HP Victus 15 Laptop randomly restarting

[Axiom-H]

Guys, please, please help me out. This is driving me insane.

To summarize: my laptop has been randomly resetting ever since I decided to update the drivers to try and fix an issue where I couldn't change my screen brightness. Guess I ended up f*cking it up even further by simply UPDATING DRIVERS. At least I figured out what was messing up the brightness lol (it was an AMD driver update).

I've tried everything, man. Clean Windows reset (you know, the option Windows provides to reinstall and keep your files except for apps), installing latest HP software, uninstalling some of them, etc. I've tried running commands like sfc /scannow, running the HP hardware check, UEFI BIOS hardware check, etc. Nothing seems to work. This started after I updated all the drivers and the BIOS. My BIOS was version F.04 I think, it updated to F.06. Even rolling it back to the previous version doesn't seem to work.
At least, I've managed to see what it is in Windows Event Viewer. Kernel-Power Event ID 41 Task 63. I'm starting to worry it could be a hardware problem, but that wouldn't make any sense. My laptop's not even a year old.

Some more relevant information:
CPU: Ryzen 5 7535HS

GPU: RTX 2050 

RAM: 16 GB, 8 GB stock and 8GB Kingston Fury memory module
OS: Windows 11 (23H2)

[Raj_05]

Hi @Axiom-H,

Welcome to HP Support Community.

Thank you for posting your query, I will be glad to help you.

It sounds frustrating to deal with random restarts on your laptop. The Kernel-Power Event ID 41 Task 63 typically indicates that the system unexpectedly restarted without cleanly shutting down first. Here are a few steps you can try to troubleshoot and hopefully resolve the issue.

• Check for Overheating: Ensure that your laptop is not overheating. Use it on a flat surface to allow proper airflow and consider cleaning the vents if they are dusty.
• Power Settings: Sometimes, incorrect power settings can cause issues. Try setting your power plan to Balanced or High Performance and see if that makes a difference.
• Update Drivers and BIOS: While updating caused the issue, sometimes re-installing the latest stable versions of drivers and BIOS can resolve conflicts. Make sure to download these from HP's official website.
• Check for Malware: Run a full system scan with your antivirus software to rule out malware causing instability.
• Event Viewer: Continuously monitor the Event Viewer for any patterns or additional errors that could provide more insight into the cause of the restarts.
• Hardware Check: If all else fails, it might be worth running a more thorough hardware diagnostic test, including memory and hard drive checks, to ensure there are no underlying hardware issues.

I hope this helps.

Take care and have a good day.

Please click “Accepted Solution” if you feel my post solved your issue, it will help others find the solution. Click the “Kudos/Thumbs Up" on the bottom right to say “Thanks” for helping!

Alden4

HP Support 

[Axiom-H]

Hey Alden4, thanks for the help. So, some updates:

Unfortunately, none of the steps provided solved the issue. I tried to set the power plan to balanced or high perfomance, I checked for updates and updated all the drivers through the HP app (HP Support, something like that), ran the more complete option to check for malware in Windows Defender, and none of these were of any help. The antivirus didn't point any threats, and though the HP app had some drivers to update/install (figures, since I had reset Windows), it wasn't of any help either. Not sure if it's worth mentioning, but it failed to update/install AMD's driver. I tried to install it manually through HP's website, and while the installer opens up and runs, it doesn't seem to have made anything after it closes, HP's app also continues to show AMD's driver as a pending update.
Well, as for the system checks, I ran the extensive tests in the BIOS. Again, no flaw pointed out. I've tried monitoring for more clues as to what it could be. I tried to see any patterns through event viewer, but couldn't make out any clear ones. The restarts usually happen within a 20 to 40 minutes time span from each other, sometimes longer, sometimes shorter.

System temps seem fine to me, although a bit hotter than ideal. It's expected since it's a laptop, right? More heat sources near each other in a tight space and such... Anyway, CPU and MOBO temps vary from 55 to 65 degrees Celsius under regular use (browsing the web, playing music, etc.), sometimes momentarily peaking at 75 and such. SSD and RAM is usually in the 30's, GPU's usually in the 40's to 50's. The laptop is always on a flat hard surface, I've got a wooden board just for that. I don't think it could be temps, cause I can't even remember when or even if it shut down while I was running some more intensive tasks such as gaming. These reading are all according to HWMonitor, but HP's app and OMEN Gaming Hub give me roughly the same numbers.

Finally, I guess this is more important: the restarts seem to happen more often when the laptop is idle. Say I went to get something, when I come back to it, it's back at the logon screen, indicating it's restarted. There were a couple of times it restarted while I was in the middle of something, but it appears to be less frequent.

Right now, I'm testing to see if it has something to do with the RAM sticks. I still haven't tested long enough to be certain, but I gathered this: the restarts aren't happening as often when I use only one of the RAM sticks (so far, I haven't seen it happen, but I need a couple of days to be sure). It can be either one, stock or the Kingston one I bought. That'd probably make you think it's a RAM compatibility issue, but honestly that makes no sense to me. Before it started doing this (when I hadn't updated the drivers and BIOS), it ran fine, no problems. That was from around june last year, to a month or so ago, so why would RAM be a problem now??? Did they suddenly turn incompatible with the updates? That makes no sense to me, but again, I don't have enough knowledge to be certain.

By the way, would you have more information when it comes to the warranty? My laptop's warranty is still valid. If I contacted through that option, how would it go? I live in Brazil, I'd like to know how it would go, If I'd have to send for repairs or something. 

[Raj_05]

Hi @Axiom-H,

Thank you for your response, 

I'm sending a private message to assist you with the next action.

Please check your Private message icon on the upper right corner of your HP Community profile Next, to your profile Name, you should see a little blue envelope, please click on it or simply click on this link.

I hope this helps! Keep me posted.

Alden4

HP Support