[Spidar]

This is actually for a friend of mine, he writes

Recently (starting last week) my computer has been locking up. It only happens when i am playing games. It will freeze all sound and video, I can't alt tab, and I will get a high pitched noise in my headphones. I've noticed that before it locks i usually always hear a click, then it locks.

Any ideas what could be going on?

ABIT IC7 MAX3
2.8C intel
1g corsair XMS
9800xt ati
120g WD
Audigy 2ZS
480W Thermaltake Butterfly

Edited by Spidar, 04 February 2006 - 11:16 PM.

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First thing is the easy.

Go to the websites of your hardware and make certain you have the latest drivers (no beta versions)

[DeSade]

First thing is the easy.

Go to the websites of your hardware and make certain you have the latest drivers (no beta versions)

[gerryf]

Heat is a good bet....clean the dust bunnies out. Add newest drivers, would be number two. Run a checkdisk

start > run
cmd
<enter>

chkdsk /r
<enter>

either way, since those hard boots can damages the system files

[Spidar]

All right, I'll tell him to try that.

[Spidar]

Can he run a checkdisk while he's running a virus scan? He's checking for viruses at the moment, and that's what he asked.

[wannabe1]

chkdsk will ask to be scheduled to run on the next boot...accept the prompt to do so and let it run when you restart the machine.

wannabe1

[Spidar]

Check disk said everything was all right, his pc was cleaned out and all the drivers are updated. With that given, are there any other suggestions about what the problem may be?

After the last time it froze, when he restarted it said

"CPU is unworkable or has been changed. Please recheck - CPU SOFT MENU

F1 continue. DEL go to setup."

so he went to setup and reset his CPU page to defaults and then restarted and didn't notice the message again. He has never attempted to OC anything, so the clock speeds should be normal. It did take much longer to load windows though.

He checked his video card's temps. while playing games and it is what it has always been since he bought it, so he doesn't think its overheating.

Can it still be the PSU even though it only happens during games? does the vid card pull more from the PSU when in games?

[gerryf]

it can pull more


btw, did he look for game updates?

[achilles becqx]

increase the computer virtual memory and decrease the number of services running at that point of time, u can go into services.msc from run box and chk out the services which are at automatic,,,u can make unneccessary one manual and then try to play the game and may i know the name of the games for which u r facing this issue

[gerryf]

uhm, do not uncheck services if you do not know what they are....

[moussaka]

ok, my internet or whatever was preventing me from comming to this site is finally cooperating. The CPU is unworkable error is fixed when i start up, but the freezing is still occuring. later on in the week i will get a spare PSU from a friend and check that out. Is there any other ideas as to what it could be? I dusted out my computer and the vid card is running ~5*C cooler than it used to, but the freezign still occurs during games. It is weird because it does not happen everytime i play a game. one time it went through a week w/o any freezes and then it will go a few days...etc...

Edited by moussaka, 09 February 2006 - 07:39 PM.

[Cosmicthreat]

My computer freezes during gameplay with most games. When it freezes it makes a horrible screeching noise from speakers, alt-tab is useless and so is the frozen mouse cursor. I've tried new video card, and still have this problem. It is not a heat issue either, it isn't a bios setting, it isn't my operating system--I m running forceware 89.98 and the latest UniDrvLive Drivers------------it could be my ram but usually you would get a blue sreen or a plain old lockup with no screech from speakers, It could be harddrive but it makes no weird noises and passes scandisk-integrity check with flying colors and the light doesn't stay lit up on lock-up usually meaning its the HD fault. The motherboard passes all the diagnostic software I've thrown at it.

My question is----is it my Mobo, my HD, my Vid, my Ram, or my soundcard causing this problem..........darn these computers are a pain in the but, but awesome when they work properly.

[moussaka]

i bought a new HD and ive been playing games all weekend with out any problems.

[Cosmicthreat]

Well that sounds great Moussaka, It seems your problem was very similar to mine, and I do need a new Harddrive I've had mine for a while and it may be very likely that it is the culpret, especially after hearing about your success.
I will try, thankyou, and make sure to let me know if your problem comes back in the next few days, or if you have more advice.

[Cosmicthreat]

Thanks for the help----------but it turns out mysound card was F$@%stered, and everything works fine now