Computer shuts down when playing games

Discussion in 'Software' started by Lonk, Feb 17, 2010.

  1. Lonk

    Lonk Private E-2

    Hello, I have the same problem, except with Tomb Raider Underworld.

    The game worked fine (considering my hardware) and I did not have any issues at all up until today. I played the game maybe half trough I'm in Mexico at the water serpent level, and the game starts to reboot my PC. I have no idea what is the cause of it.

    Last night I downloaded and installed the 1.1 patch and since that I played at least 4-5 hours without any problem. Today afternoon it rebooted the pc for the first time when I'm jumping over the cracks with the bike.

    I reinstalled the game, downloaded the latest graphic card drivers (GeF 7600 GS 256 MB) but still does it. Now it stays in the game for about 3 minutes. I can set the clock because it's that precise.

    I repeat I had no issues with the game although I have an old config (2400 Athlon XP, 1 GB RAM, Win XP Professional), but from today afternoon it's all messed up.

    Maybe the PSU is at fault, its old and I killed 2 of them (2 hard disks as well) in the first year of this PC, then bought a UPS, after that everything was fine. If I unplug the DVD could it help?

    I also get a windows error message when the system restarts. Does this happen when the PSU is at fault?
     
  2. Nedlamar

    Nedlamar MajorGeek

    Re: computer shuts down / restarts when playing games

    What error message do you get?

    Also you may want to have a look at your temperatures when playing.
    Install some monitor software if your GFX card doesn't have any and try to get a look at the GPU and CPU temps before it shuts down.
    It could be your PSU but quite often a problem like this is caused by overheating, especially in an older system.
     
  3. Lonk

    Lonk Private E-2

    Re: computer shuts down / restarts when playing games

    It's that typical windows error. The system has recovered from a serious error or something like that and I can report it or not.

    I have Speedfan for temperature but it doesn't shows the GFX's temp. Where can I get something for it?
     
  4. Lonk

    Lonk Private E-2

    Here is the error.

    [​IMG]

    I pulled down some graphic settings it let me a bit further but still rebooted. What puzzles me is that why now? It didn't had any problem till yesterday. Should I try something with my hardware? Still looking for a heat mon. program.
     
  5. Nedlamar

    Nedlamar MajorGeek

    http://majorgeeks.com/GPU-Z_d5796.html

    Can't say if it will support your card, there are some it doesn't support but if it works you click on the "Sensors" tab and it will show your temp.

    Edit: To get a good idea you really need to be playing for at least a couple of minutes or as long as you can before shutdown, then minimize the game and check it out.
    Open the GPUZ before you start the game , then when you minimize it will give you a closer reading before the card starts cooling down.
     
  6. Lonk

    Lonk Private E-2

    Okay. It's definitely not a heat problem. I loaded my game than switched to desktop right away, the temp did not rise, but whet I brought the game back up it restarted as soon as I quit the menu. The log file doesn't indicate any heat change either.

    My colleges looked at another programs data which I found today and he said that voltages are not sufficiently high enough. Here's a cap:

    [​IMG]

    Could this be a problem?

    He also said that the WIFI card I installed in the PC could also cause some trouble because his did something like this with Team Fortress. But the card was in the PC from the weekend, why does it couse problems now? Could this be something software related? Should I install a new windows?
     
  7. Nedlamar

    Nedlamar MajorGeek

    Temps look ok so it's not that, most likely some form of conflict with software.

    Have you tried any other games? If you can run other games of similar spec fine then it's not a hardware issue.
     
  8. Lonk

    Lonk Private E-2

    Well I was just about to say it, that every other game runs fine. I even played trough TR: Legend and it went smooth.

    Any idea on the software problem?
     
  9. Nedlamar

    Nedlamar MajorGeek

    Well the specs for the 2 games are very different.
    You only just meet the requirements for Underworld.

    Since you said you have reinstalled game and drivers I'm starting to lean back towards hardware, it would be helpful if you can run a game of similar specs to see what happens.

    Although when you reinstalled your GFX drivers did you cleanly install them? Meaning uninstall the old ones, restart and then install new ones.

    TR:l Reqs: 1.0ghz CPU 256MB RAM, and 64mb GFX

    TR:UW: Reqs: 2.5ghz CPU, 1GB Ram (2gb in Vista) and much higher GFX. (This is absolute minimum requirements)

    You only just meet the min specs and although you have run it for a while it is possible that you have put a lot of pressure on something.

    So to simplify my post because it's a bit scatty....

    How did the game run when you played it the other night?

    Did you uninstall/restart/install new drivers for GFX?

    Can you play any other game of similar requirements?
     
    Last edited: Feb 19, 2010
  10. Nedlamar

    Nedlamar MajorGeek

    Damn missed the edit:

    Revised, your CPU does not meet the minimum requirements for TR:Underworld.

    I think you're crashing because you are trying to put 3 ton of bricks in a 1 ton truck.

    I could be wrong, I've been known to be but that would be my guess.

    The only way I can see testing it is to run another game that requires the same specs.
    If you are unsure, list your games of around the same time period (or newer) and I will tell you which to try.
     
  11. Lonk

    Lonk Private E-2

    Well as i've said it didn't had a problem until this point. Sure itt lagged a little sometimes but it was fully playable without detracting (much) from the display settings. I installed the patch and it went even better, so I don't think that's the problem. This dam level is immense, maybe that could overdose the pc, but as I've mentioned before, my collegue said that he had some problems because of the WIFI card, still that was in place before and did not spark any problem so why now?
    I tried to pull out the DVD but it still presented the problem, and the voltages didn't went up either. I remember having some problems with PES 2009 but can't remember well what was it... Either it froze or, rebooted as well, but I think it was the first one.
     
  12. Nedlamar

    Nedlamar MajorGeek

    Ok well it is possible that you hit an intense level in the game and your system simply couldn't handle it.
    Do you have saves earlier on? If so load up a save from a previous level and see if you get the same results.
    Like I said, you don't meet the requirements.
    And since you've had problems with other new games it would suggest that you are simply overworking your PC.
    It's hard to determine which piece is giving out.
    It could be the PSU cutting out due to too much voltage/amperage needed. But in my experience this simply causes freeze ups or extreme lag.

    If you still have Pro Evo 09 then install it and see what happens, just trying to eliminate possibilities.

    Pro Evo requires a similar amount but TR requires more CPU than you have, pro Evo doesn't, it only requires a 1.4, TR;U requires a 2.5.
    You have around 2.0 depending on exact model of 2400+.

    It would be helpful to know the BSOD error code.
     
  13. Lonk

    Lonk Private E-2

    What's BSOD?
     
  14. Nedlamar

    Nedlamar MajorGeek

    Blue Screen Of Death.
    Although I just realised you never mentioned that lol, sorry my bad, I was thinking of another thread, confused myself.

    Ok well like I said, try installing Pro Evo and see how you go and/or load an earlier save game on TR to a different level that is maybe less hardware intensive.
    If you don't have a save you could back up your save and start a new game for test purposes.

    You see, if Pro Evo runs rough and your earlier save runs ok then I would definitely say it's simply too much for your PC.
    It could be your CPU or your GFX card, I've run into many different issues with underpowered PC's trying to play game beyond their capabilities.

    I realize it's not what you want to hear, I'm sure you would like someone to say "Oh yeah, just do this and you'll be fine"
    But I'm afraid I personally don't think it's fixable without new hardware.

    One other thought, do you have the game set to minimum settings?
    Dropping res down to lowest along with everything else "Might" get you through the level, but be aware if it's causing your hardware to give out then continuous use in that manner will result in hardware damage.

    Kind of odd though since your temps are fine.

    As for the WIFI card, I don't see why it would suddenly crash you out at one specific point in a game.
     
  15. Lonk

    Lonk Private E-2

    I definitely look into the stuff you said.

    I have another question then about the game? Will it have any more levels so great like this Mexico-one? Because I was thinking that I push it trough on my collegues PC an then continue it on my own if that's the problem.
     
  16. Nedlamar

    Nedlamar MajorGeek

    Honestly I don't know, I've never played it, I should really but I have too many games on the go lol

    It's likely to have several intensive levels, most games have a couple at least.
     
  17. Lonk

    Lonk Private E-2

    Good for you :)

    I have to dig up that walktrough again... I got stock here at one point and even an image-to-image walktrough I found on the net said that this level is "immense". Hopefully the author pointed this out as an exception to the others...
     

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