Frustrating Crashes...

[ToMaHaWk]

Well, my computer has developed another problem...chronic crashes. It seems that this is just a downward spiral until I'm going to have to replace it...

Anyway, there are times when I open up Halo and it'll freeze just as it gets to the main menu. Other times I can click the multiplayer option and it'll freeze as it switches to the next menu. In another instance, I can just swirl my mouse around the main menu for a second then have it crash. Sometimes I might even make it to the "Get list" feature of the Gamespy window before it crashes. If I'm really lucky, I can actually get into a game, just to have it crash on me as the map loads. I'm not safe from a crash until I've played about two maps or so (because sometimes it crashes after the first map as well). I'm not really sure why it's happening now all of a sudden. I do play in a window now, but it appears that it also happens with other programs too, most specifically Adobe Photoshop CS2.

There are times when Halo crashes that I simply just press the reset button on my computer tower and try it all over again (just to have it crash on me again). Then there are times where I actually power it down, unplug it, and give it a couple minutes to cool off and get its act together. Either way, the problem still persists...

I'm quite confident that I haven't given enough information to diagnose the problem, but if anyone needs any specific information, I'll gladly retrieve it for ya.

Thanks guys.

[BFM_Kiwi]

Can you check the event logs?  Control Panel >> Administrative Tools >> Event Viewer I believe.  That might point to a driver which might point to a video card, hard drive problem etc.

[Goalie]

Either sounds like low RAM, VM, or high Video Card Temps.  I would suggest getting another stick of RAM.  But like you said, there's not enough info to make a good diagnosis.

[Max]

My video card has been overheating, so basically the same thing has been happening to me. Sending it to BFG once the get my PoP.

[ToMaHaWk]

I doubt it's my RAM because I recently upgraded to 1.5 GB this past Christmas. As for VM, it's just as Mxy recommended, about 1.5x more than my real memory (2302 MB is allocated for VM with a max of 4096 MB).

I can't say if it's high video card temperatures because I don't have any programs or such monitoring it. However, I did just install a newer, more efficient case fan so I'm kind of leaning away from it. But ya never know, it could be the card overheating on it's own, independent of everything else.

As for the event log Kiwi, I'm not quite sure what I'm looking for exactly. I searched through each of the four categories of logs at a time right before I made this thread (that's when I had enough after the 5th straight crash), and nothing really stood out. I see that there are a lot of logs talking about things starting up, presumably because of the sheer number of times I restarted my computer. Aside from that, I'm not really seeing anything that looks out of place.

[Max]

Well, we tried to determine his GPU Temp using the EVGA precision tool, but it doesn't show the temp of his card. It's a FX 5500, so I don't know if it has temp sensors.

[HogZlla]

I'm not sure if you're the one that may have been possibly losing your hard drive? Try a scandisk for bad sectors, too.

[ToMaHaWk]

I'm not sure if you're the one that may have been possibly losing your hard drive? Try a scandisk for bad sectors, too.

Ran scandisk and nothing abnormal came up.

[MrMxyzptlk]

Heat, dirt, or ... viruses. 

I'm assuming that you've checked that the fans/innards are clean of gunk/lint, and that the fans are running okay?

How long have the "innards" been "stable?" I.e. When were the cards/connections last mucked with?

If it's been a few years (3+) since it's been messed with inside, you might have dirty Graphics Adapter (GA) or other board/wiring connections.... (Instructions too long to type is this is NOT the prob, and I've posted them before, so I'll look them up in the meantime....)

[ToMaHaWk]

Viruses?!   

Nope, not on this computer! AVG keeps it pretty clean and none of the late night test results show any pesky intruders.

As for heat/dust, that might be an issue. When I installed the new case fan, I tried to blow as much of the excess dust as I could out of the case. It could definitely use some canned air to get the tougher stuff out, so that might definitely be a problem. However, I think it's relatively clean, especially because of the place my computer is situated (in my room, non-smoker of course, no animals allowed, etc.).

...and the "innards" (gotta love that word!) have been stable for quite a while. I haven't messed with any of the cards/motherboard, etc. for about three or so years, just like you mentioned so I guess I should look into the fact that I might have a dirty graphics adapter.

I'll await the arrival of your instructions! Hopefully you can find them!

Let me know if you need anything else.

[BFM_Kiwi]

re: event logs.  select View > Filter and uncheck everything but "Error".  Or just look for entries that have a red error indicator.  If halo, or the entire system, crashed, then there ought to be something there.  Probably in the application or system sections.  It may be useless info like "hung app"  but if it's an error in nvidiaxxx.dll, that would indicate a video issue. 

[MrMxyzptlk]

You might wanna run SpyBot S&D juuust to be sure.  (If you don't want it to install any processes, decline things like the "TeaTimer" install, which helps protect IE runtime from nasties.... And be sure to enable the "Download updates during installation" to have the most up-to-date versions for your first scan.)


Dirt.  Ya, it's bad.  Just a little fuzz stuck to your fan blades can render them almost useless....

Canned air is The Best bang-for-the-buck computer maintenance tool there is....

Aha!  You fell for it!  Having things plugged in UNTOUCHED for 3+ years can actually be a BAD THING!

Small vibrations cause wear and grime to build up in between connections on board "fingers" (yes, that's what they're called) and wire connectors!

I have a step-by-step guide to cleaning these components around one of the BFM Forums.... BRB when I find it!

Found it here, item #3 (But you might comsider them all....)

[ToMaHaWk]

I knew you were trying to get me to fall for it!

I pretended to take in the bait.

Anyway, SpyBot S&D = former best friend. I haven't found much use for it lately because my computer has been running so clean; better to be safe than sorry though!

Halo crashed three times when I tried to join for practice tonight. I got so frustrated at repeating the same thing over and over again (definition of insanity!) that I pulled the plug, opened the tower, removed my graphics card, and oh my god. Definitely way too much dust/dirt in that poor fan! I blew it out (no canned air necessary luckily! tad bit too late to go out and get it now, especially with our Office Depot subject to an armed robbery yesterday, but that's an entirely different story... ), put it back in, checked all the connections made sure they were snug, and booted it back up again.

Halo finally loaded but I got the whole "Halo crashed unexpectedly." and the "Continue Anyway" deal and I came up with odd pixelated (forgot the appropriate term) images. I endured practice like that, restarted Halo, and it was fine. I'll post the screenshot of the image later, but so far it seems like blowing out the dust did the trick.

Will add more updates after I attempt a practice scrimmage tonight.

[HogZlla]

I had a virus not long ago and cleaned up all my computers doing this

I've been happy with the results...it's from majorgeeks.com

[ToMaHaWk]

Well, I was originally to start the scrim, but whaddaya know, Halo crashed again which allowed me to be the guinea pig for sitting first.

Here's the image I was talking about above: