Computer freezes up on most games and randomly restarts

[hans030390]

Everytime I try and play FEAR, AOE3, Halo, or most other games, my computer will randomly freeze about 5 minutes into it. For some reason though, HL2, CS:S, etc will play for hours and not have a problem.

Also, when we manually shut off the computer and turned it back on (after it froze) it restarted right when the logon screen came up.

I have no idea why it's doing this. I've tried different drivers for everything, done a huge virus scan and cleaned it out, gotten rid of stuff from the hard drive, defragmented it, etc...and it only seems to get worse.

If anyone has any idea on what could be causing it, and what I should do (or perhaps a program that gives some document about whats going on with the computer, i dont know) I would greatly appreciate it.

Sorry if I've asked like 3 times.

 

[2kfire]

Would that be the computer in your sig or another computer? And, if it IS another computer, can you give us some specs? We like specs

Edit: If it is the computer in your sig, looks like the PSU could be a problem. 300W is kinda weak nowadays... I remember when I bought a 300W for my P3 back in the day and I said to myself "That's too much"

 

[Gronich]

Agreed get a bigger PSU - I recommend a good 480W+ supply...

 

[deckard6]

I am having the same exact problem with my machine. I think its either related to my video card or my PSU, but I'm not sure. I can use my computer just fine but if I try Doom 3, 3dMark, even The Sims, my computer will freeze within a few minutes and the sound card will repeat the same last second of sound. The picture doesn't display artifacts, as when it freezes, it typically looks like a nice clean screenshot. I ran Doom 3 in a window once though and my screen went black and displayed some junk on the left side of the screen.

Interestingly enough, this only started happening AFTER the last Windows Update that occured on Wednesday or Thursday night... so either the update is somehow causing it or the reboot after the update (that happened while I was asleep) tipped some faultly hardware over the edge. Last night (Friday) I was able to play The Sims for a few hours before it finally froze, but otherwise, its only taken 1-10 mins to halt.

Specs:
Pentium 4 2.6 800FSB w/ HT
Asus P4P800
2GB (4x512MB sticks) of Corsair 2.5CL
eVGA 6800GT w/ stock fan
ThermalTake 420W in a ThermalTake Tsunami Dream Case

Its not the CPU or the memory because I've run various utilities found on the "Ultimate Boot CD" (very handy I might add). Like I said, I can use my PC normally just fine... its just when my video card comes into play that I'm having issues. Speaking of which, I've been monitoring my temperature in the Control Panel before it crashes. It gets to around 80C, which is "in the yellow" but I don't think thats hot enough to crash anything.

Any comments, names of utilities, and advice would be much appriciated. Thanks!

 

[mzkhadir]

Originally posted by: deckard6
I am having the same exact problem with my machine. I think its either related to my video card or my PSU, but I'm not sure. I can use my computer just fine but if I try Doom 3, 3dMark, even The Sims, my computer will freeze within a few minutes and the sound card will repeat the same last second of sound. The picture doesn't display artifacts, as when it freezes, it typically looks like a nice clean screenshot. I ran Doom 3 in a window once though and my screen went black and displayed some junk on the left side of the screen.

Interestingly enough, this only started happening AFTER the last Windows Update that occured on Wednesday or Thursday night... so either the update is somehow causing it or the reboot after the update (that happened while I was asleep) tipped some faultly hardware over the edge. Last night (Friday) I was able to play The Sims for a few hours before it finally froze, but otherwise, its only taken 1-10 mins to halt.

Specs:
Pentium 4 2.6 800FSB w/ HT
Asus P4P800
2GB (4x512MB sticks) of Corsair 2.5CL
eVGA 6800GT w/ stock fan
ThermalTake 420W in a ThermalTake Tsunami Dream Case

Its not the CPU or the memory because I've run various utilities found on the "Ultimate Boot CD" (very handy I might add). Like I said, I can use my PC normally just fine... its just when my video card comes into play that I'm having issues. Speaking of which, I've been monitoring my temperature in the Control Panel before it crashes. It gets to around 80C, which is "in the yellow" but I don't think thats hot enough to crash anything.

Any comments, names of utilities, and advice would be much appriciated. Thanks!

any blue screen message or a message that says that YOUR SYSTEM HAS JUST RECOVERED FROM A SERIOUS ERROR.

 

[deckard6]

Nope, can't even CTRL-ALT-DEL. I have to press reset on my box (twice actually, for some reason when I press it once my machine stays on but doesn't POST even though it looks like it has reset. I think it's unrelated though.) Pressing power doesn't turn it off either, I have to hold it down if I want to shut it off completely.

But no, no error or recovery messages are ever reported.

 

[hans030390]

Originally posted by: 2kfire
Would that be the computer in your sig or another computer? And, if it IS another computer, can you give us some specs? We like specs

Edit: If it is the computer in your sig, looks like the PSU could be a problem. 300W is kinda weak nowadays... I remember when I bought a 300W for my P3 back in the day and I said to myself "That's too much"

Yes, its the computer in the sig. Should I have mentioned that my computer was running this setup for a few months (no problems at all) before it started happening? I can guarantee you, it's not the PSU. Besides, I can't upgrade due to how small the case is.

So you'll have to give me your help, without any PSU suggestions.

 

[2kfire]

K. Well, thanks for the new info. Is your video card's power connector plugged in? I know it's a 'noob' thing to forget, but sometimes when I take a drive out or dust things off inside, I unplug the connector and forget to plug it back in when I'm done. Have you tried updating the video card drivers? Updating the motherboard BIOS? Oh, and just wondering, how can you guarantee it's not the PSU? I don't mean to sound like I don't believe you or anything, just wondering... You might have tested another PSU and had the same problem as far as I know, just confirming

 

[Blake]

Did your Sony VAIO RS420 come from Sony with the Leadtek 6600GT AGP card? Is that something that was upgraded?
That is a small case, maybe heat could be a factor. I always like to spring for better fans. Around 20 decibles is quiet enough for me with increased airflow over the stock fans.