random dirty shutdowns, power settings 100% "do not shut down"

[regularuser]

so i have looked on the internet and it seems like windows 10 shutting down for no reason been a well known issue since last year, but i can't find any solutions beyond "check you power settings."

my power settings are modified high performance set to never even turn the screen off, never hibernate, never shut down. I used to (in win 8.1) let it hibernate or sleep, but set it like to to (try to) eliminate any random shutdowns.

this is a MSI gaming laptop, sold with win 8.0, upgraded to 8.1 later on with no issues (in fact, a noticeable improvement).

there are no messages in windows logs -> system about a shutdown command, only messages after i turn it back on saying ""the system has rebooted without cleanly shutting down first" event id 41.

i can upload logs, but yeah, they pretty clearly say windows does not know why that happened.

anyone have a suggestion? since they are making win 10 mandatory, does this mean i can no longer use the computer i bought a year and a half ago? is this widespread on new (win 10) machines as well, or only upgraded machines?

 

[Trouble]

have you checked for any dump files
C:\Windows\Minidump
or
C:\Windows\memory.dmp
Have you installed anything that might help you monitor the system temperatures?

 

[regularuser]

nope, i do not have a windows\minidump folder, and while i do have a memory.dmp file, it was last modified in august.

i have not put anything "extra" to measure temperature, but i might be able to figure it out (i think maybe i saw it someplace deep inside a graphic card report maybe?)

i should have said before, but yes, a laptop. but a giant laptop with huge fans that accelerate to jet engines when it is hot, but they hardly make a peep (so i am pretty sure it is cool). also, my last crash was while i was just test-watching a movie on VLC. i am like 99.9999999995% sure it is not too hot, but are you thinking maybe something is reading cool temperatures as "too hot"?

 

[Trouble]

I'm not focusing on anything in particular. Just trying to come up with some ideas as to what might be responsible for your dirty shutdowns.
Typically they would be either Blue Screens or temperature issues, that is what was prompting my previous questions.
It's possible that a system can technically blue screen but it can happen so fast as to not generate a common dump file.
Check your advanced system settings -> Startup and Recovery -> Settings Button
Uncheck "Automatically restart"

 

[regularuser]

hmm, okay. so are you thinking this will maybe show a blue screen if that is really what is happening?

...also. i was talking to someone else and the first they they thought of was temperature as well. can you recommend a reasonably-free-of-malware monitor? or some command line kung-fu so i can confirm temps are okay?

 

[regularuser]

well, nope, still turned it self off with the "automatic restart" function disabled.

 

[Trouble]

I know this is going to sound stupid, but......
I don't think the thing is actually shutting down, I suspect that it is actually entering into some unrecoverable energy saving state and the dirty shutdown information is actually being produced by your activity using the start button on the device to recover from what you think is off but perhaps is not actually off.
Make sure your system is fully updated with respect to mainboard drivers (BIOS, Chipset, Storage Controllers, etc.,)
Examine the System Setup Utility (BIOS) for any pre-defined Cstates or other energy saving settings.
Turn hibernate off (admin command prompt "powercfg -h off"
Pour over your advanced power settings and turn off / disable everything
require a password = no
hard disk = never (type the word "never")
wireless adapter = max
sleep -> sleep after = never
wake timers = disable
USB settings -> selective suspend = disable
Power button and lid - power button = shut down
Sleep action => do nothing
PCI Express -> link state power management = Off
Processor power = !00% both
I think you get the idea...
Not saying I'm certain, just saying..... something has got to be responsible, somewhere for your issue.

 

[Dan99]

can you recommend a reasonably-free-of-malware monitor? or some command line kung-fu so i can confirm temps are okay?

I use Speedfan here;

http://download.cnet.com/SpeedFan/3055-2094_4-10067444.html?tag=pdl-redir

or directly from Speedfan if you wish. It is free and does not load any other stuff on top. I like it because it is accurate, easy to use, and can be configured to display in Fahrenheit or Celcius. You will get no popups or ads. It does like to run at start and give real time temps but you can disable that. You will find it in all apps after downloading (Has a black fan logo) just click it and say yes when it wants to load. I pin it to my taskbar. Highly recommended.

 

[regularuser]

cool, i'll check it out

 

[regularuser]

I know this is going to sound stupid, but......
I don't think the thing is actually shutting down, I suspect that it is actually entering into some unrecoverable energy saving state and the dirty shutdown information is actually being produced by your activity using the start button on the device to recover from what you think is off but perhaps is not actually off.
Make sure your system is fully updated with respect to mainboard drivers (BIOS, Chipset, Storage Controllers, etc.,)
Examine the System Setup Utility (BIOS) for any pre-defined Cstates or other energy saving settings.
Turn hibernate off (admin command prompt "powercfg -h off"
Pour over your advanced power settings and turn off / disable everything
require a password = no
hard disk = never (type the word "never")
wireless adapter = max
sleep -> sleep after = never
wake timers = disable
USB settings -> selective suspend = disable
Power button and lid - power button = shut down
Sleep action => do nothing
PCI Express -> link state power management = Off
Processor power = !00% both
I think you get the idea...
Not saying I'm certain, just saying..... something has got to be responsible, somewhere for your issue.

yeah, i am pretty sure i got all that, but i will keep on checking obviously. however, i read a guy who has a similar model complaining about power, and how it would not do this on battery. so i tried the opposite, removed the battery and ran off wall power, but nope, still turns off after a while. i also tried a boot disk and that turned itself off. i am starting to worry it is hardware afterall.

 

[Trouble]

i am starting to worry it is hardware afterall

That is certainly a possibility.
Anything still eligible for warranty protection so you can get it replaced or some money back?

 

[regularuser]

lol, no. i voided it over the summer adding a SSD. i'm going to call them to see if they will be reasonable though...

 

[Trouble]

I can't believe that upgrading a spinner to an ssd, would void a warranty.
I think that they have every right to insist that you return it to stock before entertaining any claims as to warranty but other than that I can't see why. they wouldn't offer at least some recourse.
IF not please let us know and I will definitely scratch MSI Gaming Laptops off my Christmas List.

 

[regularuser]

I can't believe that upgrading a spinner to an ssd, would void a warranty.
I think that they have every right to insist that you return it to stock before entertaining any claims as to warranty but other than that I can't see why. they wouldn't offer at least some recourse.
IF not please let us know and I will definitely scratch MSI Gaming Laptops off my Christmas List.

well, good news, sorta... i registered the thing and called them, and after about 20 minutes they issued me an RMA. i even told them about breaking the warranty sticker and why i did it, and the guy said as log as i didn't break anything it will be fine.

so yeah, we'll see what happens, but right now i'd say MSI gaming laptop has pretty good service.

 

[PJ Nash]

I get the random dirty hibernation of my laptop if I don't activate an input (mouse or keyboard) in the span of 1minute. I had Windows 8.1 prior to upgrading to Windows 10 and all my power settings were fine and I never had the dirty hibernate then upgrading to Windows 10 for some reason I get it.

One way I sort of prevent the Hibernate is to:

• Completely shut down/restart my PC
• When it boots
  • Run CMD in "Administration Mode"
  • Type powercfg /h off
  • Hit Enter
• Then hope for the best

This is only when its plugged into a power source, when I take the laptop off power and resume, it does the dirty hibernation, its like a retarded dog that you feed it once it stays, the moment you walk away from it it craps on you.

 

[Tim Locke]

I guess I have hibernate turned off on my laptop as it just stays on until I click power->shutdown