Video Card problems (maybe...)

[DrPaulLeet]

Whenever I try to play a game like hl2 or l4d2 my computer screen goes completely black after about 10 minutes play and doesnt return to normal

. also sometimes when i watch a lot of youtube videos my computer totally freezes and i have to restart it from the button. I have a ixtreme M5722 packard bell computer with a NVIDIA GeForce GT 320 video card. what do you guys suggest i do to solve my problems? and am i right in thinking the video card is to blame?

[The Observer]

Did it come originally with the computer or did you install it? Does the fan go on a lot?

[DrPaulLeet]

yea it came with the computer and yea i dunno about the fan, how do i check that?

[Sbrideau]

If the computer makes noise, the fan is going fast, if it's making more noise, the fan is going faster.

[DrPaulLeet]

then the fan goes really fast, especially when games are running

[Dracion1]

It will go faster though since the video card is being used to render stuff :rolleyes:

 

I'd suggest doing a graphics driver update. Download them off the Nvidia website then try. With Nvidia drivers, you'll need to uninstall them first then delete C:\Nvidia (or you've told it to keep the driver files) for it to work properly. Don't worry, your screen will still work, Windows has basic drivers which allow you to see stuff.

 

Take a poke around steam support though, there's a lot of useful advice on there :thumbup:

[DrPaulLeet]

Thanks dude ill try all of that

[Sbrideau]

With Nvidia drivers, you'll need to uninstall them first then delete C:\Nvidia (or you've told it to keep the driver files) for it to work properly.

 

Since when do you have to do that? I never did that and my driver has never crashed since I have my card.

[Dracion1]

It's best to. If his old drivers are causing problems it'd be better to remove them completely instead of just adding the new ones on top of the previous ones, less chance of there being problems.

[Sbrideau]

Of course in his case it's best to, but saying that they won't work if he doesn't do that is untrue.

[Dracion1]

Just because you haven't had problems with it before doesn't necessarily mean that other people haven't as well.

[Ape]

When installing updated drivers, nVidia software will always remove older versions and will re-install the new software. So whether or not you delete the drivers first doesn't make a difference whatsoever.

 

Firstly, take the side of your case off and run a game. If the fan makes more noise (as said above), then it's likely that your card is overheating. This will be either a manufacturing fault (in which case, you'd be supplied with a replacement), or the airflow in your case is bad (in which case, tie up your cables, make sure you have an intake fan and an exhaust fan, preferably with the flow of air running through the middle of your computer).

 

Secondly, reinstall some of your games. Not entirely necessary, but sometimes the simple things work.

 

Thirdly, if you've got an old machine laying about or you can get your hands on another graphics card, replace it with the one you have currently - run a game, watch some videos, see what happens. If it still crashes, you know that it's not your card that is broke. Which will lead you do your motherboard, RAM, CPU or PSU. It's a process of elimination.

 

Try a couple of those and post up some feedback.

 

w00t.

[OldJoe]

^

I think i'm gonna comment a 3rd time.

 

", take the side of your case off and run a game. If the fan makes more noise (as said above), then it's likely that your card is overheating."

 

Hm? The fan speeds up to stop the graphics card overheating.

[Ape]

^

I think i'm gonna comment a 3rd time.

 

", take the side of your case off and run a game. If the fan makes more noise (as said above), then it's likely that your card is overheating."

 

Hm? The fan speeds up to stop the graphics card overheating.

 

Ya' don't say?

 

It will increase in RPM as the card gets hotter and it does it in stages depending on what your drivers deem to be safe. 10 minutes of gaming shouldn't put that fan into the higher stages of RPM, therefore if it gets that hot, that quick it's a temperature issue.

[DrPaulLeet]

alright so i reinstalled the drivers and its still happening. yes the fan does speed up when im playing games and even after the screen turns black the fan still keeps on going. another problem i have is that sometimes randomly my screen will go completely black for a second and then return to normal, this happens when im doing less demanding things like browsing the web. im guessing my video card is broken?

[Ape]

alright so i reinstalled the drivers and its still happening. yes the fan does speed up when im playing games and even after the screen turns black the fan still keeps on going. another problem i have is that sometimes randomly my screen will go completely black for a second and then return to normal, this happens when im doing less demanding things like browsing the web. im guessing my video card is broken?

 

Likelyhood is that it's your graphics card, or your motherboard. You got another graphics card at all that you can whack in there to give it a go?

[OldJoe]

^

I think i'm gonna comment a 3rd time.

 

", take the side of your case off and run a game. If the fan makes more noise (as said above), then it's likely that your card is overheating."

 

Hm? The fan speeds up to stop the graphics card overheating.

 

Ya' don't say?

 

It will increase in RPM as the card gets hotter and it does it in stages depending on what your drivers deem to be safe. 10 minutes of gaming shouldn't put that fan into the higher stages of RPM, therefore if it gets that hot, that quick it's a temperature issue.

You must play some very non-demanding games then. The fan fires up very quickly, if you are playing a modern game. Unless the room is in a freeze box.

Going slightly off-topic here.

[DrPaulLeet]

I dont mind the going off topic, im learning stuff reading all of this :P. Ape i dont have a spare one anywhere. ill call up the tech guys this weekend and see if they can have a look at it. is it at all possible to physically tell whether the card is broken or not?

[Dracion1]

When installing updated drivers, nVidia software will always remove older versions and will re-install the new software. So whether or not you delete the drivers first doesn't make a difference whatsoever.

 

Explain why it leaves the old versions of the software in the C:\Nvidia folder then? :rolleyes:

[Sbrideau]

When installing updated drivers, nVidia software will always remove older versions and will re-install the new software. So whether or not you delete the drivers first doesn't make a difference whatsoever.

 

Explain why it leaves the old versions of the software in the C:\Nvidia folder then? :rolleyes:

 

It doesn't on Vista and 7.

[sohkmj1]

I've actually had this problem until yesterday, when I got a tech guy to look at my computer. I've reinstalled the drivers, went to the extreme for cooling measures and it still crashed, made many many topics (some on this forum), none of which had very useful answers.

Turns out my graphics card was completely messed (9600GS). I'd give that it is most likely the graphics card, you might need to look into a replacement if every other solution doesn't work. To make sure though, you should try to borrow another card (or something) to double-check.