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I'm having problems with my computer shutting down after it's been "idle" for a while. By "idle", I mean I'm not using the computer, but the computer is always running some program or other.

I've noticed the following:

* the problem only seems to happen in Windows 7, not in Linux; I assume this means the problem isn't the hardware;

* the problem never happens when I'm actually using the computer;

* it's definitely not a power option to turn the computer off after it's been idle for a certain period; it doesn't seem to be some scheduled task that might turn the computer off;

* the computer shuts down, but the case fan keeps spinning;

* the event log shows only this: The system has rebooted without cleanly shutting down first. This error could be caused if the system stopped responding, crashed, or lost power unexpectedly;

* it doesn't seem to be caused by overheating or a similar problem;

* there's no memory dump;

* there doesn't seem to be a specific delay before the computer shuts down, and it doesn't seem to shut down at a specific time.

Any hints about this problem?

I'll ask the obvious question first - are you sure your computer isn't trying to sleep (and failing?) You say there isn't a specific delay, but how long generally will it take? e.g. 30 seconds to 2 minutes, 4 minutes to 7 minutes, etc

I would guess it is some sort of power management issue as well. Perhaps a device driver that isn't dealing well with sleep/hibernate.

The fact that it does not exhibit this behavior in Linux does strengthen the case for it being a software (not hardware) problem, but it is not 100% certain. E.g., if it is bad memory, perhaps Windows is putting something critical in the bad location(s), whereas Linux is not.

TwistedKestrel wrote:

I'll ask the obvious question first - are you sure your computer isn't trying to sleep (and failing?) You say there isn't a specific delay, but how long generally will it take? e.g. 30 seconds to 2 minutes, 4 minutes to 7 minutes, etc

I've noticed it happening after about 30 minutes, or after a few hours.

Did you try disabling all sleep and power options? If the computer still locks up, then start looking for a system device that goes into a low-power mode during system idle. If the computer stays on indefinitely, then you can start narrowing down your search to a buggy device driver or device firmware (e.g. UEFI setting, or GPU) that is causing the problems when the computer enters sleep mode.

My problem is partly solved, and I'll post in case someone has the same problem.

The problem seems to have two causes: a driver, and a program that causes the computer to shut down. The driver is the AMD SATA Controller, version 1.2.1.402, dated 8 April 2015. Remove that driver and replace it with version 1.2.1.402, dated 29 Match 2015. Note the version is the same, but the date is different.

The program is a program I compiled myself; apparently it has a bug that causes the computer to shut down.

Perhaps I wasn't clear enough the first time that all settings for the computer to sleep or hibernate are turned off. There shouldn't be any circumstances in which the computer does anything but run normally.

Most likely a driver issue.

I say this as a Win7 user with a dual boot drive with Win10 base of the upgrade image.

Win7 is flawless and will wake/sleep until the cows come home.

Win10 upgrade from the 7 image will *always* result in a check disk if it wakes properly, if at all.

A self compiled program...hummm...would some form of polling or wake provide a solution? Just curious.