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Fix: PC Restarts When Playing Games (Not Overheating)
Say goodbye to this issue and live your true pro gamer dream
7 min. read
Updated onJuly 23, 2024
updated onJuly 23, 2024
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Key notes
To fix various driver issues on your PC, you will need a dedicated tool to find the freshest and the original drivers. You can use PC HelpSoft Driver Updater to do it in 3 easy steps:
Any disruption or minor interruptions affect the gaming experience, and you may lose your in-game progress. Things become even worse if your PC crashes, and several users have been asking us why their PC restarts when playing games.
Games with high-end graphics require a computer with decent configurations, in the absence of which, you may face issues such asgame lag, but a frequent reboot is a rather tricky problem.
Why does my PC restart when playing games?
The PC may restart for several reasons, but generally, it happens when there is a problem with the computer’s PSU (Power Supply Unit). If the PSU doesn’t supply the required power, the PC restarts when playing a game, even if it’s not overheating.
Your graphics driver or other device drivers, too might be causing the issue. Other than that, if the power settings are misconfigured, it will result in frequent crashes or even a restart.
Can CPU cause random restarts? Yes, if it works at full power for an extended period, it can heat up and cause a restart.
Overheating is a common reason; and when the temperature goes beyond a certain level, the PC automatically restarts to protect the various components from damage.
Moreover, users reported other similar issues that we will be addressing today. Here are the most common ones:
If youoverclocked the PCto get more performance out of it, chances are that the modifications could have introduced instability and are causing frequent restarts.
What do I do if my PC restarts when playing games?
Before going into more complicated tweaks, let’s crosscheck some basic verifications that may fix or help you understand the problem:
If the problem still persists, let’s perform the solutions below to fix the problem as quickly as possible.
1. Update the graphics driver
Though it’s not recommended that you frequently check for driver updates, the graphics driver here is an exception. When gaming, it plays a critical role, and if it’s outdated or there’s a bug present, updating it could fix the problem.
If this method doesn’t work, trymanually installing the latest driver version, and check if the PC still restarts when playing games.
Constantly updating drivers on your PC is essential, especially when playing games, and athird-party automated solutioncan improve gaming sessions.
2. Disable automatic restart
3. Remove overclocking
For many users, overclocking resulted in frequent restarts when playing games on the PC. Overclocking is meant to boost the performance; and take it to levels the device is not designed to run at, thus often causing it to malfunction.
So, remove any overclocking on the PC, anduninstall appsthat fall under the category of game boosters. If the problem persists after making the changes or the method is not applicable in your case, head to the next one.
4. Perform a System Restore
If none of the methods listed here have worked, chances are that the underlying problem is not a general one but specific to your computer. In this case, the simplest solution is toperform a System Restore.
A system restore will fix almost any kind of issue, be it problematic drivers that were recently installed, conflicting applications, or changes to the settings. It does that by reverting any modifications made to the computer’s software.
Once done, the PC would no more restart when playing games on Windows 10 or 11.
How do I stop my computer from overheating when playing games?
The overheating problem generally arises when theCPU usage is high, thereisn’t enough RAM available, thecomputer fan does not work, no space around the CPU for the hot air to escape, or due to dust buildup.
Here are a few ways tostop your computer from overheatingwhen playing games:
That’s it! These were all the ways you can fix things if the PC restarts when playing games and stop it from overheating. The methods will also work if the PC restarts with a black screen while gaming.
Also, determine what to do if yourWindows 11 PC restarts randomly, even when not playing games.
If you have any other queries or know of a method not listed here, drop a comment below.
More about the topics:gaming,restart,Windows 11
Kazim Ali Alvi
Windows Hardware Expert
Kazim has always been fond of technology, be it scrolling through the settings on his iPhone, Android device, or Windows PC. He’s specialized in hardware devices, always ready to remove a screw or two to find out the real cause of a problem.
Long-time Windows user, Kazim is ready to provide a solution for your every software & hardware error on Windows 11, Windows 10 and any previous iteration. He’s also one of our experts in Networking & Security.
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Kazim Ali Alvi
Windows Hardware Expert
Kazim is specialized in hardware devices, always ready to remove a screw or two to find out the real cause of a problem.
