Gpu Crahing While Laptop is Plugged In

Question

• Random black screen appearing before game crashes.
• This started when i changed my charger
• I tried changing settings to minimum to reduce load on gpu.but nothing worked
• Device name LENOVO Processor Intel(R) Core(TM) i5-8250U CPU @ 1.60GHz (1.80 GHz) Installed RAM 12.0 GB Graphics card Radeon(TM) 540 Graphics (2 GB) Intel(R) UHD Graphics 620 (128 MB) Storage 230 GB of 238 GB used System type 64-bit operating system, x64-based processor

Answer 1

1

What type of charger did you purchase, is that a genuine Lenovo replacement charger or a 3rd party charger.

On the charger is a label, what is the wattage indicated for the charger?

2

Click your Start Button, then just type msinfo and press Enter, please provide a screenshot of the resulting System Information window.

Answer 2

The symptoms point to a GPU stability problem under load, likely triggered when the system is on AC power (higher performance mode) and using hybrid graphics (Intel UHD 620 + Radeon 540). The new charger may be allowing higher power draw or may be out of spec, exposing an existing thermal or driver issue.

Follow these steps in order:

1. Check for hybrid-graphics issues

• Because this is a hybrid GPU system, issues can appear only when the discrete GPU (Radeon 540) is active, especially in games.
• Run the game in exclusive full-screen mode instead of windowed/borderless.
• In the game’s graphics options, temporarily disable VSync and test. Hybrid systems with VSync and windowed mode can show tearing or corruption and instability.

2. Update or roll back graphics drivers

• Open Device Manager.
• Expand “Display adapters”.
• For both “Intel(R) UHD Graphics 620” and “Radeon(TM) 540 Graphics”:
  • Right-click → Properties → Driver.
  • First try Update driver → Search automatically for updated driver software.
• If the crashes started after a recent driver update, use Roll Back Driver on the Radeon 540 (and Intel GPU if available) to return to the previous stable version.
• After updating/rolling back, reboot and test the game again.

3. Check for TDR (GPU timeout) behavior

• When the screen goes black and the game crashes, Windows may be hitting a Timeout Detection and Recovery (TDR) event (VIDEO_TDR_FAILURE or VIDEO_TDR_TIMEOUT_DETECTED). These occur when the GPU stops responding under load.
• Open Reliability Monitor (type “Reliability” in Start) and look for “Hardware error” entries around the time of the black screen. If you see LiveKernelEvent entries or display driver crashes, that confirms a GPU timeout.
• Make sure Windows, DirectX, and the game are fully updated, as outdated graphics components can increase TDR events.

4. Inspect thermals and cooling

• On AC power, the Radeon 540 will run at higher clocks and can overheat if cooling is marginal.
• Use a hardware monitoring tool to check GPU temperature while gaming. If temperatures are high (approaching the GPU’s thermal limit) right before the black screen, overheating is likely.
• Ensure vents are not blocked, clean dust from fans and heatsinks, and test with the laptop on a hard surface or cooling pad.

5. Test with different power and performance settings

• In Windows Settings → System → Power & battery:
  • On battery, set a balanced or power-saver mode and test the game briefly. If it is more stable on battery than on AC, the issue is likely tied to higher GPU clocks/power on AC.
• In Lenovo’s power/thermal utility (if installed), select a balanced or quiet mode instead of performance mode and test.

6. Verify the charger

• Use the original Lenovo charger if available, or a replacement that exactly matches Lenovo’s voltage, current, and wattage specifications.
• Incompatible or low-quality chargers can cause power instability under GPU load, leading to black screens and crashes.

7. General stability checks

• Ensure storage has some free space; with 230 GB of 238 GB used, free up at least 20–30 GB to give Windows and games room for paging and temporary files.
• Run Windows Memory Diagnostics to rule out RAM issues (Control Panel → search “Memory” → “Diagnose your computer’s memory problems”).

If after these steps the problem persists, and especially if Reliability Monitor shows repeated hardware errors or LiveKernelEvent entries tied to the display driver, the Radeon 540 may be failing under load and the device may require hardware service.

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References:

• Hybrid graphics and Vsync results in graphic “tearing” in some games and apps on Windows 10
• Bug Check 0x116: VIDEO_TDR_FAILURE
• Bug Check 0x117: VIDEO_TDR_TIMEOUT_DETECTED
• Fix graphics device problems with error code 43
• Recurring "LiveKernelEvent 1b8" hardware error (Watchdog Timeout) - Microsoft Q&A
• My Windows 11 PC Hard Freezes for about 30 seconds to a minute when I play certain games. - Microsoft Q&A