PC restarts instead of shutdown or sleep Windows 10

Question

PC restarts instead of shutdown or sleep Windows 10

Alex Davidson 20

My PC will not shut down or sleep and instead just restarts the computer within 10-20 seconds. All the RGB stays on, then the red light on the motherboard labeled DRAM will light up, then VGA, then BOOT and it restarts. Here's what I've tried so far:

Hold power button to shutdown (still restarts)
Disabled Fast Startup
Latest Windows 10 updates installed
Clean boot
Ran Power Troubleshooter
Ran Memory Check
Updated Chipset Driver
Reinstalled GPU Driver
Rolled back GPU Driver to previous version
Turned off automatic restart under Advanced System Settings > Startup and Recovery
Changed to power saver under Power Plan
chkdsk /f /r
sfc /scannow
Dism /Online /Cleanup-Image /ScanHealth
/RestoreHealth
/CheckHealth
Updated BIOS
Made sure there was no overclocking

No errors were found in the checks, but the problem still persists. Some more context in case it helps: I built this PC myself in 2020, about a month ago my AIO cooling stopped working-no leaks or anything, just wouldn't cool-so I replaced it and had no issues until now, but temps are normal. This started happening after I left town for the weekend. Before I left, I shut down my PC and switched off the PSU but left it plugged in. There was a big storm while I was gone. Not sure if we lost power, as no one was home, but PC was off and PSU switch off.

I'm considering cutting power and reseating or replacing the RAM as well as trying to drain any residual power in the motherboard. My question is, when is the least risky time to cut the power so I can start working on the hardware? Should I try shutdown, wait until the monitor loses signal and then switch off the PSU? Or maybe do a clean boot restart and idle the computer on the log in screen then switch off PSU? Otherwise I'm thinking a Windows reset/refresh. Any other options I should consider before taking these actions?

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Answer 1

Clary-N 15,735 Microsoft External Staff Moderator

Hi Alex Davidson,

Thanks for providing the detailed troubleshooting you've already completed. I can see you've been very thorough in ruling out common Windows, driver and BIOS-related causes.

Before considering a full Windows reset, there are a few additional software checks you could try. Open Event Viewer and look for any Critical or Error events around the time the unexpected restart occurs, particularly Kernel-Power, ACPI or driver-related events. You can also run Reliability Monitor (perfmon /rel) to see whether Windows is recording any failures that coincide with the restart behavior.

If you have any third-party RGB, hardware monitoring, fan control, motherboard utility or overclocking software installed, try temporarily uninstalling or disabling it to see whether it is interfering with Windows power transitions.

As an additional software repair option, you may also consider performing an in-place upgrade repair of Windows 10. This reinstalls Windows while keeping your personal files, applications, and settings intact, and can repair system components that SFC and DISM may not detect.

To perform an in-place upgrade:

Back up any important files as a precaution.
Download the latest Windows 10 installation media using Microsoft's Media Creation Tool.
Run the tool and select Upgrade this PC now, or create an ISO, mount it and run Setup.exe from within Windows.
When prompted, choose Keep personal files and apps.
Follow the on-screen instructions and allow the installation to complete.
Once the repair installation finishes, test whether the PC can properly Sleep or Shut Down without restarting.

*Disclaimer: Let’s try performing an in-place install or in-place upgrade which will refresh your Windows files and operating system without removing files or applications. That being said, we always recommend that if you have important data, you should back it up before making large system changes. If you want to back up your data first, please do so.

If the issue persists, it may also be worth considering hardware diagnostics to rule out any underlying component-related issues.

Regarding cutting power, it is generally safest to do so while the system is idle (for example, at the sign-in screen). Turn off the PC, switch off the PSU, unplug the power cable and hold the power button for 15–30 seconds to discharge any remaining power before working on the hardware.

Could you also let me know your motherboard model, PSU model and whether the same behavior occurs when selecting Hibernate? That information may help determine whether this is related to Windows power management or an underlying hardware component.

If you have extra questions about this answer, please click "Comment".

Note: Please follow the steps in our documentation to enable e-mail notifications if you want to receive the related email notification for this thread.

Clary-N 15,735 Reputation points Microsoft External Staff Moderator

2026-07-09T07:43:00.9133333+00:00

Hi Alex Davidson,
May I know if you have got any chance to check my answer?

I am glad to help if you have any other questions.
Alex Davidson 20 Reputation points

2026-07-09T16:50:34.2366667+00:00

Hi @Clary-N

Thanks for your answer.

My motherboard is a Gigabyte X570 AORUS PRO WIFI and my PSU is a Corsair RM850 (2019). The same behavior happens when selecting Hibernate. But actually I've noticed with Sleep and Hibernate, it doesn't fully restart. Any open programs I have are still there when I log in again. But it does go to the motherboard landing page (where you have the option to enter BIOS) and then login page as if it had restarted.

I've uninstalled RGB and hardware utilities, but the problem persists. The Event Viewer does show a couple Kernel-Power critical errors (41) but not for every instance of the restarting behavior. The Reliability Monitor shows a lot of ASUS Com Service-Stopped Working. My GPU is an ASUS ROG STRIX GeForce RTX 3080.

I backed up my computer last night, but I'll probably wait until the weekend to do an in-place upgrade or any hardware fixes, so I'll have more time to work on it and it won't interfere with work.

Let me know if any of this sheds new light on the situation or if there's any more info I can provide!
Clary-N 15,735 Reputation points Microsoft External Staff Moderator

2026-07-10T07:03:10.64+00:00

Hi Alex Davidson,

Thanks for the update. The fact that your applications remain open after logging back in suggests Windows is entering Sleep/Hibernate successfully, but something may be causing the system to reset during the resume process.

The repeated ASUS Com Service crashes are interesting, especially with your ASUS RTX 3080, as ASUS-related services may sometimes interfere with power-state transitions even after the main utilities are removed.

Before moving on to an in-place repair or hardware troubleshooting, it may be worth performing a Clean Boot to see if a third-party service or startup item is interfering with the resume process. If the problem does not occur in a Clean Boot state, that would help narrow the issue down considerably.

*Disclaimer: A "clean boot" starts Windows with a minimal set of drivers and startup programs. It helps to determine whether a background service is interfering with your game or program and to isolate the cause of a problem.

These steps of "clean boot" might look complicated at first glance. However, to avoid any trouble for you, please follow them in order and step-by-step so that it will help you get back on track.

When you have time this weekend, I'd suggest trying the in-place repair upgrade as well. It would also be helpful to check whether Fast Startup is enabled and whether the issue persists with it disabled.

Please keep me posted on how the repair install goes and if you find any new Event Viewer entries around the time of the restart. I'll be happy to assist further.
Clary-N 15,735 Reputation points Microsoft External Staff Moderator

2026-07-11T07:30:31.92+00:00

Hi Alex Davidson,

Have you had a chance to check my answer yet?

Please do keep me updated.
Alex Davidson 20 Reputation points

2026-07-11T19:39:28.8066667+00:00

Ended up shutting off the PSU, discharging residual power, reseating the RAM, and rearranging some cable management which involved unplugging and replugging the PCIe cables on my graphics card. Not sure what exactly solved the issue, but it now runs normally without restarting after shutdown or sleep.
Clary-N 15,735 Reputation points Microsoft External Staff Moderator

2026-07-14T02:36:51.0266667+00:00

Hi Alex Davidson,

Thank you for the update and I'm glad to hear the issue is no longer occurring.

Based on what you've described, it's difficult to pinpoint the exact cause since several changes were made at the same time. However, reseating the RAM, reconnecting the PCIe power cables and fully discharging residual power can all help resolve intermittent hardware or connection-related issues that may lead to unexpected restart behavior after shutdown or sleep.

Since the system is now operating normally, I would recommend continuing to monitor it for a few days. If the problem returns, please let me know whether any error messages, blue screens or other symptoms appear, as that may help narrow down the root cause.

I appreciate you sharing the steps that worked, as this information may also be helpful to others experiencing similar behavior. Please feel free to post back if you notice any changes or have additional questions.

Have a great day!