Problem i had tonight!!

Discussion in 'Hardware' started by twizzle, Mar 14, 2006.

  1. twizzle

    twizzle Gigabyte Poster

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    Ok heres one for everyone to try to solve...

    Tonight i was playing RS:Lockdown and the game froze. When i say froze i mean a full system lockup. No sound, no mouse, no ctrl-alt-del. The pc had to be rebooted. Tried the game again and same thing happened.
    So on next reboot i run a virus check and a spyware check just in case...I had just downloaded and installed the Leaning viewer software from microsoft for the 2005 server course. Nothing was found.
    Ran a check disk no errors....
    So decided was the game causing it.. however i run another game and same thing happens...
    So unitstall ms viewer i just downloaded just in case.....no still locks up... but it only does it on games.

    So the big question what caused it???

    Took me a while but i found the exact problem.

    System specs...

    AMD 3000xp
    asus a7n8x-e deluxe mobo
    1gb mem
    160gb Hard drive
    geforce 6600 video
    dvd drive
    dvd rw drive
    3 case fans
    1 cpu fan
    2 fans in psu
    1 fan on graphics card
    ps2 keyboard
    usb mouse
    us robotics router
    Windows XP sp2

    Will post answer sometime tommorrow
     
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  2. Jakamoko
    Honorary Member

    Jakamoko On the move again ...

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    Would have said faulty gfx fan/ heatsink, till I saw how many fans you got running there.

    Corrupt gfx driver ?

    All deff points to a video/ display issue here, IMHO. Look forward to the answer :)
     
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  3. Sparky
    Highly Decorated Member Award 500 Likes Award

    Sparky Zettabyte Poster Moderator

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    I’ll guess it was a problem with the graphics card driver as well.

    What is the prize for the correct answer by the way? 8)
     
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  4. hbroomhall

    hbroomhall Petabyte Poster Gold Member

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    Hm - I'd try rolling back the video driver. Had the viewer updated it?

    Harry.
     
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  5. twizzle

    twizzle Gigabyte Poster

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    Prize?? you wanna prize??? errrrrr..... How about some top advice???

    Always listen to what your mother says cos when i was younger i wish i had!
     
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  6. Bluerinse
    Honorary Member

    Bluerinse Exabyte Poster

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    I am with Harry, possibly the MS software changed video drivers or settings?

    Games and crashes are usually video driver related.
     
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  7. twizzle

    twizzle Gigabyte Poster

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    Well the closest guess was Jak's initial one.....

    After doing all the reinstalling etc i decided to take the card out and have a look. Turns out the GFX card fan was not running and the card was starting to overheat (i mean u could fry an egg on its heatsink!!). And why had the fan failed?? simple really it was just plain old dust clogging it up. Gave it all a clean, including the other fans in the case.. refitted it and switch on. Once system had booted the fan was back and running and i've had no problems since.

    No this is similar to another problem i had last week. The PC would work for awhile then just reboot itself.. Time wasnt a factor as it did it at random, or so it seemed. Plus it wasnt anything to do with the OS or software i was running at the time as it happened when playing games or just typing in word.
    Turns out the 120mm fan in the front of the case was seized. As it tried to turn it was overloading the PSU causing it to shut down and restart!!. After the fan was removed all was well.
    And again this fan had siezed due to dust!! But this time it wasnt recoverable so im minus a fan in my case....

    Lesson in all this? Clean the dust from your case regularly!!!! It may just stop that important fan sitting on the big chip on that mobo from working!!!! :oops:
     
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  8. Mr.Cheeks

    Mr.Cheeks 1st ever Gold Member! Gold Member

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    Yep, i got a habit of cleaning the inside every 3 months, and there is lot of dust that builds up.
     
  9. noelg24

    noelg24 Terabyte Poster

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    Twizzle I aint surprised at the problem u had...I had a similar problem with a GeForce 6600LE card...thinking it would do the trick it just crashed my games all the time...no amount of using new drivers, going back to old drivers, leaving my case door open or whatever I could of (and I have 5 case fans!!) just didnt make it any better...in the end I sold the card and got me an ATI 9600 XT 256MB...I havent been more happier...:biggrin...and as with the cleaning...my PC is due another spring clean but when that will be I dont know as I hardly turn the machine off (barring reboots and that!) but should make more time for it...anyway since I am upgrading hopefully when I have all the parts needed then she will get a good clean out...
     
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  10. Sparky
    Highly Decorated Member Award 500 Likes Award

    Sparky Zettabyte Poster Moderator

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    I thought it was best to leave the case door on so the air flows through the case dispersing the heat? :blink
     
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  11. rasim

    rasim New Member

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    How do you guys clean your cases? Although air cans will probably be the most popular answer, what else is out there which can be more efficient? Is it ok to use a regular class cleaner on crt monitors?
     
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  12. twizzle

    twizzle Gigabyte Poster

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    Hehe well i use the old household vac on the case.. when the case is off. But thats not recommened as the Vaccum cleaner creates an area of static around the end of the hose apparently.
    You can buy small battery mini vacs specially for PCs.. i tend to use and old brush (bit like a shaving brush) an gently clean the case fans with it an blow out any excess dust.

    As for CRT monitors try IPA (no not the Beer) Isopropanl alcohol. Wipe on screen with a lint free cloth. This is not recommended for LCD monitors tho!! You can also but screen wipes for monitors.. these tend to be soaked in IPA anyway.
     
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  13. Bluerinse
    Honorary Member

    Bluerinse Exabyte Poster

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    I agree household vacuum cleaners should be avoided, they can create a huge amount of static when they are sucking up dust. Better to blow the dust out than to try and suck :D An unused soft paintbrush is a good tool to help dislodge the sticky stuff.

    I have used ordinary window cleaner on TVs and CRT monitors for the past 35 years without any problems at all. Laptop type LCD screens should be treated with far more care. I still use window cleaner but just spray a tiny amount on a soft paper towel and gently wipe the screen. Test in a small area first before wiping the whole screen.
     
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