video card causing crashing only while playing games

[purpleturtle]

I swapped out my new video card for the old to make sure this was the problem. It seems that indeed the new card is the problem as it crashes to blue screen (before being able to read any of the text) then restarts and has the "your windows recovered from a serious error message" on rebooting.
There is a smart doctor utility which does rarely tell me the voltage is too low on the card and it is for very short period of time, and my power supply is a little dated, I feel it could be this but wouldnt know what to update to either.

The game i want to run is battelfield 2 which is quite intensive but i was running this game fine when i first got the card, the pc hasnt been used in 7 months then this problem all of a sudden.

Any ideas ?

My spec
--------------------------
Microsoft Windows XP Professional Service Pack 2 (Build 2600) Windows XP
AMD AMD Athlon(tm) XP 3200+ 2204.9 [Processor Speed 2204.9 ]
System Memory 1024.5
DirectX Version 9.0c [4.09.0000.0904]
Display Device Asus v9999 /TD NVIDIA GeForce 6800
Display Memory 128.0
Display Driver 6.14.10.7730
Sound Device SB Live! Audio [C400]
Sound Driver 5.12.01.0252-1.31.0120

 

[1Tanker]

I swapped out my new video card for the old to make sure this was the problem. It seems that indeed the new card is the problem as it crashes to blue screen (before being able to read any of the text) then restarts and has the "your windows recovered from a serious error message" on rebooting.
There is a smart doctor utility which does rarely tell me the voltage is too low on the card and it is for very short period of time, and my power supply is a little dated, I feel it could be this but wouldnt know what to update to either.

The game i want to run is battelfield 2 which is quite intensive but i was running this game fine when i first got the card, the pc hasnt been used in 7 months then this problem all of a sudden.

Any ideas ?

My spec
--------------------------
Microsoft Windows XP Professional Service Pack 2 (Build 2600) Windows XP
AMD AMD Athlon(tm) XP 3200+ 2204.9 [Processor Speed 2204.9 ]
System Memory 1024.5
DirectX Version 9.0c [4.09.0000.0904]
Display Device Asus v9999 /TD NVIDIA GeForce 6800
Display Memory 128.0
Display Driver 6.14.10.7730
Sound Device SB Live! Audio [C400]
Sound Driver 5.12.01.0252-1.31.0120

Did you make sure to plug in the auxilliary power connector on the end of the card? If so, it probably is your PSU not strong enough to supply the new(more demanding i assume) video card. GL

 

[purpleturtle]

yes it is and always was plugged in, i have heard that some people dont even bother to do that is that a myth?

 

[Sagekilla]

For some video cards the powre connector to the back of the card isn't necessary (they won't even include it) because the PCIe slot will provide more then enough power. That's only on the low end, a high end card like a 7900 GTX or X1900XT will need it though. Anyone who says they don't run that cable with a card like that is a complete moron.

Furthermore, I'm 99% sure that the OS will warn you that your video card isn't getting enough power. On my very first self built rig, the one I'm using, I forgot to plug in the power cable and Windows warned me about it after I installed the drivers.

 

[enforcer22]

Hardly a myth hell most the time the computer wont even boot till its plugged in. Normaly i geta error from the video card graphicly on the screen saying its not plugged in before it even posts. I might be blind but i didnt see you mention your PSU at all. Dated yes but eh specs? Hope its at least a 500watt considering your system true power not a cheapo thing that pushs 300watt but says 500watt. Look up what your video card wants on the rails also make sure you have enough amps going through for it to feed on. Also make sure the card is seated correctly. Had a issue simler to yours only because it wasnt seated. I pushed on my card and felt a click as it "slammed" into the slot and never had the problem after that. I would say its a heat issue but um it dont even get into the game so yeah.

 

[purpleturtle]

It was seated correctly. It is only a 300 w peak PSU. I have an ATX format case so i think I should just be able to buy one pretty cheaply no? then we can see if that is the problem.
Any recommends.
cheers

 

[enforcer22]

yeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeah 300watt hmmmmm 550watt anyone? defanitly your psu 300watt was almost border line when the AMD thunderbirds were our years and years ago.

 

[purpleturtle]

I have a regular tower case, ATX form factor, what should I look out for ? Hope they are all the same size.

I have found this one, I want to check to see if it has enough power connectors though.

http://ebuyer.com/customer/products/index.html?rb=22571296960&action=c2hvd19wcm9kdWN0X3Jldmlld3M=&product_uid=109466

 

[enforcer22]

a 550 should fit it just fine. my suggestion is enermax. not sure if they make quiet ones but if your one of those i need a quite ass computer wierdos im sure someone can point out a frying pan for you

 

[purpleturtle]

thanks for all your helps, i guess this thread is dead until i get it and try it.
cheers

 

[purpleturtle]

It seems to have cured the problem! BUT

I need a splitter to extend some of the inadequate cabling. Can I chop the ends of my old power cable and just manually with a proper connector make my own splitters for the power ? or to extend one.

I am thinking this is very possible just wondering if I cant for some unknown reason ?

thanks.

 

[purpleturtle]

BUMP..

 

[enforcer22]

You can buy extension cables for molex connectors and spliters for more connections. You could do it your self but i would research it all to hell so you dont wire it wrong and blow something out. You wont get a second chance on that if you wire it wrong.

 

[purpleturtle]

This is no longer solved, it has started to crash again with every single game the following is the report after i submit to windows the error after it has restarted and blue screened.
[code:1:e8d1ecaef6]

Error caused by a video device driver

Thank you for sending an error report to Microsoft.

Error report summary

Error type Windows stop error (A message appears on a blue screen with error code information)
Solution available? Yes
What does this error mean? You received this message because a device driver installed on your computer caused the Windows operating system to stop unexpectedly. This type of error is referred t
o as a "stop error." A stop error requires you to restart your computer.
Cause A video adapter device driver
Computer symptoms A message appears on a blue screen with error code information:

STOP 0x000000EA THREAD_STUCK_IN_DEVICE_DRIVER
- or -
STOP: 0x100000EA THREAD_STUCK_IN_DEVICE_DRIVER_M

Action for you to take

We have analyzed your error report and there are two solutions for this problem for you to choose between.
+ Solution 1: Install the most current driver for your video card

* Go to the Microsoft Update website to see if there are any updated drivers for your video card. A driver is software that enables hardware or devices (such as a printer, mouse, or keyboard) to work with your computer. Every device needs a driver in order for it to work. If there are any drivers listed, you should install them.
* If there are no updated drivers at Microsoft Update, and you know the manufacturer of the video card, contact the card manufacturer's product support service for assistance.
* If there are no updated drivers at Microsoft Update, you don't know the name of the manufacturer of the video card, and you need more help diagnosing and resolving this problem, contact your computer manufacturer's product support service.

+ Solution 2: Manually decrease Hardware Acceleration for your video adapter

This procedure prevents the display driver from programming the hardware incorrectly, but you may lose some display functionality and performance. Although you can increase the hardware acceleration settings higher than None to regain functionality and performance, these settings increase the chance that the issue will occur again. For maximum stability, leave hardware acceleration turned off.

1. Click Start, click Control Panel, and then double-click Display.
2. Click the Settings tab, and then click Advanced.
3. Click the Troubleshoot tab, move the Hardware Acceleration slider to None, and then clear the Enable Write Combining check box.
4. Click OK, and then click OK.
Note: This procedure prevents the display driver from programming the hardware incorrectly, but you may lose some display functionality and performance. Although you can increase the hardware acceleration settings higher than None to regain functionality and performance, these settings increase the chance that the issue will occur again. For maximum stability, leave hardware acceleration off.

Article ID : 11
Last Review : February 28, 2006
Revision : 1.0

Additional Technical Information

* Error Message: STOP 0x000000EA THREAD_STUCK_IN_DEVICE_DRIVER (Q293078[/code:1:e8d1ecaef6]

or the link

http://oca.microsoft.com/en/response.aspx?SGD=557c98eb-fab8-43b4-9532-9e33aba79ce7&SID=11


how can i decrease the hardware acceleration. is this using the asus doctor software. Or is this setting in the bios.
thanks asus website is really bad and i cant get the latest drivers for my card.

 

[enforcer22]

Would help a bit to hear what it is you did to resolve it in the first place. Dont listen to the MS site there is no need to do that. Though upgrading the driver if possible sometimes helps in my exp is also mostly a waste of time.

 

[predatorgsr]

Well I don't know how to fix your video card problem, but to disable the system restarting so you can read the bsod, go to control panel, system, advanced, startup + recovery>settings, and uncheck "automatically restart".

 

[purpleturtle]

It seems some of the older games work fine. Could this indicate newer graphics technologies the new games employ ?

I have direct x 9.0c

 

[enforcer22]

what psu are you running wiht what video card now? you never told us where you went with your trouble shooting yet.

 

[purpleturtle]

I put the PSU in which I linked to above. Its a 500 w one. I hope its the watts which count, in either case its been money wasted.

I tried lowering all the settings and reducing the acceleration through windows to the minimum for the game which seemed to allow it to work for a bit before doing the freeze this time.

I just feel really that PC gaming sucks, this game Battlefield I love and its not as good on the console but at least that works.
Every time a new patch new issues..

I guess i should try the old version of the game again, but really I feel it is the card. Would you believe its just outside its guarantee period now (1yr)

so to recap just updated driver from nvidia this time and added new power supply unit.

Out of interest to predatorgsr- I couldnt stop the machine trying to restart so cant read the message.
thanks EnFoRceR22

 

[enforcer22]

The wattage is one thing the other is the amps on the rails i think someone mentioned that earlyer. would help to know which psu you have maybe i can google up some advice. put a link is possible. That is why i told you to not mess with that setting it does nothing like a console you have to use a specific quality part for each part in the box. microsft just took all the time finding which parts to use together like anyone who builds a computer has to.

 

[purpleturtle]

its here again, im going to install nvidia ntune, to see if i get any clues there.

http://www.ebuyer.com/customer/products/index.html?rb=22571296960&action=c2hvd19wcm9kdWN0X3Jldmlld3M=&product_uid=109466

thanks
calvin

 

[enforcer22]

Ok that power supply is most defanitly not suitable for a high end video card. Take it back or ship it backwhatever. I did a search on that site and it doesnt seem they sell any good PSU so im afraid ill have to supply alink on newegg which i know wont be in your currency but im sure you can find it pretty easy ona Euro site. The problem is a quality psu costs alot more then $12 or whatever. its going to cost at least $50 for quality though i cant find a 500watt for under about $80 im sure someone else can point you tword a equialy stable PSU witha lower price just stay away from thermal take and gineric psu's but here is my recomendation.


http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16817103447

quad rail psu that as long as you connect them correctly and even out the power spread will run rock solid stable. I realise its spendy though so probly not what your looking for but youll never have a problem with this

here is one im sure would work just fine

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16817103437

bit cheaper but around hte price your going to pay for something with the amps and power output you need. i expect youll pay around $80 no matter what brand you go with when buying quality psu's give or take $20

 

[purpleturtle]

Im stuck with it as I cut the ends off to add a molex extension. Anyway the previous psu used to run the game fine and its less powerful.
There are a lot of people saying this psu is ok. Either way i cant afford to run any more upgrades yet.
Thanks for your help and time though.

 

[enforcer22]

If the wattage was all that counted then yes i would say its fine to but its not. You said it worked fine but this thread started with it not working and blue screening because of low voltage or whatever you said. I would say your still having the same problem since that power supply is doubtfully close to 500watts. but whatever if you cant get a new one like you said your stuck.