[Mosslock]

My ancient, steam-powered, PC will only run older games. I recently bought (new, not second-hand) Icewind Dale 2. At apparently random intervals it crashes my PC. I get a black screen, the monitor appears to go into standby, and I have to force a shutdown to get out of it. Usually, but not always, when rebooting I get a blue screen: "one of your discs needs to be checked for consistency". Usually, but not always, this is successfully completed and Windows loads without further problems. Occasionally though, some sort of problem is found and repaired, and things then proceed as normal. Once, however, this resulted in an entire Save Game being deleted.

It also happens on other games, but these are usually more recent publications, and Icewind Dale 1/Baldurs gate etc. run fine.

what's going on? Is it hardware or software? Is there anything I can do to fix it without spending money? (I know my system needs updating, but I'm stuck with what I've got for now.) Any help appreciated.

System specs:

Windows: Windows XP Home Edition Service Pack 3 (Build 2600)
Internet Explorer: 8.0.6001.18702
Memory (RAM): 1024 MB
CPU Info: AMD Athlon™ 64 Processor 3400+
CPU Speed: 2399.2 MHz
Sound Card: Realtek AC97 Audio
Display Adapters: NVIDIA GeForce FX 5200 (Microsoft Corporation) | NetMeeting driver | RDPDD Chained DD
Monitors: 1x; Plug and Play Monitor |
Screen Resolution: 1024 X 768 - 32 bit
Network: Network Present
Network Adapters: Belkin N Wireless USB Adapter - Packet Scheduler Miniport | VIA Compatable Fast Ethernet Adapter - Packet Scheduler Miniport
CD / DVD Drives: E: SONY DVD RW DW-D22A | F: SONY DVD-ROM DDU1613
Ports: COM3 | COM1 LPT1
Mouse: 3 Button Wheel Mouse Present
Hard Disks: C: 187.4GB | D: 189.8GB
Hard Disks - Free: C: 88.2GB | D: 189.8GB
USB Controllers: 5 host controllers.
Firewire (1394): 1 host controllers.
Manufacturer: American Megatrends Inc.
Product Make: MS-6741
AC Power Status: OnLine
BIOS Info: AT/AT COMPATIBLE | 11/08/04 | AMIINT - 10
Time Zone: GMT Standard Time
Battery: No Battery
Motherboard: MSI MS-6741
IP Address: 192.168.1.2 |
MAC Address: 94-44-52-C3-83-53
Host Name: YOUR-FSLQ4L4SYB
:

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Sounds like hard drive might be on the way out. Now would be a good time to run a backup.

Open the start menu, click run. Type CMD and press enter.

In the command prompt box, type the following:

chkdsk /r

It will then ask do you want to schedule for reboot as it's in use. Type in "y" and press enter. Then close the CMD box, and reboot the computer. It will then run a full checkdisk and run any repairs as necessary on the hard drive.

Seeing as this has happened by itself recently, if it finds more errors again I would look at replacing the drive.

[Troy]

Sounds like hard drive might be on the way out. Now would be a good time to run a backup.

Open the start menu, click run. Type CMD and press enter.

In the command prompt box, type the following:

chkdsk /r

It will then ask do you want to schedule for reboot as it's in use. Type in "y" and press enter. Then close the CMD box, and reboot the computer. It will then run a full checkdisk and run any repairs as necessary on the hard drive.

Seeing as this has happened by itself recently, if it finds more errors again I would look at replacing the drive.

[Mosslock]

Hi, thanks for that, I've run the check, no problems found.

Two points:
1. This pc hasn't seen much use since I bought it in 2005. Shortly after buying it, I inherited a pc from a relative who'd passed away. That one had some useful software and was adequate to my needs so I used it until about 18 months ago when the cd-reader packed up and i switched to this one which had been in its box all that time. I've since been using it mainly for games. Given so little use, the hard drive shouldn't be "on the way out" by now, should it? Could it be faulty?

2. Apparently (I'm a bit hazy re the inner workings of computers), this pc has two hard drives. If the current one is faulty, is it likely that the other one is too? Would it be sensible to switch to using the second one? If so, how do I access it, and set it as the default? Presumably I'd have to reinstall everthing on to the second one, yes?

Thanks for your help, I'm obliged.
Mosslock

[Troy]

Hi mate,

It is highly possible a hard drive could be faulty. After the checkdisk, we could now try running the HDD diagnostic. What brand HDD(s) do you have?

[Mosslock]

What brand HDD(s) do you have?

I'm not sure... Is "Maxtor 6 B200M0" the right answer?
M

[Troy]

Maxtor do make hard drives. Download and run the SeaTools diagnostic available as a free download from the Seagate website. (Seagate own Maxtor as well so it is the correct diagnostic)

[Mosslock]

I ran "SeaTools for Windows"- generic long scan, it returned a "pass". Was this the right programme?

[Troy]

Yes, the generic test will test all hard drives connected, even other brands. The DST one is only for Seagate/Maxtor drives. But even so, a pass is a pass.

At the moment I'm a bit unsure what the problem could be. Is it only this game that crashes sometimes? Do you experience any other issues with the PC at the moment, even if you think it is completely unrelated?

Cheers

[Mosslock]

Yes, I've had problems with other games:
Deus Ex, Dark Messiah, both crash but I had assumed that was because of inadequate graphics card (geforce 5200); I've installed Call of Duty 1 + expansion pack, and Diablo 2, but neither will load; I also have Avernum 6 (Spiderweb Software) installed - played the whole game through last summer with no problems, recently started a new game and had a couple of crashes.

I've had no problems (so far) with: Neverwinter Nights 1 + expansion packs, Divine Divinity, Baldurs Gate 1 & 2, Icewind Dale 1 + expansion, Close Combat series, Combat Mission series.

Apart from games, the only issue has been a couple of blue screen/disc checks on startup recently, for no obvious reason.

I've only had broadband since January, might this be relevant?

Cheers
M

[Troy]

Since January? You must have just come out of the Ice Age! I have had broadband for years and years.

Perhaps do some system maintenance and virus checks?

[Mosslock]

Since January? You must have just come out of the Ice Age!

Huh! There's more truth to that than you realise Up here in Blighty, we've just had one of the coldest winters in 50 years. It felt like a bloody Ice Age

I have had broadband for years and years.

So have I. What I should have said, was "I've only had broadband on this PC since Jan."

Perhaps do some system maintenance

I've done a System Clean and Disc Analyzer, no de-frag necessary. Anything else I could do?

virus checks?

I've run Malwarebytes AntiMalware (no problems found) and AVG free - found something called Win32/heur, which I've quarantined, but can't find it in their database .
Do you recommend anything else?

Cheers
M

[Troy]

That AVG quarantine issue might be a clue. Head over to the malware forum and run through the instructions, then post a thread and get certified clean from our malware removal gurus.

[Mosslock]

Hi, thanks for that. Apologies for late reply, I'm rather busy at the moment so haven't got much time for pc stuff, but I'll do that ASAP.

I'm grateful for your help and time.

Mosslock