PC crashes (no BSOD) and restarts to blank screen after 1.5 hours gaming.

JazKaz

Hello, I am wondering if anyone can help me out with this, - and by the way if I shutdown BitDefender using this (https://www.bitdefender.com.au/consumer/support/answer/88404/) the problem doesn't happen.

Is this the only way to stop the problem or is there just 1 or 2 parts of BitDefender I can turn off to stop the crash?

If I play a game the requires an active internet connection (Empyrion), or a game over LAN (Tom Clancy's R6V2), after about 1.5 hours my PC crashes and auto restarts to a blank screen - the speakers play the startup chime (Win 11) but the is no video input - so I hold the power button to turn it off, wait 10 seconds and turn it back on again. It is only my PC that crashes though, my wife's PC and daughter's PC don't crash after the 1.5 hour time when playing with me or if they are playing together without me.

Other info that might be useful:

My PC has the main Bitdefender account subscription on it (Total Security - 5 devices), my wife's and daughter's PCs use one of the 5 device slots each. BitDefender is installed on my C: drive (with Windows), but games etc… are stored on D: drive (same as my wife and daughter).

My previous PC had this problem (we bought new PCs 4 months ago), and I used OCCT to test hardware components to find the problem (and have done this again on this PC), with no issues found. Came across a thread (on Reddit or Tom's Hardware?) that said he was having similar issues to mine and the problems stopped if he totally uninstalled BitDefender another user recommended the link above.

I don't have the VPN installed and haven't set up Secure Pass, but I have turned off Profiles.

I have been trying to find what the problem is for the last couple of years and never suspected that it might have something to do with BitDefender.

Thank you.

Alexandru_BD

Hello,

When disabling Bitdefender, did you manage to identify which security module could be interfering with the game? First, try to add an exception for the game in Bitdefender and check if this makes a difference. Follow the instructions below:

https://www.bitdefender.com/consumer/support/answer/13427/

https://www.bitdefender.com/consumer/support/answer/2393/

Otherwise, since you've mentioned that this behavior can be observed solely on your device, it could be due to a specific setup, outdated drivers or something else..do all computers have the same Bitdefender version installed?

JazKaz

Hello Alexandru_BD,

Thank you for your reply. I will try making exceptions for the games and get back to you in the next few days - I didn't want to fiddle with things too much myself in case I made things worse.

We bought 3 of the same PC setups about 4 months ago, so we all have started with a fresh install of windows and BitDefender (I think I had to send them an email to invite them to use my subscription), so in answer to your question: Yes we are all using the same version of BitDefender. As to our PC's individual set up, I usually turn off and/or uninstall some of the windows privacy components that I don't use (e.g.: Bluetooth, camera, microphone, voice activation, contacts, calendar Phone experience, and the like.), so I will try re-enabling these to see if it makes any difference, once I have tried your first suggestions. :)

Thanks again, I will get back to you in a few days.

JazKaz

Ok, I have done a lot of testing and it seems to be the "Advanced Threat Defense" that is causing problems with games that require an internet connection or games played over LAN - all of the games I have tried have had no problems once I made an exception for them in the Advanced Threat Defense settings, except for Empyrion but at this point I am happy with a 95% success rate and am willing to kick Empyrion to the curb and forget it even exists.

Alexandru_BD, thank you very much for your help, I hope you have a great week!

Alexandru_BD

You are most welcome @JazKaz, thank you for following up here and have an excellent week as well!