Windows 11 comes with a wide range of new features and options, but it is not free of faults. Since the OS is in its early stages of development, several bugs are lying in the operating system. One particular bug troubling several Windows users is the random crash and shutdown bug.
Sometimes, a Windows 11 machine abruptly shuts down without warning, and all the work is halted. This can be a hassle for many who depend on their computers for work. So what solution do we have in this scenario? That is what we will see here in this article. So without any further ado, let’s get into it.
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Windows 11 Random Shutdown issue
Several solutions have worked for Windows 11 users worldwide. It isn’t easy to pinpoint which exact fix will work for your machine. So you will have to try all the solutions mentioned below, one after the other until you find a solution that works for you.
Check your PC’s temperature:
When your PC’s temperature goes up, the system may shut itself down on its own to prevent any damage to the computer’s internal components. It is a built-in safety measure for any Windows measure.
To check your PC’s temperature, press Ctrl+Shift+Esc to open up the Task Manager. You will see different tabs in the task manager window. Here, click on the Performance tab, and it will show up your CPU and GPU usage along with their temperature. If you see a temperature below 85 degrees Celcius, everything is fine, and your machine should work flawlessly.
However, if the temperature is beyond that point, your machine will face difficulties performing well, and hence a random shutdown is unavoidable. To prevent your machine from overheating, you need to open up your computer and clean the fans and every other internal component. It would be best to clean the heat pipe near the CPU thoroughly. A laptop has specific air inlets that let air in and outlets that let it out. The excess heat in a computer is managed by heat release through the outlets. So if there is any dust accumulated near the inlets and outlets, clean it up right away. This will allow your computer heat management system to work well, and you should not face any issues with excessive heat turning the PC off.
If cleaning out the heat management system of your computer also does not fix the random shutdown problem, try the next solution.
Run the Power troubleshooter:
Next, you can try running the power troubleshooter built into a Windows system. Several troubleshooters are at bay for a Windows computer, and a Power troubleshooter is one of them. If your current power plan has anything messed up, that could be the cause behind your random shutdown.
- Click on the Windows search bar and look for troubleshoot settings. Once it shows up in the results, click on it to open it up.
- Now in the troubleshooter window, click on other troubleshooters.
- Then click on the small Run button next to the Power option. This will launch the power troubleshooter.
- Follow the on-screen instructions for the Power troubleshooter and wait till its process is complete.
Try the next solution if running the power troubleshooter does not fix the random shutdown issue.
Update your drivers:
We need drivers for everything in a Windows computer. And if any of these drivers are faulty or outdated, the computer often misbehaves. Even with the random Windows shutdown, this could be the possible reason. So you need to update the drivers on your computer.
There are three ways to update the drivers on a computer. You can do it manually, automatically, or using a third-party driver utility tool.
To update the drivers manually, visit your laptop manufacturer’s website and look for your laptop model. Then there, you will find a download section with a list of drivers. Download all the driver files that you see and install them one after the other onto your computer. If you are using other devices with your computer, you also need to visit that device’s manufacturer and download the driver files. Installing these driver files is as simple as installing any other application onto your computer. Just follow the on-screen instructions.
To update the drivers automatically, you will have to open up the Device Manager. To do that, click on the Windows search bar in the start menu and look for Device Manager. Once you see it, open it up. A list of devices on your computer will show up. Right-click on all the devices you think might have outdated or faulty drivers and click on Update driver. Then follow the on-screen instructions to download and install the latest drivers. Windows will do all that automatically with just a single click.
Finally, the third option is to use a third-party driver utility tool that will scan your computer for any missing or outdated drivers. And then, with just a single click of a button, the tool will install the latest drivers on your computer. There are several such tools available for use. You can pick any one that you find suitable to use. However, using a tool like that will cost you some money. But the price will be well worth it as you don’t need to worry about any driver-related issue on your computer again.
Disable Fast Startup:
Fast Startup is a built-in Windows feature that lets you boot up your PC faster than usual. It does so by not shutting down your PC entirely in the first place. And that in due time could result in some occasional crashes and shutdowns. So you need to turn off this feature and see if that helps with the random shutdown issue.
- Press Windows Key + R to open up the Run dialog box.
- Enter “control” in the Run dialog box and press Enter.
- The control panel window will open up. Here, click on Power Options.
- Inside Power Options, you will see the option “Choose what the power buttons do.” Click on it.
- Click on the option “Change settings that are currently unavailable” at the top and grant admin access to it.
- Then uncheck the box next to “Turn on fast startup” and click on Save Changes.
Try the following solution mentioned below if you encounter a random shutdown even after turning off a fast startup.
Turn Off Sleep Mode:
Some users work with little breaks, and they prefer to keep their systems on sleep mode rather than shutting down and turning it on again. This does save time, but not shutting down much will also mean that the machine will be running all the time. And this, in turn, could result in some performance issues.
A random shutdown of Windows could also be one of its effects. So it is best to disable or turn off sleep mode entirely.
- Press Windows key + X and click on Power Options from the list of options that show up.
- Click on Screen and sleep settings to expand it.
- For the drop-down menu next to the two options “On battery power, put my device to sleep after” and “When plugged in, put my device to sleep after,” set it to Never.
Now your PC won’t go to sleep automatically. If you still encounter a random shutdown, try the next solution.
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Tweak Advanced Power settings:
There are specific power management options for our hard drive and processor that are set to turn off after a while. You need to tweak these settings as they could be the cause behind the random shutdown.
- Press Windows Key + R to open up the Run dialog box.
- Enter “control” in the Run dialog box and press Enter.
- The control panel window will open up. Here, click on Power Options.
- Click on Change Plan Settings.
- Then click on Change Advanced Power settings.
- A power options pop-up window will show up. Here navigate to processor power management and then double-click on it to expand it.
- Inside you will find the Minimum processor state. Change the value on it from 100 to 0.
- After that, navigate to the hard disk option and double-click on that as well to expand it.
- Here, for the option “Turn off hard disk after,” reduce the value to Never.
- Finally, click on Apply and then click on Ok.
If you still encounter the random shutdown issue, try the next solution.
Check for Malware:
Sometimes a computer can get infected by malware, resulting in the system not functioning correctly. You can get rid of the malware if there is any by running a full system scan on your computer using the built-in Windows defender. Just make sure that the Windows Defender is up to date.
If you trust any other third-party antivirus program, you can use that application to run a complete system scan. Here, make sure that you have the latest virus definitions on your antivirus.
If you still encounter the random shutdown issue, try the next solution.
Run DISM:
If your Windows 11 is missing some essential system files, that could be the issue behind your random shutdown issue. To fix this, you can try the Windows DISM scan.
- Right-click on the start menu and choose Windows terminal(Admin).
- A pop-up window will show up asking for admin access. Grant it.
- In the windows terminal window, enter the following commands one after the other and press Enter every time.
DISM /Online /Cleanup-Image /CheckHealth
DISM /Online /Cleanup-Image /ScanHealth
DISM /Online /Cleanup-Image /RestoreHealth
- Wait for the entire process to be complete, and then restart your computer.
If you still encounter the random shutdown issue, try the next solution.
Run SFC Scan:
If the DISM scan does not help with your cause, you can try the SFC or System File Checker scan. This is also built into a Windows system.
- Right-click on the start menu and choose Windows terminal(Admin).
- A pop-up window will show up asking for admin access. Grant it.
- In the windows terminal window, enter the following command and press Enter.
sfc /scannow
- Wait for the entire process to be complete, and then restart your computer.
If you still encounter the random shutdown issue, try the next solution.
Update Windows 11:
With the early builds of Windows 11, numerous problems were reported by users worldwide. So if you have not updated your Windows in a while, you may be running an early build of Windows 11. If that is the case, you need to update the Windows 11 on your computer to the latest version right away. Microsoft pushes out fixes to bugs every once in a while, and having an up-to-date operating system will ensure minimal software bugs.
View Shutdown Log:
If none of the above solutions have worked for you, then it is time you take an insight into your machine. A built-in utility tool called Event Viewer keeps track of everything that happens on your PC, including shutdown and restarts. You can use it to see the reports on your recent random shutdowns.
- Click on the Windows search bar and look for Event viewer. Once it shows up in the results, click on it to open it up.
- Then go through the list of events in the event viewer window and note down the Event IDs of the recent random shutdowns.
- Now double-click on Windows Logs on your left to expand it.
- Then, right-click on the System category and select the Filter Current Log option.
- In the next window, enter the Event IDs in the Event IDs field. You can insert the Event IDs with commas in between.
- Then click on OK. All the information about the shutdowns will show up on your screen. You can then determine what could be the possible cause behind it and then try to fix it.
Update BIOS:
If you do not see anything significant in the event logs, then the issue could also be related to BIOS. In that case, you need to update the BIOS on your computer to the latest version.
But this task won’t be easy, especially for someone who is still looking his way through tech. Newer motherboards have an option in the BIOS menu to update themselves, and that would be an automatic process. But with an older motherboard, it will be a difficult task. You need to thoroughly check all over the internet about how you can safely update the BIOS on your machine without bricking it entirely. If you find a safe way to do it, before going ahead with the process, make a proper backup of everything important to you.
So that is all about all the different solutions that you can try to fix the random shutdown issue on Windows 11. If you have any questions or queries about this article, comment below, and we will get back to you. Also, check out our other articles on iPhone tips and tricks, Android tips and tricks, PC tips and tricks, and much more for more helpful information.