GFX 5600 sometimes wont open games and other times it freezes them

[Agapoulis]

Hello like i said my GFX 5600 wont let me open games sometimes.For example when i double click to enter to a game the game seems to starts up but actually it never enters to the game so even if i wait for 1 day there in front of the computer it wont open.I have found a way to make em open but it is damm anoying.i have to alt+ctrl+ delete end the progress of the game from there and then restart the Computer and then re-open the game(if i dont restart the computer the game wont open it is tested 1 thousand times).So this is the 1st problem , it happends very rare now but it is dam anoying .so the next 1 is that when i am playing a game , for example World of warcraft i have random freezes and i cant do anything to unfreeze it unless i manualy reset the computer , more specific when the game Freezes there is always a small white dot showing up to the left upper side of the screen.And i am pretty sure that this small white dot has something to do with the freeze.Btw i dont know if it has something to do with the video card but when i am playing world of warcraft and then i alt +tab to open an internet explorer page and then i alt + tab back to the game i have the same problem , the pc just dont let me enter to the game it stucks to the website page and nomatter what it wont let me enter if i dont restart it.
Ahh and something last , i have the same problem with Windows media player sometimes when i want to watch a video file , the WMP starts and opens but the video file never opens i have to restart the Pc to watch it . sorry if i confused you and thanks in advance.

My computer
proccesor = Pentium 1.8 Ghz
motherboard = P4VXAD (elitegroup)
RAM = 512
video card = GFX 5600 (albatron)
HDD = seagate
OS=Windows Xp prof

btw dont tell me to update my video card's drivers coz i am pretty sure that this problem has nothing to do with drivers ( i havent update them but i am still sure)

 

[N3051M]

btw dont tell me to update my video card's drivers coz i am pretty sure that this problem has nothing to do with drivers ( i havent update them but i am still sure)

You 100% certain? usualy the most obvious answer is the one missed..

Troubleshoot list:

Maintainance
- Open up the case, blow out all that dust with a vaccume cleaner or compressed air.
- Check fans and/or cooling devices are operating properly
- Driver updates, Windows updates, patches, the works.
- Chkdisk /f and Defrag you HDD(s)
- Scan your hdd for viruses, warez etc..

Specific troubleshooting
- Re install the problem games/programs
- Strip down to minimum bootup/startup processes, then try it again
- any recent changes in environment (hardware, software etc)
- PSU providing enough juice to power the system? >> make and model and the wattage is usefull to post.
- any BSODS/Restarts?
- Any hardware looks or smells like damage?

Also, mabye adding another 512mb stick of ram would help.. but we shall do it one thing at a time for now....

 

[Agapoulis]

You 100% certain? usualy the most obvious answer is the one missed..

Ye i am 100% sure for this but i will update em anyway.

- Open up the case, blow out all that dust with a vaccume cleaner or compressed air.

Well i have done something like that but i didnt used a vacume cleaner i just opened it and tried to clean the most devices i could but still i dont thing that this is the problem coz i have friends with a much more dust than i have at my PC and their PC is still wroking perfect , but i have to give that a try i guess.

- Check fans and/or cooling devices are operating properly

They do
Because if they didnt i would have different kind of problems

- Driver updates, Windows updates, patches, the works.
- Chkdisk /f and Defrag you HDD(s)

This is still on my " TO DO " list

- Scan your hdd for viruses, warez etc..

done and i am clear

Re install the problem games/programs

done and i still have the same problem

- Strip down to minimum bootup/startup processes, then try it again

I am not sure i understand perfectly what u mean here

- any recent changes in environment (hardware, software etc)

Nop nothing

- PSU providing enough juice to power the system? >> make and model and the wattage is usefull to post.

Hmmmm i have a 280W PSU i know it is kinda low but it has nothing to do withe the windows media player problem , i mean just think of it .I open the PC , i open a Video file the WMP starts and i got the message that the WMP loads the multimedia but the video never plays and then i restart the pc and hte video plays perfectly.

- any BSODS/Restarts?

i dont know what u mean with the word 'BSODS' but if i get it right with the word "RESTARTS" u mean if u get any random restarts and the answer is no i dont get any random restarts

- Any hardware looks or smells like damage?

Nop

Also, mabye adding another 512mb stick of ram would help.. but we shall do it one thing at a time for now....

Nah i dont thing that another 512 ram would help the situation coz i had the same problems when i had 256 ram and thats what i thought that another 256 could help the situation but nop it didnt it only helped me with the PC Speed.
( i needed the +256 more ram then coz my pc speed was damm slow but another 512 is not usefull and i dont thing my motherboard supports 1 giga ram)

 

[Agapoulis]

A friend told me that P4VXAD(my motherboard) is one of the worst but i dont know if this is true.
Anyway the thing that pisses me more and more everyday is that my friends have the same PC characteristics with a litle changes , in other words our computers are similar but mine have problems and i cant find the scource of the problems and unfortuantly no1 from my friend's knows what is going on to my computer.They say that they have never seen the same problem , and thats why i came and made a topic in here coz i thought that some1 might know the how to solve the problem or give me a tip what to change from my computer.

 

[N3051M]

Regardless of your mobo being classified as "bad" it should run it otherwise. The only "bad" motherboard is one that has defects in it, such as popped/leaking capacitors, burn marks, and other irregular markings. Those set of symptoms would be causing the problems. My mobo is probably considered "rubbish" in the tech world, but it still works and does what i needed it to do... untill i go Conroe that is..

Now for the explaination of my list
- The first two under maintainance are to eliminate temperature causing the problem, although a second oppinion will be usefull, such as a sensor reading from BIOS or a third party app like Everest or speedfan etc.
- We'll see how you go with the chkdisk scans etc. If it does come up with errors, back up your data, and download the relevant diagnostic utility from your hdd manufacturer's website.

- Strip down to minimum bootup/startup processes, then try it again

* It means to take a look at what you have starting up on your task bar, and stop them booting up with windows. This is to eliminate another program conflicting, taxing processing power or taking up the ram space. If the program has a "disable on startup" option or similar, then disable it. If it doesn't, and you know that it isnt neccesary for the system, then go into Start>Run msconfig and disable it there. Do not forget to turn on your Firewall and AV software (if its norton turn it on, then mention it to me) before connecting to the internet...

The PSU, can you tell me the brand? You can take a look at this forum and see that generic PSU (usualy running at 70% efficiency or less) often underperforms the pc, and can cause serious damage as well. Same with being underpowered in power (watts). You can estimate your needs by using a calculator such as this: http://www.extreme.outervision.com/psucalculator.jsp
then adding 20~50watts as headroom.



BSOD = Blue Screen Of Death (self explanitory on what shows on your screen). Usualy only seen in windows systems, and also the one that makes you go "Oh ****"

If you are running windows xp, then the experiences you have with adding ram to 512mb are correct. You dont notice much difference. Although ditching those two sticks of ram, and getting yourself 2x 512mb Ram (the fastest your motherboard can handle of course, and bonus if it runs dual channel) you will noticably see the difference. Most games recomend the 1Gb just for some headroom, and even plays it better (same with any sort of media etc) just because they know some pc's have process hogging apps hanging about in the background, eating RAM, which the step with the * will help determine..

Happy hunting

 

[Tedster]

280W PSU? I'm surprised it works at all. Upgrade the PSU to no less than 450W

 

[Agapoulis]

hehe yee it stil works but i dont understand how a bad PSU performance can affect WMP ?
And btw i dont have BSOD's , i mean i dont have now but i had in the past and then somehow magicly just stoped .

 

[Tedster]

low voltage can fry your system, slow it down, or make it run bad at best.

Video cards are very power hungry.