I’m trying to help my friend troubleshoot his box, but I’m stumped. I put it to you:
While in the middle of a 3D-intensive game (GTA3, Operation Flashpoint, Battlefield 1942 etc…), the game suddenly, without warning, will just end and drop you back to the desktop. No error message, no nothing. Nothing on the taskbar. Its like the insta-quit!
Since this only happens during 3D games, I assume that it must be a problem with video somehow. Ive got all the new drivers and other obvious fixes (DirectX and such) with no avail.
Sometimes this will happen immediately or sometimes it will happen after 20 min of gaming. Furthermore sometimes it just won’t happen at all. Very weird.
That you’re experiencing the same abend (abnormal end) and dump back to the desktop with no errors in either OS would seem to implicate the video board.
Is there a separate partition for each OS? If not, there might be a version conflict where (say) XP calls for a certain dll and it’s finding a 2000 version on the disk.
Try going to Display Properties (right-click the desktop) and hit the Advanced button, then find the Performance tab. Kick hardware acceleration all the way down to none, then Apply/OK your way back out to the desktop. Reboot to that OS and try the games again. Performance will probably be crummy as the board’s hardware capacities are being limited. But, see if the games continute to abend. If things seem stable, go back to that Performance tab and nudge it up a notch, reboot and see how that goes.
Could it be that your graphics board is overheating? Some of the newer models generate heat like Chernobyl. Is there a way you could try a different board with your system, and see if the same problem happens?
At first I was going to suggest patching the game, but you say it crashes/stops in all 3D games? If that is the case, I suggest checking for good ventilation for your 3D card. Make sure that there is nothing jammed up against the vents, and if possible check to see if the fan on the card is running.
Thanks for the advice. To clarify, its not a dual boot.
He was originally running a cracked copy of XP. Thinking that this was likely the problem, I suggested he reformat and install his legit copy of Win2K (I dunno why he’d want the cracked one over the store-bought?!)
However, the problem persists. Good call on the overheating. Maybe I’ll just stick system blower right next to it and see if it helps.
If its not overheating, can you think of any other possibilities??
It sounds like heat, its the way the system protects itself. Be sure to install any patches you have & remember to give as much computer info as possible, a smallest detail can be the clue.