pc locking up during SOME games.. - Tilted Forum Project Discussion Community

canuckguy · 08-16-2005, 06:38 AM

During some games my pc has been locking up, either the game freezes complete while loading or just after starting, sometimes the pc will reboot itself or the screen will go all crazy with flashing bars, pixels..etc. I can play GTA-SA fine, BF-2 and brother in arms fine. No crashing nothing. But some games like Flight sim 2004, cycling manager 4 lock up.
Now first off all the games did play fine at one time, but after i recently upgraded my harddrive (fresh install of winxp pro) that is when the issues started. Don't think its the harddrive as the other games play fine. Tried with and without sp1 or 2.

my system
p4 2.4ghz
mobo-msi 655 max
512 ddr pc 2700
ati radeon 9800 pro
120gb WD cavier
160gb maxtor
80gb maxtor
sony dvd burner

The one thing that i notice is odd, that in device manager it lists 2 radeon 9800 as being installed, one is just called 9800 radeon, the other is called 9800 radeon secondary. I've tired removing the secondary/ and primary and they both always come back. the harddrive never had an OS on it, so only 1 video card (agp) has ever been installed. so not sure why it keeps listing it twice. I've tried using old drivers, new drivers, updated the boards chipset, agp drivers..etc everything on the msi site. Also wiped xp clean and did another install, still same issue.
I have a 400watt power supply but thought it might be a power issue as the video card is the newest componet installed (but worked fine on other install), so i removed the two extra hard drives, still same crash. Odd since the games played fine before. The video card fan is spinning and does not appear to be getting that warm. My system temp stays around 30C and the board 47C. Any ideas or suggestions.

MooseMan3000 · 08-16-2005, 06:47 AM

After you formatted, did you install the games in the same order? In other words, are the games that crash always in the same place on the hard drive? You may have a corrupt sector or two. You might need to fdisk it, or it might not be fixable.

Also... have you updated DirectX? Don't know if this would make a difference.

Oh, another thing... are the games on the same hard drive as the OS? I've had issues with certain programs not running correctly when they're on a separate hard drive. Try installing them to your main drive. That's all I can think of right now. Good luck.

canuckguy · 08-16-2005, 07:04 AM

hey thanks for the info, I've tried updated the directx, and the games are installed on the main system drive. I've installed them in various orders as well. is there a way to tell if i do have some corrupt sectors with formatting the drive again, like from within windows?

canuckguy · 08-16-2005, 08:14 AM

I should add that i just did a reinstall last night, and just reinstalled only the two games i was having trouble with, the FS2004 played fine (only played for about 5 minutes though), and the cycling game crashed with error "VPU recover". so doing some research on it. cheers

MooseMan3000 · 08-16-2005, 09:56 AM

Well, VPU recover is when the graphics card freezes and tries to reset itself. It sounds like you're having some sort of driver problem that may be related to the new install of Windows, though I can't say as I know of any fixes that you haven't tried.

A few troubleshooting ideas, though: have you tried to install/run the games without the new HDD installed? What happened?

Do you have another graphics card you can test in place of the 9800?

And to find if the disk has any problems (doesn't sound like it, but it's worth a shot) do an error scan. Right click on your drive (aka C: ), go to properties, click the tools tab, and run the scan.

Another note: My Radeon 9500 Pro shows up as Radeon 9500 and Radeon 9500 secondary and I've never had any issues with it. I couldn't ever get it to go away, either.

connyosis · 08-16-2005, 10:45 AM

It could not be the PSU being unable to power his system properly?
I've heard similar stories from other people and after switching to a higher quality PSU the problems went away. Not necessarily what this is about, but it might be worth looking into.

Mbnfc · 08-16-2005, 11:33 AM

your 9800 series - secondary is normal if u have two (oops!) monitor outputs on the card. i do and have the same thing. if you want to get rid of it you can disable it in the device manager under display adapters.

maybe its just a driver issue. gta-sa, bf2, and brothers in arms are newer games compared to flight sim 04 and cycling manager 4 correct? try downgrading your radeon drivers.

canuckguy · 08-16-2005, 12:58 PM

hey thanks everyone for the replies, I just went and got a new psu as i know that mine needed an upgrade anyway.....and my old psu was only a 300watter (maybe that was the issue, 3 hd's, 3 case fans, dvd burner) .....will try some of the steps listed above and giver a go! thanks again everyone.

canuckguy · 08-16-2005, 02:38 PM

just an update, the new psu should help but still got locked up playing cycling manager. gonna try some of the other suggestions.

btw i really hate computers sometimes.

canuckguy · 08-17-2005, 09:39 AM

just an update, i tried rolling back the drivers to a old version, still getting crashes, so i did the remove all ati software and installed some drivers from a third party site, still crash. i disabled fast write in bios, still crashing (read that one online). i also increased the voltage as per ati's site to 1.6. (site says 1.6-1.8 should be fine) it was at 1.5 and so far no crashes. although i am getting tired of playing a game just to see if it crashes. good thing for demo modes.

canuckguy · 08-18-2005, 07:42 AM

still very stable, still not convinced yet it was the voltage issue, as why did it not appear before with my old drive? odd stuff, but its a computer what can you expect...besides crashing, bsod....

ran it through a ton of games last night, and ran smoothly. anyone know of way to monitor temps on a radeon 9800 pro?

Cuatela · 08-18-2005, 11:24 AM

They have temperature monitors for computers...you can probably get one and attach it to your card.

MikeSty · 08-18-2005, 11:51 AM

Does it have any desktop software? I've not used an ATI card in a while, but nVidia cards have this little desktop software called nView, which allows for OTF vid changes and has a temp display somewhere.

canuckguy · 08-18-2005, 02:09 PM

i did not find any ati software that listed the temps, but i did download a tool called atitools (third party) and it said it had temps, but i've yet to find it in the progam. might bot be available with my card.

08-16-2005, 06:38 AM	#1 (permalink)
canuckguy I read your emails. Location: earth	pc locking up during SOME games.. During some games my pc has been locking up, either the game freezes complete while loading or just after starting, sometimes the pc will reboot itself or the screen will go all crazy with flashing bars, pixels..etc. I can play GTA-SA fine, BF-2 and brother in arms fine. No crashing nothing. But some games like Flight sim 2004, cycling manager 4 lock up. Now first off all the games did play fine at one time, but after i recently upgraded my harddrive (fresh install of winxp pro) that is when the issues started. Don't think its the harddrive as the other games play fine. Tried with and without sp1 or 2. my system p4 2.4ghz mobo-msi 655 max 512 ddr pc 2700 ati radeon 9800 pro 120gb WD cavier 160gb maxtor 80gb maxtor sony dvd burner The one thing that i notice is odd, that in device manager it lists 2 radeon 9800 as being installed, one is just called 9800 radeon, the other is called 9800 radeon secondary. I've tired removing the secondary/ and primary and they both always come back. the harddrive never had an OS on it, so only 1 video card (agp) has ever been installed. so not sure why it keeps listing it twice. I've tried using old drivers, new drivers, updated the boards chipset, agp drivers..etc everything on the msi site. Also wiped xp clean and did another install, still same issue. I have a 400watt power supply but thought it might be a power issue as the video card is the newest componet installed (but worked fine on other install), so i removed the two extra hard drives, still same crash. Odd since the games played fine before. The video card fan is spinning and does not appear to be getting that warm. My system temp stays around 30C and the board 47C. Any ideas or suggestions.

08-16-2005, 10:45 AM	#6 (permalink)
connyosis Psycho Location: Sweden - Land of the sodomite damned	It could not be the PSU being unable to power his system properly? I've heard similar stories from other people and after switching to a higher quality PSU the problems went away. Not necessarily what this is about, but it might be worth looking into. __________________ If atheism is a religion, then not collecting stamps is a hobby.

08-16-2005, 11:33 AM	#7 (permalink)
Mbnfc Upright	your 9800 series - secondary is normal if u have two (oops!) monitor outputs on the card. i do and have the same thing. if you want to get rid of it you can disable it in the device manager under display adapters. maybe its just a driver issue. gta-sa, bf2, and brothers in arms are newer games compared to flight sim 04 and cycling manager 4 correct? try downgrading your radeon drivers. Last edited by Mbnfc; 08-16-2005 at 01:04 PM..

08-18-2005, 11:24 AM	#12 (permalink)
Cuatela Insane Location: NC, USA	They have temperature monitors for computers...you can probably get one and attach it to your card. __________________ Any sarcasm was intentional.

08-16-2005, 06:47 AM	#2 (permalink)
MooseMan3000 wouldn't mind being a ninja. Location: Maine, the Other White State.	After you formatted, did you install the games in the same order? In other words, are the games that crash always in the same place on the hard drive? You may have a corrupt sector or two. You might need to fdisk it, or it might not be fixable. Also... have you updated DirectX? Don't know if this would make a difference. Oh, another thing... are the games on the same hard drive as the OS? I've had issues with certain programs not running correctly when they're on a separate hard drive. Try installing them to your main drive. That's all I can think of right now. Good luck.

08-16-2005, 07:04 AM	#3 (permalink)
canuckguy I read your emails. Location: earth	hey thanks for the info, I've tried updated the directx, and the games are installed on the main system drive. I've installed them in various orders as well. is there a way to tell if i do have some corrupt sectors with formatting the drive again, like from within windows?

08-16-2005, 08:14 AM	#4 (permalink)
canuckguy I read your emails. Location: earth	I should add that i just did a reinstall last night, and just reinstalled only the two games i was having trouble with, the FS2004 played fine (only played for about 5 minutes though), and the cycling game crashed with error "VPU recover". so doing some research on it. cheers

08-16-2005, 09:56 AM	#5 (permalink)
MooseMan3000 wouldn't mind being a ninja. Location: Maine, the Other White State.	Well, VPU recover is when the graphics card freezes and tries to reset itself. It sounds like you're having some sort of driver problem that may be related to the new install of Windows, though I can't say as I know of any fixes that you haven't tried. A few troubleshooting ideas, though: have you tried to install/run the games without the new HDD installed? What happened? Do you have another graphics card you can test in place of the 9800? And to find if the disk has any problems (doesn't sound like it, but it's worth a shot) do an error scan. Right click on your drive (aka C: ), go to properties, click the tools tab, and run the scan. Another note: My Radeon 9500 Pro shows up as Radeon 9500 and Radeon 9500 secondary and I've never had any issues with it. I couldn't ever get it to go away, either.

08-16-2005, 12:58 PM	#8 (permalink)
canuckguy I read your emails. Location: earth	hey thanks everyone for the replies, I just went and got a new psu as i know that mine needed an upgrade anyway.....and my old psu was only a 300watter (maybe that was the issue, 3 hd's, 3 case fans, dvd burner) .....will try some of the steps listed above and giver a go! thanks again everyone.

08-16-2005, 02:38 PM	#9 (permalink)
canuckguy I read your emails. Location: earth	just an update, the new psu should help but still got locked up playing cycling manager. gonna try some of the other suggestions. btw i really hate computers sometimes.

08-17-2005, 09:39 AM	#10 (permalink)
canuckguy I read your emails. Location: earth	just an update, i tried rolling back the drivers to a old version, still getting crashes, so i did the remove all ati software and installed some drivers from a third party site, still crash. i disabled fast write in bios, still crashing (read that one online). i also increased the voltage as per ati's site to 1.6. (site says 1.6-1.8 should be fine) it was at 1.5 and so far no crashes. although i am getting tired of playing a game just to see if it crashes. good thing for demo modes.

08-18-2005, 07:42 AM	#11 (permalink)
canuckguy I read your emails. Location: earth	still very stable, still not convinced yet it was the voltage issue, as why did it not appear before with my old drive? odd stuff, but its a computer what can you expect...besides crashing, bsod.... ran it through a ton of games last night, and ran smoothly. anyone know of way to monitor temps on a radeon 9800 pro?

08-18-2005, 11:51 AM	#13 (permalink)
MikeSty The Computer Kid :D Location: 127.0.0.1	Does it have any desktop software? I've not used an ATI card in a while, but nVidia cards have this little desktop software called nView, which allows for OTF vid changes and has a temp display somewhere.

08-18-2005, 02:09 PM	#14 (permalink)
canuckguy I read your emails. Location: earth	i did not find any ati software that listed the temps, but i did download a tool called atitools (third party) and it said it had temps, but i've yet to find it in the progam. might bot be available with my card.