going to attack my computer with a hammer...

[frustrated]

Hello everyone, got a real problem here. My computer is
crashing EVERY TIME I play any 3D game. I have an AMD
2600+, an Asus a7v8x motherboard, 256 mb ddr, evga
geforce 440 mx w/128 mb ram, Win xp, Direct x 9.0, 350w
power supply. Hope that is enough info to get started...
Any time I use my computer for gaming, I have crashes
which either restart my system, or cause me to crash to
the desktop. Sent an error report to MS and got a message
saying my processor detected an unrecoversble hardware
error and shut down. (This is as close as I have come.) I
believe all of my drivers have been updated several times
since I built the machine, but crashes continue. What
should I check next? I am my computer's manufacturer,
which eliminates calling and complaining as an option.
PLEASE HELP ME BEFORE I FLING MY COMPUTER OFF OF A
BRIDGE!!! Thanks in advance, Jeff

[Chris H.]

Just ship the computer to me. 8-) Go into Control Panel/Administrative
Tools/Event Viewer and click on the Application listing in the left column.
In the right pane, look for either yellow exclamation points or red circles
with white X's in them. This will give an indication of possible errors,
and you can right-click those entries and select Properties to see some
details. It would be very helpful if you could post the error message
you're seeing within the error report you're sending, too.
--
Chris H.
Microsoft Windows MVP
Associate Expert
Expert Zone - www.microsoft.com/windowsxp/expertzone

"frustrated" <jfuller...@hotmail.com> wrote in message
news:0d2901c3512d$53353540$a601...@phx.gbl...

[Frustrated]

>Chris,
Thanks for responding so quickly. I appreciate the help!
Yeah, I thought of that, too. I am not getting a listing
in the event viewer. It tells me that I had to run
scandisk on restart, but no other useful info. Here is
the response I got when I sent the error report to online
crash analysis:

"Thank you for submitting an error report. The Online
Crash Analysis service has processed and analyzed this
report and has determined that this crash event was
likely caused by:
A hardware failure reported by your Central Processing
Unit (CPU)
This behavior occurs because your computer processor
detected an unrecoverable hardware error and reported it
to Windows. For more information, contact the
manufacturer of your computer.
You can track this error report by clicking the Track
this error report link. If you choose to track your error
report, you will be notified of resolutions to this
problem as they are identified."

I am not getting a blue screen, so I can't give you any
info about an error message. I usually do not even get an
error report, just sudden crash to desktop, lockup, or
restart. Is there more info I can provide you?

Is it possible I am reaching the limit on ram? I am
willing to try anything.

Also, when running defrag, I notices there were fragments
related to my video card which defrag was unable to do
anything about. I doubt it matters, since I have updated
driversseveral times, but here are the listings:
\eVGA\NVRSFR.DLL
\eVGA\DATA1.CAB
\eVGA\NVCPL.DLL
THank you
Jeff

>
>.
>

[Tommy]

The crashes don't happen anytime else? If that's the
case, reinstalling your video card drivers and making sure
your motherboard can handle the video card should help.
If your motherboard can't currently handle the video card,
you may have to reflash your BIOS and that's never fun :-/

>.
>

[Chris H.]

I would look in a different area, Jeff, not necessarily the RAM. How about
updated drivers for the motherboard? I know ASUS has issued several
updates, and perhaps you don't have the most recent. I would suspect
interaction between your graphics card, motherboard and your AMD chipset.

RAM, if you're using two sticks, could also be a problem if they're not
matching. Even if you have a single stick, I'd shut down, and then remove
and re-seat the stick to make sure it isn't just loose. And, of course,
there's heat, but I would believe that would show up all the time and not
just in game play.

--
Chris H.
Microsoft Windows MVP
Associate Expert
Expert Zone - www.microsoft.com/windowsxp/expertzone

"Frustrated" <jfuller...@hotmail.com> wrote in message
news:0dfe01c35133$23336aa0$a601...@phx.gbl...

[Michael W Ryder]

Chris H. wrote:

> I would look in a different area, Jeff, not necessarily the RAM. How about
> updated drivers for the motherboard? I know ASUS has issued several
> updates, and perhaps you don't have the most recent. I would suspect
> interaction between your graphics card, motherboard and your AMD chipset.
>
> RAM, if you're using two sticks, could also be a problem if they're not
> matching. Even if you have a single stick, I'd shut down, and then remove
> and re-seat the stick to make sure it isn't just loose. And, of course,
> there's heat, but I would believe that would show up all the time and not
> just in game play.

Regarding the heat issue, it normally won't show up except when you use
the full capabilities of the system -- i.e. 3D games, etc. I had
similar problems in Windows 2000 with the GeForce2 MX video card. It
worked perfectly until I ran any games, including the original Age of
Empires. After several minutes of play I would end up back at the
desktop with no error messages. Different drivers, etc. did not help.
Finally, I checked the temperature of the card after a crash and it was
too hot to touch. Replaced the card with one with better cooling and
the problem went away.

[Ron]

Did you try to run the Direct X troubleshooter (DXDIAG)??

>.
>

[Chris C]

Hi, is the PSU a good one, 350 watts is a little marginal for that
motherboard and CPU, especially if you've other drives. I have a 550 watt
one and most posts I've seen recommend at least a 400watt. Have a look in
these newsgroups, http://forums.viaarena.com/categories.cfm?catid=15 or
http://www.amdforums.com/showthread.php?s=1734dc39207a3fcd11b508ab16f1ce7b&threadid=157451
they might be able to help.....
Chris
"Ron" <rh...@a-znet.com> wrote in message
news:0e8601c351ef$2b3086e0$a301...@phx.gbl...

[Alan Bernardo]

> Regarding the heat issue, it normally won't show up except when you use
> the full capabilities of the system -- i.e. 3D games, etc.

I'd have to agree. This appears to be a heat issue. Check the fan on the
video card and your processor. Return the video card if you have to, and
get a new one.

Alanb

[ozmaen]

AMD chips run very hot indeed. I have 5 fans running in my
case to keep the system cool as I am a big time 3D game
player. Make sure that your cpu fan is keeping the chip
cool enough. ASUS should have a cpu sensor program which
tells you what temp you cpu is running at. More than 50-60
degrees C on a constant basis will start to cause probs
and instability. Try for an aftermarket cpu cooler to keep
the temp out. Also make sure the fan on the vid card it
running. And finally, put 1-2 fans on the back of your
case to extract the heat out of the box. I have tested
ASUS COP (CPU overheat protection) on my XP 2000 and it
shut the system down within 20 sec when I ran my fan at a
low speed. The cpu burnt my finder when I touched it. So
as you can see, AMD cpu + 3D gaming = heaps of heat.

As a test, take the case cover off of your box and run it
for a while. If you don't crash, then heat is your prob.
If you do..then without more info, I can't add anything
further

>.
>

[Kirk Mears]

Also might want to try a different video card to eliminate that possibility
right off the bat. 95% of my blues are directly related to my video card.

Kirk Mears

"Alan Bernardo" <alanbe...@comcast.net> wrote in message
news:0JAUa.136397$sY2....@rwcrnsc51.ops.asp.att.net...