Please Help!!!

[darkangel]

I have a major problem with my p.c and i need help.

Here is the problem:

everytime i start playing any game within the first 2 minutes of playing, the game frezes and shut's down mu p.c.

At first i was thinking that it was my graphics card a 64mb Abit Siluro GF4 Ti4200 OTES so i sent it back under warenty and they said they repaired it but it still does it. So there is a problem somewhere else and i have no idea what it could be. So please help me.

Thanks

 

[Ian]

You may have something called the blaster virus, it would shut down your PC for no apparent reason... try running an up to date virus scan!

Does it only happen with games?

 

[s3an]

Yes it is probably the msblastvirus, upgrade your windows patch here http://www.microsoft.com/technet/treeview/default.asp?url=/technet/security/bulletin/MS03-026.asp

That should do the trick but try to get rid of the virus.

 

[darkangel]

I download it,installed it and it still doesn't work but please do not give up and thanks so far

It only happens with games

 

[1nteger]

If you can comnnect to the web ok to post in this forum then it isn't the Blaster virus...that disconnects you as part of it's inbuilt code to stop people from running windows update.

What game or games has this happened with?...and what's your PC spec?

 

[darkangel]

It happens with every sincle one of my games and they include GTA3 and 4, driver, need for speed, the sims and so on.

My spec is:-

Asrock motherbord
Audigy 2 sound caRD
GF4 Ti4200 OTES video card
512mb of SDRAM
1.6ghz AMD ATHLON processor


need any more info just ask

 

[1nteger]

Ok...a few other questions:

Have you checked your CPU temps? Games may be pushing it over a cut-off limit. This could mean that you have a heatsink/fan that's not adequate for your chip, or not correctly installed, or you have the cut-off temperature set too low. I'd check these first. If there's no other way to check while your PC is running, play a game, let the PC shut down and then immediately reboot and go into bios to check hardware monitor...your CPU temp should be in there. Remember, it will have cooled a little after rebooting, so the tempreature during game play will be a few degrees higher than reported by the monitor.

If it's not temperature related then it might be worth looking into the following:

What vid divers are you using?
What version of Direct X?
Have you checked the vid's clock and memory speeds? (Make sure they're not overclocked)
When a game crashes does the mouse cursor still move or does that freeze too? (If the mouse freezes, then it's probably a hardware fault, if not then its most likely software...if it happens with all games then the software must be something running in the background - Use Ctrl-Alt-Delete to check and disable one at a time and re-test the game.
Have you tried running the games with the soundcard disabled? (If your mobo has onboard sound, could there may be a conflict?)

Come back and let us know how u get on.

 

[darkangel]

I will check everythink u said

but i have discovered somethink.

I toke my one out of my p.c and put my brothers old herclues prophet in. I installed all the drivers and everytink but know instead of crashing a few minutes into the game it now crashes about 30-45 mins into the game but does not restart my p.c but just closes down the game i do not understand why this is. please help!!!

Thank u for everythink so far

 

[darkangel]

I have another problem now. When i turn on my p.c it usually takes about 5 minutes to load up but today it is taking about 1/2 an hour. I am not sure what is the problem i might have a virus but i carn't check it because whenever i load it up it goes to a blue screen and i have to restart it and i am not sure if i could get a virus because i acces the inernet via proxy on my brothers comuter and he's p.c is fine.

Please help


P.s i have brought some new fans because my computer was very high temerature so we will see if that sorts out the games but i carn't paly any at the moment because they won't load up

 

[Ian]

Originally posted by darkangel
I have another problem now. When i turn on my p.c it usually takes about 5 minutes to load up but today it is taking about 1/2 an hour. I am not sure what is the problem i might have a virus but i carn't check it because whenever i load it up it goes to a blue screen and i have to restart it and i am not sure if i could get a virus because i acces the inernet via proxy on my brothers comuter and he's p.c is fine.

This may sound a little drastic, but it seems like it is needed : a format...

Your PC may just be clogged up with unused apps, bits of drivers, and old software, etc... It sounds very buggy to me. I'd suggest backing everything up that you need, format your hard drive and then start again. If you still get alot of problems, it is more than likely hardware.

If you do decide to go this route, please make sure to backup everything and run an up-to-date virus scanner before and after

 

[darkangel]

Yes i know i have throught about that but as you said it is a drastic answer so i would like to try anything else before i do that.

Besides i have had the problem with my games and my grraphics card for a long time and i formated it when i first had the problem and it solved nothing it still had the problem and yes that does tell me that it is a hardware problem but i have no idea what it is. Yes if i format it it probbley will make my p.c go quicker but i am more inrested to get the other problem sorted because i manily use my p.c to play games and i carn't play any at the moment.

But thankyou for all your suggestions so far.

I have been thinking for nearly a week now on what the problem is and i have tried everythink, i even throught that i did not have another power because i just brought some new fans i throught they would be dranning the power(i have a ATX 350w what ever that is in volts)

I am going to give you my full spec of my p.c and i would like it if u would look at it and suggest anythink that u think might be the problem and i will try and find out:-

Asrock motherbord K7VT2 series
AMD thlon xp 2000+ 1.67ghz
Atx 350w power
Abit Siluro GF4 Ti4200 OTES
Creative blaster Audighy 2
1x 512mb SDRAM
40gig hard-drive (unknown manufacture
Lite-on DVD-Rom Drive
E-Star case

Some questions:-

What is the average temerature of your CPU And motherbord when first turned on and after running for a couple of hours?

What is physical memory?
(i ak this because once after my computer frezzing it when on to a bluse screen and said ''begainning dump of physical memory''.


Thank you for all your help so far and please keep it comming!!!

 

[Ian]

Physical Memory is just the memory actually installed in your system. It means that when your PC crashes, the information in them is written to your PC for evaluation.

A couple of suggestions... Try setting your BIOS values to the defaults, in case anything there is causing a problem.

Also, have you got access to another PC to try any components in? I guess your brother may let you Try using the memory/graphics card from his PC in yours (a wild guess)!

 

[muckshifter]

Your problem is that crappy motherboard, sorry to be blunt, but its crap.

Ok, if you can't change the MB you will need to get DDR memory (for the blue slotts on your MB) Then re-setup the BIOS to reflect the memory timing.


I would change the MB ... never buy a MB with onboard video and never buy cheap MB's ... your just asking for it.

 

[darkangel]

My brother has his old motherbord which is a Elitegroup Mainbord K7S5A is this a good one and if it is how much money shouldi give him for it.

If this is a crap motherbord can u reccomand some other mothebords and good places to buy them.

Just so u know i did format my p.c because it was so slow but now it is formatted it still does it on occesions i am not sure if it is to do with temerature because it usually does it after a couple of hours running and sometimes it will not start up because it can not detact my hardrive and says insert boot disc. i am not sure if this has anythink to do with the mothebroad?

Bye

 

[Ian]

Would your brother let you try the motherboard in your PC, and you can try it in there to make sure that is the problem?

Its probably worth about £20 at a guess

 

[muckshifter]

My brother has his old motherboard which is a Elitegroup Mainboard K7S5A is this a good one and if it is how much money should I give him for it.

Nothing ... its only slightly better than the one you've got ... because the K7S5A does not have onboard video, swap him for it, he IS you brother. But, make sure it’s a 1.3 ver or above. (a little white sticker in one corner of the MB)

I can buy the K7S5A & your MB for under £20inc ... a good MB will cost you £60-90 ... MSI, Asus or Abit even Soltek are a good buy. All the new ones will only take DDR memory. You really don't want to be using SDRAM anymore.

The problem with the K7S5A & your MB, is the fact they are trying to be the best of both worlds, but master of none. Let me explain.

You can start off with a Duron CPU & SDRAM, and that combination will work, should work ... the problem arises when people put in an XP CPU but still use SDRAM, you should really use DDR memory but the MB manufacture won't tell you this.

Again, sorry to be so blunt but I wish people would ask questions first ... after all, that’s what we're here for, and our service is free. :brow:

 

[darkangel]

O.K i need a new mothebord i understand that i just don't have that much money at the moment i will proberly wait untill christmas. But i am not giving up on the problem.

I think i have located the problem. I think it is the cpu temerature because when i first turn on my p.c in the mornning in works perfectly fine for a couple of hours than it starts to work slow and evenlually it frezzes and i have to restart the p.c, but when i do, it can not detact my hardrive and so i have to leave it turn off for a hour of so and than it work perfectly fine and than it does it all over again.

This couild not be the temerature fault but i think it is. So i am planning to get a bigger fan i might get a aero 7.

What do u think?

 

[Ian]

A couple of new ideas...

Try disabling "SMART" drive options somewhere in the BIOS if you can see them. Also, try leaving the side of your case of temporarily (be careful though!), and see if the extra cooling helps the situation. If it does, you may just need some better airflow!

 

[darkangel]

I can not find the 'SMART' on my bios, what is it anyway it might be called somethink else on my bios.

i have tried the airflow idea and it has not made any diffrence so i am still thinking about going to buy the aero 7 and see if that makes any diffrence.

 

[Ian]

It is usually under "S.M.A.R.T hard drive access" or something similar, usually quite visible in the BIOS.

Mucks may have a few more suggestions, but I can't think of anything else that would help your computer as it stands