Games crash after about 5 minutes of playing

L|ama · August 2008

Well it seems that I've done something wrong with this computer... Nearly every game released after 2006 will crash after me playing it for about 5-10 minutes. I *think* it might be related to bloom/HDR, but I'm not sure (it started happening with more and more games when I updated drivers). After I patched Medieval 2: Total War (a patch which includes bloom+HDR support), it started doing this even with bloom and HDR both disabled.

E: Oh and the type of crash is just everything freezes so I can't alt tab or anything and have to hard reset

Specs and such:

Video Card : NVIDIA GeForce 6600 GT
Video Driver : nv4_disp.dll
Driver Version : 6.14.11.7519

Sound Card : NVIDIA(R) nForce(TM) Audio Codec Interface

DirectX : DirectX 8.1
Operating System Windows XP Service Pack 3 5.1.2600

CPU Type : 1897 MHz AuthenticAMD AMD Family 6 Model 10 Step 0 (Athlon XP 2600+)

RAM : 768 MB Total
294 MB Free
Virtual RAM: 1878 MB Total
1458 MB Free

Operating System: Windows XP Service Pack 3 5.1.2600

----Direct X

DirectX Info
Version : DirectX 8.1

DirectDraw Info
Version : 5.03.2600.5512
Certified : Not certified

DirectSound Info
Version : 5.03.2600.5512
Certified : Certified

DirectPlay Info
Version : 5.00.2134.0001

DirectInput Info
Version : 5.03.2600.5512

Idoliside · August 2008

Sounds like an overheat. But to be sure try swapping around your ram, see if that makes a difference.

Dunadan019 · August 2008

you have 1 gb of ram
a 1.9 ghz AMD
and a 6600GT...

your rig is old dude.

probably time to think about upgrading at LEAST the video card.

LoneIgadzra · August 2008

Um, probably not much point upgrading the video with that cpu etc.

Sounds like an overheat, but other possible causes include

- messed up BIOS (see if there are any updates for your motherboard)
- messed up RAM (try changing the slot it's plugged into, or if you have two chips take one out)

I had both those things fuck up my very similar rig back in the day. Stupid-ass ASUS motherboard would actually freeze and reboot 30 seconds into a 3D game with my new (at the time) Radeon 9800 until I updated the BIOS (though not with OpenGL mode, amusingly). I also had a 512 MB ram chip it decided it didn't like once, which would crash memory-intensive games after playing for a longer time. It eventually decided the chip was okay after I left it out for a while then plugged it into a different slot.

Alternately, point an air conditioner at the video card and see if it lasts any longer.

L|ama · August 2008

I know it's an ancient setup, that doesn't explain why games that previously worked stop working though. Saying 'lol upgrade' doesn't really help anyone.

Don't think it's related to heat, I've tried the side panel off + desk fan deal with no luck. The RAM being messed up is a definite possibility though, I'll try moving it round and updating my BIOS. Thanks.

meatflower · August 2008

Hardware failure is a definite possibility, considering the age of the components and that you have ruled out heat. If you have another video card to test, swap it out. Since it only happens in games I'd check that or RAM. Google Memtest86, you'll have to boot into DOS.

edit: I'm not saying "lol upgrade" here but you can get a 7600GS 256 for about $50. Best case scenario you solved your problem for $50 and have a marginal upgrade, worst you return it. Freezing as opposed to rebooting, only in games (or new ones that stress it), point to the video card imo.

L|ama · August 2008

Vid card failure seems pretty much certain, the one common thing I've noticed is games with HDR/bloom all do it. Via the joy of exchange rates and such, the absolute cheapest I can get a 7600GS in New Zealand (retail) is $150. I'll probably just get a whole new PC soon, friend is going to be able to get components at wholesale prices

.

LoneIgadzra · August 2008

I actually have had a similar problem with HDR Source games and my 9800 on occasion in the past few years. Certain CSS maps are inevitable computer death, though I've played through HL2 Ep 1 and 2 on it. Ep 1 had some stuttering audio freezes in the final train station setpiece. I was worried my hardware was failing, but lately I've had zero problems, and I've been keeping my drivers up to date.

I've never once made it through Lost Coast without my computer dying in some way, though I haven't installed it in a long time.

Azio · August 2008

LoneIgadzra wrote: »

Um, probably not much point upgrading the video with that cpu etc.

Sounds like an overheat, but other possible causes include

- messed up BIOS (see if there are any updates for your motherboard)
- messed up RAM (try changing the slot it's plugged into, or if you have two chips take one out)

I had both those things fuck up my very similar rig back in the day. Stupid-ass ASUS motherboard would actually freeze and reboot 30 seconds into a 3D game with my new (at the time) Radeon 9800 until I updated the BIOS (though not with OpenGL mode, amusingly). I also had a 512 MB ram chip it decided it didn't like once, which would crash memory-intensive games after playing for a longer time. It eventually decided the chip was okay after I left it out for a while then plugged it into a different slot.

Alternately, point an air conditioner at the video card and see if it lasts any longer.

Add messed up motherboard to that list, as I had this exact problem and it wouldn't go away until I replaced the motherboard.

ginguskahn · August 2008

When did you last reinstall windows? Do you clean your computer inside? (Could be years of dust clogging those fans!)

Macro9 · August 2008

Make a memtest86 boot disc and see if it is your ram or memory controller. You could try furmark out to stress the card and see if it overheats and crashes the computer.

UltimaGecko · August 2008

I had a similar problem with my Radeon X700 Pro a while ago (different brands might make this irrelevant), but my problem was with the drivers. I'm not sure what goes on with nvidia's software, but I guess one way of potentially checking what's going on might be to lower hardware acceleration.

(Display Settings (right click desktop and go to properties)->Settings tab->Advanced->Troubleshooting.

I dislike when people ask if I've upgraded (or downgraded my drivers), but see if there's some sort of specialized software that comes bundled with your driver (like Radeons have Catalyst Control Center, or the Radeon Omega drivers have a more feature-filled CCC equivalent).

You might try completely uninstalling every trace of a display driver (sometimes that requires that you go to safe mode for getting rid of some things), and starting fresh, just so all your settings and registry keys and such are clear.

I had a similar set up before, I'm not sure how you can deal with the performance hit of HDR/bloom in some games with that.

...also, is your DirectX at version 8.1? No... 9.0c or whatever the highest for XP is? If I'm reading that right, that could potentially be the problem.

L|ama · August 2008

DirectX is 9.0c, I'm not sure why that diagnostic program said it was 8.1. HDR/bloom on isn't what causes the problem, it's just all games with the option for bloom cause the crash.

I'm gonna order a new rig this week, thanks for the help though.

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