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Hi!

I got this new pre-made computer from a Norwegian store some weeks ago. Ever since I got this computer, it's been having this issue about 1-3 times every day, at seemingly random times, but I do see some strange behaviours about when it happens.

- It has yet to happen while I'm not playing World of Warcraft.
- When it does happen, it tends to happen again shortly after the first crash, up to 3 times. I can even start my computer at noon, and it might start crashing around 3 in the night.

To give a bit more of a detailed word about what this crash involves, what happens is that the screen goes black. The lights on the screen which indicates if the screen is connected to the computer or not starts to blink, to signalize that it is no longer connected to the computer. In addition, sometimes, I can hear in my headphones that the audio might halt.

To get out of the crash, I simply have to manually turn off the computer and turn it back on.

Some details about my system that might be involved in the issue:
Windows Vista SP1
Intel Core2 Quad CPU Q6600 2.40 GHz
NVIDIA GeForce 8800 GT

Would appreciate some help to solve this most annoying problem, thanks in advance.

Did the system crash before SP1?. Try uninstalling it then if that doesn't work please read THIS and follow the instructions.

go to NVIDIA and look for GeForce 8800 GT drivers QUALIFIED for Vista.

Followed Jobeard's suggestion to start off with. The thing is, though, after the first few crashes I updated my drivers, which didn't do anything. The one I downloaded today was only 6 days old though, it might've fixed something. I'll leave things running for a couple of days to see how it works, and if things still doesn't work as it should, I'll see to Fastco's tip.

Thanks you two

bump

any updates?

Yeah, some updates on the issue:

I tried updating the drivers, but it solved nothing. So I turned to Nvidia for help, talked with one of their people, who told me to get an older driver of some sort. This didn't solve any issue either, and he pointed me towards the World of Warcraft tech support, as the issue only seems to occur in WoW.

Now, two days ago, one of my characters was running through Desolace into Feralas (If this tells anyone something), and I got to a certain point on the road where my screen went black and I had to reboot. Now my character is stuck in that location, constantly giving me that issue every time I try to log on that character. I see the world for a split second, then the whole thing goes bad.

So far, the WoW tech support haven't been too helpful, and haven't even bothered replying.

i would check your basic settings in hardware config.

Get the memtest boot CD and check your system RAM:

http://www.memtest86.com/

Also, the power supply might be at fault here.
Swap out that video card for a lower end one (no direct power connector, 7600 GS or worse) and see what happens.
If the system works perfect, then the power supply needs replaced with a higher quality one for use with the 8800GT, talking 500W minimum with +12V rails rated for probably at least 20 amps.
If the lower end one still has SAME issues, could still be a bad power supply, swap it out, check the RAM first though. 8)

I'm using a 8800GTS 512 with a 650W with 3 rails rated 22/22/25: Antec Earthwatts 650

There is a power calculator web page also at:

http://extreme.outervision.com/psucalculatorlite.jsp

(Just checked it, it's up and running)

Fan on the video card is not dead is it? That would do it, and if the fan is dead, that card might be garbage, only takes hosing some of the video card RAM to get random instant crashes.

Please post your results, it will help in further discussion.

One other thing, was that system OVERCLOCKED?

That would explain it too, broke something, you are always gambling on overclocking...

Just to clarify, the crashes are not random. I thought so at first, but as explained above, one of my WoW characters are stuck, getting assaulted by these crashes instantly when I log onto it. It seems to be zone-specific, or maybe some sort of thing ingame it doesn't manage to show or something?

And no, Badfinger, the system is not overclocked. I don't do that sorts.

It seems I've solved my problem.

I come to remember a solution which didn't apply to me, changing the multi-sync options to 1x in the video options ingame. Now, I did the opposite of this solution, and I increased the multi-sync options to 8x. After I did this (Like 3-5 days ago) I haven't experienced any crashes at all. Sadly, I couldn't test if it removed the problem for my stuck character, as I got a game master to move my character out of the particular spot.

So.. I'd consider the issue solved, as I normally got 1-3 crashes a day. Either way, thanks to all who offered their help