Event 41 Task Category 63
For a few days now I get strange sudden reboots running Windows 7 on my desktop PC. In the Windows event log it says it’s a critical power failure (event ID 41, task category 63). I also noticed sudden shutdowns when shutting down Linux – no sudden reboots, but the system shut down instantly resulting in a fsck after booting. Problem is: it’s not repeatable.
It all started when I recovered some files from a hard drive of my brother in law for which I had to disconnect one of the internal hard drives. I checked all the cables over and over again, upgraded most of my hardware drivers and did a memory check with Memtest. Nothing. I also checked the power of the PSU via software (SpeedFan) – all within the limits, as well as the temperatures of the CPU and GPU.
Today I changed the PSU and installed a BeQuiet! Straight Power 600W E7. 600 watts seem a bit oversized, but test results for this PSU have been very promising for stability and energy consumption/saving. I hope it really was the PSU and not the motherboard and/or CPU. Otherwise I have to buy replacements (and upgrade to a quadcore processor – which wouldn’t be _that_ tragic ^^).