Windows XP crashes when I play games . . . PLEASE HELP!

boganbusman · Post by **boganbusman** » 29 Dec 2004, 14:25

Can anyone help me with this? :

Whenever I play a game (any high-end 3D game), the game will always crash at some point. It might take 5 minutes, or it might take 2 hours, but eventually the game will always crash.

Sometimes a blue screen appears telling me to restart the computer, and sometimes there is no blue screen. The crash will always happen without any sign of warning. One minute I am playing the game, and the game is running nice and smooth, and then the next minute the PC will crash and restart.

This has been going on for ages now, and it's giving me the sh*ts.

These are the games I play that crash the most: NFS Hot Pursuit 2, NFSU, 007 Nightfire, CS & Hitman.

I have a friend with the same problem, and he is also frustrated because he can't fix it.

Does anyone else get this problem? How can I fix it? Any help would be great.

vellu · Post by **vellu** » 29 Dec 2004, 14:28

Some system specs would help. Specifically graphic card/driver version.

boganbusman · Post by **boganbusman** » 29 Dec 2004, 14:33

Oh right, I forgot about that . . .

P4 1.7GHz
Gigabyte P4 Titan series M/B
32MB SiS 650 built in graphics (don't laugh)
256MB DDR PC2100 RAM
Avance 97 sound card

I don't think that the specs are really important, becuase my friends PC is much better than mine and he still has the exact same problem.

And one other thing: The game never crashes when I play online. Wierd.

ghost_4ce · Post by **ghost_4ce** » 29 Dec 2004, 15:10

You are right, it IS weird.
After looking at you specs I would point out the your embeded graphic chipset is not upto par with current games. BUt then, it should not allow u to play them properly in the first place rather than crashing it in the middle of a game.
This could be signs of faulty hardware too. Anything from the hard-disk to the RAM.
Over-heating could be a culprit too.
But none of the above makes sense if you can play online, technicaly it should require the same amount of resources playing offline.
Obviosly I'm asuming the fact that all your drivers (mainly: Windows, Motherboard and your SiS gfx) are all updated. And your completely virus/spyware/adware/otherware free.

boganbusman · Post by **boganbusman** » 29 Dec 2004, 15:17

Yeah I'm pretty sure that my drivers are up to date, but I'm not sure sure about the adware/spyware/crapware thing. I've got AdAware and Spybot, and I think they work alright.

I'll try to get some more cooling, and see if that is the problem.

But remember that my friends PC has the same problem, even though it's way better than mine.

Thanks for your help anyway.

JEX420 · Post by **JEX420** » 03 Jan 2005, 05:53

I use to have those problems but I was using windows 98 and I said F it and upgraded to XP and I haven't have a problem since

and the reason why I didn't want to upgrade to xp is that I heard a lot of problems with games playing on xp and so I was scared to upgrade but everything turned out good

DodoBobo · Post by **DodoBobo** » 06 Jan 2005, 16:08

The problem is most likely because of your 32mb graphics card. I also was having the same problem as you were. Not with CS 1.6 (because i was running it on software) but with other, more high end games. After that i got my roommate to give me his ATI 9200, since then i havent had any problems. I would recommend that you upgrade to a 9200, depending on what games you play. In the end upgrading to a better AGP 3d card, should solve the problem.

If you are playing HL2 i would recommend that you get a better 3d card. I am waiting on getting a 9800 or 9600.

my specs are
2.8ghz h/t
512 mb ddr2
ATI 9200 pro or something
100gb something harddrive...
and some other important stuff
-Dude, it's a Dell-

boganbusman · Post by **boganbusman** » 07 Jan 2005, 01:38

What about my mates PC?

DodoBobo · Post by **DodoBobo** » 07 Jan 2005, 02:04

same problem=same solution

ghost_4ce · Post by **ghost_4ce** » 07 Jan 2005, 02:13

DodoBobo wrote:same problem=same solution

I think bogan claims his mates PC to be ubber 1337. Anyways, maybe if you can post your friends's specs too maybe we can find something.

DodoBobo · Post by **DodoBobo** » 07 Jan 2005, 02:29

haha ubber 1337...good old cs talk

boganbusman · Post by **boganbusman** » 07 Jan 2005, 03:18

Ummm . . . I don't exactly know his specs. And neither does he because he's a knob when it comes to computers. Next time I go to his house I will check, but I don't know how long that will be.

All I know is that its a lot better than mine.

Edit: btw, wtf is ubber 1337 ?

DaTooL · Post by **DaTooL** » 07 Jan 2005, 10:49

AMD FX51 - 3800mhz
1024mb RAm - 2x512mb 333mhz 3200
SATA 120gb (but it only has 103gb :S)
200gb 7200

ATI Radeon x600
Very Cheap 5.1 soundcard - C.media compatible

---------

After 2 years of having the same system (and getting a massive pay rise at work) i finally decided to pull my finger out and upgrade. After paying a fortune for the chip ram and board, and graphics card, everything came down in price.

My advice, but u dont have to take it, is

1. Get a rich Girlfriend who will do anything for you
2. Moan to your parents about how unhappy you are with life
3. Get promoted and finally
4. Slowly start buy parts and then put them all together

Sir Ibi · Post by **Sir Ibi** » 07 Jan 2005, 21:55

I use to have same problem ages ago with WinXP. Have u tried installing Service Pack 2.

Makes sure you have latest drivers, go to the graphics card, sound card, and other cards, manufacturers web site for latest driver versions.

Try installing the latest Direct X.

Go on 'Start' >> 'Run...' >> type 'DXDIAG' in the text box. This will give all the details of your PC. Print the info, or copy onto a notepad or somthing, so that you have it handy if you contact the manufacturers.

And one more thing, try phoning up DELL.... you do have warranty, don't you???

I don't really know how my computer suddenly was working fine.... maybe it was mircale from the Lord. He struck down my PC with a amazing power, and now my PC can see again.... or maybe it was Windows Service Pack 2.

boganbusman · Post by **boganbusman** » 08 Jan 2005, 10:10

I have got Service Pack 2.

I have got the latest drivers for my PC hardware.

I have got the latest DirectX.

And I have not got a Dell. Therefore I have no warranty.

F*ck I hate my computer.

Sir Ibi · Post by **Sir Ibi** » 08 Jan 2005, 21:40

You can try upgrading your PSU to somting like 350 - 400. It's a long shot.

When the blue screen appears, there shud be some details of the problem - take down the details and try contacting microsoft with it. If it doesn't pasue at the blue screen you can try >> right-clicking on My Computer >> Properties >> Advanced >> go down to "Startup and Reovery" and go on Settings and uncheck the box that says "Automatically Restart" next time your PC crashes it shud pause on the blue screen.

If the blue screen mentions something about "physical memory dumps" or somat similar, u might wanna try getting heat spreaders (i think that's what thier called) for your memory.

I don't how much u know about PCs, but if you're familar with upgrading hardware graphics or memory, etc. then try the following:

If u have two or more memory sticks, take 'em out, and leave one stick of ram in the first memory slot. try using your PC for a while, if problem continues. Try using a differernt graphics card a completly differrnt brand like ATI Radeon. Keep me upto date with the situation, and try getting as much info as possible.

boganbusman · Post by **boganbusman** » 09 Jan 2005, 09:49

First up, what is a PSU?

And your right about the physical memory dump thing. That is the problem I keep getting.
And where can i get these heat spreaders?

Also, I don't really feel confident about pulling my PC apart, especially because I haven't got any anti-static mats or anything like that.

And I'll try contacting Microsoft as well. (I should have thought of that myself)

Oh and one last thing, I can't really afford a new gfx card so I'm just trying to make do with what I've got.

Thanks for your interest.

Sir Ibi · Post by **Sir Ibi** » 09 Jan 2005, 20:07

The PSU is the Power Supply, and it does mean opening up your PC, and connecting one or two cables in the motherboard, don't know how comfortable u feel with that.

Heat Spreader or Memory coolers they're usually about Â£9 to Â£10 (english pounds) shud be able to find at most computer hardware stores.

http://www.microdirect.co.uk/ProductInf ... roupID=335

S2000_Skyline12 · Post by **S2000_Skyline12** » 09 Jan 2005, 21:00

that used 2 happed 2 me ull have to delete the useless things that take up a lot of room

Sir Ibi · Post by **Sir Ibi** » 09 Jan 2005, 21:32

Oh yeah, i forgot, you could try defraging your drives, system clean up, remove all the temporary files, history, clear the cookies, and other stuff.

S2000_Skyline12 · Post by **S2000_Skyline12** » 09 Jan 2005, 21:35

it sometimes will take a while if u got a lotta junk on ur comp but other than dat itz kool

S2000_Skyline12 · Post by **S2000_Skyline12** » 09 Jan 2005, 21:43

can 1 help me make it better?

donaldgladden · Post by **donaldgladden** » 12 Jan 2005, 13:34

welll first man u have to post that 350z somewhere else in the general discussion forum and secondly that 350z looks like the one out of the NFSU1 drag demo.Not that im saying it is the demo your playing

NFSUnlimited.net

Windows XP crashes when I play games . . . PLEASE HELP!

Windows XP crashes when I play games . . . PLEASE HELP!

ur reply

yeah

here is my 350z