Hey Everyone!!!

I got my computer about 7 months ago. No problem except when I play games (Age of Mythology, Warcraft III, Rise of Nations, just to name a few). I'm getting really frustrated because every single one of then eventually quits or freezes at some point. I even get the blue screen telling me that something occured with nv4_disp.dll... And that's why I'm thinking all the problems I get with the games come from the video card (nVidia GeForce 4 MX 440 64 MB as you might have noticed!).

My system runs Windows XP Home, I have the latest driver from nVidia (52.16 I believe).

Does anybody have similar problems?
Could the cause come from something else?
And most important: is there anyway to fix that w/o having to change the video card??

Thanks :)

PS: I wrote a post a little while ago about my computer restarting on its own anytime. I fixed that issue (very simple): the BIOS just needed to be updated! (MS-6580 mainboard with 845GE Max Intel chipset)
Just hope I could help someone!

A few possible causes:
1) Overheating - gaming increases heat
2) Power supply
3) Improper or faulty drivers.

Suggestions - try these one at a time
1) Install latest version of directx
2) In safe mode uninstall all video drivers, then download and install the drivers that are 1 or 2 versions old - they usually have the bugs worked out.
3) Open case and try running with a fan blowing on the components.
4) Check outputs of power supply, and if low replace.

Hope one or all of these help.

Suggestions - try these one at a time
1) Install latest version of directx
** That's been done

2) In safe mode uninstall all video drivers, then download and install the drivers that are 1 or 2 versions old - they usually have the bugs worked out.
** will do!

3) Open case and try running with a fan blowing on the components.
4) Check outputs of power supply, and if low replace.
** if heat was really the problem, wouldn't I get the same problem running other programs though?

Thank you for the suggestion JHorner!

The latest nVidia driver is 45.23. I'll take issue with the statement that earlier drivers have had time to get the bugs worked out. A revision is a revision. Revision 45.23 will not change, ever. It will be improved and bugs worked out but then it will be revision 45.39 or whatever. Sometimes earlier drivers will work better, but only because newer revisions may have different bugs. The whole idea behind revised drivers is that newer releases have more of the problems addressed.

Lau, Games are the most likely to suffer from heat problems because games stress computer components more than other applications - more CPU utilization, more graphics card utilization. Try the open case, fan trick as suggested above. It is a simple test that doesn't take long and may reveal your problem.

The 50-series drivers are still in beta, and mostly required for the FX cards running DX9 games. In short, don't use beta drivers! Use any of the 40-series drivers for your hardware.

Actually there are new drivers for geforce cards and it say whql. Has not shown up at win update yet.
http://www.nvidia.com/object/winxp_2k_52.16
At the bottom it lists support for the newer cards but when I went thru their page for my mx ge force card this is what came up.
Mark

Thanks Mark, that's the one I was talking about.

I've been updating my drivers regularly, but I still encounter the problem, so I'm not sure that it's the cause.

But I'll definitely try the open case thing!