Hardlocks

[Leatherpenguin]

Hi! I have a big problem with my computer. For a month or so ago it always froze completely in games like WoW, The movies and Mount & Blade. It got completely hardlocked after 10 min-2hs of playing. I couldn't tab out, do ctr+alt+del or anything, and had to restart it manually. My conversations on skype also ended when this happened. So, I formatted the computer and the problem was fixed until now, but now it has happened again.

My rig is:

Amd XP 3200+
Ati X850 PRO 256 mb
1 gig ram
160 gig harddrive
350W PSU


The only thing I've changed on the computer is the graphics card, but that was way before these problems started occuring. Ofcourse that could still be it and the natural thing to look at is the PSU, but that should cope, no?

I would be extremely grateful for any help I could get with this problem, thanks! Also, just ask if i need to provide more information.

[kid]

It could be many things. That's the trouble with computers. It's also nigh impossible to pinpoint over the net.

Maybe the hard drive. If it's old. Corrupted sectors could be the problem (your games would be installed on them, or part of them, so when you access a specific file from that game that's in a bad sector, it freezes). Try a defrag and a scan (unlikely, but you never know)

Could also be the RAM. If static electricity has damaged a section, there's no way to know. There are no RAM scanners (to my knolwedge) and certain programs trying to access specific damaged sections could cause a crash. The bad news is that there's no way to fix that. Swap it out if you can and see.

I'd hazard a guess that it was a software issue however. The fact that a fromat fixed it for a while points to it. Do you have an anti-virus? Is it good? Is it updated? Do you have a firewall? Could a virus conceivably have gotten in? How about spyware? It's not what people commonly look for, but spyware tends to be badly built, being mostly illegal, and could therefore cause such problems.
Do you have a service pack installed? Two? A few friends of mine often compare the service packs to a virus. It fixes things, but the patch itself is very buggy. Depends on your point of view. (I'm with virus)
Can you remember what you installed recently before the problems started? Or if you can remember the date they started, you can run a systemwide search on files created and modified after that point, and look for anything suspicious (e.g. not having installed service packs, but finding core system files modified)

The good news is that it isn't likely to be your graphics card. If it worked perfectly from "way back" to now, it's unlikely to just go haywire at the site of a particular game.

Nor is it your PSU. If power gets through and nothing happens when you don't access those programs, then power gets through. Specific games don't suck more juice.

[fatsheep]

Your PSU is generic brand? In that case my best guess is it is starting to give out. I'd try investing in a good brand name PSU such as antec, FSP group, enermax, zippy, pc power&cooling, seasonic, and OCZ.

-sheep

[Leatherpenguin]

Thanks a lot for the answers!

About the questions, I'm using SP2 and I do have anti-virus installed, not sure if it's good though. Using AVG free edition. Also, I have a router which works as my firewall. I'll do some scans and defrag it though. Now that I think about it, it's been a looong time since I last did it.
I'll just try this and go for the more drastic solutions if it doesn't work.

Also, I have no idea if my PSU is of "generic brand" or not. How do I find out? Open the computer?

[Ahlerich]

generic powersupply suck... i once baught one and since then i had 2 warranty replacement because they died after half an year. most symptoms there:
pc restarts automatically, unpredictable.
doesnt start up at all..or freezes.
a very common thing that freezes a computer is when it gets to hot as well. you should open the case just for kicks and play a few hours and see if it happens again. this is a very easy way to check if its a heat problem. if your pc is close to a wall so the heat that comes out at the back cant go aways might be too. i would try that first before i get a new power supply. but buying a good powersupply for 50$ is not wasted money in your case anyways..

[kid]

I don't agree. It could be the PSU or the CPU overheating if the PC froze randomly, especially during startup, or restarts, but the fact that it freezes only when you run certain programs eliminates that option, so does the fact that a format seemed to fix it. Does it ever fully crash BTW? (I mean restart)

I'm for the service packs being the problem, but then I hate them all. An almost foolproof answer would be to format again and install nothing at all except drivers, then run the programs. If that doesn't work, you can start checking out the hardware, and if it does, then monitor what you install very carefully after that.

[Ahlerich]

well it freezes during games..so when the cpu is working hard...i still think jheat could be an issue

[allthesedamnnamesaretaken]

it could be an overheating issue. i didn't have issues until i put a new x800 pro in my system, then my cpu started to hang due to overheating due to the extra heat coming off the vid card. putting in a new high speed fan did the trick for me. no more hang-ups or locks etc

[fatsheep]

Well reformatting would not help an overheating problem any more then it would a power supply problem. When you're running 3d games, the video card (the main power consumer in this machine) is going to be drawing the most juice, which is probably enough to overload a generic 350w psu. I doubt the service packs have anything to do with it and I am clueless of how a reformatting seemed to fix the problem temporarily. If you ask me it's most likely your PSU. The second most likely problem is overheating.

Also, I'd switch to AntiVir. I've used AVG before and I prefer AntiVir more. It was also recommended to me by my local hardware store. http://www.free-av.com/

-sheep

[kid]

I'd normally agree, if it wasn't for the fact that formatting helped the first time. If the graphics card was changed long before the problems started, then it's unlikely to be an overheating issue or a power issue or he would have noticed much earlier. (unless a fan somewhere just stopped working, but that is pretty darn unlikely. Fans are simple creatures, they stay happy easily)

[fatsheep]

Yes, however, since his power supply is generic, his PSU could be starting to give out. This often happens with cheapo power supplies, just read around on overclocking forums, you'll see someone who fried a good portion of their PC because of a cheapo power supply that suddenly gave out. Cheapo PSUs are made of cheapo parts which don't last nearly as long. For example, my last computer had a power supply problem which only became evident after a few years of use. My PSU was a 300 watt generic that came with the $45 case I bought. Since my hardware wasn't very demanding it didn't start crashing until a few years later. You can get bargain deals but with Power Supplies you ultimately get what you pay for. In his case, upgrading to a x850 pro could have simply sped up the death of his generic 350 watt. I'm going to be stubborn and stick with the bad PSU theory. :wink:

[Ahlerich]

ya i only one time in my life bought a cheap 20$ generic psu because i litterally had no money. and i got 2 warrenty replacements for it already in one year.

[kid]

I stand corrected. I didn't know that it was that common. This does indeed work around the time problem, so my second argument isn't valid anymore (I tend to go with 2 bars from cheapest as a rule, as do my friends, so I've had no such problems) but the first is. If it was a faulty PSU, then a format would have accomplished nothig at all. I'm going to be equally stubborn and stick to the software theory.

So there.

[Leatherpenguin]

Thanks for the replies.

It hasn't crashed in a while now, but if it starts happening again, I'll pick up a new PSU. Guess it wouldn't hurt anyway if that's not it.

[Ahlerich]

an ok psu 350 watt or so costs roughly 50bucks, thats not big money and its reliable.

[fatsheep]

Here are a few budget-friendly options:

• Smartpower (Antec)
• Truepower(Antec)
• Tagan
• FSP Group

-sheep