 41
Level: Critical
Description:
The system has rebooted without cleanly shutting down first. This error could be caused if the system stopped responding, crashed, or lost power unexpectedly.




After that i run even Prime95 Blend for 10 hours, without errors.
I test Watchdogs for 2 hours , no crash.
I test Metro Last Light for 2 hours, no crash.
I test Unigine Valley for 1 hour, no crash.
I test 3dmark 11 Extreme loop for 1 hour , no crash.
I test Crysis 3 for 1 hour, no crash.
 
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Guys, this is Litwicki, same never-ending troll thread on AnandTech and TPU again ... don't waste your time here
 
smc805 said:
Kind of concerning that even with awesome hardware this game crashes
Click to expand...
Power is cut off by a power controller (which is completely irrelevant to CPU RAM or other part). Power controller has many inputs. Apparently no Operating System input has ordered that power off. So some other input (or a defective power controller) is causing a power off.

Everything that discussed the meter applies. Without numbers from a meter and from requested instructions, then nobody can cite a specific problem that causes intermittent power off.

Again, normal is some part of that power 'system' to have been defective even when the system was new and working. A defect exists constantly. Resulting in periodic shutdowns.

So only two solutions exist. Randomly start replace parts on wild speculation or dice throws (no different from what others might suggest). Or request instructions and use a meter to see a defect even when it is not causing power off. Then those posted three digit numbers specifically identify the defect. Those are your only two alternatives.
 
westom said:
Power is cut off by a power controller (which is completely irrelevant to CPU RAM or other part). Power controller has many inputs. Apparently no Operating System input has ordered that power off. So some other input (or a defective power controller) is causing a power off.

Everything that discussed the meter applies. Without numbers from a meter and from requested instructions, then nobody can cite a specific problem that causes intermittent power off.

Again, normal is some part of that power 'system' to have been defective even when the system was new and working. A defect exists constantly. Resulting in periodic shutdowns.

So only two solutions exist. Randomly start replace parts on wild speculation or dice throws (no different from what others might suggest). Or request instructions and use a meter to see a defect even when it is not causing power off. Then those posted three digit numbers specifically identify the defect. Those are your only two alternatives.
Click to expand...
Can you little brighter? What you mean?

My computer crash once, and hasn't crashed since. But it crashed hard, forcing me computer to hard reboot. So thats why i am worried, because of hard crash. Hard crash is always caused by hardware or can be caused by software too?
 
Computer crashes are often caused by trolling multiple forums with the same threads.
 
lpiotrowski said:
Hard crash is always caused by hardware or can be caused by software too?
Click to expand...
If software caused a crash, then it appears in the event logs or in important numbers on a Blue Screen of Death (BSOD).

Power off would be due to hardware cutting off power. That is either the power controller responding to some input (ie front power button, OS software power off request, voltage monitor discovering illegal voltages, etc). But this we know. Power was cut off and CPU was halted when a power controller ordered it.

Yank the power cord from its wall receptacle. Long before voltage drops to zero, the power controller responds to a signal. It halts the CPU. And does other 'power off' functions long before internal computer voltages drop to zero.

Computer standards define how long a computer must keep operating after AC power is disconnected. To you, it is immediate. To hardware, a long time exists between power cut off and halting. For example, when a UPS switches from AC mains to battery, a period exists with no AC incoming power. Computer does not shut down. Its internal voltages have not yet dropped low enough for the power controller to stop operations. Long time later, if AC voltage does not return, then the power controller stops CPU execution.

In each case, a power controller is making decisions in response to inputs (from hardware and from software).
 
westom said:
If software caused a crash, then it appears in the event logs or in important numbers on a Blue Screen of Death (BSOD).

Power off would be due to hardware cutting off power. That is either the power controller responding to some input (ie front power button, OS software power off request, voltage monitor discovering illegal voltages, etc). But this we know. Power was cut off and CPU was halted when a power controller ordered it.

Yank the power cord from its wall receptacle. Long before voltage drops to zero, the power controller responds to a signal. It halts the CPU. And does other 'power off' functions long before internal computer voltages drop to zero.

Computer standards define how long a computer must keep operating after AC power is disconnected. To you, it is immediate. To hardware, a long time exists between power cut off and halting. For example, when a UPS switches from AC mains to battery, a period exists with no AC incoming power. Computer does not shut down. Its internal voltages have not yet dropped low enough for the power controller to stop operations. Long time later, if AC voltage does not return, then the power controller stops CPU execution.

In each case, a power controller is making decisions in response to inputs (from hardware and from software).
Click to expand...
After froze and forcing restart button immidiatelly i just checked all minidumps folder ( even with Watchdog folder ) and all are empty.
And of course i checked event logs. There is nothing about app crash.
I have only this:

Log Name: System
Source: Microsoft-Windows-Kernel-Power
Event ID: 41
Level: Critical
Description:
The system has rebooted without cleanly shutting down first. This error could be caused if the system stopped responding, crashed, or lost power unexpectedly.



:) But if you tired of me, just dont answer. I am really greatful for replies anyway.
 
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I get the exact same issue. Freezes everywhere in Far Cry 4 even on stock clocks everywhere.

I think it is just the game. I have a 5930k, Rampage V Extreme, 16GB DDR4 2666Mhz, SLI 980 (tested in single GPU mode still freezes).

Either driver maturation between x99 platform and nVidia, the motherboard itself, the game or a combination of that. Anyway, I finished the game and its Yeti's DLC. Was great and moving on.
 
Doomchoppa said:
Either driver maturation between x99 platform and nVidia, the motherboard itself, the game or a combination of that. .
Click to expand...
If a game crashes, then the OS simply closes off that task and works uninterrupted. That is a basic computer concept evern found in early OSes 25 years ago on PCs and 40 years ago on mainframes.

Symptoms (ie what was quoted from logs) suggest what is happening. And that was specifically defined in previous posts. What a controller does is layman simple. However, if this is new, then (as learned in school) multiple rereads of the many previous posts are essential. Especially when what game crashes would do is not yet obvious.

Until one starts grasping this stuff, then we cannot yet move on to solutions. A solutoin was posted some eight posts ago. But it was completely ignored apparently due to diffiulty grasping these simple computer concepts.

At this point, every reply should be about the power controller and no longer about logs. Since and maybe for a third time, logs are accusing a power control system. I do not understand why that is posted repeatedly and every reply does not even mention that 'system' - what determines when a computer to stops working.
 
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