Game freeze problems: Radeon 9600, True Vector Service, other

[mjmiller73]

I have MVP Baseball 2005 and C&C: Generals. I've had them both for awhile and didn't start having this problem of the games freezing up during gameplay until within the last month or so. I haven't been playing other games lately, but I imagine this isn't specific to MVP and Generals.

System info:

OS: XP Home, SP2
Processor: Intel Pentium 4 2.8GHz
Motherboard: ASUS P4R800-VM
Video card: Radeon 9600
DirectX: 9.0c
Power Supply: 400W
RAM: 256 MB

I have the latest driver for the video card.

I don't believe the issue is overheating or too low wattage of a power supply, which were suggested in other posts I've come across in a Google search where others described issues that sounded similar.

I originally thought this was video card related, and it may be, but there were entries in the event viewer/application tab that read:

TrueVector engine: File "C:\WINDOWS\Internet Logs\MATTSPC.ldb" was corrupt and has been copied to "C:\WINDOWS\Internet Logs\xDB111.tmp". File "C:\WINDOWS\Internet Logs\MATTSPC.ldb" was corrupt and has been deleted.

I found a thread on this other site relating to the True Vector Service: http://forum.adiscon.com/topic,421,0.html.

I run "eTrust Personal Firewall," which I assume also uses the TVS. I disabled the service as suggested in the referenced link via the control panel/administrative tools/services tab (I did not uninstall the firewall program as I didn't want to lose it should it not be the problem and the suggestions indicated that only disabling the service would suffice). I then tried to run the game (MVP) and it froze again, though now there isn't the TVS entry in the event viewer corresponding to the crash time. Of course, getting rid of that entry isn't the solution to the problem if the PC still crashes.

Anybody out there have suggestions? Thanks for any help.

 

[mossimoboy]

The only thing that caught my eye was that you had 256mb of ram..

I'd suggest purchasing atleast a gig.

 

[mjmiller73]

The only thing that caught my eye was that you had 256mb of ram..

I'd suggest purchasing atleast a gig.

Thanks for the suggestion. I've contacted ASUS, the board manufacturer, to see if updated RAM compatability and a qualified vendor list is available. When the manual was published it stated it supports PC3200 RAM. I'm wondering if it supports more recent technology, and I want to ensure the RAM manufacturer is considered approved.

While I'm more than willing to upgrade the amount of RAM, the notion that this is the problem makes me scratch my head. I mean, the 256MB was sufficient before; why would it not be now? 256 also meets or exceeds the game requirements.

Here's updated and more complete system info:

Processor - Intel Pentium 4, 2.8 GHz
MoBo- ASUS P4R800-VM
BIOS version - 8.00.09, dated 9/5/05
Chipset - ATi Radeon 9100 IGP, 200 MB FSB
Video card - Radeon 9600 XT (128 MB), driver 6.14.0010.6587, dated 1/4/06
Power - 400W
Direct X - 9.0c
Sound (onboard) - SoundMax Digital Audio - driver 5.12.0001.3860 dated 10/1/03 (which is most-recent)
RAM - 256 MB 333MHz single channel (i think it's PC3200 but I'm not positive at this point)
Hard drive - Maxtor 6Y12OLO (120 GB)

Nothing is overclocked to my knowledge, which is a subject I know nothing about.

I've been going through other posts on this site trying different fixes, which I'll describe below.

First I should state that I re-engaged the TrueVector engine as disabling it did not fix my problem and I didn't want my firewall to stop functioning properly. So the entries regarding it are again being recorded in the event viewer.

I've run the RAM memory test program and it passed (9 passes).

I've updated BIOS and ensured I have the latest drivers for other components (though I'm not familiar with updating a Chipset).

I disabled the on-board video which is not in use.

I ran the hard drive disk utility provided for Maxtor, and it passed successfully.

I've followed the instructions posted to ensure I don't have a "damaged page file", including defrag of the hard drive.

Nothing I've done has fixed the problem.

I've seen postings referring to attaching minidumps for community members to decipher but there is only 1 entry in the minidump folder, and it's dated 11/27/05. I'm not getting the Blue Screen of Death, so I'm not sure if some would be needed, but I don't have them to provide if they are.

Any additional help would be appreciated. Thank you.

 

[howard_hopkinso]

Hello and welcome to Techspot.

A bad psu/overheating would cause just your problem.

Please be aware that, if your psu is a no name brand that came with your case. Even though it`s rated power output is 400watts, it might not be capable of putting out anywhere near that amount of wattage.

IE. A good quality psu will normally achieve around 70% efficiency. so for instance a 300watt psu at 70% efficiency = 210 watts of stable power.

A cheap psu might not be capable of 50% efficiency, not to mention it probably suffers from a distinct lack of amps on the 12volt rail.

Take a look at this psu wattage calculator HERE

Check your temperatures.

Regards Howard :wave: :wave:

 

[mjmiller73]

Thanks for your help.

I checked the temperatures in setup after just experiencing another freeze (this time the audio continued for a couple of seconds after the video froze, then PC then auto rebooted).

CPU Temp 41.5 C/106.5F
MB Temp 23C/73F
CPU Fan Speed ~2896
Chassis Fan Speed ~2500

CPU & Chassis Q Fan Control both disabled (should I enable one or both?)

VCore Voltage ~1.552-1.568 (fluctuates)
3.3 Voltage ~3.12
5 Voltage ~5.026
12 Voltage ~12.67-12.7

The Power Supply brand in Hercules. It has a grid on its side that reads:

PC Input 115 VAC, 7.0A 50/60 Hz
230 VAC 3.5A, 50/60 Hz

This part is in columns:

+3.3 V +5V +12V -5V -12V +5Vsb
28A 30A 1A .05A .8A 3A

Does this help identify or eliminate a problem?

I'm also now getting minidump entries (1 yesterday, 1 today), as well as error reporting upon reentering the OS desktop. Let me know you those are needed, or if I should supply them when I have more.

I figured while I had the case open that I'd move the RAM to another channel. Going to try it again now.

Thanks again.

 

[mjmiller73]

Moving the RAM (1 stick) from channel 1 to channel 2 seems to have resolved my problems. When I switched them I also noticed that there was a slight accumulation of dust in the channel 1 DIMM, which I blew out with compressed air.

If this is coincidence and I again start experiencing the freezes you can be sure I'll be back for more help.

Thanks again for you help, both here and in the other threads I've checked where you helped others. Much appreciated!

 

[mjmiller73]

I'm so confused. After running fine last night and through a game of Generals today, I went back to MVP 2005 and it froze up on me again. No minidump file created, just the ol' truevector entry in the event log/application section:

TrueVector engine: File "C:\WINDOWS\Internet Logs\IAMDB.RDB" was corrupt and has been copied to "C:\WINDOWS\Internet Logs\xDB120.tmp". File "C:\WINDOWS\Internet Logs\IAMDB.RDB" was corrupt and has been deleted.

Does the info I posted above regarding the power supply help eliminate or identify it as a possible source of my problem?

 

[mjmiller73]

I seem to have resolved my problem. I'm not sure that this fix will help anybody else out, but I'll post it anyway for possible future reference.

In what I thought was an unrelated issue, the tray of my 2nd CD-ROM (the read-only one; I had one capable of burning CDs, one read-only) had started ejecting upon bootup. I'd return the tray inside and it would self-eject again. It was not the primary boot device, so that was not the problem. Anyway, I removed that device from the PC and everything has been running fine for the last couple of days. This includes multiple runs of both MVP and Generals. I moved the RAM back to channel 1 and it's still fine.

On a side note, I've learned that this mobo (ASUS pr4800-vm) is very picky with regards to RAM. I have 1 256MB stick of PC3200 RAM, but the board runs it at 333MHz rather than 400 for some reason. The board only accepts single-sided RAM at PC3200, so I've purchased 2 sticks of older-technology RAM (PC2700) to use in upgrading the amount in the system (2 X 512MB modules cost me a total of $84.00 at Newegg). The board was running the PC3200 at 333 MHz anyway, so unless I'm missing something the older technolgy won't be a sacrafice in reality.

Also, ASUS was not helpful in providing a RAM qualified vendor list. The manual for the board specifically states "Obtain DDR DIMMs only from ASUS qualified venders. Visit the ASUS website for the latest QVL."

I went to the site and was unable to find a QVL. I submitted a request for the information via the site and received the following reply:

Dear Sir/Madam,

As we do not validate memory ourselves you will need to contact the memory manufacturer and verify that the memory you have of theirs is a tested and approved model # and that the cas latency timings being read in the bios are correct. If the settings in the bios are not the correct timings ask them for the timings needed to run your memory on this motherboard, once you have these timings either the memory manufacturer or on! e of our technicians can help you hard code these timings into your system. You may also want to ask the manufacturer if there are any memory diagnostic tests that they can recommend that would also help in determining if the memory is causing the problems you are having, there are programs out there that will help in diagnosing problems with memory such as the ones found at www.memtest86.com or the Microsoft memtest diagnostic tool, although we do not officially support these tests your manufacturer may suggest one of these I have listed or another that they themselves use. Below are links to some of the more commonly used memory manufacturers compatibility labs where you can verify what would be the tested and approved memory for your motherboard.Please do not respond to this email. If you need further assistance please have your case number ready, then contact Technical Support at 502-995-0883 (M-F 8:30 AM - 8:00 PM EST).


Corsair: http://www.corsairmi! cro.com/corsair/products/guides/ASUS-2004-APRIL.pdf
Tech support nu mber for Corsair - 1-800-205-7657

Mushkin: http://www.mushkin.com/epages/Mushkin.storefront/41c04fb400707a482740c0a801020646/Product/Vi ew/990880
Tech support number for Mushkin - 1-800-569-1868

Kingston: http://www.ec.kingston.com/ecom/configurator/models.asp?root=us
Tech support number for Kingston - 1-800-435-0640

Crucial: http://www.crucial.com/store/listProductLine.asp?cat=RAM&mfr=ASUS&submit=Go+to+step+2+>
Tech support number for Crucial - 1-800-336-8915

OCZ : http://www.ocztechnology.com/support/motherboard/
Tech support number for OCZ - 1-800-459-1816

Unigen: http://www.unigen.com/search/brand.cfm
Tech support number for Unigen - 1-510-668-2088

Thank you,

Asus Technology


Maybe this will help somebody else down the line.