Neverwinter Nights - Computer rebooting 5-30 minutes into game.

[Guest]

(e-mail address removed)
(joimail)

I've had problems since about November '04 with my computer rebooting. I had
98se installed back then and it happens still with XP. I've tried two
different manufactures GeForce 2 MX 400 video cards. I've run MemTest and
passed. I have upgraded video drivers, sound drivers, mobo drivers, BIOS and
everything I can think of. Nothing is helping. My power supply is 400 watt.
My CPU, GPU and system stay cool enough. I can't figure anything out as to
what's causing problems. Neverwinter Nights v1.65 and Deus Ex (SB X-Gamer
Live! 5.1 OEM) seem to be the worst crashers. Within 15 minutes typically.
Unreal Tournament (also came with the X-Gamer) tends to last a bit longer
around 1-2 hours. While games like MDK2 (X-Gamer OEM) and Dungeon Siege v1.11
have caused no problems at all. With the exception of Dungeon Siege being a
little buggy at times, but not restarting a few exception errors and
application hang ups instead. Seems to be a Nvidia display driver/infinite
loop error which usually causes the restart problems.

System specs:

OS: Windows XP Home (previously 98se)
MB: Microstar Intl. KM2M Combo-L (VIA KM266-8235)
Hyperion 4in1 drivers installed
BIOS: Phoenix Award BIOS 6.00PG
Flash v1.51b from MSI tech support
PRCR: AMD Duron 1.6Ghz, MMX, 3dNow
Mem: PC133 128Mb x 2 (256Mb total)
AGP Video: eVGA GeForce 2 MX 400 32Mb DDR VRAM
Forceware v71.84 drivers
(Also tried same card by VisionTek w/64Mb VRAM)
PCI Slot 1: Empty
Slot 2: Creative Sound Blaster Live! 5.1 (X-Gamer)
Last updated drivers a month ago.
Slot 3: Lucent WinModem (drivers installed by WinXP)

I've read other posts on countless websites and nothing that has been
suggested has helped me yet.

 

[Guest]

On a further note just so as not to cause confusion...
XP was installed after format. Also I've installed Service Pack 2 from CD
sent by Microsoft.

 

[Linda B]

If I read the post correctly, the XP install was fresh, right? Meaning you
formatted the drive and installed the OS? If that's correct, and it's still
happening, then it pretty much rules out a software issue. You're right
that it's likely a video issue, particularly if it happens more frequently
when you're running games. If you've tried two different video cards and it
still happens, I'd guess it may be something wrong on the motherboard
itself, possibly the AGP port.

Things I would try: Running the games with onboard video, if you have it.
You'll likely have to run it in very low resolution with FSAA and all the
bells and whistles turned off, but just play the game for a little while
like that. Go into BIOS and disable AGP video, enable onboard video, and
plug your monitor into the onboard video VGA port. Of course, if your
computer doesn't have onboard video, this is horrible advice. In this case,
you could try to get your hands on a low-end card that's not AGP -- see if
you can find a PCI video card -- it should accomplish the same thing
(namely, bypassing the AGP slot).

Also, see what settings your BIOS has for your video card. Try increasing
AGP aperture size from 128MB to 256MB. See if there's anything else in
there related to video that you can tweak -- just remember what it is you're
tweaking so that, in the event that your computer doesn't boot properly, you
can set it back the way it was originally.

If you have spare parts available to you (a friend's computer, for example)
you could try swapping out parts one by one. It's feasible that your power
supply isn't regulating flow well enough -- that could easily cause a
spontaneous restart. It's possible there might be something up with your
RAM (even if a test doesn't pick it up) -- try swapping it out. Same thing
for your video card (like I said above, though a non-AGP video card would be
optimal) and your sound card.

Just off the top of my head, I'd say your motherboard (specifically the AGP
slot) and the power supply would be the first two suspects in my book -- I'd
attack them first.

Hope this helps... good luck!

LB

 

[Guest]

I do have onboard video. Pro Savage I think. Not sure which version and what
drivers I'll need to download to get it going yet, but when I figure it all
out I'll give it a try. Might be a day or two before I get back to post
results.

 

[Guest]

Got the same problem, which just started in the last 3 or 4 days. I had a
similar problem 8 months or so ago, which was solved in the end by getting
rid of an ethernet adaptor and putting a network card in the PC.
Then, as now, XP always reports some sort of driver error.
I've got an Nvidia graphics card as well and can't help thinking thats the
problem.

The problem is most probably software related, though the usual response is
that its hardware. When i get home I'm going to check whether any
automatic updates have come through to my PC in the last few days

 

[Joshua Smith [MSFT]]

Hi RJ,

I can look at minidumps and hopefully be able to see what the issue is. To
determine what driver is causing the problem I need you to enable driver
verifier.
Steps:
1) Windows Key + R
2) Type in 'verifier' and hit enter
3) Make sure 'Create Standard Setting' is selected and hit next
4) Click on 'Select all drivers installed on this computer' and hit Finish
5) Reboot

There is a possibility that your computer will crash on reboot. If this
occurs hit F8 when rebooting just before the windows logo screen and select
the safe mode boot option. Follow the same steps above but on step 4 choose
'Select driver names from a list'; hit next; check the box next to any
driver where the provider is not Microsoft; hit Finish; reboot.

This will slow the performance of you computer a little while enabled but
will hopefully catch the driver causing corruption. Next time you crash
the blue screen will hopefully say something like
"DRIVER_VERIFIER_DETECTED_VIOLATION". If this occurs please send the
corresponding minidump (by default it is at c:\windows\Minidump ) my way.
If you have any questions or I didn't explain something well enough don't
hesitate to e-mail me back. Good Luck,


Joshua Smith
OpenGL Test Lab
Microsoft

 

[integrii]

Your computer is overheating, put a large fan on full blast over th
entire side of your open computer and try playing again, if it dosen
freeze you'll know for sure your video card or processor has
problem