graphics card problem (I think)

[Jaziek]

recently my PC has begun blue screening randomly when playing games. Not blue screening as in showing an error message and memory dumping and all that.. just a blue screen, no text, nothing. I have absolutely no idea whats causing this, and can only assume its a graphics card issue. Its been happening for a while, but now its beginning to get a lot more frequent. I really need help to stop this since its making games nigh on unplayable.

[AlexTeHowneR]

This also happened to me for a while. It was, I think, a combination of problems. First, my sound driver was outdated. Then, I found out my processor was going about 700 MHz slower than it used to be. Games would play a little, then I would get the blue screen of death. I then proceeded to download/install the latest graphics card drivers, and now all of my games work fine.

[Mamong]

Make sure all your drivers are updated to their latest versions.

 

 

 

Outdated drivers can cause problems.

[Nadril]

Updated drivers could be a good start. What video card are you using and what are your PC specs? Also what games is it crashing in, all of them or just some? (Like, name a few).

[Denismage]

Blue screen with no text? Sounds like your video card is overheating. Go clean the case and the fans from dust.

[Jaziek]

It crashes in most games. WoW since i play that the most. Drivers are fully up to date, theres no other major programs running in the background (that excludes antivirus and firewall ofc). Its running from the primary hard drive... I really cant think of anything else.

 

 

 

I'm also getting a lot of normal BSoDs. Just randomly. I got 4 in a row about an hour ago.. i.e blue screen, restart, insta-bluescreen, restart, intsa-bluescreen.... Bizarrely, the error message was different every time.

[Cruiser]

I'm also getting a lot of normal BSoDs. Just randomly. I got 4 in a row about an hour ago.. i.e blue screen, restart, insta-bluescreen, restart, intsa-bluescreen.... Bizarrely, the error message was different every time.

 

Would be helpful if we actually knew what those were so we could track down your problem. :wall:

[Jaziek]

I'm also getting a lot of normal BSoDs. Just randomly. I got 4 in a row about an hour ago.. i.e blue screen, restart, insta-bluescreen, restart, intsa-bluescreen.... Bizarrely, the error message was different every time.

 

Would be helpful if we actually knew what those were so we could track down your problem. :wall:

 

 

 

well erm... 2 of them were hard drive errors, and I think the other 2 were video card problems...

 

 

 

as for specs

 

 

 

4.5 year old PC running XP home

 

 

 

Manufacturer: PC World

 

Processor: Intel® Pentium® 4 CPU 3.00GHz (2 CPUs)

 

Memory: 1536MB RAM

 

Hard Drive: 410 GB Total

 

Video Card: RADEON 9800 XT

 

Monitor: 17" LCD Monitor

 

Sound Card: C-Media Wave Device

 

Speakers/Headphones: Logitech C20 speakers

 

Keyboard: USB Root Hub

 

Mouse: USB Root Hub

 

Operating System: Windows XP Home Edition (5.1, Build 2600) Service Pack 2 (2600.xpsp_sp2_gdr.061219-0316)

 

 

 

according to xfire. (cant remember the last time i updated that, the OS thing is probably very minorly innacurate.)

[Denismage]

Are any components overclocked, does the bsoding stop when you let the computer "rest"?

 

 

 

Write down the text bsod shows and post here.

[Jaziek]

Are any components overclocked, does the bsoding stop when you let the computer "rest"?

 

 

 

Write down the text bsod shows and post here.

 

 

 

All components are at normal speed, and er... I left my PC for a weekend and got a full night's worth of play from it with no problems, but it seems leaving it off for only 16-18 hours isnt enough for a proper "rest". I'm gonna try and clear out all the dust from inside the case. (is there a specific way to do this very safely?) Also, i'll write down the BSoD message when it happens, but i'm not gonna BSoD my PC intentionally.