Every game crashes or doesnt work.......

[Downshed]

Comp specs:

OS:xp
P5VDC-MX Asus agp 8x Mobo
C2D E4300 1.8gHz processor
1Gb RAM generic ddr2 667
512 MSI Geforce 7600GT
PSU came with the case. (600W)

I got this comp a few months ago as a stand in until im in Uni and get a good comp.

Anyway a number of games completely lock up or dont work at all and Im wondering if is a game problem for each game or if its an overall OS problem or something.

examples are:

GRAW, the game runs fine for the first like minute but tehn randomly locks up and gives some vector drawing error message. The same with R6 Vegas.

I installed Farcry the other day and clicked the exe and it didnt even load up the game, just the title screen before it loads.

Also Bioshock locks up on the loading screen.


And with driver updates, whenever I try installing different nvidia drivers, when the comp restarts, I get this blue screen and the computer restarts asking me whether to start in safe mode, with networking etc etc.

My comp used to crash a lot but then i opened it and found the video card had another power supply input in it and was disconnected so I connected it and then the crashing seems to have stopped but heaps of games just do not work.

The only games I seem to run perfectly are id games, I ran Quake 4 on high, ET:QWon high and Doom 3 on ultra. (By that I mean games released around now lol, I can run halo and older stuff fine :p)

Please help me this is frustrating.

[Ajmukon]

Rant (vocalizing possibilities)
Your Video card maybe outdated for the newest DX10 Games
the PSU may also be bad.

WE NEED MORE INFORMATION!
PLEASE POST :
Video Card Data and Type (PCIe, AGP)
PSU voltages.
HEAT readings on your computer

this information will come in handy diagnosing your machine

[saphalline]

And with driver updates, whenever I try installing different nvidia drivers, when the comp restarts, I get this blue screen and the computer restarts asking me whether to start in safe mode, with networking etc etc.That would be your problem right there. You need the latest drivers for your hardware when it comes to gaming. In fact, when Bioshock was released, it required the latest NVidia beta drivers just to run properly! :eek: The 163 ForceWare (the required NVidia Bioshock version) wasn't WHQL-certified until 3 days ago!

So if your games are giving you issues, it's definitely going to be driver-related. Whether or not that's the only problem...

We'll need more info about your system, including what drivers and which DX version you have installed.

[Downshed]

That would be your problem right there. You need the latest drivers for your hardware when it comes to gaming. In fact, when Bioshock was released, it required the latest NVidia beta drivers just to run properly! :eek: The 163 ForceWare (the required NVidia Bioshock version) wasn't WHQL-certified until 3 days ago!

So if your games are giving you issues, it's definitely going to be driver-related. Whether or not that's the only problem...

We'll need more info about your system, including what drivers and which DX version you have installed.

Yes I tried installing the new forceware but every time when the comp restarts I get this blue screen thing and it restarts because windows did not shut down properly.

The dx version I have currently is the one that comes with Bioshock.

Also my Video card is AGP 8x but I dont know how to give heat readings or my PSU voltages

[Downshed]

Firstly sory for double posting

ANyway I got speedfan 4.33 and heres the stuff

This is running just the OS btw:

VOLTAGES:

Vcore1 1.34V
Vcore2 1.34V

+3.3V: 2.98V
+5V: 4.97V
+12V: 12.03V
-12V: -16.97V
-5V: -8.78V
+5V: 5.13V
Vbat: 3.25V

TEMPERATURES:
Temp1 31C
temp 2 30C
Temp3 -128C
HD0 34C
HD1 35C
Core0 31C
Core1 31C
Core 48C
Ambient 0C

FANS:

FAN1 2596 RPM


SO yeh I read somewhere that the tolerance for the 3 different rails or whatever should be like 10% from what its expected and I dont have a multimeter so I cant test it manually.

[Ajmukon]

-12V: -16.97V
I am not sure if this is a good value, but i think in should be closer to -12V


Temp3 -128C
Where are you running it... the North Pole? ;)
that temp is wrong (cause water frezzes at 0C) and i think that temp is close to absolute zero...

[mjc]

Temp3 -128C

Something that wild has to be a misread by the monitoring program...

[Ajmukon]

RANT: (posibilities)
it could be a faulty sensor...
or a misread by the program.


your right, that temp is out there...
(hence why i asked if it ran at the North Pole ;) )
please repost the values...

[saphalline]

The extreme negative DC voltage readings from the PSU indicate a lower quality PSU but are not cause for concern in themselves. It's merely an indication that your PSU is definitely a cheapie bundled unit! :p

The Temp3 reading is nothing. It's just SpeedFan taking a reading from an unused sensor port on the mobo. That Asus mobo you have is an "MX" version, meaning that a higher-end higher-cost non-"MX" version probably exists which would use that extra temp sensor for something. But your mobo does not use it, which means it isn't connected to anything, which means virtually no voltage is going across it, which means it is being read as an extreme negative temp. No voltage = super-conductor! :D Likely the only thing keeping that unused temp sensor port from registering absolute zero at -273C is thermal noise in the surrounding circuits! :p

The specific error code in the BSOD is going to be the key to solving this issue. We need to turn off the auto-restart for major OS failures. In WinXP, System Properties, Advanced tab, Settings button under Startup and Recovery, uncheck the Automatically restart checkbox underneath System failure. Once that is turned off, you can try the driver install again, and the BSOD will stay on the screen until you hit the reset button. This gives you ample time to copy down the error. And we need the entire error! Everything! Every word, every space, every new-line, every letter and number. The whole thing.

[George Hallam]

Temp3 -128C

i would love that cooling :D

[mjc]

The specific error code in the BSOD is going to be the key to solving this issue. We need to turn off the auto-restart for major OS failures. In WinXP, System Properties, Advanced tab, Settings button under Startup and Recovery, uncheck the Automatically restart checkbox underneath System failure. Once that is turned off, you can try the driver install again, and the BSOD will stay on the screen until you hit the reset button. This gives you ample time to copy down the error. And we need the entire error! Everything! Every word, every space, every new-line, every letter and number. The whole thing.

And, no you won't be able to take a screen shot of it...although a digital camera with a controllable flash may give a clear enough picture to use, it usually isn't worth the effort to try and get it posted. Just grab some paper and a pencil and start writing it out...

[Ajmukon]

The specific error code in the BSOD is going to be the key to solving this issue. We need to turn off the auto-restart for major OS failures. In WinXP, System Properties, Advanced tab, Settings button under Startup and Recovery, uncheck the Automatically restart checkbox underneath System failure. Once that is turned off, you can try the driver install again, and the BSOD will stay on the screen until you hit the reset button. This gives you ample time to copy down the error. And we need the entire error! Everything! Every word, every space, every new-line, every letter and number. The whole thing.
At this point, it appears to be a software problem, not a hardware problem (which is a good thing- your hardware is not at fault, but the OS you are using!)
so i bow to the software masters and let them work...

i would love that cooling :D
and if i could get it that cold, i would too be a happy camper...

[Downshed]

The extreme negative DC voltage readings from the PSU indicate a lower quality PSU but are not cause for concern in themselves. It's merely an indication that your PSU is definitely a cheapie bundled unit! :p

The Temp3 reading is nothing. It's just SpeedFan taking a reading from an unused sensor port on the mobo. That Asus mobo you have is an "MX" version, meaning that a higher-end higher-cost non-"MX" version probably exists which would use that extra temp sensor for something. But your mobo does not use it, which means it isn't connected to anything, which means virtually no voltage is going across it, which means it is being read as an extreme negative temp. No voltage = super-conductor! :D Likely the only thing keeping that unused temp sensor port from registering absolute zero at -273C is thermal noise in the surrounding circuits! :p

The specific error code in the BSOD is going to be the key to solving this issue. We need to turn off the auto-restart for major OS failures. In WinXP, System Properties, Advanced tab, Settings button under Startup and Recovery, uncheck the Automatically restart checkbox underneath System failure. Once that is turned off, you can try the driver install again, and the BSOD will stay on the screen until you hit the reset button. This gives you ample time to copy down the error. And we need the entire error! Everything! Every word, every space, every new-line, every letter and number. The whole thing.

I managed to install the 163.71 forceware by uninstalling my card and then reinstalling it witht eh new forceware so I dont get the BSOD anymore.

I tried Bioshock and it was running fine on low settings but periodically it would come up with an error message saying this program has encountered an unexpected error and needs to be shut down.

Like I tried it a couple of times and the farthest I got was jsut past where the palne crashes.

A friend told me to stress test my cpu and RAM with orthos for 24 hours and that if no errors came that the cpu and RAM were fine.

So then it would be between Gfx card and Psu right so should I change my psu?

[saphalline]

I managed to install the 163.71 forceware by uninstalling my card and then reinstalling it witht eh new forceware so I dont get the BSOD anymore.If that actually worked, then it suggests a serious driver problem in Windows. BSOD's are bad!! You should take them seriously!

I'd recommend a reinstall of Windows with all the latest drivers handy for immediate installation, even before you connect to the web! Gaming is very intensive and is extremely sensitive to driver issues.

[Downshed]

If that actually worked, then it suggests a serious driver problem in Windows. BSOD's are bad!! You should take them seriously!

I'd recommend a reinstall of Windows with all the latest drivers handy for immediate installation, even before you connect to the web! Gaming is very intensive and is extremely sensitive to driver issues.

So reinstall Windows and then the latest driver? Someone told me that 94.24 was liek the most stable or something.

Oh and I got a new psu. A super flower 500W

http://www.teschke.de/heatpipes/News/components/Powersupplys/More_PSU/Superflower/superflower.html

[mjc]

That would be your problem right there. You need the latest drivers for your hardware when it comes to gaming. In fact, when Bioshock was released, it required the latest NVidia beta drivers just to run properly! :eek: The 163 ForceWare (the required NVidia Bioshock version) wasn't WHQL-certified until 3 days ago!


If you want to play Bioshock, then you CAN'T use anything less than 163!!!!! Full Stop. End of Sentence.

So don't worry about what someone else says is the 'most stable', because what your software requires is not that...

And, yes, your best chance of having everything turn out best is to use the latest versions of your drivers, from the start. If you are going to go through all the trouble to do a fresh start, don't mess around with anything less than what the minimum requirements for your current software are.

Get the chipset drivers installed first, then the nVidia drivers, sound card and then anything else...(although, depending upon your machine Windows may want to install other drivers in between...just get the chipset ones done ASAP). Also, reboot between each driver install and only do one at a time (if Windows doesn't try to do multiple ones at once...)