Computer Restarting When Starting Up a Game???

[JandSilantBob]

I recently purchased Star Wars Empire at War. I downloaded the game and everything went well. Until I actually tried to play the game. When i tried to start it the screen went black like it was switching to full screen, and then all of a sudden my computer restarted. I was needless to say very displeased with this inconvenience. So I ran a systems check to see if my computer had the correct requirements to run the game. So I started to do some research online. I learned that I need and entirely compatible DirectX 9.0 graphics card. I have a NVIDIA GeForce4 MX graphics card and am unaware it this is sufficient. I have 512 MB of ram and it says it only needs 256 MB. And I have a AMD Athlon Processor that runs at a speed of 2.26 GHZ, and according to the system requirements that should work. Does anyone know what i'm doing wrong?

 

[mailpup]

I checked and it seems your graphics card does not support DirectX 9, just 8.1. So it doesn't appear to meet the minimum requirements for the game.

 

[Condor]

worst gamers nightmare to see your own Pc restart it self.

Anyone know what else could be the cause of it beside low system spec?

 

[mailpup]

Failing power supply or maybe graphics driver problem.

 

[Condor]

cool and thx ^_^

 

[JandSilantBob]

Thank you all, i am planning on buying some upgrades for my computer so i will just add graphics card to my list.

 

[Stick'o ram]

A geforce 4mx is not enough to play the game, I've tried it before it didn't work.
However i was using the PCI version.

 

[JandSilantBob]

Well my fathers computer has a NVIDIA GeForce4 MX 440 graphics card on his computer, and it worked fine. When i went back and checked my computer to double check the graphics card it said NVIDIA GeForce4 MX Integrated GPU. I don't know what this means but I'm guessing something is different. I tried downloading DirectX 9 off the internet and it seemed to download and install fine, and when i checked using the Empire at Wars start up screen to see if I met the system requirements it said that i had DirectX 9. Can i have DirectX 9 downloaded and installed on my computer without actually having a graphics card that works with it? I haven't been able to find anything on the internet that says my graphics card doesn't support DirectX 9, but i also haven't found anything that says it does. And with my father owning a graphics card very similar to my own i'm starting to wonder if it actually is my graphics card. So I guess my two real questions are:

1. Can I have DirectX 9 downloaded and installed on my computer without a graphics card that works with it? because i figured if my graphics card didn't work with it then i couldn't install it to begin with.

2.Is the graphics card my dad has any different to the one I have?

 

[Stick'o ram]

Look at the first two video cards listed; http://www.hardwaresecrets.com/article/132

By the way, why in the world do you want to play empires at war with a Geforce4???

I have a Radeon 9200 that can barely play it, and I mean jumpy and lock-ups.

 

[N3051M]

1. Can I have DirectX 9 downloaded and installed on my computer without a graphics card that works with it? because i figured if my graphics card didn't work with it then i couldn't install it to begin with.

Yes you can, but i think DX9 will just enable those features that your card supports only (guessing)

2.Is the graphics card my dad has any different to the one I have?

Yes. Do note that there is a BIG difference between Integrated GPU's and an actual Graphics card, even if its the same series (same goes with PCI, AGP and PCI-E cards, but thats another topic.)

Think of it this way.
You have two Skylines, ones a GT-R, the other GT-R + Turbo. You put in both good quality 98% octane fuel in them and let them rip. Now, which one do you think is going to kick ***?

Integrated GPU: GT-R
Graphics card: GT-R + Turbo...
Direct x9: 98% octane

Of course, it also depends largely on the hardware itself, as some integrated stuff can handle quite a bit of pressure..

 

[JandSilantBob]

Well i solved my problem. Seems that all I needed to do was download and install the proper drivers from Nvidia.com (which i could have sworn i had already done) and now everything works perfectly. Thanks for everything.