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Computer Keeps Crashing.... VPU Recovery sometimes works

Last response: in Graphics & Displays
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Hi guys,

Not sure if this should be posted here, if it isn't, i apologise in advance.

Just a few days ago, my computer started crashing while I was playing games (Crashes easily in World of Warcraft(30 mins before a crash?), crashes after a while playing Command & Conquer - tiberium wars(1 - 2 hours before a crash?)). If i'm lucky, ATi's VPU Recovery kicks in and saves my computer from completely crashing. My computer stats are as follows:

CPU: AMD AM2 Dual Core 3800+
Motherboard: ASUS AM2-M2V
HDD: Seagate 320gb SATA HDD
Graphics Card: Powercolor X1950 Pro 512MB
RAM: Samsung 2GB DDR2 667Mhz 5300

I haven't installed or changed settings for any hardware/software prior to the crash problem starting.

I've tried taking the following steps:
1. Run Scandisk.
2. Run Disk defragmentation.
3. Run Anti-virus scan
4. Run spyware scan.
5. Update Video Card drivers
6. Turned off all other applications while gaming
7. Checked for overheating (CPU,Motherboard,graphics card are all under 35 degrees celcius)
8. Checked cable connections for all hardware
9. Left computer running overnight(no games running) - no problems

Any ideas? Thank you all very much in advance for reading this and helping out.

More about : computer crashing vpu recovery works

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Ah. The PSU was something I overlooked when I upgraded my computer in January. Brought the system to a computer store and they fit a new PSU to my computer which supported my vidcard.

its been running fine for the past (almost) 6 months now. Could the PSU still be a potential cause of the problem?

Thanks again!
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Hi Sailer,

my PSU details are as follows:

Name: Hytec HYT-550A
Total Output: 550W

DC Out: +3.3V
Max A: 27A

DC Out: +5V
Max A: 29A

DC Out: +12V1
Max A: 18A

DC Out: +12V2
Max A: 18A

DC Out: -5V
Max A: 0.8A

DC Out: -12V
Max A: 0.8A

DC Out: +5Vsb
Max A: 2A


Also, recently my computer crashed with a blue screen with the following details:

- A problem was detected and windows is shut down to prevent any damage to your computer.
- Fault was detected in: ati2dvag
- device driver got stuck in an infinite loop
- Technical information:
*** STOP: 0x000000EA (0X88D9A020, 0X890DA548, 0XBACEBCBC, 0X00000001)
Graphics card Master

Hi i had a weird prob like this a while back it started happening after i tweaked the graphics settings on oblivion avery time i killed a certain player at a set point in the game the pc made a "click"noise and rebooted itself, is this like what you are getting ?
I have been fine since i turned the settings down a bit.dont know what caused it but i suspect psu. it also did it when starting up using the first set of drivers i upgraded to so it could be driver related also.
Hope this helps
Mactronix

Hi Mactronix,

I think my problem is different from yours(I could be wrong tho). But it seems to happen quite randomly in different games. I don't get the 'clicking' noise (i did have a prob like that but it turns out it was my hard disk dying).

The game just basically freezes (unless ATi's VPU Recovery kicks in). So I have to manually reboot my computer.

ATI's VPU recovery message has been a long problem back to at least the ATI 9xxx's. If you search the internet, you will find this is a common problem. I had to switch back to NVIDIA, because it never gave me a problem where I couldn't find a reasonable solution. In your situation, it's not the power supply. I have a hunch some of ATI's card is just faulty, and sometimes their drivers are buggy and they're not revised as much as NVIDIA's drivers. The reason I say this is, after you search the internet for "VPU recovery problems", you'll know. I had an ATI x850pro, it had the same problem too. However, I had an ATI x800xl also, and it worked flawlessly. Therefore, you should RMA the card.

I have the same exact problems (same with C&C3 and WoW) and I managed to fix the problem by opening my case and pointing my fan at the video card! I guess she was overheating. Ghetto fix, I know it, but it works.
Graphics card Master

Just wondering if lumpking69 could be on to something with the overheating angle.
I rechecked your first post and 35 celcius seems overly cool for that card to me considering the amount of posts i have seen complaining about how hot they run.
Just a thought but is it possable that your monitoring software is wrong and the card is overheating.
There was a post not so long ago where the op found that his cooler wasnt seated properly on the card.
Just another thing for you to try and rule out. :) 

Mactronix

The wattage of the psu is ok, but I haven't found the brand name among any of the "recommended" psu lists. I was asking because some psu brands are notoriously bad in failure rates or in not supplying the claimed power. As such your psu is suspect, though it may not be the source of the problem.

I agree with Lumpking that heat may be the prime issue. I was having overheat troubles with my X1900 XTX Toxic, along with VPU overheat crashes, and traced it to a bad water pump, which unfortunately cooked the card. I now have a 8800 GTS and all the previous heat related troubles have been solved. As such, I'd suggest trying to increase airflow over your card and finding out if that helps. If not, then try the card in another computer and see if the problem still occurs. Alternatively, try a different card in your computer and see if the problem goes away. If the card has been damaged, it may well cause VPU overheat issues that you are experiencing.

i've been testing out some things on my card. I've opened out the side of the case, and i'm blowing a table fan straight at it.

I've downloaded ATi Tray Tools as well. I'm using it to make the fan blow at 100% all the time. The crashes still happen =/ which make me doubt that overheating is really the issue.

I'm just now trying to underclock the video card. it seems to help a little but i think its still too early to say anything.

What i plan to do is to close the case back in, set the vpu fan back to normal and just run the video card underclocked. if it doesn't crash, i'm hoping this would help prove that overheating isn't an issue with my problem.

any other ideas what could be wrong? could it be the power supply? =/

Quote:
any other ideas what could be wrong? could it be the power supply? =/


Given the efforts you made to cool the card, unless its already been damaged, my guess would be that there is a problem with the psu. If you have access to a different computer, you might try the graphics card and see if the problem remains, but if the card works in a different computer, then the psu becomes suspect.
Graphics card Master

Quote:
i've been testing out some things on my card. I've opened out the side of the case, and i'm blowing a table fan straight at it.

I've downloaded ATi Tray Tools as well. I'm using it to make the fan blow at 100% all the time. The crashes still happen =/ which make me doubt that overheating is really the issue.

I'm just now trying to underclock the video card. it seems to help a little but i think its still too early to say anything.


I experienced a similar issue with my X1900XT around a month ago. My PC was running smoothly for around 8 months before my X1900XT started to give me problems.

My card was running at stock speed and overheating was not the issue. Even when underclocked the GPU would still crash my system. I figure the VRAM could have gone bad which would eventually cause the GPU to crash and bring down the PC.

I tried one final remedy which actually fixed the problem. I removed the X1900XT from my PC and disconnected the power cord. Since I have the video card outside the PC I figured I might as well wipe off what little dust is on the card. Then I reinstalled the card, fired up a game and all is well now.

Reseating can do wonders.

I figured reseating would work 'cause every now and then the IDE PCI card would not detect the connected hard drive on bootup. A quick reseat of the IDE PCI card fixed the problem.

Ive got the same problem with my x1950xt. Everytime i play company of heroes the game crashes and i have to restart (infinite loop). Its the only game this happens in. Starting to really piss me off.

to jaguarskx- how did you clean the card. did you take the cooling off?
Graphics card Master

Quote:

to jaguarskx- how did you clean the card. did you take the cooling off?


Nah. I used a damp towel to wipe off what little dust was on the HSF itself. I didn't remove the HSF.

Well.......

I just bought a CoolerMaster iGreen 600W Power Supply to replace my current one. everything seemed to be going well until....... (yea u guessed it), the computer froze yet again.

Its winter now here in Australia. Ambient temperature in the room is approx 16 - 18 degrees Celsius (60 to 64 degrees fahrenheit). I'm using ATI Tray Tools to keep the card's fan running at 100% all the time. I have the side of my computer case open and a table fan blowing at the card. ATi Tray has a feature to show the card's stats on the screen while playing games. it seems to like crashing in places/times when the card's FPS is medium-to-low. card temperature with my current setup has been generally 40 degrees Celsius(104 fahrenheit).

And i'm all out of ideas :cry:  ATi's tech support team has stopped responding to me.
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