Monitor goes black when playing games

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Sometimes when I am playing a game such as WoW or Team Fortress 2, my monitor goes blank and on a few occasions has been slightly different colors. Everything but the monitor appears to contiue running, but nothing responds. The only other noticeable thing when this happens is that the harddrive starts to make a noise similar to when it boots along with a flashing red light on the front of the tower. If I let the computer sit for a minute or two after it goes blank, it makes the "beep" sound when it boots...except it doesn't reboot, so I have to press the restart button to get it running again.

This has never happened while surfing the net, writing documents, etc, ONLY when playing a game. It does not happen extremely often, maybe 1-2 times per hour.

e-GeForce 8600 GT video card
ASUS P5N-MX motherboard
Intel Core 2 Duo E4600 @ 2.40GHz
2400MHz Core speed
DDR2 2048 MBytes
PCI-Express x16


Help would be greatly appreciated!
 
Hi Jeff,
That 'beep' that you get is probably telling you that your computer is not meeting all the hardware requirements for the P.O.S.T. (power on self test) but it sounds like your video card stops responding to commands from the display driver. whats happening when this goes on? like gpu temp, is your card overclocked? certianly not the only things to cause this but among the most common.
 
if you didnt OC it, its probably not. monitor your gpu temps to make sure its not locking up due to overheating. Are you getting any error messages when this happens? you might try downloading the latest drivers for your graphic card as well if you have not done so. let me know how that goes, if it continues we can take the next step.
 
Looks like you might not have enough power coming from the power supply to run your computer properly. Either that, or something (likely the video card) is overheating.
 
if you didnt OC it, its probably not. monitor your gpu temps to make sure its not locking up due to overheating. Are you getting any error messages when this happens? you might try downloading the latest drivers for your graphic card as well if you have not done so. let me know how that goes, if it continues we can take the next step.

Just downloaded the newest drivers and the problem still consists. There are no error messages when this happens either, screen just goes blank.

Looks like you might not have enough power coming from the power supply to run your computer properly. Either that, or something (likely the video card) is overheating.

That was my first guess when this started happening, so I'm going to look into getting a new PSU. I'm using a 600w right now.

how old is the monitor?

The monitor is a brand new ViewSonic 19" widescreen HD. I just got it for Christmas.


One other note: I just moved some items onto the same table as the tower, one of which was heavy enough to "shake" the table just a little. This caused the problem to happen. I rebooted and went into the game again and lightly shook the tower which again yiedled the same result. Odd thing is that in the past when I was first noticing the issue, there was no movement nearby or anything that would cause the tower to move.
 
Hi Again Jeff,
Did you get a chance to check out the gpu temps? you can download this program if you dont have one, and let it run and log your temps while you play. overheating is rather common symptom of this. and 600w psu is enough juice for your rig (if the psu is stable)
http://www.cpuid.com/hwmonitor.php
 
Maybe the video card is loose in its socket... that might explain the crashes when you shake the tower at all. Try reseating the video card, make sure it goes all the way in and is tightly bolted down.
 
Monitor goes black when playing DVD's if computer is moved

I have a similar issue as Jeff and am wondering if it could have a similar core problem...
My IBM thinkpad is about 4 years old and in the past month when I've played DVD's on it, if the PC is moved AT ALL the screen goes black, the DVD stops playing, but the green lights just below the monitor are mostly still all on. I also have to reboot it myself and then it works fine. I have sat perfectly still and gotten all the way through a movie so it does work and its done this with more than one DVD. What might make it do that with the slightest move? Could it also be the video card???
 
Video card

Okay, so it appears that I don't have a video card on my laptop after all...what then might be causing a blank screen during movies after the PC has been moved even an inch....?
 
hello, i have the same prob. but im not so experienced in computers
these are my comp details


OS Name Microsoft Windows XP Professional
Version 5.1.2600 Service Pack 2 Build 2600
OS Manufacturer Microsoft Corporation
System Model To Be Filled By O.E.M.
System Type X86-based PC
Processor x86 Family 15 Model 1 Stepping 2 GenuineIntel ~1704 Mhz
SMBIOS Version 2.3
(xpsp_sp2_rtm.040803-2158)"
Total Physical Memory 1,024.00 MB
Available Physical Memory 454.64 MB
Total Virtual Memory 2.00 GB
Available Virtual Memory 1.96 GB
Page File Space 3.35 GB
Page File C:\pagefile.sys

So il describe what happens, i load WoW and i enter a battle ground.. in the loading screen my monitor just crashes, goes blank, everything else continues, i was still in the game but i guess during the loading it happens and sometimes wen i start my pc after its been in stand by mode.
when it crashes like jef said there is a little sound. My graphics card is ASUS A9250
i cant find any solution. and if someone can explain well, but less computer terms :/ im not so good :(. Do you think its the monitor ( samsung LCD 125x Cm) or the graphics card or the motherboard... my graphics card doesnt have a fan but some other type of coolong system you can check out if u search the model.
PLZ HELP!!!! this is restraining me to play WoW and its anoying
 
same problem

hey jeff, i'm having the same problem with you, with those two games. When i start the game up or shortly after my monitor goes blank. I get no error message and

i'm running
intel core 2 quad cpu- q6600 @ 2.4ghz
XFX Nfroce 680iLT motherboard
2gigs or ram
Nvidia GeForce 9600 GT 512mb
I also have a 600wt power supply

Let me know if you ever got this problem solved, or if you just bought a new video card, or power supply. Thanks alot i appreciate it
 
Well, iv heard that the problem might be in the graphics card or over heating or both... im not sure so dont take any actions. If you could, double check. But from another forum the changing of the graphics card solved to problem with WoW. Well if you wanna be safe try plugging in another monitor just to see if the problem persists because the monitor might not support the game as in FPS or resolution
 
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