Windows 10: Screen goes Blank or colored while Gaming

This has been bugging me like crazy. I'll be playing a game and a good chance it'll either cause the computer to reboot or the monitor will shut off (sometimes it'll give a colored screen). Heavy games like GTA5 seem to cause it faster. Dead by Daylight I was able to play, for about week after the issue started to crop up on GTA5, then it occurred on that as well.

I should mention I've done tests with programs and the temperatures for both the CPU and GPU are within acceptable parameters. I've also done two complete clean Windows installations so I highly doubt it's anything software related. When the computer turns the screen off (acts like it doesn't receive a signal) with the tower still running, or a colored screen, there is sound but it's normal. I can hear programs going on still but after some time it all stops, sound wise, and there's nothing but the blank/colored screen and the sound of the tower running.

The whole problem only started to present itself about three weeks ago. Like stated above the temperatures are within acceptable parameters. I've kept afterburner open and it got close to 80oC but that's been normal for years. This last time it happened, about 50 minutes ago, I forced the fans to work at 60% which pulled the temp down to 71oC. Unfortunately that didn't stop the colored screen from striking again. I also always use DDU in safe mode when doing clean installs of GPU drivers. I'm even on 384.94 but in all honesty I don't think it's tied to the drivers as I've gone back 10 drivers old and the issue remains.

I'd say it could be the PSU, the external one this Alienware comes with (330w), but the computer can stay on just fine while on Firefox and 20+ tabs open. Then there's games where it just doesn't, or hasn't, happened yet like Dota 2 with all the settings on high and optional settings turned on. GTA5 and Saints Row the 3rd can trigger this event within a hour or shorter. It baffles me as to why Dota 2 with high settings and all optional settings turned on won't trigger it but other games will.

Any speculation or help on this would be appreciated.

:)

 

My Windows 10 freezes randomly, gives a blank screen with random color

Does it go a black color or just some random color every time it happens?

 

Blank Screen in Windows 10

Hello,

I am receiving blank screens using Windows 10 Home Edition in:

- games: forced to quit the games when this happens, sometimes I can still hear the environmental sounds, or go through the menu, screen is still blank or game crashes;

- watching movies or just web browsing (sometimes, even when playing a youtube video, still getting the blank screen a few times, then it goes back to where I left off).

My GPU: GTX 1070

When I first got the laptop, a few months ago, before any 2017 updates, I had no issues.

Reinstalled driver, OS, still getting the same blank screens.

While I'm using my on-board video card, I don't get the blank screens.

Had no issues when using Windows 7.

 

Hello Corpser,

Welcome to Tenforums *Smile

The PSU is not very powerful if it is only 330W. Did you add the graphics card later or was it supplied with the graphics card?

I would recommend a much higher rated PSU for your system such as 650W or even 750W. Depends what combination of hard drives and SSDs you run.

 

You'd think it wouldn't be enough but this Alienware came with all that. It's been just fine with that 330w for over four years. No part has been replaced in all that time.

Getting a stronger PSU isn't an option at this point since the Alienware X51 R2 only uses an external PSU, power brick, and the highest wattage for that model is a 330w.

I did think on several times it could be the PSU, power brick, dying but like I stated above I can play other games just fine (from what I can tell). I do believe it's some part of the GPU dying and I plan on replacing it with a GTX 970 in October but I wanted to make sure that was the point of the issue or at least find out what's the main cause before then.

Oh and thanks for the welcome.

 

In that case we can assume that Alienware did their homework and know just how much power is drawn by all the components. With a conventional PSU over time the internal fans can get clogged up and so the PSU starts to overheat which can also lead to shutdowns - it might be worth giving the system a thorough clean and dust extraction - but your power brick sounds like it may not have any fan cooling mechanism - does it get hot during use?

 

Yeah I normally open up the case at least once a month and use a can of air to clean it of dust.

For the brick yeah that thing is lukewarm to the touch but all brick power supplies are like that. This is a photo of the same thing I got off of google just so you know what I'm talking about. This is extremely similar to other power bricks that are used for other appliances like consoles or such.

https://hothardware.com/articleimages/Item1794/x51-power-brick.jpg


Like I said I doubt it's the power supply or the GPU would be shutting off on all games indiscriminately.

 

Try a GPU test program to see if it will trigger the problem. There is a utility called GPU-z built into Furmark which lets you monitor the system via the sensors tab. Keep an eye on it during the run and post a screenshot of it.






Diagnostic test

GPU TEST


Run Furmark tutorial



Note Run Furmark for around 30 minutes



Warning Your GPU temperatures will rise quickly while Furmark is running. Keep a keen eye on them and abort the test if temperatures rise too high

 

Alright I did two separate tests.

The first one I did:
-fullscreen
-1920x1080
-4x msaa
-and the basic 3d test option burn-in

 

Second test I did:
-fullscreen
-1920x1080
-anti-aliasing off
-all 3d options except dynamic camera







I should mention both tests I did run for 30 mins each and the second right after the first. So that's a total of 1 hour of testing. No automatic shutdown+reboot, colored screen, or screen turning off.

 

Those tests would suggest your GPU is working fine. I'm not a gamer so I can't advise on the differences between games and why one might trigger the problem and others don't. At this stage I would not be certain that a new GPU will fix the problem. Are there any game forums that can help or can you search to see if any one else has problems with this type of PC and GTA5?

 

I had some inkling my GPU was fine but I was hoping it was that. Not that I can think of at least not when it comes to software/hardware issues. I did try typing something similar on Tech Support Guy, a site I normally go to for issues, but it's a...sort of dead site compared to other support/help sites.

It's not just GTA5 four games, possibly six games, have caused the same issue. That's what's confusing me since I heavily assume it's not software since I can't find any conflicts and I did two complete clean Windows 10 installs, from a USB, which would naturally rule out conflicts or software related issues.

 

You could try posting up a zip file with the various logfiles we use for BSOD analysis. Although you don't have a BSOD the event logs might throw up some clues as to what is happening. Follow the instructions here:
Blue Screen of Death (BSOD) Posting Instructions

 

That should be what you wanted right?

 

I've looked through the logfiles and can see the Windows error reports for the these game failures:

Code: Windows Error Reporting: +++ WER0 +++: Fault bucket 120778521737, type 4 Event Name: APPCRASH Response: Not available Cab Id: 0 Problem signature: P1: GTAVLauncher.exe P2: 1.0.1103.2 P3: 593a77c4 P4: d3d9.dll P5: 10.0.15063.0 P6: 631de416 P7: c0000005 P8: 000000000000fd0c P9: P10: +++ WER1 +++: Fault bucket 116404022991, type 5 Event Name: BEX64 Response: Not available Cab Id: 0 Problem signature: P1: svchost.exe P2: 10.0.15063.0 P3: 02799ef5 P4: appraiser.dll_unloaded P5: 10.0.15156.1008 P6: 9e6eb7d4 P7: 0000000000001000 P8: c0000005 P9: 0000000000000008 P10: +++ WER2 +++: Fault bucket , type 0 Event Name: BEX64 Response: Not available Cab Id: 0 Problem signature: P1: svchost.exe P2: 10.0.15063.0 P3: 02799ef5 P4: appraiser.dll_unloaded P5: 10.0.15156.1008 P6: 9e6eb7d4 P7: 0000000000001000 P8: c0000005 P9: 0000000000000008 P10: +++ WER3 +++: Fault bucket 129398204056, type 5 Event Name: RADAR_PRE_LEAK_WOW64 Response: Not available Cab Id: 0 Problem signature: P1: SaintsRowTheThird_DX11.exe P2: 1.0.0.1 P3: 10.0.15063.2.0.0 P4: P5: P6: P7: P8: P9: P10: +++ WER4 +++: Fault bucket 129396108630, type 5 Event Name: RADAR_PRE_LEAK_WOW64 Response: Not available Cab Id: 0 Problem signature: P1: Borderlands2.exe P2: 1.0.38.7335 P3: 10.0.15063.2.0.0 P4: P5: P6: P7: P8: P9: P10: +++ WER5 +++: Fault bucket 129396485953, type 5 Event Name: RADAR_PRE_LEAK_64 Response: Not available Cab Id: 0 Problem signature: P1: DeadByDaylight-Win64-Shipping.exe P2: 4.13.2.0 P3: 10.0.15063.2.0.0 P4: P5: P6: P7: P8: P9: P10: +++ WER6 +++: Fault bucket LKD_0x141_Tdr:6_IMAGE_nvlddmkm.sys_Kepler_3D, type 0 Event Name: LiveKernelEvent Response: Not available Cab Id: 6c195fc1-8bbd-4228-a787-bcf93c48a8ba Problem signature: P1: 141 P2: ffff8f86f29754a0 P3: fffff8068201ce24 P4: 0 P5: fa4 P6: 10_0_15063 P7: 0_0 P8: 768_1 P9: P10: +++ WER7 +++: Fault bucket , type 0 Event Name: LiveKernelEvent Response: Not available Cab Id: 0 Problem signature: P1: 141 P2: ffff8f86f29754a0 P3: fffff8068201ce24 P4: 0 P5: fa4 P6: 10_0_15063 P7: 0_0 P8: 768_1 P9: P10: +++ WER8 +++: Fault bucket 129404464944, type 5 Event Name: RADAR_PRE_LEAK_64 Response: Not available Cab Id: 0 Problem signature: P1: UDK.exe P2: 1.0.10907.0 P3: 10.0.15063.2.0.0 P4: P5: P6: P7: P8: P9: P10: +++ WER9 +++: Fault bucket 127930299139, type 5 Event Name: MpTelemetry Response: Not available Cab Id: 0 Problem signature: P1: unspecified P2: HardeningTelemetry P3: HardeningTelemetryDisableAS P4: 4.11.15063.447 P5: unspecified P6: unspecified P7: unspecified P8: P9: P10:[/quote] One thing you could try would be to uninstall the MSI Afterburner software as it is known to cause problems in some situations.