Tom's Hardware > Forum > Homebuilt Systems > General Homebuilt > Computer Crashes
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crazyhandpuppet   08-23-2006 at 05:43:41 PM

I've slowly built a computer for my brother over the last couple of years as parts break or needs an upgrade. Originally I though the crashes were related to the old components:

Originally:
Asus MB w/ VIA Chipset
Athlon 1.2Ghz Chip
Generic Case / 250 Watt PS
Stealth3 S540 VC
256MB DDR 266 Generic Ram

Now:
Biostar K7NCG-400 (I Think)
Athlon XP 2500 @ 333FSB
Kingston ValueRAM @ 400mhz (yes I know it is asynchronous)
ATI 9600XT
Same Case, New 300Watt PS
No Overclocking

I know it may seem a bit outdated to some of you, but it really runs great. The main problem I have is that in games, particularly SIMS2, the computer will just restart. I've had him uncheck the automatic restart in the system properties panel, but that just makes it crash back to the desktop. No error codes or anything.

Steps I've tried:
Changed CPU w/ another XP 2500
Changed PS
Tested RAM w/ memtest
Formatted and Reinstalled Windows
Temps look fine with speedfan

He has a new CPU, MB, RAM, VC, PS, & DVD-RW and I still get the same crash. Any ideas?

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crazyhandpuppet   08-24-2006 at 04:58:11 PM
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The problem was happening back when he was still using the ASUS MB with the Athlon 1.2. They didn't have SIMS 2 back then, but it was still crashing randomly during games like Serious Sam.

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crazyhandpuppet   08-24-2006 at 06:17:17 PM
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I dont remember getting him a new HD, but I know he has 2 so I'm not sure if it has changed or not. I just called him and he will check tonight to see how old it is. I'll post back when I find out.

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atp777   08-24-2006 at 06:26:07 PM
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To tell you the truth, I've had this happen many times, with the SIMS 1 & 2, and a few other games. It's happened on my Dell laptop, but never on my desk top and I figured it would do so on my desktop since it is custom built. I never did find a reason for why it happened because something happened where I formatted the HDD and re-installed WinXP Pro and after that the games ran fine. Thought maybe it was a DX problem, but still unsure about it.

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qwertycopter   08-24-2006 at 06:28:04 PM
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Wait hold on. You said you're using the same case. I would bet this is a heat problem. Is the case properly ventilated? Random lockups during heavy gaming, but not during normal use.. over both systems. Gotta be heat. Buy some case fans or a new case.

If you want to test it, pop the side off of the case and point a high speed fan at it while you game. If you don't get the random crashes, you know it's heat.

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crazyhandpuppet   08-24-2006 at 09:33:46 PM
- 0 +

That was my first guess, but speedfan showed good temps. It may be off so I'll have him give it a shot with the fan and see.

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