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It is extremely frustrating to have your PC restart suddenly while you are in the middle of a game. This is likely an indicator of a certain problem. This guide will help you understand why your PC restarts while gaming and how you can fix this problem.

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Key Takeaways

• PC restarting while gaming can indicate an issue with the hardware installed on your PC.
• The reasons behind PC restarting while gaming can be overheating, BIOS issues, Malware, Windows update, and more.
• Several methods, like a better cooling system, Updating graphics card drivers, system restoration, and more can help fix the problem.
  

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Reasons Why Your PC Restarts While Gaming

Below we have listed all the possible reasons why your PC might be restarting mid-gaming.

CPU Overheating

One of the most common reasons your PC might be restarting while gaming is due to your CPU heating up too much. This can be further divided into several reasons as well. Firstly, your CPU may be unable to cope with the game you are playing; it might be extremely resource-intensive. Your CPU may be overloaded with work which might cause it to heat up too much. You can read our guide on how to lower CPU temperature. 

Secondly, it can be a motherboard bottleneck. This means your motherboard might have a poor-quality heatsink, preventing the heat from radiating off the CPU well and causing it to overheat.

Thirdly, your PC’s cooling system may be doing a poor job. Either your fans are doing a poor job of circulating the air in and out of the computer case, or your liquid cooler has issues.

Lastly, the thermal paste might have become too old; it is between your PC’s heatsink and CPU. If that happens, your CPU-produced heat will be radiated off poorly, causing it to overheat. If you want to replace it, you can read our guide on how to clean thermal paste off the CPU. 

PSU Issues

There are chances that your PSU has an underlying issue that is causing it to do its job inefficiently. Your PSU might have trouble providing your PC hardware components with the right running voltage.

This will cause your PC to disrupt and restart, even if you’re in the middle of a game. PSU providing the wrong amounts of voltage to your PC hardware components can be very dangerous. The wrong amount of voltage can damage or even kill your components. This inconvenience can be very heavy on your pocket. If your PSU is getting old, you should consider replacing it. 

BIOS Issues

The settings you may have made to your BIOS might be causing your PC to restart while gaming. Some games might have issues running while those settings are in the works. Your game may have problems proceeding to certain tasks because the BIOS setting may prevent it. Therefore, your BIOS settings may be responsible for why this problem occurs on your PC.

Unmet Requirements

Your PC might also be restarting due to your system requirements needing to be met. Not all PCs are meant to be gaming PCs. Not all processors are high-end and made to support resource-intensive games and handle heavy workloads. When you put too much stress on a processor by running heavy-duty games, it will crash or cause your PC to restart while gaming.

Unchanged System Settings

Two types of settings need to be changed when you want to prevent your PC from restarting while gaming.

• Power Settings: Your CPU is set to run in a setting that is supposed to consume less power. This is also known as the ‘Save energy mode.’ This mode will keep your CPU from performing at its fullest. Therefore, your PC will restart while gaming if you push the CPU too much.
• Automatic Restart Feature: This pre-set feature causes your PC to restart after a certain time limit has passed. If left on, it will cause your PC to restart even when you are gaming. It is a must to check whether this feature is on while trying to find the real reason why your PC restarts while gaming.

Unidentified Malware

Malware coming into your PC is a dangerous thing. It can affect your PC’s whole performance. It can put all of your saved data at risk. If you feel like nothing is wrong with the hardware, and there is no issue with the PC settings, there is a possibility of malware. Malware can get inside your PC by installing applications or any data from a shady and unofficial website.

Unbearable Overclocking

Overclocking can help test the true limits of your hardware components, but it comes with a cost. By default, your components are set to work at a speed that prevents them from crashing mid-work or getting their temperatures too high. Sometimes, overclocking can become unbearable for your components. If they cannot cope with the overclock settings, they will crash, which might cause your PC to restart while gaming.

Graphics Drivers Left Un-updated

Your PC may restart if you have kept updating your graphics drivers at bay. Your GPU drivers are supposed to deliver the frames that games require to run. If the drivers are updated, they can support the game. Therefore, the PC will restart when your game requires something that’s part of an updated version of your graphics drivers.

How Do I Prevent My PC From Restarting While Gaming

Now that you have gone through the possible reasons behind this issue, you can go through the ways to help you fix your problem.

Clean Your PC

As mentioned above, overheating can be a big deal concerning PC components. It is essential to give your PC a good clean. You should open your PC’s computer case and look at all the components.

You should use compressed air to clean them out if they are covered in dust. Further cleaning of components like fans can be done using a damp cloth. This will not only undo the overheating but also help the fans do a better job.

Moreover, the cleaning is not only restricted to manual work. It is further stretched to clean off any malware hiding in your PC. Firstly, scan your PC for malware using a good anti-virus application. Wipe out any malware that you spot immediately.

Spot Issues In The PSU

If you feel like there is an issue with your PSU, then it is important to check it with a multimeter. Test it and see whether its pins are giving the correct voltages. If you fail to see it providing the right range of voltages, it isn’t very accurate. Therefore, it would be best if you would replace it with a new one.

Spot Issues In The BIOS

If you have previously made any changes in the BIOS settings, try to undo them. Many games might not be working due to those changes you have made. It may be good to see if they are working well after you have set the BIOS back to its default settings.

Give Your Windows An Update/Proper Installation

Your windows might need an update to be compatible with the game version. Here is how you can update your Windows.

• Open ‘Settings.’
• Enter the ‘Update And Security.’
• Check if any Update is available.

If you have extremely old windows installed on your PC, try installing a newer one.

Give Your Graphics Card Driver An Update

You may have left your graphics card installed on your PC un-updated. Here is how you can easily update them whether they are third-party.

1. Open the ‘Device Manager’ application.
2. Click on the ‘Display Adapters’ tab.
3. Select the graphics card you wish to update from the drop-down list.
4. Click on the ‘Update Driver’ option.
   

   

5. Lastly, click on the ‘Search automatically for drivers’ option.

Run A Check On System Requirements

You should check the compatibility of your hardware components with the games you have installed on your PC. The checking is not only limited to the CPU. You should also check whether the GPU is made to support the game’s graphics on your PC. If you see your game crawling and giving an extremely poor resolution, your graphic card may be the problem.

If you have a third-party GPU installed on your PC, it would be best to try removing it. Since most processors have integrated graphics cards, it will help to see whether your graphics card is the problem. If your game lags when you try to perform extra tasks, it might be due to your CPU.

Lessen The Overclocking

It would be best if you tried lowering the clock speeds of all the components one by one to see which one is causing the problem. Sometimes, overclocking can cause your components to go way above the speeds your system supports.

This causes your PC to restart while gaming. To lessen the overclocking, you must follow the guidelines of whichever software you use. Those guidelines will help reduce the clock speeds of whichever components you overclocked. If you overclocked your components from BIOS, reset those settings to default. We also have a detailed guide on how to turn off overclocking. 

Make Changes In The Settings

As mentioned above, you will have to make changes in two settings.

Power Settings:

1. Press on the Windows icon + R.
2. Type ‘Powercfg.cpl’ in the search bar.
3. Click on the ‘Change plan settings’ option.
4. Click on the ‘Change advanced power settings’ option.
5. Click on the ‘Processor power management’ tab.
   

   

6. Click on the ‘Minimum power state’ tab.
7. Set the value of both ‘On battery’ and ‘Plugged in’ to 5%.

Also read: How to Underclock your GPU and Why you should do it?

Automatic Restart Feature:

1. Open the Control Panel Application.
2. Click on the ‘System and Security’ option.
3. Click on the ‘Advanced system settings’ option.
4. Click on the ‘Settings’ tab under Startup and Recovery.
   

   

5. Untick the ‘Automatic Restart’ option under System failure.

Improvise On The Cooling System

Get a better cooling system if you feel the fans installed on your PC are not doing a good job. To improve the cooling system, you can either install more fans or you can install a liquid cooler. A liquid cooler can do a better job of keeping your components cool, and it will prevent them from overheating better than the fans in the computer case. You can check out our article on ‘how to install a liquid CPU cooler?’

Give Your System A Restore

If nothing works at all, it might be a good time to reset your PC. It is a good old method that can help fix many unspotted issues that might be causing your PC to restart mid-gaming. Remember that a system restore removes all the content you have downloaded/installed on your PC. It would be best to save all your data on a USB drive to prevent it from being erased. Here’s how you can do a system restore

1. Press on the Windows icon + R.
2. Type ‘rstrui.exe’ in the search bar.
3. Pick the point when you faced no similar issues on your PC.

   

4. Click on the ‘Next’ tab.
5. Proceed to follow the given instructions.
6. Complete the System Restore.

Conclusion

PC restarting while gaming can be super annoying. It can become a headache if it happens too often. This guide summarizes all the possible reasons why your PC restarts while gaming and all the measures you need to take to fix the problem. If you still feel like your problem remains unsolved, it is best to head to a professional.