I know that this is a computer problem. And yes, I did read the sticky to make sure it wasn’t answered. I’ve got a problem. I bought the game “Pirates” which I do want to play. It says it wants more than 1ghz, which I have. 1.1 I think. It also wants 256 MB of ram, which I also have. So I’m playing the game and after like 2 minutes, the whole thing closes and I return to the desktop.
Is this a memory thing? Should I get more?
Is this a processor thing? I hope not.
I just want to play a game. (It happens to me in Rise of Nations as well.)
Have you looked into support from the game maker? Or discussion boards relating to the game?
Whenever I have game problems, which is every single game I’ve ever played, I go right to the makers website, and cruise the boards. Odds are, others have the same problem, and solution. Or perhaps there’s a patch available to fix a bug.
Offhand, it sounds like memory could be the issue, but it could be anything. If the minimum specs call for 256, and that’s all you have, perhaps try lowering graphic/sound settings.
You system is adequate, but only marginally so. More RAM is not likely to help if it’s just bailing. Crap outs are usally caused by video issues.
1: See about any game patches from the game manufs website
2: DL the latest video drivers for your card
3: If your video is integrated on the MB (not necessarily a good thing for gaming PCs) trying playing with the default settings in the BIOS video submenu.
I tried turning off all the existing programs. I tried starting the game in safe mode. I think I need more memory, though Astro doesn’t think so. If that’s the case, do I need to buy Dell memory. Methinks I can get it much cheaper from somewhere else.
Thanks for all the help. This is a lot, just to play one game. But I’m bothered now, so I have to go through with this.
Afraid I can’t help on your game problem but I can say that you don’t need to buy memory through Dell. My Dell is running on a gig of memory from Crucial.com for about half of what it would have cost through Dell.
What kind of video card/chip does your Dell have? Pirates! requires a video card with 32mb RAM and T&L (Transformation & Lighting) abilities; many cheaper Dell(and other large OEM) systems use Intel Extreme integrated graphics chips, which lack T&L abilities. If this is the case, then you need to look into a video card upgrade, as well as RAM.
I second the question on what kind of video card you have. I was helping a friend look at Dells yesterday and noticed the low end ones do not have any 3rd party type video card. If yours is like that, it is likely that the game is crapping out due to lack of video memory.
While I would recommend you upgrade your machine or buy a new one from scratch, you could probably eek by with a new video card (at least 64meg, but I’d recommend 128meg at least if you can afford it).
I attempted to help another board member with his PC problems, very similar to these, though his system is very different from yours.
It turned out to be too much dust inside the PC. Cooling was being blocked. Get a can of compressed air, and give it a good blast. Pay special attention to the top of the CPU, and any other small “cracks and crevices”.
Of course, this is always a good thing to do, but it might help if you’ve doen everything else.
256 meg is just on the edge of being adequate with newer editions of Windows. If you can’t up the RAM, then make sure you’re not running anything else at the same time as the game, and rip anything unneccessary out of your startup folder. New computers these days start up tons of stuff when you boot, and programs like Microsoft Office occupy memory even when they’re not running (although you can turn this off).
When you don’t have enough RAM, Windows gets really flaky. Again, I doubt it’s a Dell issue. I think it’s much more likely to be a Windows problem, insufficient RAM, or possibly a video card.
I’ll even pay shipping!