Games Crashing

[ranger]

Newly built system:

Antec TX640B w/SmartPower 2.0 400w
A64 3200+ 939 (Win)
Chaintech VNF4 Ultra MOBO
2x512 Corsair TwinX1024-3200C2PT
WD IDE 40GB 8mb HDD
Sony DVD/CD-RW
Sapphire X800GTO
WinXP Home SP1a
Using AC97 3.78 onboard sound
CAT 5.10 with Control Panel
(.net framework is not installed)

Routine install of WinXP using the VNF4 Ultra's included (3.6) chipset
drivers but did not install NVfirewall, NVnetworks (due to anguish with
them elsewhere). Have installed my usual programs, Firefox browser, and
have run everything I ever run on our home PC's fast and flawless but
running AquaMark3 I either get a freeze up at the very end where the
results screen should appear or 3/4 of the way thru I get an error:
[Code: EXCEPTION_ACCESS_VIOLATION The thread tried to read from or write
to a virtual address for which it does not have the appropriate access.
Addr: 0x0fea266a.]

3dMark2003 will run awesome almost all of the way thru and then crash
and reboot. Ditto for 3dMark2005. Doom 3 runs full benchmark's reliably
at default settings and scores where it should for this setup. I can
usually only run the first level or two of the game though, before it
suddenly crashes to the desktop. Half-Life 2 runs awesome - for about 5
minutes. UT2004 about one full level.

RMA'd the X800GTO (it did reach 78c temps I noticed) and the replacement
never seems to go above 70.3c but the exact same problem persists. I
have tried the CAT 5.9 drivers and older AC97 drivers (3.54 and 3.77) -
using DriverCleaner to clean up scraps in between. No change. DxDIAG
(9.0c) says all is well. The MOBO had auto set-up the memory timings at
2.5-4-2-8 and I have changed these to 2.5-3-3-6 as specified for the RAM
I'm using but nothing noticeable has occured. Mem testing reveals no
errors. SiSoft Sandra will run a full benchmark and then at the very end
of it, crash and reboot.

Everything runs fast, looks great - UT 2004 (and the other games and
benchmarks too for that matter) run amazingly smooth and fast, but then
suddenly crash out. UT displays a variety of errors when it crashes but
the first referenced a sound issue.

Ideas?

 

[Kent_Diego]

2x512 Corsair TwinX1024-3200C2PT
Sounds like RAM problem. The AMD64 is very touchy about RAM.
http://www.corsairmicro.com/corsair/xms.html
The RAM is marginal at rated speed so has to be over Volted (2.75 V) to work
properly per Corsair specs. Many motherboards cannot get to this Voltage.
Slow the RAM frequency to a more reasonable speed and increase Voltage and
see what happens. I would RMA the RAM and only buy RAM rated to work a stock
Voltages.

-Kent

 

[ranger]

Sounds like RAM problem. The AMD64 is very touchy about RAM.
http://www.corsairmicro.com/corsair/xms.html
The RAM is marginal at rated speed so has to be over Volted (2.75 V) to work
properly per Corsair specs. Many motherboards cannot get to this Voltage.
Slow the RAM frequency to a more reasonable speed and increase Voltage and
see what happens. I would RMA the RAM and only buy RAM rated to work a stock
Voltages.

-Kent

Thanks. I've run 24 hrs memory testing OK. Upped the voltage to 2.75,
returned to the original timings and ran memory test all night. No
errors and the "end of the benchmark crashes" still occur. The CPU runs
at 28-31c. The system runs at 34-37c. The GPU runs at 45c and never seen
it pass 70c. Nothing has ever been OC'd on this system.

Benchmarks (2003, 2005, Aqua3) run through the whole thing fantastic -
smooth fast frame rates and then when they finish and are about to load
the results screen, they freeze. SiSoft runs an entire benchmark, or
even the full system analysis program, to completion, and then freezes
on the "results" screen. I had it save the results to text the second
run and the only thing to mention was CPU vcore lower than spec. Checked
it with CPUID and it was 1.374v so changed it from "default" to 1.4v in
BIOS and now it shows 1.392v which I remember from reviews of the MOBO
to be normal. Didn't help.

Reinstalled Windows XP, chipset drivers, video and sound drivers, gone
through it all over again - same deal.

In games, you run a whole map fantastic and then upon transition to a
new map or something it freezes. I can run MPEG's full screen without
issue.

 

[Varun Chawla]

Id say your problem is a heat issue(which really is only an opinion). I'd
recommend you increase the airflow in your case by adding additional fans. I
also notice that you dont have '.net framework' installed. I believe that
you need that installed to use the ati catalyst drivers(5.10). It might be
reaseon your games are unstable. Also defragment your hard drives aften and
check and remove spyware. It might help.

 

[bandit]

Id say your problem is a heat issue(which really is only an opinion). I'd
recommend you increase the airflow in your case by adding additional fans. I
also notice that you dont have '.net framework' installed. I believe that
you need that installed to use the ati catalyst drivers(5.10). It might be
reaseon your games are unstable. Also defragment your hard drives aften and
check and remove spyware. It might help.

5.10 does have a control panel version, so don't install .net S***

Newly built system:

Antec TX640B w/SmartPower 2.0 400w
A64 3200+ 939 (Win)
Chaintech VNF4 Ultra MOBO
2x512 Corsair TwinX1024-3200C2PT
WD IDE 40GB 8mb HDD
Sony DVD/CD-RW
Sapphire X800GTO
WinXP Home SP1a
Using AC97 3.78 onboard sound
CAT 5.10 with Control Panel
(.net framework is not installed)

Routine install of WinXP using the VNF4 Ultra's included (3.6) chipset
drivers but did not install NVfirewall, NVnetworks (due to anguish with
them elsewhere). Have installed my usual programs, Firefox browser, and
have run everything I ever run on our home PC's fast and flawless but
running AquaMark3 I either get a freeze up at the very end where the
results screen should appear or 3/4 of the way thru I get an error:
[Code: EXCEPTION_ACCESS_VIOLATION The thread tried to read from or write
to a virtual address for which it does not have the appropriate access.
Addr: 0x0fea266a.]

3dMark2003 will run awesome almost all of the way thru and then crash
and reboot. Ditto for 3dMark2005. Doom 3 runs full benchmark's reliably
at default settings and scores where it should for this setup. I can
usually only run the first level or two of the game though, before it
suddenly crashes to the desktop. Half-Life 2 runs awesome - for about 5
minutes. UT2004 about one full level.

RMA'd the X800GTO (it did reach 78c temps I noticed) and the replacement
never seems to go above 70.3c but the exact same problem persists. I
have tried the CAT 5.9 drivers and older AC97 drivers (3.54 and 3.77) -
using DriverCleaner to clean up scraps in between. No change. DxDIAG
(9.0c) says all is well. The MOBO had auto set-up the memory timings at
2.5-4-2-8 and I have changed these to 2.5-3-3-6 as specified for the RAM
I'm using but nothing noticeable has occured. Mem testing reveals no
errors. SiSoft Sandra will run a full benchmark and then at the very end
of it, crash and reboot.

Everything runs fast, looks great - UT 2004 (and the other games and
benchmarks too for that matter) run amazingly smooth and fast, but then
suddenly crash out. UT displays a variety of errors when it crashes but
the first referenced a sound issue.

Ideas?