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Laptop running Atom CherryTrail x5 z-8350 rebooting for no reason?

DCaiz
Beginner
3,004 Views

Hi everyone,

Aside from the question I've already asked about performing a clean install on my new (and cheap) laptop running a CherryTrail x5 z-8350 CPU, I have another issue: sometimes, it reboots on its own, and I can't find why. The only thing that could cause an issue is a USB 3.0 hub I have plugged into the only USB 3.0 port (the other port is USB 2.0), on which I have plugged a BT dongle for my mouse, and the USB cable for my smartphone (Leagoo T5c), which I used to access the Internet when tethered.

This is not the first time it's happened, but just a few minutes ago, my PC rebooted while I was trying to create a bootable USB support to reinstall Windows 10 and upgrade from Home to Pro through a clean install.

Needless to say, the ISO copying didn't go well...

How/where can I find what causes those reboots?

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20 Replies
idata
Employee
1,409 Views

Hello UglyStuff,

 

 

I understand that you are currently experiencing random reboot problems with your system.

 

 

Regarding this, I would like to start by checking the event viewer and see if it shows any unusual activity or crash code. You can open the event viewer by clicking on the start button and typing "event viewer".

 

 

Once the event viewer opens, check for any detail that may show a reboot that was not done by you. You can try this right after the "random" reboot and see if there is anything reported.

 

 

Also, to better assist you with your request, I will need to check some information about your computer. Please follow these steps:

 

 

1. In the keyboard, press WinLogo key + R.

 

2. In the Run box please type dxdiag and hit Enter.

 

3. Click on Save All Information (save it in your desktop).

 

4. Attach the report to this thread.

 

 

 

Regards,

 

David V
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DCaiz
Beginner
1,409 Views

Hi Dave,

Thanks for taking the time! I've tried to reply via email, got a failure notice from Yahoo!, so I figured I'd do it here. Here's what Event Viewer gave me regarding the last untimely reboot:

# - <</span>Event xmlns=" http://schemas.microsoft.com/win/2004/08/events/event">

# - <</span>System>

<</span>Provider Name="Microsoft-Windows-Kernel-Power" Guid="{331C3B3A-2005-44C2-AC5E-77220C37D6B4}" />

<</span>EventID>41</</span>EventID>

<</span>Version>6</</span>Version>

<</span>Level>1</</span>Level>

<</span>Task>63</</span>Task>

<</span>Opcode>0</</span>Opcode>

<</span>Keywords>0x8000400000000002</</span>Keywords>

<</span>TimeCreated SystemTime="2018-04-26T15:23:27.451767300Z" />

<</span>EventRecordID>8348</</span>EventRecordID>

<</span>Correlation />

<</span>Execution ProcessID="4" ThreadID="8" />

<</span>Channel>System</</span>Channel>

<</span>Computer>SCL141CTP</</span>Computer>

<div style="margin-left: 1em; text-indent: ...
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idata
Employee
1,409 Views

Hello UglyStuff,

 

 

Thank you for your response,

 

 

I was reviewing the information and see that there is nothing bad on the event viewer, or anything showing as an error. Are you getting blue screen?

 

 

If not, that could be related more to a hardware or BIOS problem, you can always contact the manufacturer of your laptop for assistance on updating the BIOS and then test to see if the problem still occurs. I am recommending this because from our side it does not seem to be the problem. However, I would like you to let me know if you are able to update the BIOS or check a different power adapter perhaps. Check the battery of the unit as well, something else would be to try to re-install the operating system. You could also check the hard drive with the manufacturer of the laptop as well, if it is bad then they normally replace it for you.

 

 

Regarding the other question you have, it will be responded in the appropriate thread, this thread is related to the question you have about the unit rebooting randomly.

 

 

 

Regards,

 

David V
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DCaiz
Beginner
1,409 Views

Hi David,

Thanks for the quick reply. As a matter of fact, I checked System parameters, and "writing events to log" was unchecked... It is now checked, so next time my laptop reboots without warning or apparent reason, I may have more data to provide you with.

As for the rest, no, no BSOD, and that's the problem: it means no error code as well, so it's hard to pinpoint the exact reasons why my PC suddenly reboots. It's brand-new (less than a month-old), but I bought it on the cheap, and I doubt there's much to hope from the retailer and/or manufacturer in the way of warranty. If the PC just stopped working altogether, I suppose I could bring it back to the shop, but I doubt random reboot sits high on their list of priorities; they can always invoke differed updates, bad software the end-user installed, etc...

Basically, this platform is kinda locked, however energy-efficient it may be: you can't do much in the way of improving the end-user experience. I wonder if installing an x64 version of Windows is even possible, even though the CPU is 64-bit capable.

It's also highly susceptible to swap/pagefile size: if you set it to any other setting than "let Windows decide swap size", you get a lot of strange behavior. I've set two different pagefiles, one in internal memory, and the other on the micro-SD card I use for storage, and it's a bit better that way. With only 2 GB of RAM, the system seems to write to pagefile like there's no tomorrow...

Like I said, I bought this laptop cheap, so my expectations were low, and so far, aside from those random reboots that, quite frankly, don't happen so often, I'm not too disappointed (I'll open a different thread for questions about updating HID touchpad drivers, because the touchpad is just HORRENDOUS).

Thanks for your help anyway, and if my laptop reboots without warning again, hopefully there'll be a trace of it in the log, and I'll supply it to you.

Have a great weekend!

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n_scott_pearson
Super User
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In my experience, spontaneous reboots (resets) are typically the result of one of two things, (1) a bug in a driver or (2) bad or incompatible memory. In the latter case, what happens is a memory bus lockup occurs and (eventually) the Watchdog Timer resets the system to recover. Was the system functioning properly right up to when the spontaneous reboot occurs or did it seem to hang for a very short period of time just before the reboot occurred? In either case, when a spontaneous reboot occurs, the only entry that appears in the log describes the fact that the system has gone through the power states caused by the reset and Windows restart. Without a BSOD occurring, the log usually isn't a help. Still, leave logging enabled and see if maybe you get lucky...

...S

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DCaiz
Beginner
1,409 Views

I agree with you on the diagnostics, and yes, the system was under a lot of strain every time the PC rebooted: CPU usage must have been close to 100%, so maybe overheating could be a factor as well. I'm new to this fanless architecture, so I don't really know.

Updating drivers is a pain with little-known brands like Schneider and the like: for example, I can't find the Touchpad vendor's name; even Speccy won't give me a name to work with, and I don't want to blind-install drivers by Synaptics, Alps, Elan and the like for no other reason than blotting my PC.

Since I've started this thread, there's been no new random reboot, and I'm keeping my fingers crossed... Thanks all for your input!

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DCaiz
Beginner
1,409 Views

Well, sorry to bother you again with this, but after a few days of respite, it's happening again. I presume the CPU is saturated when it happens, and this somehow leads to Windows sending a reboot signal.

The only common things I've noticed is that it often happens when I'm on Twitter, and I have my notifications opened in another tab; I thought Firefox's poor memory management was responsible for the random reboots, so I switched to Google Chrome and, just a few minutes ago, I was trying out Iron Portable (based on Chromium), with only three tabs open when the reboot occurred.

Maybe it's Twitter loading new notifications that puts the CPU into overdrive, albeit for a few seconds? I really don't know, and, more to the point, I can't find any trace of the reason for the reboot in the logs.

At this point, short of Santeria, I've tried pretty much every tip I could find on the Web (disabling Fast Startup among them), to no avail. I'm considering voodoo magic, too, but I've yet to buy a book on the subject...

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idata
Employee
1,409 Views

Hello UglyStuff,

 

 

I am following up with your case and see that we have not heard back from you.

 

 

If you need more assistance do not hesitate to reply.

 

 

 

Regards,

 

David V
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DCaiz
Beginner
1,409 Views

Hi David,

As I posted in another thread, my PC stopped working altogether a few days ago: I restarted it, same as usual, after a Windows Update, and was prompted to enter a Bitlocker key when I didn't even know Bitlocker was enabled on my machine (I thought it was a Pro feature, not a Home feature), and as I was tinkering in the BIOS/UEFI trying to bypass the Bitlocker thing by disabling Safe Boot and the like, my PC suddenly showed me a blank screen, and apparently, it also refused to recharge.

Lo and behold, I brought it back to the shop I've bought it from, and they sent it to Schneider (the OEM) for assessment and repair (hopefully...). It's still covered by the OEM warranty, so I shouldn't have a problem, but I suspect a hardware failure at some point (a fried motherboard, maybe?). As I've mentioned, this platform seems very picky when it comes to power management, and maybe the OEM-supplied power unit doesn't quite deliver as it should.

FWIW, here's the link to the thread I started on the blank screen issue:

Thanks for the follow-up! I'll keep everyone posted on what happens next as soon as I get my PC back.

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idata
Employee
1,409 Views

Hello UglyStuff,

 

 

Thank you for your response.

 

 

I understand, I would like to know if the problem disappears once you get the replaced or repaired unit. Please let us know once you receive it.

 

 

 

Regards,

 

David V
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DCaiz
Beginner
1,409 Views

Copy that. I doubt they'll replace it, though. If I get my PC back in working condition, I'll be a happy camper. I'll tune back to this thread then.

Y'all have a great weekend!

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idata
Employee
1,409 Views

Hello UglyStuff,

 

 

I am following up with your case and see that we have not heard back from you.

 

 

Did you receive the repaired/replacement unit? If so, what was the outcome?

 

 

If you need more assistance do not hesitate to reply.

 

 

 

Regards,

 

David V
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DCaiz
Beginner
1,409 Views

Hi David,

Thanks for the follow-up!

The shop notified me by email that the PC was back and I could pick it up anytime I wanted.

I'm going there tomorrow. I'll keep you posted as soon as I have it in hand.

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DCaiz
Beginner
1,409 Views

Hi,

Got a new PC this morning back from the shop instead of my own, so I have a brand new machine, which is great, but I also have to reinstall all my software, plus Windows updates, which is not so great.

I note that Chromium causes issues with the graphics when "Use hardware acceleration" is enabled (black screen all around), but aside from that, the PC is usable, which is a huge step up, when compared to what I had to endure before I brought it back to the shop.

No random reboot to mention, so far...

(Emoji "fingers crossed")

Anything else you need to know, David?

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DCaiz
Beginner
1,409 Views

Using Windows 8 compatibility mode does help with the black screens in Chromium.

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idata
Employee
1,409 Views

Hello UglyStuff,

 

 

Thank you for your response.

 

 

I appreciate you taking the time to provide the feedback and the information of the outcome of the replacement.

 

 

I am glad to know that you are no longer experiencing the same issue, however, remember that we are here to help if you run into any other problem. It seemed to be at the end a problem regarding hardware and not software.

 

 

 

Regards,

 

David V
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DCaiz
Beginner
1,409 Views

Hi,

It's still unclear what happened exactly with the first PC I had: it sure looked like a software issue in the beginning, but the Customer Service person I talked to when I got this new PC told me she'd had a similar problem (blank screen) with her own PC, of a different brand, after the latest Windows Update; however, she managed to hook it up to her TV via an HDMI cable, and got it sorted out thanks to System Restore.

I understand the latest April Update caused some driver issues on some PCs using SSDs for storage, so my former PC could have been affected by that too. I'll never know...

Thanks for taking the time with me, and have a fantastic weekend, y'all...!

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DCaiz
Beginner
1,409 Views

Hi again!

Well, I hate to be the bearer of bad news, but aside from the fact that the replacement PC they sent me was obviously not brand-new, but more a reconditioned unit (not cool on Schneider's part, but I'll probably return it next week), with a faulty screen and keyboard, it's happening again, with a twist: with the previous one, we were talking reboots; with this one, it's a cold shutdown, and every time in more or less the same conditions, i.e. while posting a tweet in Firefox.

I suspect there's a problem with the power unit, that may not deliver enough power for the chipset, but I have no way to check that. Does anyone know here what are the minimum power requirements for this chipset, and if it has been known to act erratically when underpowered?

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n_scott_pearson
Super User
1,409 Views

Gee, no surprise there. My Vulcan Atom Z3735F Windows 10 Tablet (for which I paid a whole US$57 - with keyboard!) lasted about a month and then the battery/charge unit failed (with a nice shorting noise) and it only worked while plugged into the wall after that. Despite its low cost, Vulcan happily replaced it and, despite it being a refurb unit, the replacement has worked like a charm for two months now.

I hope that you have the same luck,

...S

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DCaiz
Beginner
1,183 Views

Hi,

Yes, I understand that this chipset is very popular with manufacturers of low-cost electronic devices, and its integration in their products sometimes leaves to be desired.

In my case, the power unit is warm to the touch, but not hot, the battery never charges over the 98% mark, but I can't find much information about its requirements in terms of power supply, and I can't for the life of me understand why it shouldn't pick up the slack if the power unit breaks down or gives out a weak output...

I installed ThrottleStop (well, in fact, it's portable sofware), which tells me that power output oscillates between 0.9 (minimum, or package, power) and 3.0 watts (full power); I left everything as it was, so I didn't try to overclock the CPU or anything, but the sticker on the power unit is missing, and I can't even determine if it's delivering the appropriate amount of power or not.

I think I'll bring this PC back to the shop sometime next week, because the keyboard and screen issues aren't going to improve as time goes on, but this rebooting/crashing for no apparent reason really is irksome: just last night, I was watching a TV show episode on VLC when the image froze, and several seconds later, the screen went dark, and this time, the PC restarted instead of just shutting down.

It really looks like a power issue to me, maybe at bus level, but it's impossible to pinpoint it without opening the box, which would void warranty, and I'd like to avoid that, as you can imagine...

Anything else happens, I'll holler!

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