Hello all,

I just posted this in the bug report forum, but I'm actually looking for help rather than just reporting bugs. I've been lurking for a day or so and it seems people are wizards with the dxdiag things. I just finished the main storyline and am just settling in to build my empire of settlements. The problem is that my PC Will just randomly shut down and restart - it takes less than 10 minutes of play time for it to happen. Any help would be greatly appreciated; I can't wait to actually play the game again. Thanks!

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  What is your Operating System?

  
  
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    Windows 10 home 64-bit

    
    
  
  


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  What is your CPU and graphics card?

  
  
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    Intel i5 4960k @ 3.5GHz and GeForce GTX 970 (neither overclocked)

    
    
  
  


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  How much RAM?

  
  
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    16 GB

    
    
  
  


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  What resolution and graphics settings?

  
  
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    1650 x 1050 in windowed borderless mode, started with Ultra, have bottomed everything out but neither seemed to prevent crashes

    
    
  
  


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  Did you install the latest Beta?

  
  
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    I don't think there's one active right now (1.2.2016).

    
    
  
  


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  Upon encountering and issue: where in the game you were, other details:

  
  
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    The first crash was when I was running to Vault 111 for the first time, the second major series was at Corvega Assembly Plant. I used to suspect menus (merchants, Pip-Boy, etc.) caused it, but now it seems to happen completely randomly.

    
    
  
  


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  Can you reproduce it? Steps?

  
  
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    Load the game, then my save, then play. It should take less than 10 minutes to crash, maxiumum.

    
    
  
  


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  Did the crash occur again?

  
  
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    It occurs pretty constantly now. I've tried previous saves, the save before I leave Vault 111, and a brand new game.

    
    
  
  


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  How large is your save file, character level, etc?

  
  
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    13,847 KB save file size. Character level is 64. I show 158 hours played on the load.

    
    
  
  


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  Do you use any mods?

  
  
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    No. I have Fallout Mod Manager and Nexus Mod Manager for FO 3 and FO:NV, but don't plan to use mods in 4 until the GECK comes out.

    
    
    
    
  
  


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  In no particular order, these are the other things I've tried.

  
  
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    Updating drivers for GPU, motherboard, and Windows updates and Steam.

    
    
  
  
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    Setting the FO4 .exes to launch in compatibility mode with Windows 7 and run them as administrator.

    
    
  
  
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    Running in windowed, borderless mode. This seemed to fix any problems for a long time.

    
    
  
  
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    Turned off Steam Cloud and deleted all but a few saves. Also, putting those saves back.

    
    
  
  
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    Turned graphics way down, then as low as they'd go

    
    
  
  
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    I've tried to sign myself up for the Beta, but I don't see the tab available right now. I assume there's not one active currently.

    
    
  
  
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    Of course, re-validated the files and made sure I downloaded fresh copies of all of the .ini files.

    
    
  
  
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    Cleaned out my PC case and all the fans, to make sure it's not something overheating.

    
    
  
  
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    Turned off the Nvidia streaming service and I don't have ShadowPlay on/active.

    
    
  
  
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    Disabled all of the auto-save features, including the Save in Pip-Boy one.

    
    
  
  
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    Added the few lines to the .ini files that you need to add if you want to use mods. Actually, I thought this was going to work, I was able to play for about 20 minutes before a crash. I was getting hopeful.

    
    
  
  
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    Tried opening through Nexus Mod Manager

    
    
  
  

What about starting off with a new character, does it crash? Even if FO4 crashes, your system should not shutdown/restart unless it is hardware related. Did you monitor your CPU & GPU temperature? Further check your event logs and look out for any related error.

It does crash, even with a new character. I've tried a number of saves, a fresh game, moving all but a few saves out, moving them back in, Steam Cloud shenanigans.

I too would think that it would just crash to desktop instead of bringing down the entire thing unless it was hardware and/or driver related. I was thinking that things are either overheating (see below), or that there's some driver thing I'm not aware of. DirectX, maybe? Or, maybe that my CPU is simply not what I thought it would be when I bought it, and that I'm an idiot - but it's hopefully not that one. After I saw people asking for the dxdiag file here, I was hopeful it could be seen through that. It's all just gibberish to me.

I don't monitor temps, but I did clean everything up. Anyone have a recommended (free) program to do that?

Also, where are these event logs? I've seen logs and error messages when things crash to desktop or blue screen, but how would I recover them after a straight crash? Sorry for being so newbish about all of this and thanks for the quick replies and help.

Thanks, but as someone basically flailing around...

Would that affect Fallout 4, especially the Windows Update things? And how would I fix it if so? Was there anything about FO 4 or just other stuff?

I don't expect too much hand-holding, but maybe some direction on where to go or how to read the file so I can find out what needs fixing or something?

Thanks again.

http://gaming.msi.com/features/afterburner

http://www.cpuid.com/softwares/hwmonitor.html

First I would start with disabling Windows Defender. You should have an Anti-virus so you don't need it running. Go to Settings, Update & Security, and Windows Defender. Toggle everything to off/disabled.

Windows Update settings should be in the same menu (Settings >> Update & Security) and then Windows Update. Click Check for Updates. Make sure you don't have anything pending and reboot the system.

Have you installed anything recently? A third party application or mod for Fallout 4 could be the issue.

Try a clean boot: https://support.microsoft.com/en-us/kb/929135

To look at your eventlog, open control panel -> Administrative Tools -> Event Viewer. Under Windows Logs, check anything under Application and System with error.

Does it happen only with Fallout 4? (i mean randomly shut down and restart)

wolfpup – I went with MSI Afterburner – it's installed and has been running. I tabbed out a few times at the game to look at it. The PC was working harder, as one would expect, but nothing looked like it would be causing problems. Am I looking for anything in particular, will it let me know if something is going wrong?

Niohoggr – I was using Avira and it had disabled and locked Windows Defender. I uninstalled Avira and tried with WD disabled too; I played about 10 minutes before a crash. Played with no Avira and with WD enabled, I went 5 minutes before a crash and a corrupted file. Right now, I have Avira active and WD disabled.

Everything seems to check out with Windows Update. I haven't installed anything related to Fallout 4 recently and everything else I've installed recently has been utilities for hardware and/or drivers to try to fix the problem (so they were installed after things started).

About the clean boot, I don't really see anything in there about Windows 10. Vista / 7 / 8 / 8.1 are all covered though. Am I just missing it?

Mark5917 – Yes, it happens only with Fallout 4. I do other things with the computer and it's fine. I've played other games (New Vegas, Skyrim, KOTOR II, WoW, Diablo, etc.) and I've never had this problem.

Langnao – It seems that I have some pretty consistent errors. I didn't know the times of the crashes, but the spacing seems plausible. This is what I could find and thought may be helpful as a layman. If I'm looking for something else, just let me know.

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  Under Application, there are three. The first appears by itself, the second two appear together.

  
  
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    Activation of app Microsoft.XboxApp_8wekyb3d8bbwe!Microsoft.XboxApp failed with error: This app does not support the contract specified or is not installed. See the Microsoft-Windows-TWinUI/Operational log for additional information.

    
    
  
  
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    The performance strings in the Performance registry value is corrupted when process Performance extension counter provider. The BaseIndex value from the Performance registry is the first DWORD in the Data section, LastCounter value is the second DWORD in the Data section, and LastHelp value is the third DWORD in the Data section.

    
    
  
  
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    Unloading the performance counter strings for service WmiApRpl (WmiApRpl) failed. The first DWORD in the Data section contains the error code.

    
    
  
  


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  Under System, there are three types. Each example of each type isn't exactly the same, but off by a few characters.

  
  
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    The driver \Driver\WudfRd failed to load for the device SWD\WPDBUSENUM\{2819d80e-9a62-11e5-9e5e-806e6f6e6963}#0000000000000000.

    
    
  
  
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    The machine-default permission settings do not grant Local Activation permission for the COM Server application with CLSID

    
    

    {C2F03A33-21F5-47FA-B4BB-156362A2F239}

    
    

    and APPID

    
    

    {316CDED5-E4AE-4B15-9113-7055D84DCC97}

    
    

    to the user DeGrasse\Trent Hazzard SID (S-1-5-21-3079102574-4070366211-2791023480-1001) from address LocalHost (Using LRPC) running in the application container Microsoft.Windows.Cortana_1.6.1.52_neutral_neutral_cw5n1h2txyewy SID (S-1-15-2-1861897761-1695161497-2927542615-642690995-327840285-2659745135-2630312742). This security permission can be modified using the Component Services administrative tool.

    
    
    
    
  
  

General – I also have Games for Windows Live on the computer for when I was trying to play Fallout 3. Could this be the source? Should I delete it (if I don't plan on playing FO 3 for a while?)

The Clean Boot procedure is very similar to the Windows 8/8.1 process. Type msconfig in the search box, and press Enter.

It shouldn't be related to "Games for Windows" because I have it installed (for Fallout 3) and it causes no issues for me.

The clean boot thing worked out while I was messing around in a settlement or in the wild. I decided to put it to the real test and visit a vendor - my PC crashed when I tried to sell something.

If Games for Windows didn't mess with anything for you, then I doubt it's the culprit for all of my woes as well.

Thanks.

Have you used any console command, especially ones that modify items and/or the inventory?

Could you PM me the link to the save? I want to test it on my computer.

Just loaded the save and sold and bought stuff from a vendor trashcan clara, with no issues. I wish it crashed so we could blame the save, but now it looks like something on your end....

Trashcan Carla normally does alright for me, she's by far the most reliable. The Vault Tec Rep isn't terrible either. To be sure, I'd go to Arturo or the lady beside him in Diamond City or the robot in Goodneighbor. The three vendors in DC normally cause a crash for me. Though, my current work around is to save right beforehand and if I open it back up after that, it seems okay.

To survive a worst case scenario, run around a bit, complete a quest or something, then go to DC and try to sell. That would definitely cause a crash on my end.

I mean, if you feel like doing it, of course. Thanks.

Ok I'll try them.

Edit: I completed a quest, bartered with people in DC and Goodneighbor, no crashes... also played for 20 minutes

If you install http://www.guru3d.com/files-details/rtss-rivatuner-statistics-server-download.html as well it will add more options to MSI Afterburner. (Sorry, forgot about this in earlier post.) Once installed you can add OSD under the 'Monitoring' tab so you do not need to minimize the game. If you have a Logitech keyboard with an LCD screen you can monitor it there as well without Rivatuner.

You want to monitor your hardware temps. Still on the 'Monitoring' tab under the 'Active hardware monitoring graphs' you simply put a check mark beside whatever you want to monitor. Though at this stage I suspect overheating may not be your issue but worth monitoring anyway. (IMO)

P.S.

I'll try your save as well if someone can provide a link to download.

Wolfpup: Alright, so I got an overlay working on the Afterburner program and was able to watch my usage and temps while I was playing. It didn't seem like there was much to blame there.

• CPU Temp: hovered in the high 20's C


• CPU Usage: mid-30's %


• GPU Temp: roughly 60 C


• GPU Usage: in the mid-40's %

This was all with pretty low graphic settings, but it didn't prevent a crash. There was nothing suspicious leading up to it though - temp/usage wise. On the bright side, I did manage to briefly convince my girlfriend that Fallout had gotten super complicated and I needed all those graphs for killing super mutants. The ruse was short-lived.

Other thoughts and efforts:

• I wondered if the Xbox Live error I mentioned above had anything to do with their recording/streaming service, so I disabled it. This did nothing.


• I googled some of the other error messages from the event log and they dealt with stuff in Windows 7. I have been running FO 4 in compatibility mode with Windows 7 (as an admin). Could these be connected?


• Also with the googling, it seems that some of the errors deal with registry errors messing up the ability of Microsoft services to collect data they need. Does this sound plausible and/or could this cause a system crash?

Edit: Instead of adding another post.

If you still need the save link: https://onedrive.live.com/redir?resid=F8212087369763CE!698&authkey=!AFG5YA6AbaLdkCc&ithint=file%2Cfos

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yvGXCisAaR4

What did you do recently after the 150hrs in FO4? Was FO3 installed recently? Can you try this BSOD reader and post the info so that we know what's causing it to crash http://www.nirsoft.net/utils/blue_screen_view.html

Do a system file check. http://answers.microsoft.com/en-us/windows/wiki/windows_10-update/system-file-check-sfc-scan-and-repair-system-files/bc609315-da1f-4775-812c-695b60477a93

OP PM'd me a link but thanks nonetheless.

I managed 30 minutes of play bartering with Trashcan Carla, the vendors in Diamond City, then slaughtering all the residents of Diamond City followed by Goodneighbor. (Both barter and slaughter.)

I didn't do any quests but I didn't crash at all.

Well, thanks wolfpup and Niohoggr for testing out the save. I think it's pretty safe to assume that the file itself isn't the problem. Thanks for the extra level of checking.

Iwanttoplay: Yes. Just yes. I laughed out loud with the "It just works" quote.

Langnao: I didn't install anything between installing Fallout 4 and the beginning of the crashes (before you even get into Vault 111, so it didn't take long). I was using fullscreen and changed to borderless windowed mode and it seemed to fix it until I got to Corvega. The crashing was infrequent but definitely annoying for a long time, and then once I finally get near the last missions it started to really crash often (when I did Mass Fusion.) I played through the next three (or whatever, completed BoS) quests about 15 minutes at a time while I tried to figure out what was wrong with the game over a few days. Then I gave up the idea that I could figure this out myself and start posting here.

When the Steam sale happened, I bought the rest of the DLC for New Vegas and the GOTY edition for Fallout 3 and installed them. I've also installed driver updates or utilities for the Nvidia graphics card and ASRock motherboard. I also installed the Afterburner software. This was all after it had really started to crash frequently though.

Last night, I'd had enough and refreshed my copy of Windows. I'd been meaning to do it before this all started anyway, so I thought it may just help. It wasn't that big of a hassle, but it didn't seem to help much either. I played about 15 minutes this morning and crashed.

I'm going to go ahead and get on the BSOD viewer and the system file check thing. On the latter, I assume I'll need to use the DISM one? I'll be working on that in the next little bit.

Thanks all.

EDIT: The System File Check did not find any integrity violations.

If you tried all software options, you should consider hardware stability. What about your PSU? Do you have enough power? What about doing a system stress test? Software like https://www.jam-software.com/heavyload/screenshots.shtml or any other GPU stress test software.

langnao: I got the stress tester that you recommended and ran it, alongside MSI Afterburner, for about 15 minutes. I had no problems - no crashes, program or PC. Here are the results:

• CPU Temp: hovered around 44 C


• CPU Use: pinned at 100 %


• GPU Temp: hovered in mid-50's C


• GPU Use: right below 40%


• Power Use: in the low 40's %

It seems that the hardware itself is pretty stable. I play a fair number of games regularly, and have never had the crash thing happen with anything else. I've had the computer for a little over a year or so.