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Computer idiot needs help! :(


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#1
Fauna

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Hi, I recently purchased a new pc about a week ago and it's already having problems. The problem is when I start up a game it plays for awhile sometimes even hours running smoothly then *bang* there's a very slight "click" sound and the game freezes up with all these colored lines running mainly vertically along with a strange kind of "beeping" noise. This has happend alot and I have no idea what it could be.

Here's what I have:
(I don't really know what's important to figure out what may be causing the problem so I just kind of guessed <_< )

- Intel Pentium 4 Processor 3.0GHz
- ASUS P4C800-E-DX Mother Board
- 8 kilobyte primary memory cache
- 512 kilobyte secondary memory cache
- Maxtor 80GB 7200RPM IDE 8MB Cache Serial ATA
- SONY DVD-ROM DDU1612 [CD-ROM drive]
- 512 Megabytes Installed Memory
- ATI Radeon 9800 Pro 128MB DDR
- WinXP Pro

I contacted the company that I bought the computer from and they said to download drivers from the ATI website...I don't know what drivers do, but I already installed ATI that came with it, and now I'm told to install another one, and furthermore, I was also told elsewhere to uninstall the old driver to correctly install the new one. *sigh* I'm totally lost with this, any help is appreciated greatly!
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#2
admin

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When you restart you computer does it say that it's recovered from a serious error, or any other messages?
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#3
Fauna

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No, it's never had any messages after restarting it.
Also, I unistalled the ATI driver that I installed before and went to the ATI website and installed the latest driver. It still does the same thing! <_<

Edited by Fauna, 14 April 2004 - 06:56 PM.

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#4
admin

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Let's try this:
Download and run Driver Cleaner:
http://www.driverheaven.net/cleaner/

Remove all traces of video drivers from your system. Reboot and then reinstall the latest WHQL drivers from ATI's site. Reboot and let us know if it helped. <_<
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#5
Fauna

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Ok, did what you told me to do...now I just have to play a game and see if it does that again. Oh! and that reminds me, that it only freezes up like that while I'm playing games, would that mean that the problem is definetly with my graphics card? Also, another thing that is concerning me is that I could possibly be damaging something internal in the computer if I continue using it...I hope not.
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#6
admin

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No, you won't damage anything.

Also, make sure you have the latest DirectX (9.0b)
http://www.microsoft...ads/default.htm
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#7
Fauna

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Hmm...think that may have done the trick...rebooted itself once, but no freezing up. It might just be cured! Thanks for your replies <_<
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#8
Fauna

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Okay *sigh* it's not cured...was fine for a while but then it started again. Froze up with the colored lines, after restart...5min. later froze up again, restarted it until it got to the desktop when it rebooted itself and then after that gives me the "...sytem has recovered from a serious error...". What is wrong with it? <_<
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#9
admin

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Must be a hardware problem. My first guess is that your power supply may be undersized (you've got a very power hungry system there). If not, you may have a bad video card.
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#10
Fauna

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Well, I have a 400watt power supply, and I read that between 300-500watt is good for this particular computer. As for the video card, I forgot to mention that my husband also bought the exact same computer and they're both acting the same. Seems kinda weird that both video cards would be defective, but I guess it's possible <_<
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#11
admin

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Seems kinda weird that both video cards would be defective, but I guess it's possible

That is strange. Did you build these systems yourself, or purchase them complete. If so, have you contacted the mfg?

It's much more likely the power supply's responsible than the video card. There are a wide range of power supply qualities available, and just becasue they're rated at 400W doesn't mean they're able to supply the steady rail voltages or amperage needed by your system.
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#12
Fauna

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Yeah, these were custom made to play video games, looks like we didn't do a very good job <_<. I'm going to try upgrading the power supply, see if that helps. Can you recommend a good quality brand? Also, what would be a good wattage be for these computers? By the way, thanks for the help :D
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#13
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Expect to pay $40-50 for a good power supply. I see the newest video cards from nVidia are going to require a 550 watt power supply! However a "quality" 350-400 watt power supply should be sufficient for your system, unless you running multiple hard drives, many fans, case lighting, etc.

You can tell a lot about a power supply by just picking it up, generally the heavier it is the better quality it is. There are many good brands, just stick with a brand name--some are Antec, Sparkle, Enlight, Vantec, Enermax, Thermaltake.
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