Computer Restarting

OttoVBis

Hope i'm posting in the right spot. I'm having trouble with my computer randomly restarting while playing WAR (no WoW is better jokes please :P).

Doesn't happen in WoW, COD, Spore, or any other game tried.

Ideas?

PaleCommander

First, I'm going to assume you're running Windows XP or Vista. Knowing which will probably help for future diagnosis, along with whether it's a 32-bit or 64-bit version.

Step 1 is to get more information about the problem. It's quite possible that your computer is experiencing a Blue Screen of Death (BSOD), but that Windows is restarting instead of displaying it (this is the default behavior under XP and Vista, I believe).

To turn off automatic restarting, so we can see the actual error message, please do the following:

Go to the Start Menu, then Control Panel, then open up the System window from there.

If you're on Vista, you'll need to click the 'Advanced system settings' link on the left and then OK the User Access Control prompt that comes up.

Then select the 'Advanced' tab, and click the 'Startup & Recovery' button. If the 'Automatically Restart' checkbox is checked, uncheck it.

If this box was checked and you just unchecked it, the next time the problem occurs (it should cause a blue screen with white text to appear until you turn the machine off), you should try to note as much information as possible and post it so we can diagnose the problem. If the box wasn't checked to begin with, let us know so we can begin looking at other ways to figure out what's wrong.

OttoVBis

Disabled auto-restart and im going to give it a try now. Also, how do I know if it's 32 or 64?

OttoVBis

Disabled auto-restart and im going to give it a try now. Also, how do I know if it's 32 or 64?

PaleCommander

OttoVBis wrote: »

Disabled auto-restart and im going to give it a try now. Also, how do I know if it's 32 or 64?

Are you on Vista or XP? If Vista, then the System window will say under 'System Type:'

If XP, then it's most likely that you're using a 32-bit operating system.

OttoVBis

XP. Also, I got a blue screen but it was garbled. What I could read said I needed to run a memory test.

PaleCommander

If it's just Warhammer Online, it's unlikely you need to run a memory test.

What graphics card are you using?

OttoVBis

GeForce 7600 512

PaleCommander

Currently researching. If you get an ungarbled version of the error, noting the error code (Something of the form STOP 0xsome-numbers-and-letters) or any file names that are listed would help. Otherwise, I'll see if I can come up with a list of things to try.

OttoVBis

Much appreciated!

OttoVBis

OH! I can't believe I didn't mention this. I tried installing some additional RAM a few days ago, but it was causing errors so I removed it. Would that be it? (Seriously apologetic for being so comp-tarded X( )

PaleCommander

1) Was WAR causing the restarts before you installed the RAM?

2) Did you update or install WAR while the RAM was installed?

OttoVBis

No, it wasn't restarting before.

Possibly, it patches frequently so it might have.

PaleCommander

It's possible some part of the game got corrupted if something installed with bad RAM in your computer. If WAR is like most MMOs I'm familiar with, reinstalling is a long and bandwidth-intensive process, so that's probably not the first thing to try. If I'm mistaken and reinstalling is easy, that's something to try.

Otherwise, make sure your graphics and sound drivers are up to date (check manufacturer websites).

OttoVBis

How do I update sound drivers? I'm not sure what kind my card is.

PaleCommander

Check what kind of card you have from Control Panel > Device Manager. It's probably listed under "Sound, video, and game controllers", along with a lot of stuff that isn't your sound card. You should be able to visit the manufacturer's web site based on that information.

urahonky

I'd try running MemTest86 on your box whenever you get a chance. Make sure you burn the image to a disk (you'll find it when you google memtest86) and set the computer to boot from CD-ROM. Let that run until it passes its first run. If you see any red at all on the screen that means you've got some bad memory.

Dunadan019

have you tried simply reinstalling WAR?

SeñorAmor

I haven't played WAR in ages, but doesn't it have a repair file that checks for corrupt files? I know WoW has one, and I would think WAR would too.

mechaThor

OttoVBis wrote: »

How do I update sound drivers? I'm not sure what kind my card is.

http://www.nvidia.com/Download/index.aspx?lang=en-us

Just clicking Option 2 should work, but if not, since you have the 7600 512mb, then it should be GeForce 7 Series I think and then select your OS.