ATI x800 series card: picture freeze ...

[stephenj]

i've had an ATI x800 series card (don't know the precise one) for about
a year.

when playing "fear" online, in the past few weeks i've had a problem
where, in the middle of a game, the screen freezes up and all sounds
disappear. The screen-freeze shot stays on my monitor for about 10
seconds, then the screen goes blank, and then a buzzing sound comes out
of my speakers.

This happens about 5 minutes in to a game, and it happens about every
3-4 games.

I can't do anything to restore my computer to working status but reboot
my computer (turning the monitor alone on/off does nothing, and i have
to a hard boot - holding the start button down for about 10 seconds -
control/alt/delete doesn't work either), and when i do that the computer
restarts and things return to normal?

anyone know what kind of problem i'm having and the solution? is my
vid-card burning out or something?

thanks much!



--
"when i visited Aden before collectivization,
all the markets were full of fish product. After
collectivization, the fish immediately disappeared."

- Aleksandr Vassiliev, Soviet KGB official

 

[First of One]

Toggle the "VPU recover" option in ATi control panel and see if problem
persists. If this is an AGP card, drop the speed down to AGP 4x.

It could also be an overheating video card or CPU (seized fan, dust-covered
heat sink) or a struggling power supply, though this would mean the same
symptoms should show up in other stressful games besides FEAR.