[SOLVED] Mint MATE 18.3 What's crashing my computer?

[cdscoates]

Hello,
There's probably a tutorial for this somewhere but I couldn't find it.

Any time I play a full-screen game (MineCraft or anything on Steam or Stadia) my computer will completely crash and reset. This could happen within 20 minutes or it could take a couple hours. There are very rare occasions when it doesn't happen at all. This is tolerable when I'm playing solo but some game servers don't log you out for upwards of 20 minutes after last contact. Some don't save frequently so I come back to a chunk of progress lost.
This has happened during Zoom meetings regularly but not often. It doesn't happen when I watch videos (either Netflix/streaming or local files). If I just browse the Internet or use office or coding apps, no problem either.
The crash always looks like this: the last half-second of audio repeats endlessly for about a minute or so, and then the computer reboots.
I thought PulseAudio but I've tried disabling it, and I've tried forcing a re-config by deleting/renaming the existing file. I see no change in the files and the crashes continue to happen.
I Googled "Linux Mint How To Tell What Crashed My Computer" and got nothing useful. Could someone steer me in the right direction?

Code: Select all

System:    Host: chris-MS-7693 Kernel: 4.15.0-142-generic x86_64 (64 bit gcc: 5.4.0)
           Desktop: MATE 1.18.0 (Gtk 3.18.9-1ubuntu3.3) info: mate-panel dm: lightdm
           Distro: Linux Mint 18.3 Sylvia
Machine:   Mobo: MSI model: 970A SLI Krait Edition (MS-7693) v: 5.0
           Bios: American Megatrends v: V25.4 date: 06/23/2016
CPU:       Octa core AMD FX-8370 Eight-Core (-MCP-) cache: 16384 KB
           flags: (lm nx sse sse2 sse3 sse4_1 sse4_2 sse4a ssse3 svm) bmips: 68796
           clock speeds: max: 4299 MHz 1: 4297 MHz 2: 4296 MHz 3: 4297 MHz
           4: 4293 MHz 5: 4297 MHz 6: 4260 MHz 7: 4296 MHz 8: 4299 MHz
Graphics:  Card: NVIDIA GM107 [GeForce GTX 750 Ti]
           bus-ID: 01:00.0 chip-ID: 10de:1380
           Display Server: X.Org 1.18.4 drivers: nvidia (unloaded: fbdev,vesa,nouveau)
           Resolution: 1920x1080@59.93hz, 1920x1080@59.93hz
           GLX Renderer: GeForce GTX 750 Ti/PCIe/SSE2
           GLX Version: 4.5.0 NVIDIA 384.130 Direct Rendering: Yes
Audio:     Card-1 NVIDIA GM107 High Definition Audio Controller [GeForce 940MX]
           driver: snd_hda_intel bus-ID: 01:00.1 chip-ID: 10de:0fbc
           Card-2 Advanced Micro Devices [AMD/ATI] SBx00 Azalia (Intel HDA)
           driver: snd_hda_intel bus-ID: 00:14.2 chip-ID: 1002:4383
           Card-3 Logitech Webcam C170
           driver: USB Audio usb-ID: 001-002 chip-ID: 046d:082b
           Sound: Advanced Linux Sound Architecture v: k4.15.0-142-generic
Network:   Card: Realtek RTL8111/8168/8411 PCI Express Gigabit Ethernet Controller
           driver: r8169 v: 2.3LK-NAPI port: d000
           bus-ID: 05:00.0 chip-ID: 10ec:8168
           IF: enp5s0 state: down mac: <filter>
Drives:    HDD Total Size: 7501.5GB (39.7% used)
           ID-1: /dev/sda model: ST1000DM010 size: 1000.2GB serial: Z9AR9P42
           ID-2: /dev/sdb model: TOSHIBA_DT01ACA1 size: 1000.2GB serial: 9643E9AFS
           ID-3: USB /dev/sdc model: BUP_Slim_SL size: 1500.3GB serial: NA96LXQP-0:0
           ID-4: USB /dev/sdd model: Backup+_Hub_BK size: 4000.8GB serial: NA9QDMDV-0:0
Partition: ID-1: / size: 901G used: 394G (47%) fs: ext4 dev: /dev/sdb2
           ID-2: swap-1 size: 17.12GB used: 0.00GB (0%) fs: swap dev: /dev/sdb3
RAID:      System: supported: N/A
           No RAID devices: /proc/mdstat, md_mod kernel module present
           Unused Devices: none
Sensors:   System Temperatures: cpu: 33.0C mobo: N/A gpu: 0.0:36C
           Fan Speeds (in rpm): cpu: N/A
Repos:     Active apt sources in file: /etc/apt/sources.list.d/additional-repositories.list
           deb http://mcpelauncher.mrarm.io/apt/ubuntu/ bionic main
           Active apt sources in file: /etc/apt/sources.list.d/freecad-maintainers-freecad-stable-xenial.list
           deb-src http://ppa.launchpad.net/freecad-maintainers/freecad-stable/ubuntu xenial main
           Active apt sources in file: /etc/apt/sources.list.d/george-edison55-webp-xenial.list
           deb http://ppa.launchpad.net/george-edison55/webp/ubuntu xenial main
           deb-src http://ppa.launchpad.net/george-edison55/webp/ubuntu xenial main
           Active apt sources in file: /etc/apt/sources.list.d/official-package-repositories.list
           deb http://muug.ca/mirror/linuxmint/packages sylvia main upstream import backport
           deb http://mirror.csclub.uwaterloo.ca/ubuntu xenial main restricted universe multiverse
           deb http://mirror.csclub.uwaterloo.ca/ubuntu xenial-updates main restricted universe multiverse
           deb http://mirror.csclub.uwaterloo.ca/ubuntu xenial-backports main restricted universe multiverse
           deb http://security.ubuntu.com/ubuntu/ xenial-security main restricted universe multiverse
           deb http://archive.canonical.com/ubuntu/ xenial partner
           Active apt sources in file: /etc/apt/sources.list.d/signal-xenial.list
           deb [arch=amd64] https://updates.signal.org/desktop/apt xenial main
Info:      Processes: 253 Uptime: 11:13 Memory: 1960.7/15824.5MB
           Init: systemd v: 229 runlevel: 5 default: 2 Gcc sys: 5.4.0
           Client: Shell (bash 4.3.481 running in mate-terminal) inxi: 2.2.35

Thanks for your time,
- Chris

[RIH]

Could be any number of things, but your biggest initial issue is that Mint 18.3 is no longer supported.

Either load up the 19.x version or the 20.x & the issue could well just disappear without any further efforts..

[DeathDancer]

After looking at your setup, a couple of things stood out. You describe a system that overheats under load. (gaming taxes a system really heavy)
This caught my eye

Fan Speeds (in rpm): cpu: N/A

the OS is not finding the cpu fan, is the cpu fan working/plugged in ?
and this

Card: NVIDIA GM107 [GeForce GTX 750 Ti]

some Nvidia cards can get a bit toasty under load, does your case have good air flow? Is there a lot of dust in the case? are all the case and power supply fans working? If your tech Savvy these are easy enough to check out and fix if needed. otherwise have a knowledgeable friend or tech look at your system.

[cdscoates]

Thank you for your replies. I hadn't considered overheating because the times-to-crash was so inconsistent. I checked the CPU fan and it was going fine - but a cable leading from it was blocking another fan, so - good call. I tried playing a game with the case wide-open, and wasn't able to get beyond about 25 minutes - I tried 3 times. A GPU temperature guage on my 2nd monitor and showed that it stayed at a (fairly) cool 58 to 60 c. I found an article on under-clocking, and stepped my CPU multiplier down from 21.5 to 20, and it hasn't crashed after several hours' play.

Thank you again!
- Chris

[DeathDancer]

My pleasure and You're welcome.
However Please edit your first post in this thread to add "[SOLVED]" to the topic Subject: field.

[JTJersey]

60 C isn't exactly cool. It's about maximum your CPU should hit. If it's at 60 C idling you definitely have an overheating issue. Taking the case cover off isn't always helpful for cooling as the fans now aren't moving the air through the case and out the back like they should. Gotta get those temps down. 30 C is about ideal at idle.