Crashing at start up of games

[kvny]

Sony Vaio
Intel Pentium 4, 3.0 GHz
ATI Radeon, 9200 (128 MB)
512 MB DDR
160 GB (1700 RPM)

I downloaded the Battlefield 2 demo today but keeps crashing before it even starts! I click the icon, the screen goes black like the game is starting and then the computer just restarts! This happens in older, less demanding games (battle field 1942 and Battlefield Vietnam for example) occasionally, but i can usually at least get to the menu before it does this. In those two games it never does this durring game play (only in the menu when i first start the game) and never occurs right after I restart. But with this new demo I cant get it started at all! I checked the drivers and everything. Help is GREATLY aprreciated. this probelm has been going on for months now. Also, i am not a very technical person in terms of computers or electronics so please keep this in mind. Thanks a lot.

[ski]

Shut down all active programs, and all unnecessary programs running in the background(especially an antivirus program).

If no luck, then try different drivers for the video card.

If no good, then check the game manuf's site for any patches.

[saphalline]

Which drivers have you checked? The ones pertinent to gaming include: chipset, audio, and graphics. Although it's also a good idea to keep all the others up-to-date! ;) Next thing to check is the version of DirectX that you have. 9.0c is the latest one, and that's what you should have for gaming!

The other thing to consider is that you're using a Sony Vaio. These aren't inherently bad gaming computers, but if the system cooling isn't doing an adequate job, it could very well explain those symptoms! Try taking the cover off your computer and put a house fan blowing into it. Now try playing a game and see if you still get those crashes.

The last thing to check would be your security status. Do you have any viruses? Spyware/malware? Any naughty programs at all lurking in your system? Let us know how you stand in this issue.