Random reboots, Vega 64

[pastrychef]

Ok. To confirm, the .gpurestart file infers that the graphics card is what's failing, right? Even if the cause is software-related.

I don't know if the graphics card is failing. I just know that WindowServer is crashing... It MAY be due to a failing graphics card or something else. I just don't know for sure...

How are temps on your video card? Do you experience similar crashes in Windows or Linux?

The following shows WindowServer:

 

[MusicMan]

I see. I ran Windows for a whole day and didn't have any crashes. I guess that's not much of a test, but I also didn't see these crashes in Mojave, so I figured it was Catalina.

My GPU temps look good. Right now I'm at 41ºC. And computer could freeze even when I'm not doing anything GPU-intensive. Although I am running a 4k TV, I was in 1080p the other day and it froze then as well.

Although this feels like a hardware issue to me, would you recommend me downloading the Combo Update and try installing that over my current install? Is that a pain in the butt to do? I've read that it's fixed some Catalina problems for people on genuine Macs. Will I even be allowed to run it since I have the latest Catalina already installed?

I just know that WindowServer is crashing...

FWIW, on some crashes I get WindowServer crash log without a .gpurestart log. But I chalked that up to the reporting system not being able to report 100% of things when there's a freeze/crash.

 

[pastrychef]

I see. I ran Windows for a whole day and didn't have any crashes. I guess that's not much of a test, but I also didn't see these crashes in Mojave, so I figured it was Catalina.

My GPU temps look good. Right now I'm at 41ºC. And computer could freeze even when I'm not doing anything GPU-intensive. Although I am running a 4k TV, I was in 1080p the other day and it froze then as well.

Although this feels like a hardware issue to me, would you recommend me downloading the Combo Update and try installing that over my current install? Is that a pain in the butt to do? I've read that it's fixed some Catalina problems for people on genuine Macs. Will I even be allowed to run it since I have the latest Catalina already installed?


FWIW, on some crashes I get WindowServer crash log without a .gpurestart log. But I chalked that up to the reporting system not being able to report 100% of things when there's a freeze/crash.

If you are not experiencing problems in Windows or Mojave, I'm inclined to believe there's something in your Catalina installation that's causing the crashes.

You should be able to use a Combo Update. I've done it on my hacks before without any problems. You can also try a clean install of Catalina on another drive to see if you have any issues to insure that it's not some 3rd party software you've installed.

 

[MusicMan]

Okay so I haven't had a crash in 20 hours (I was getting them every 1-2 hours). I'm not 100% sure what fixed it (assuming it's fixed), but is what I remember changing since the last post:

• My TV (which I use as a monitor) had a software update
• By leaving HDMI disconnected for an entire evening, I learned that the computer doesn't crash when HDMI is disconnected
• After that, the computer started to seem to work fine. Very strange. But I still changed the following:
  • Used SwitchresX to fix a new problem I had with it not having 4:4:4 subsampling. This only started recently, maybe when I switched to Catalina but I'm not sure. I just used Switchres to create a custom resolution with the exact settings I was already using in macOS, except this helped 4:4:4 to work after some fiddling and changing from HDMI to Displayport.. and now it's working on HDMI too. Maybe there was an issue with macOS's EDID for my display that SwitchResX is fixing?
  • Swapped out HDMI Cable and my Displayport > HDMI adapter just to be safe.

Any way that the Sony update fixed the crashing? EDID update? The official change log only says "Improves general performance and stability".

 

[pastrychef]

Okay so I haven't had a crash in 20 hours (I was getting them every 1-2 hours). I'm not 100% sure what fixed it (assuming it's fixed), but is what I remember changing since the last post:

• My TV (which I use as a monitor) had a software update
• By leaving HDMI disconnected for an entire evening, I learned that the computer doesn't crash when HDMI is disconnected
• After that, the computer started to seem to work fine. Very strange. But I still changed the following:
  • Used SwitchresX to fix a new problem I had with it not having 4:4:4 subsampling. This only started recently, maybe when I switched to Catalina but I'm not sure. I just used Switchres to create a custom resolution with the exact settings I was already using in macOS, except this helped 4:4:4 to work after some fiddling and changing from HDMI to Displayport.. and now it's working on HDMI too. Maybe there was an issue with macOS's EDID for my display that SwitchResX is fixing?
  • Swapped out HDMI Cable and my Displayport > HDMI adapter just to be safe.

Any way that the Sony update fixed the crashing? EDID update? The official change log only says "Improves general performance and stability".

Hmm... It may be possible... I've seen very rare instances where HDCP caused issues when connected over HDMI.

HDMI has always been a bit troublesome for me. I always recommend using DisplayPort whenever realistically possible.