Windows 10 Pro shuts down whenever I run long Stata analysis

[Claire Wladis]

This is a new problem that I have never had before, but which has been persisting for about a month. Whenever I run a heavy analysis (e.g., enter a bunch of models that need to run for a while, like overnight) and step away from my computer, at some point during the analysis my whole computer turns itself off. When I restart I don't get any crash messages or errors or anything else--it is as though someone has just shut it down. It only appears to happen if I am not actively using the computer at the time--if I continue to answer emails, or work on other files while Stata is running in the background, it has never shut down on me, so I have never seen what it actually does. It could be coincidence, but there is high correlation (almost every single time that I set an analysis to run overnight, or for a few hours while I will be out, my computer is off when I get back and the analysis cut off at some point, which I can see in the log file; it has never shut off while I am actively using the computer).

I have had problems with RAM before on certain analyses when I was doing really monster-sized analysis, but that should not be a factor here (if I rerun the analysis, it always shuts down in a different place, and rerunning the exact command where the computer shut off in the middle never recreates the problem), and when I had that happen before I got specific error messages--my computer didn't just turn itself off.

I know this may somehow be a Windows problem rather than a Stata problem, but it only happens with Stata, and not with other programs, so I am hoping that someone here might have had this issue in the past and might be able to help me figure out how to fix it without having to completely re-install windows and all of my programs (I just don't have time to do that right now! ). Thanks in advance for any help and advice!

[Andrew Musau]

If I attempt to shut down my PC whenever an instance of Stata is open, it will prompt me to exit Stata first. Perhaps your PC is set up to shut down forcefully after a certain period of inactivity. You have to check this with your IT people. However, you can simulate activity by installing an automatic mouse clicker, e.g., OP Auto Clicker. This allows you to automate mouse clicks after some specified length of time and therefore prevents your PC from sleeping or shutting down if the clicks are within the period of inactivity. Of course, this is just a workaround.

[Claire Wladis]

Thanks for the response, Andrew.
It is not my PC, it is something specific only to Stata. My PC is not set to turn off at any point and does not ever turn itself off except when Stata is running a time-consuming analysis.
I am never prompted to exit Stata or anything else, the PC force shuts down all programs without requesting any confirmation and turns the computer off (it doesn't even restart).
I don't know if Stata crashes first, or the PC just turns off in the middle of Stata running, as it has never done it while I am working on the computer.
Thanks for the recommendation of the automatic mouse clicker program--I might try it, but again I am not sure if my not being at the computer when it happens is a coincidence or not, and I would like to find a more permanent solution to the problem.
Wondering if anyone else has ever had this issue?

[Claire Wladis]

OK, it just happened for the first time while I was actively using the computer, so I can report back what it does.
Without warning (no error messages, no other signs of issues), the blue screen came on which said simply "shutting down". Then the computer turned off. The whole thing took only a few seconds (so there wasn't even that typical pause while it tries to figure out if you want to save existing documents, etc, that normally happens when force shutting down). There was no sign of other issues in advance (e.g. the usually buggy behavior I get with windows when there is a lot of processor or RAM usage, or when it just needs to be restarted because I have been doing too many things in between restarts). I have no idea what to do at this point other than to completely reinstall windows. I'm hoping this added info might help to pinpoint the problem? Just wondering if anyone has any ideas?

[Andrew Musau]

You have a system issue that is not caused by Stata. Here are some possible causes and remedies: https://forerunner.com.au/it-support...nd-stop-error/. The most straightforward to implement is to scan your PC for viruses and malware (#2 & #3) and see if the problem persists.

[Claire Wladis]

Thanks, Andrew. I can't get that link to work (probably because of country restrictions). However, I was able to diagnose it as a fan problem. The issue may be with the computer itself, but it was ONLY getting triggered by Stata which is what made it confusing, so thanks for your input to help me figure that out--your clarifying that it was an issue with the PC itself helped me to find the right help documents online.