I don't know if it's related, but I'm getting similar issues - however, my PC does not reboot but just freezes and audio loops the last 0.5 seconds of audio. I can play at 720p for decent amounts of time, but even then its crashed after 4 hours or so.

I've had a similar issue before, when my GPU was fried, however that happened in all games. This is only in Fallout.

I've run all the regular fixes and test, other than swapping my GPU out to test it, but given that it's only in one game, I think it's a driver/game issue overall.

Now I'm 100% confused as to what is going on. I was able to clear the entirety of Vault 75(a "sub-world") with no problems in any way. However as soon as I go to The Castle, and enter the lower cave, my computer reboots. I'm not sure if maybe there is a corrupted file within Fallout that is somehow causing the crashes? Maybe it only interacts when certain requirements are meant (i.e. entering a certain area of the open world or certain sub-worlds). I don't even know if that is logical, or even possible. But I am just feeling like every option is becoming exhausted. And it seems more and more like a problem with the game itself and not the hardware. Because if it was the hardware, I would imagine I wouldn't be able to play for extended periods of time.

Bump

Did you stop all startup programs, restart and run only Steam and Fallout 4?

A guy who clearly knows what he's talking about is pointing to hardware and I'd agree. In all my years (approx 15) working with computers and troubleshooting them I've never seen a software hard reset. If software causes a reboot, such as drivers, you usually get a blue screen saying so.

A complete random reboot is almost always a hardware issue. And yes it might not happen in every game, but that makes no difference. A close friend of mine was getting hard resets whilst only playing Battlefield 4, no other games. PSU was the problem, no more crashes.

Stop thinking Zebra when we can all hear hooves

As mentioned a hard reset is a safety measure to protect the integrity of the circuit board, preventing electrical damage for example to your Motherboard if your PSU is overheating. As well as protecting from a possible fire from that.

How did the Prime test go?

I agree and understand that software is rarely/if ever the cause of a hard reset. But the thing that just doesn't make sense is the inconsistency of if while I am playing. Why am I able to play for 4+ hours no problem, and as soon as I enter a building I get the reboot. Or if I start playing and it reboots after ~5-15 minutes. I would imagine that if it were hardware, such as my psu, the cut off point would have a bit more consistency to it. Also, the variety of people having the same issue, with hard reboots, with better/worse specs than I have is throwing me through the ringer. There are multiple threads with with people who suffer from the same random reboots. I'm not in denial of the possibility of it being a hardware issue, I'm just stuck on the fact that it's happening to so many people.

Also, I've been monitoring my temps while I have been playing, and nothing is out of the ordinary. Everything is running at an acceptable range, temperature wise.

Yep, I stopped all other startup programs. Still having the reboots.

Ok if more people are having the issue, that's a symptom of selling millions of copies. There's a basic correlation there.

In terms of inconsistency your PC is interacting with the software in a specific way when it crashes. That specific set of variables may be rare. There's a lot going on under the hood of your machine.

When software becomes unstable, it either freezes or does the "crash to desktop". Instant system reboot is a sign of an underlying hardware issue that you need to find.

Look I'm not saying go to amazon and drop ￡100 on a new PSU today. I'm saying you'll have to put some effort in to ensure you're not suffering from a hardware issue. A small problem now becomes a much greater problem tomorrow.

I don't usually like to say things like this, but I've played 20 hours and not crashed a single times. I've done missions, explored plenty of open spaces and interior locations, my machine has been under stress with the game. And my hardware isn't top of the line anymore, and my PSU and MB are over 4 years old.

Guys with experience are just offering their advice based on that experience. If its wrong it's wrong, but something isn't right.

Tollvik, reformat your hard drive or create a clean, new volume in some way to install a fresh new OS on to try the game.

This time, please, let us know you completed the task.

I have been having essentially the same problem: when I am in any sort of sub-level/not in the Commonwealth, my game will run fine for a while, but then, at some point, the radio will cut out. After that, if I got into any sort of console (hacking, lock picking, PipBoy, VATS, or sometimes just switching weapons), the game will freeze. Mine doesn't reboot automatically: it just completely freezes, and I cannot go back to Windows. The only thing I can do is hold down the power button and reset my system.

The game ran fine for a while, 10+ hours (other than some problems in the Museum of Freedom level), and then this started happening while exploring the Police Station with the radio transmitter on top, in the level with the Paladin. It has also done a similar freeze occasionally in the Commonwealth, although only nearby one of the Medic locations in the W/NW portion of the map.

The freeze is always the same though: radio cuts out, but all other sounds are fine. Then, the game freezes, but ambient noise continues.

I was running into the same issue and replaced my power supply and have had no problems since then. I was using a 850w supply before and replaced it with another 850w. It was a pain, but fixed the problem.