PC crashing in 3D games

[red_ryder]

Help please. Whenever I play 3D games, my system will either do a hard lockup (with a the sound looping) or I get a Blue Screen in windows. Either way I need to reset the computer. I have updated to the latest graphics and sound card drivers and also installed the VIA 4-in-1 drivers. I even went to the extent of changing my card from a Geforce to an ATI Radeon. The problems did not go away. I'm pretty sure it's a 3D problem because 2D games don't do this to me.

I need some advice on how to proceed. Should I

a) Reinstall older versions of the graphics card drivers?
b) Reinstall DX8.0a?
c) Reinstall Windows98?
d) Reinstall Via 4-in-1 drivers?

Are there any other settings that I can change to make my system more stable?

P.S. As I troubleshoot and try out different drivers, settings, etc, I often have to reset my pc when it continues freezing. I'm worried that this constant rebooting will corrupt windows and introduce even more problems. What should I do?

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My system specs

AMD Duron 700
196 mb PC-133 Ram
MSI K7T-Pro2a
ATI Radeon 32mb DDR
SBlive Value

[Randy_tx]

I have heard that ATI graphics cards and VIA chipsets dont get along.....find out more at the AMD or ATI websites....there may be a fix out from ATI or VIA or even AMD. http://www.cyrix.com/ http://www.amd.com/products/cpg/cpg.html http://www.ati.com/na/pages/na_index.html
Good luck!

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Will XP save Me ?

[Bill Russell]

I have found out the hard way that memory modules are often not up to the
job--there's a lot of cheapo memory out there and I personally have had
cases where the memory timings reported by the SPD on the module is com-
plete B.S. These settings are found in BIOS setup usually under "chipset"
and the settings which should be of particular interest to you are CAS
and RAS latency. For experimentation, make sure both these settings are
on "3". From my own experience, upgrading to "better" video cards or faster
processors often exacerbates these problems, sometimes they become intolerable (which then enables you to find them because they now happen
all the time!) Typical symptoms are: dropping out of a game to the desk-
top, reboots (as though you pushed the reset button) and screen corruption
such as artifacting or sometimes a complete screen crash which nevertheless
continues to move. Give it a shot!

[tjaymadison]

Welcome, red_ryder! http://www.PCGuide.com/ubb/biggrin.gif

What brand and size (wattage) is your power supply?


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"I am not able to rightly apprehend the kind of confusion of ideas that could provoke such a question."
-- Charles Babbage, mathematician, computer pioneer, analytical engine designer (1791-1871)
-- (Question: 'Pray, Mr. Babbage, if you put into the machine wrong figures, will the right answers come out?')

"Just because I don't care, doesn't mean I don't understand."
-- Homer Simpson

[red_ryder]

I'm using a 300W power supply. I'll try the memory timings. Thanks for the suggestions guys!