Need Some Techsupport
<div class="IPBDescription">PC dying when I run NS.</div> Dunno what the hell is happening here...
PC is running fine for the most part.
Windows XP SP2 has all the critical patches applied.
Running an up-to-date version of Norton Antivirus.
Backed up by Kerio Personal Firewall.
Also using Firefox.
Behind a router.
To top it off I run Ad-Aware every week.
So harm minimisation is fairly good here.
My problem stems from NS randomly switching my PC completely off when I play it... I might get 20min going, but then boom crash city.
Anyone know why on Earth my PC is doing this?
PC is running fine for the most part.
Windows XP SP2 has all the critical patches applied.
Running an up-to-date version of Norton Antivirus.
Backed up by Kerio Personal Firewall.
Also using Firefox.
Behind a router.
To top it off I run Ad-Aware every week.
So harm minimisation is fairly good here.
My problem stems from NS randomly switching my PC completely off when I play it... I might get 20min going, but then boom crash city.
Anyone know why on Earth my PC is doing this?
Comments
Does this happen in other games?
Can you turn on your computer directly back on, at least until Windows?
What are your PC specs, including RAM quality and PSU + any other fancy stuff such as neons, etc. Basically how much power do you suck out of your computer.
No it doesn't happen in other games.
I can reboot Windows straight away.
AMD Athlon 3200+
768Mb DDR RAM.
PSU is fine, hand picked it for a power job like my rig. It's not a power issue. All neons are disabled (Only have them on during public lans)
*shrugs*
It's a rather mysterious problem.
Since I switched to another RAM manufacturer, I had 0 crashes <!--emo&:)--><img src='http://www.unknownworlds.com/forums/html/emoticons/smile-fix.gif' border='0' style='vertical-align:middle' alt='smile-fix.gif' /><!--endemo-->
What's your MoBo/RAM?
It's a Gigabyte mobo... ummmm Kingsmax RAM I believe. I really don't want to take my PC apart at 3:40am in the morning.
You sure it's a mobo/ram problem? I've been running this setup for nearly a year without any problems what so ever.
You win this round Gadget
Also Garry's Mod works perfectly.
Midtown Madness as well.
Try to think back: what did you do to HL lately, right prior to the first time this happened? Did you install any new hardware/drivers? Try reinstalling HL.
drivers can be checked more easily than hardware, so change which driver version you use on the videocard. up if youre not using the newest, or down if you are.
to check CPU and power supply run <a href='http://www.mersenne.org/freesoft.htm' target='_blank'>Prime95</a> for a few hours, this program does LOTS of heavy math and will stress the cpu and power supply. if your computer turns off while running this for a while, the problem is cpu, psu, or mobo. (the thing between the two)
to check your memory's stability and memory/motherboard cooperation run <a href='http://www.memtest86.com/' target='_blank'>Memtest86</a> , it is a bootable floppy that loads its own software regardless of your windows, in order to really get down there and check out the memory stability. Just let it go until it says Passes: 2, or finds errors. Because memtest86 is operating system independant any problems it finds are hardware only. youll have to change the memory sticks in use, for one or more of them is faulty or incompatible with your board.
incompatibility is unlikely because youve ran a long time with the same system.
if your temperature readout is reliable, the cpu temp is fine. most boards have an automatic shutoff when the cpu hits 60 or 70C, with thermal death for an athlon3200 being around 95C.
lastly, check the videocard heatsink, it may be loose or have a dead fan causing overheating there, which your other temperature sensor cannot see! cards under the 9800XT series do not have onboard temperature sensors.
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gosh, i havent been to the ns forums in a year due to the unknownworlds server switch, and my first post is in tech support...
I'm betting dimes to dollars it's a lovely Steam update that caused this.
Or at the very least instigated it. I don't touch things when they work the way they're meant too...
How to perform a clean boot in Windows XP - <a href='http://support.microsoft.com/default.aspx?scid=kb;en-us;310353' target='_blank'>http://support.microsoft.com/default.aspx?...kb;en-us;310353</a>
How to perform advanced clean-boot troubleshooting in Windows XP - <a href='http://support.microsoft.com/default.aspx?scid=kb;en-us;316434' target='_blank'>http://support.microsoft.com/default.aspx?...kb;en-us;316434</a>
Zel's and CK's posts are quite excellent also.
Edit: it's also worth giving your machine a virus scan with some online scanners like <a href='http://housecall.trendmicro.com/housecall/start_corp.asp' target='_blank'>Trendmicro Housecall</a> or <a href='http://security.symantec.com/sscv6/default.asp?langid=ie&venid=sym' target='_blank'>Symantec Security Check</a>.
When Steam has crashed on your computer, have you ever restarted the computer and started playing Steam immediately? If so, have you noticed the time spent playing the game to be much shorter than the first?
'Cause it got replaced with an Antec 550w Truepower PSU.
--Scythe--