Having trouble with my AMD

[elric]

Hi,

I don't really know if it's the right place to post that kind of thing but I have a serious problem that I would like to stop. Can I have your help please?, I'm a total hardware newbie(gamer) and I'm sure you guys will find out what's my problem quickly. Here's my computer's specs for those who cares(cpu, motherboard, memory, harddisk, videocard, soundcard, power supply and os):

AMD Athlon xp 2.1
Asus A7V333-RAID
512mb drr 333mhz
2 x 40.9 Maxtor 7200rpm ata/133
asus ti4400 128m gf4
clabs soundblaster audigy gamer
standard enlight 340W
ms xp home edition

Here's my problem: My computer is rebooting suddenly most frequently when I'm running a game like Half-Life per example. Just before it reboots, a blue and white coded screen appears for about 1 or 2 seconds. Here's my thoughts, tell me if I'm wrong:

#1 I need a cooling system or a better fan, its due to some overheating.
#2 I need a stronger power supply, this one is cheap as hell.

Thank you for taking the time to resolve my problem!
Cya!

elric

 

[jwhytsel]

I'm not exactly an expert, but here goes. First try rebooting your computer, enter the BIOS, check under "Hardware Monitoring", it should tell you your CPU temperature. Over 80 deg. Celsius and cooling is definitely your problem. You don't want to get even close to that mark. Also, make sure you have the latest versions of all drivers. Especially you video drivers and DirectX 8. (DirectX9 can be a little shaky). Not the end all to your problem, but a good place to start.

Ignorance is bliss, and i'm a happy guy!<P ID="edit"><FONT SIZE=-1><EM>Edited by jwhytsel on 02/15/03 01:36 AM.</EM></FONT></P>

 

[fiask0]

If you're running XP, go to my computer, then properties, then advanced, then go to start up and recovery, settings, then uncheck the "automatically restart" box. That way when you get those blue screens you can see what it says and it might help you diagnose your problem better. I'd say check your temperatures, power supply, and memory, in that order.

 

[Stormfury]

"If you're running XP, go to my computer, then properties, then advanced, then go to start up and recovery, settings, then uncheck the "automatically restart" box. That way when you get those blue screens you can see what it says and it might help you diagnose your problem better. I'd say check your temperatures, power supply, and memory, in that order."

Will this make my blue screen error stop when I try to shut down my computer so I can read what it says?? The damn thing just pops up for 2 seconds and restarts. Thanks

 

[fiask0]

Yeah, instead of rebooting, you'll just get the blue screen and it won't reboot untill you hit the reset button, power button, etc. This way will let you see what windows is trying to tell you. You can also try to read the error log.

Start, Help and Support, Under where it says Pick a Task, go to Use tools to view computer problems, on the left, go to Advanced System Information, then click view error log.