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I can't figure it out!

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by rajainc

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My pc always locks up when I play games. Either it locks up, crashes to the desktop or gives me an illeagal operation message. all of my drivers are up to date and support directx 8.1(the version I currently have installed). I can't figure out what the problem is. Any advice would be much appreciated.

1.3ghz AMD Athlon
256mb DDR
Geforce2 mx400
Sound Blaster16

10 replies

by rajainc

i should also mention that I am running win 98se and my pc has:
1DVD
1CDRW
floppy
2casefans
300 watt ps

by thechas

When was the last time you wiped the drive and re-installed Windows?

If this is an install of 98 from an old system, that is likely your best course of action.

The registry likely has a number of keys for old hardware and/or software, and thatis what is causing the problems.
Sometimes, even driver updates leave junk behind from the old driver.

The next step, is to make sure that the CPU is not over-heating.
If you don't already have one, install a hardware monitor program.
Just after a crash, run the program, and check the CPU temp.
If the temp is high (over 60 degrees C) you need a better CPU fan, or improved case cooling.

AMD has a couple of white papers on thermal management. I recommend them.

Chas

by rajainc

I do have a hardware monitor and took your advice to check the temp after a crash. it was running at 44degrees C. I just cleaned my hard drive a few days ago.

by rajainc

I had some trouble with heat about 2weeks ago. my cpu fan died. I fixed that but is it possible that my CPU was damaged? I'm not sure what the symptoms of that would be.

by machinetype

Depending on how long your fan was out of wack I would say there is a good chance of the proccesor being damaged. Did these problems first arise after you found your fan was broken? If you have a friend with a processor you could borrow I would recommend swaping them out to see if that is your problem, assuming that these problems started around when your fan broke.

by rajainc

It was investigating these problems that led to discovering the K.O.ed fan. I was hoping that there was no permanent damage. I guess I'm in denial. I'll test it any way. Thanks.

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