Sudden restarts with installed GPU drivers, GeForce RTX 3060

Hello Kendo79, welcome to the Microsoft community, I'll be happy to help you today;

I understand that you are having issues with your NVIDIA card drivers;

Perhaps the problem may be with the version of the drivers you are installing;

Initially I recommend that you try to do a clean install of the NVIDIA drivers;

Download and run the latest driver package for your video card:https://www.nvidia.com/Download/driverResults.a...
Follow the onscreen instructions until you get the Installation Options window;
Select the Custom (Advanced) box and press Next;
On the next screen, you will be able to choose the components to install (all should be checked by default and if you're not sure, leave them that way);
In the Select driver component table, check the Perform a clean installation box and click Next;

Before restarting, run a disk cleanup;

Press Windows key + R and type: cleanmgr press Enter;
Click on clean system files and wait for the files to load;
Select all files and click ok to delete them;

Restart and check if the problem is fixed;

Hope this helps, see you soon!

Hello unfortunately, this did not work.

Further once I couldn't even reach the Windows clean system early enough as the system restarted before doing so.

Dear Kendo79,when does the system restart?

Before reaching the login screen?

I look forward to seeing you soon!

No, 1-2 after the login, it can be provoked by watching a simple Youtube video or adjusting settings in Windows.

Dear Kendo79,in this case I recommend that you try the following;

When you get to the login screen, do the following;

Hold down the Shift key while clicking Shutdown > Restart (shutdown icon in the lower right corner of the screen);
Do not release the Shift key until the recovery environment is displayed;
Select Troubleshooting > Advanced Options > Startup Settings;
Press the F5 key to boot into Safe Mode with Networking;

Do a clean boot;

Press together the keys: Ctrl + Shift + Esc to access the Task Manager;
Click on Start and disable all programs that start with the PC;

Download and run DDU:https://www.guru3d.com/files-details/display-dr...
Select the option "Clean and restart";
After restarting the PC try to perform the clean installation of NVIDIA drivers as I informed in the previous post;

Check if the behavior still persists;

Hope this helps, see you soon!

Hello,

I did these steps exactly as you explained - TWICE

The following happend: after the clean installation I was expecting a normal automatic restart but instead the screen turned black and it never restarted on its own. The screens' lamp blinked white not yellow as when a cable cannot be detected). I had to force a restart after 15 minutes by pressing the on button of the chassis. When it restarted I quickly did the cleanmgr then I opened a browser and a few seconds after opening a webpage (local news) the screen has completely been frozen, I could only move my mouse arrow but nothing else, no keyboard, nothing. So this basically results in a freeze without a restart where before the screen just went black (yellow blink and message that the cable cannot be found before restarting automatically).

I uninstalled the driver again and everything is fine, after 4-5 minutes the fans of the graphics card go to 100% again, system restart and after that restart the fans stay quiet.

Dear Kendo79,this behavior is very strange;

In that case I suggest you try to do a clean install of a previous driver;

Download and run the latest driver package for your video card:https://www.nvidia.com/en-us/drivers/results/18...
Follow the onscreen instructions until you get the Installation Options window;
Select the Custom (Advanced) box and press Next;
On the next screen, you will be able to choose the components to install (all should be checked by default and if you're not sure, leave them that way);
In the Select driver component table, check the Perform a clean installation box and click Next;

Restart and check the behavior;

If that doesn't work, I believe the best option is to reinstall from scratch, fully formatting the disk during installation;

Hope it works, see you soon!

Dear Kendo79,this behavior is very strange;

In that case I suggest you try to do a clean install of a previous driver;

Download and run the latest driver package for your video card:https://www.nvidia.com/en-us/drivers/results/18...
Follow the onscreen instructions until you get the Installation Options window;
Select the Custom (Advanced) box and press Next;
On the next screen, you will be able to choose the components to install (all should be checked by default and if you're not sure, leave them that way);
In the Select driver component table, check the Perform a clean installation box and click Next;

Restart and check the behavior;

If that doesn't work, I believe the best option is to reinstall from scratch, fully formatting the disk during installation;

Hope it works, see you soon!

I tried this driver and a few others already, too.

Do you think it's a simple "driver confusion" or can it also be a hardware issue just like the other person from the link in my first post?

I had these restarting issues right from the start after I installed the system brand new.

I simply don't get why installing a driver is so complicated and requires a 3rd party software. It should run smoothly from start when the system is brand new.

Hi Kendo. I'm Greg, 10 times awarded MVP, here to help you.

There is a known issue with working fixes for random restarts, but since you've already identified the cause as your GPU, first let's do everything possible to fix it:

1) The Display driver is so important here that merely updating it is sometimes not enough. So let's try everything possible to get it working correctly:

First make sure you have updated the Display driver from the PC or Display adapter maker's Support Downloads web page for your exact model number, HP Serial Number or Dell Service Tag - from the sticker on the PC.

While there check also for newer chipset, BIOS/UEFI firmware (very important), network, sound, USB3 and other drivers, comparing to the ones presently installed in Device Manager reached by right clicking the Start Menu.

While there check also for newer chipset, BIOS/UEFI firmware (very important), network, sound, USB3 and other drivers, comparing to the ones presently installed in Device Manager reached by right clicking the Start Menu.

If necessary first remove the old driver using DDU https://www.wagnardsoft.com/content/ddu-guide-t... (not necessary with Microsoft Basic driver which is a placeholder if nothing else is available) and/or installing in Safe Mode with Networking (so you have internet), or Safe Mode, accessed by one of these methods: https://translate.google.com/translate?sl=auto&...

If new driver still won't install DDU see Lightning Leon's Answer here: https://translate.google.com/translate?sl=auto&...

If this doesn't give you the latest or ideal driver for what you need, compare it to the driver offered by the Intel driver update Utility here: https://translate.google.com/translate?sl=auto&...
or the Nvidia GeForce scanner here: https://www.nvidia.com/tr-tr/geforce/geforce-ex...
or the AMD autodect utility here: https://translate.google.com/translate?sl=auto&...

For Display issues one fix that is working is to Roll back or Uninstall the Driver on the Display Device > Driver tab, restart PC to reinstall driver.

You can also try older drivers in Device Manager > Display device > Driver tab > Update Driver > Browse > Let Me Pick.

Then you will know you've tried everything in addition to Windows Update drivers.

Adjust the screen resolution until it fits and looks best at Settings > System > Display.

Expedite Windows Updates to see if a new monitor driver is delivered.

2) If none of those fix it then try reseating your video card, remove and examine under bright light, blow out any debris with canned air, reseat firmly.

3) If that doesn't help then try another video card that's most recommended for your mobo and CPU. If it doesn't help you can return it.

4) Try the fixes which work most for random restarts:

https://windows101tricks.com/windows-10-freezes...

https://techcult.com/fix-computer-restarts-rand...

https://www.thewindowsclub.com/windows-computer... (Avoid ad links which intrude into editorial copy, especially avoid Restoro and Reimage ads)

https://troubleshooter.xyz/wiki/fix-computer-re...

https://windowsreport.com/random-restart-window... (Avoid ad links which intrude into editorial copy, especially avoid Restoro and Reimage ads)

https://www.reddit.com/r/buildapc/comments/8zd1...

https://support.hp.com/us-en/document/c03413399

https://howtofixwindows.com/windows-10-computer...

5) If none of those help then Go over this checklist to make sure the install is set up correctly, optimized for best performance, and any needed repairs get done: http://answers.microsoft.com/en-us/windows/wiki...

Start with Step 4 to turn off Startup freeloaders which can conflict and cause issues, then Step 7 to check for infection the most thorough way, then step 10 to check for damaged System Files, and also Step 17 to test a new Local Admin account. Then if necessary continue with the other steps to go over your install most thoroughly.

6) If nothing else works then do a Repair Install, by installing Media Creation Tool, open tool and choose to Upgrade Now. This reinstalls Windows while keeping files, programs and most settings in place, is the most stable method to advance to the latest version, and solves most problems. http://windows.microsoft.com/en-us/windows-10/m...

7) Test the RAM overnight to stress it with the best bootable test memtest86, following this guide to test both sticks and slots:
https://forums.tomshardware.com/faq/how-to-test...

Run Crucial System Scanner to check the RAM is precisely spec'd and configured, what upgrade options exist for first quality RAM: https://www.crucial.com/usa/en/systemscanner?cm...

8) Test the hard drive or SSD with diagnostics:
https://www.lifewire.com/free-hard-drive-testin...
https://mashtips.com/ssd-health-test-and-perfor...

Best is to use the HDD/SSD manufacturer's own if there is one, otherwise use Seatools bootable long test: http://blog.nowherelan.com/2013/04/04/boot-seat...

Follow this up with a full Disk Check from the Command Prompt in Repair Mode or from bootable media: https://www.groovypost.com/howto/check-hard-dri... if necessary from the Command Prompt at boot: https://www.tenforums.com/tutorials/2294-advanc...

9) Stress test the rest of your hardware:
https://techguided.com/best-tools-to-stress-tes...

I hope it helps. Based on the results you post back I may have other suggestions if necessary.

______________________________________________

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Hello Greg,

Thank you vor your help and please excuse my late reply but I tried out some possibilities in the meantime.

I followed insutructions to remove the graphics card out of the slot/case and place it back into the slot.

I even did that with all components and cables. Unfortunately this didn’t work, the restarts keptcoming with the easiest applications such as browsing in the internet. I finally stumbled over a video on Youtube about riser cable issues as I know that my case has integrated a riser cable due to its ITX form factor.

Then I accessed my Bios and saw the PCI-E Gen was set to AUTO. I know that the riser cable is Gen 4 ready but I switched it to Gen 3 / NOT 4 and since then no further restarts occurred. I’m wondering what’s the problem in the end. Is the riser cable defect, the pci-e slot of the graphics card or the motherboard? It is supposed to be Gen 4.

I'm just glad it works now but it took very long to get behind this problem and I still don't know if it is a hardware error and if then by which component.