Computer randomly restarts during large games.. please help

Delphi7888 · February 5th, 2006, 05:56 PM

CPU = I think its an AMD of some sort
MOTHERBOARD = all i know is ASA
RAM = i know its mmore than 512
HEATSINK = No idea
OS = XP
POWER SUPPLY = dont know
VIDEO CARD = GForce2 AGP
SOUND CARD = i think its onboard, and i dont know anymore than that
CASE = dunno
OEM SYSTEM = and again i dont know

This machine is a friend of mynes so i aint sure on the stats..sorry

basically.. my objective was to replace his onboard graphics with one capable of playing SIMS2... so i did.
i managed to eventually disable his onboard graphics (thru the BIOS) and then installed a GForce2 card (which sims2 states will be able to play the game)
The graphics card is working fine by the way.. i installed the latest driver of NVidia's website and its working fine.
Except when he plays a large game.. for instance Sims2
within 5-10 minites of starting the game and during mid game-play the computer decides to restart. it ONLY happens during demanding games thou.. he can browse the web and word process fine. any ideas..
Thanks in advance

PC TECH250 · February 6th, 2006, 05:29 AM

Very possible that memory errors due to the resource demands placed on a system by the
list of games released in the last few years would account for this. Memtest is an excellent
utility that can stress test installed memory for faults that can develop over a period of time
especially when using demanding apps. http://www.memtest86.com is the place to go for
one free utility that can be booted from 3 1/2" floppy disk.

Even without memory flaws there are quite a few things that can cause game crashes that
result in XP's crash control feature taking over by restarting the system. A cpu running hot is another item as well as other system temps that can reaily cause problems. Notice that a
game has been running 5-10 minutes suggests an overheating issue as most likely. That is
when system resources are being drawn on the most. Monitoring temos, running memtest,
Prime95, or other good benchmark utilities are some of the best advices to give without any
specific system info or history being available. Lowering sound and video acceleration may or may not see an improvement depending on actual cause.

shockwave626 · February 7th, 2006, 11:55 AM

you video mem is faulty but first try formatting hdd and re-install every thing from scratch if still probs get a new vid!

Front242 · February 7th, 2006, 12:10 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by shockwave626

you video mem is faulty but first try formatting hdd and re-install every thing from scratch if still probs get a new vid!

Um... No.
This is usually a video memory problem. Check and make sure that your memory usage is set to the right setting for your video card.

Right click your desktop then click on properties> click settings >click advanced> click on the nVidia tab check and see if your mem frequencies are adjustable then adjust down.

You will need to set your video setting lower in-game as well or gameplay will be choppy.

vikeor · February 7th, 2006, 12:13 PM

umm.. maybe its just overheating?
be sure to check temps

Front242 · February 7th, 2006, 05:39 PM

Also check that the heatsink fan on both the processor and the video card (if it has one) are not clogged with dust.

PC TECH250 · February 7th, 2006, 05:42 PM

Depending on the games installed the two main things that can effect performance and end
with XP's crash control rebooting the system are cpu heatup and system memory. With all of
the video and sound drivers updated, unless there's a driver clash somewhere, lowering the
detail settings is one advice often seen at support sites. Screen resolution alone would not
be a major concern under the 1280x1024 setting as it would have been with the older dos
and 9x-ME 800x600 max screen types. Newer games support the higher lcd screens.

5-10 minutes into the game also sounds all too much like what was seen with HALF LIFE 2
after the first few weeks of use where a variety of constant crashes lead right to hardware.
This is why examining cpu and system temps along with running some stress tests can find
out if this is a hardware related issue if not a basic lowering of settings needed. But without
having a better idea of the actual hardware it's like the expression "shooting in the dark".

A use of the msconfig utility to reduce startups can also free up system resources if a game
is in conflict with another software. At the Run prompt you simply type in msconfig and press
the enter key for a new screen to come up where you go over to the last "startup" tab for a
reduction of non essentials by unchecking those items. That would be one way of seeing if
some other application was kicking in XP's crash control there when the game attempted to
access the same resources.

Front242 · February 7th, 2006, 06:53 PM

I'm sorry I meant to say "video settings". In WOW I had to turn down the memory frequencies because they were causing the 6600GT to overheat at 1.25 GHz which for some reason it was defaulting to (actual default is 1 GHz). This caused a system shutdown. GPU was fine at default of 518 MHz. I had to manually reset mem. freq. to the correct default setting which started giving me choppy game play untill I turned down the in-game video settings. As PC TECH said though, we are kind of shooting in the dark without better specs.

JPMiller · February 7th, 2006, 07:36 PM

Use Everest to get the basic specs of the system...
Then take the side off the tower and look at the sticker on the side of the power supply...
We want the name brand , model number, and the +12V amperage listed

Delphi7888 · February 7th, 2006, 07:59 PM

ok.. will do