Freezing up..

When I play guildwars(It's happened a grand total of twice on CoD2, and never playing F.E.A.R., but ALWAYS on gw) I'll lock up, my speakers will frizz out and I have to reboot manually, and this is a brand new computer. I'm running on a geforce 6800(pci-e), and I don't know if that's the problem or not.

I ran prime95 for about a day, 3d mark and aquamark passed with flying colors(though I think that just tells you viability on games and not problems) And yes I put this computer together myself, it runs fine except when playing Guild Wars, and those 2 times on CoD2, I don't know why it does this.

Sometimes I can play for 5 minutes, sometimes 10, I got a 2 hour stretch in then I locked up 5 times in like 10 minutes afterwards. I deleted my gw.gat file and redownloaded from the client, and it didn't fix it. I'm just really frustrated because I can't play much of this game

Make sure you have the most current version of Microsoft Direct X located here: http://www.microsoft.com/windows/directx/default.aspx

Make sure you have the most current “official” video card driver. This can resolve a lot of issues.

Nvidia – http://www.nvidia.com/content/drivers/drivers.asp
Ati – http://www.ati.com/

I've done both of those when I first loaded my OS onto this system

There are a lot of things that can cause lockups like this. Can you give us more information about your system (CPU, motherboard make/model, RAM brand/model, power supply make/wattage, and a general run-down of internal peripherals you're using)?

With a little more information I can give you a short list of the most likely things to check.

AMD Athlon 64 3200+, 1gb Patriot RAM, geforce 6800(EVGA brand), XG Vortec 500 watt psu, Chaintech VNf4 Zenith VE motherboard(yeah it sucks but it had a pci-e slot and it was cheap). And my sound card is a sound blaster audigy 2 or somethin like that.

BTW My system runs at a constant 33 degrees celcius(my one friend said my OS might be the problem?) It's windows xp pro and UBER stripped down version I acquired from a friend..it doesn't even have paint on it, but it runs like a beast

I would guess thats the problem, having a Windows OS in your computer that could have a possible chance of missing some key files... I wouldn't suggest getting ripped versions of Windows, however you can go out and buy the Home Edition for under $100 US.

I just got XP Pro sp2 and installed it and it's the same problem, so it's definatly not my OS.

My friend said he had this problem with his computer when it was new but it went away.


It seems that it's not so bad the longer i Play but I mean, crashing in the middle of a long travel or a mission really sucks

Nah...the type of problem you're describing doesn't sound like software, and therefore not your OS. It sounds like a hardware problem.

Did you confirm that the memory you purchased it compatible with your motherboard? Unfortunately, not all makes/models of memory like to play nice with all motherboards. That's the first thing I would check. The motherboard manufacturer's web site should have a compatibility matrix.

Next I would test you memory to make sure it's not bad. Download this program and create the bootable floppy:

http://www.memtest86.com/memt32.zip

Boot from it and let the test run for at least 5 passes. If you start seeing errors reported you motherboard doesn't like your memory or the memory is bad and you need to get it replaced.

The next thing I would try is replacing the cable to your hard drive. Sounds weird, I know, but bad hard drive cables cause random lockups pretty often as well.

After you've tried that stuff let us know how it went. If you're still having problems you may have a problem with power or your motherboard. Cheap power supplies are another common source of lockups because they oftentimes will allow voltage drops that can make your hardware operate unreliably.

I personally believe it's a motherboard issue. This is a problem when people buy motherboards based on a lower price and not on what they offer. By motherboard issue's I mean, that it doesn't like what you attached to it, such as memory, cards, and whatever else.

Well, I suppose it could be, but the only way to find out is to troubleshoot the problem. At this point it could be a lot of things. I wouldn't assume it's the motherboard until other things have been tested.

People use cheap motherboards without problems all the time, but he could be looking at an issue with compatibility, power (from the motherboard to peripherals), or something motherboard related.

Right now it sounds to me like memory or power issues, but again, the only way to find out is to troubleshoot and narrow it down.

There should be some programs out there you can find on google to help him you out.

Here's a review on this motherboard: http://www.motherboards.org/reviews/...ds/1522_5.html

Not the best one in the world.

I've already ran memtest, no errors there, and my PSU is not a shitty brand or anything. But the thing that irks me the most as that I can run anything I want, HL2, CoD2, F.E.A.R. and not have these problems. Obviously it is something with my system but I just can't figure it out

And my IDE cable connected to my HDD is like....2 weeks old max

Also, what I'm thinking if it was hardware, my problems would have to be universal. It's not like I have a racist motherboard or anything like that "Oh yes, CoD2 woo woo!! Guild wars...DIEE!!" I'm half certain computers don't work like that

One can dream that stuff does work like that and I just need to 'break in' persay, my hdd, but alas I will slit my wrists and blacken my eyes should that be the case(poor attempt at humor sorry)

It looks like a hardware problem...
Guild Wars doesn't look down kindly on Nvidia Cards . Really.

I can only suppose that it's a Guild Wars problem.

Thats why I brought up it being the motherboard. It maybe doesn't like the Nivida Chipset, it's not the video card though since I got the same one and it works fine.

Except my motherboard is a NVIDIA nForce4 chipset..

Oh, hang on,
I use an Nvidia nForce4 chipset too, with an ATI X700 pro. Weird combination isn't it .

*Waits as the ATI and Nivdia Flamers come*

lol It is a bit weird to support both heh, most people are loyal to only one.

Anyhow, I hope your problem gets fixed soon, good luck!

Bump.