Computer Constantly Crashing...

[Sogarth]

Hey guys, I was waiting to purchase a new computer until after Vista and DX10 was released so to help pass the time so I can play CS:S better I bought a 6600GT 128mb. Since then, every time I play a game my computer automatically restarts after roughly 20 - 120 seconds into the game. The only game that doesn't cause my comp to do this are old games like Diablo 2 and StarCraft. At first I thought it was overheating as a read this card was sold overclocked, so I put on a Zalman heatsink and fan which was no use. I searched forums for people with similar problems but couldn't find any so i decided to ask myself.

Thanks for the help.

 

[BobtheDead]

Hi! What kind of power supply are you running? And how many watts/amps is it rated for? If the issue isnt heat related, id begin to suspect the powersupply.

Also, have you tryed this on any other games? Prehaps of differing DX generations?

 

[Sogarth]

I'm no computer wiz but what I'm about to say is gonna make me sound like a complete noob. But for the sake of getting this to work, here we go:

I replaced my old one cuz it made too much noise. I brought it in to my comp' shop and let them choose it cuz I was worried I would get the wrong one. Here is what the sticker says on the side:

FAN CONTROLLED ATX12V POWER SUPPLY

AC input: 230V ~, 50Hz, 4A

DC Output: +5V=32A(red), +12V=21A(yellow), +3.3V=28A(Orange), PG(gray), -5V=0.5A(white), -12V=0.8A(blue), +5Vsb=2.0A(purple)

Rating Output Watts 400W, +5V, +3.3V:230W, +5V, +3.3V&+12V:390W

So 400W I'm guessing... Maybe I should downgrade to 350W?

 

[Sogarth]

AMD Athlon XP 2600+
Asus A7V8X-X Mobo
1x 1024MB Ram (this is also new, replaced 1x 256 and 1x 512 slower RAM)
6600GT 128mb (AGP obviously)
1x 100gb, 1x 20gb Hard drives (standard stuff, had 'em for a while so these aren't the problem i think.

As for the problem registered in the Event Viewer, this must be it, since I dont get system errors any other time:

Description:
Error code 1000008e, parameter1 c0000005, parameter2 bfac28bc, parameter3 b6529b04, parameter4 00000000.

Data:
(Bytes):
0000: 53 79 73 74 65 6d 20 45 System E
0008: 72 72 6f 72 20 20 45 72 rror Er
0010: 72 6f 72 20 63 6f 64 65 ror code
0018: 20 31 30 30 30 30 30 38 1000008
0020: 65 20 20 50 61 72 61 6d e Param
0028: 65 74 65 72 73 20 63 30 eters c0
0030: 30 30 30 30 30 35 2c 20 000005,
0038: 62 66 61 63 32 38 62 63 bfac28bc
0040: 2c 20 62 36 35 32 39 62 , b6529b
0048: 30 34 2c 20 30 30 30 30 04, 0000
0050: 30 30 30 30 0000

(words):
0000: 74737953 45206d65 726f7272 72452020
0010: 20726f72 65646f63 30303120 38303030
0020: 50202065 6d617261 72657465 30632073
0030: 30303030 202c3530 63616662 63623832
0040: 3662202c 62393235 202c3430 30303030
0050: 30303030

Ran the DX diagnostic and is states no errors of problems and all tests were successfully carried out.

 

[sailer]

My first thought is that there is a problem with the graphics card or the power supply. When you're running on the desk top or in the old games, you're not using much gpu power at all, so it might handle it. Try reseating the card, then going to the companiy's website and downloading the latest drivers. If the problem persists, then try your old card again and see if the crashing goes away. If it does, then the new card is probably bad and you should RMA it. One other thing to try is to put the card in someone else's computer and see if their computer crashes out. If it does, that confirms the graphics card as the problem.

However, if the graphics card works in someone else's computer, the next suspect is the power supply. Yes, the listed wattage is high enough, but the power supply might not be putting out that wattage. You didn't list the brand name of the psu, so can't comment on that, but some brands have a lot more problems then others. Even if it is a good brand, dead psu's happen to all companies, though.

 

[Sogarth]

Cool thx. Did that, and got a answer and a method of how to correct it. However this is step 2 and 3:

2. In the Address box, type %windir%system32drivers, and then press ENTER.
3. Locate the randomly named .sys file, right-click the file, and then select Rename.

Problem: i have about 200 .sys files in here, all of which seem randomly named to me. Should i just forget this and carry on with the next steps or am i being a complete moron?