Monitors go black but computer remains on

[prizna]

I have just had a problem where both my monitors went black all of a sudden, (this is not a cable/connection issue) I have been having similar problems recently where I would get display driver driver crashes where my monitors would go off but then come back on, this time they remained off and I was forced to hit the restart button to reboot my PC.

Checking reliability manager I found this error timestamped at the time my monitors went to black:

Source

Summary
LiveKernelEvent

Date
‎5/‎05/‎2016 11:19 AM

Status
Not reported

Problem signature
Problem Event Name: LiveKernelEvent
Code: 141
Parameter 1: ffffe001da9cb4c0
Parameter 2: fffff8011e9ee5a4

If anyone can help me understand this error it would be greatly appreciated.

thanks,

 

[Vince Massi]

The phrase "Live Kernel Event" means that your video hardware caused the problem. It is a type of problem that MIGHT be caused by a virus, so I would recommend a deep scan, plus a deep scan with the free edition of Malwarebytes.That's probably not your problem, but it won't hurt.

"Problem Signature" is often the result of a Windows update. Try System Restore. It can also mean that you have a corrupted file. Go to Task Manager--File--Run New Task. Type in powershell and check the box giving you Admin Privileges.Give PowerShell several seconds to load, and then type sfc /scannow into the command line. It should take about an hour and a half. (Notice that there is a space after sfc).

Error Code 141 is often a driver problem. Go into Device manager and check that your driver is the latest and is working properly. But then work your way to the Events tab and make sure that your driver was completely installed--that had me fouled up a while back. If it is not completely installed, set a Restore Point and Re-install the video driver. Your screen will not go blank, as Window immediately substitutes a generic driver. DO NOT delete the original driver, as you need to re-install it after restarting. Also, if the Events tab shows that your driver was recently upgraded, consider rolling back to the previous driver.

And if none of that works, come back and we'll try again.

 

[prizna]

The phrase "Live Kernel Event" means that your video hardware caused the problem. It is a type of problem that MIGHT be caused by a virus, so I would recommend a deep scan, plus a deep scan with the free edition of Malwarebytes.That's probably not your problem, but it won't hurt.

"Problem Signature" is often the result of a Windows update. Try System Restore. It can also mean that you have a corrupted file. Go to Task Manager--File--Run New Task. Type in powershell and check the box giving you Admin Privileges.Give PowerShell several seconds to load, and then type sfc /scannow into the command line. It should take about an hour and a half. (Notice that there is a space after sfc).

Error Code 141 is often a driver problem. Go into Device manager and check that your driver is the latest and is working properly. But then work your way to the Events tab and make sure that your driver was completely installed--that had me fouled up a while back. If it is not completely installed, set a Restore Point and Re-install the video driver. Your screen will not go blank, as Window immediately substitutes a generic driver. DO NOT delete the original driver, as you need to re-install it after restarting. Also, if the Events tab shows that your driver was recently upgraded, consider rolling back to the previous driver.

And if none of that works, come back and we'll try again.

Thanks for the reply,

I have tried everything except the restore point, I have been having this issue for some time, so a restore point wouldn't help too much.

No Viruses, sfc /scannow was actually quite fast and came back with 'Windows Resource Protection did not find any integrity violations.' and I have made sure that I am using the most recent GPU driver and that it is installed correctly, in the past I have tried previous drivers and have still had the same or similar problems.

One thing i'd like to add is I usually seem to get a display driver crash most mornings usually within 5-10 minutes after a cold boot, it only ever seems to happen on the initial boot and I rarely have another crash after this, it does seem to be the cold boot that causes this, as rebooting my PC does not cause the crash to occur.

 

[Vince Massi]

I was happy to help, Prizna.

A bizarre strength of Windows is that it self-corrects when possible. I have had games that usually crashed when started and then worked fine when I restarted. Eventually, they stopped crashing when I started. If it is an upgrade problem, 10 might eventually sort itself out.

While your cables obviously work, they might be old enough to have trouble with Windows 10.

Another possibility is that you are using Windows 7 hardware that is having trouble with the Windows 10 software. If so, it is likely to sort itself out or at least benefit from patches.

 

[prizna]

I was happy to help, Prizna.

A bizarre strength of Windows is that it self-corrects when possible. I have had games that usually crashed when started and then worked fine when I restarted. Eventually, they stopped crashing when I started. If it is an upgrade problem, 10 might eventually sort itself out.

While your cables obviously work, they might be old enough to have trouble with Windows 10.

Another possibility is that you are using Windows 7 hardware that is having trouble with the Windows 10 software. If so, it is likely to sort itself out or at least benefit from patches.

Is it possible that the crashes may be caused by a faulty GPU, as these crashes happen on all games?
I don't have access to another PC at the moment, so I'm unable to put it into another computer to see if the problem persists, is there any other way I could test my GPU to see if it may be failing.

 

[Vince Massi]

Prizna, a lot depends on how long you were running Windows 10 before this problem appeared. How old is your GPU? What OS is it designed for? Unless you're playing high-tech games on an old GPU, it should be able to handle them.

If your problem appeared some time after you installed 10, it could be a GPU failure, but the messages you got indicate that it's a driver problem. Are your monitors blacking out ONLY during games?

I notice that you haven't posted your rig's specifications. Knowing that would help.

 

[prizna]

Prizna, a lot depends on how long you were running Windows 10 before this problem appeared. How old is your GPU? What OS is it designed for? Unless you're playing high-tech games on an old GPU, it should be able to handle them.

If your problem appeared some time after you installed 10, it could be a GPU failure, but the messages you got indicate that it's a driver problem. Are your monitors blacking out ONLY during games?

I notice that you haven't posted your rig's specifications. Knowing that would help.

The problem appeared some time after installing Windows 10, the driver crash occurs in games and also just while browsing, in fact I received the driver crash while typing this reply.

Here are some of my rigs specs:
OS Windows 10 Home
Motherboard Gigabyte Z68A-D3H-B3 rev1.0
Memory 8gb
Graphics Card Geforce GTX 770

 

[BigFeet]

What are the gpu temps while gaming? Run hwmonitor, game for a good 10 minutes, then check your max gpu temp. One thing you can try if heat isn't the issue, is download DDU (display driver uninstaller), run it in safe mode, then reinstall the latest drivers.

 

[prizna]

What are the gpu temps while gaming? Run hwmonitor, game for a good 10 minutes, then check your max gpu temp. One thing you can try if heat isn't the issue, is download DDU (display driver uninstaller), run it in safe mode, then reinstall the latest drivers.

After 10 mins of gaming my GPU gets to a max of 52 degrees C, unfortunately I have already tried using DDU many times without any success.

 

[Vince Massi]

It took me long enough, but I found this on your graphics card website: "Certified for Windows 7, Windows 8, Windows Vista, or Windows XP". But having been manufactured in 2013, it should be able to handle your rig.

So my next question is what kind of computer are you using? What is the brand name, and what OS is it designed for?

 

[prizna]

It took me long enough, but I found this on your graphics card website: "Certified for Windows 7, Windows 8, Windows Vista, or Windows XP". But having been manufactured in 2013, it should be able to handle your rig.

So my next question is what kind of computer are you using? What is the brand name, and what OS is it designed for?

It's a custom built PC desktop, so no brand but the motherboard is a Gigabyte Z68A-D3H-B3 rev1.0