Hello there, I've got a problem with my computer that's been bothering me for a long time now.
If possible, I'd like any of you to help me identify the problem, and find a solution.
I've never been able to fix this problem, on what should be a perfectly fine computer, bought new in march 2008. Full spec list in the end of the post. OS is Windows XP Pro.
The problem is that the computer is either crashing completely, or forcing games to shut down when I'm playing games. What I've come to think is that my power supply can't handle the hardware that's in the computer, when all the parts are being used maximally. Here's what I'm thinking: When a game that demands the whole computer to work at maximum capacity is running, the power supply will attempt to deliver the power all the hardware parts need to function properly at full speed. 'Say the computer actually need a 550w power supply to function properly, but the power supply i have only works at 500w, it will actually try to deliver 550w, ultimately causing it to "overheat", and force itself to reboot as a means of getting cooled down or simply slowing down to work at normal capacity - instead of keeping on working at more than 100% capacity over a longer period of time, which would end up destroying the power supply altogether. The crashes rarely occur when I do anything other than playing demanding games, basically any game that's got high hardware demands will result in a computer crash - most often the BSOD kind - or forcing the game itself to abruptly shut down. Older games, or games that simply doesn't need high end hardware, will go on forever without causing any problems.
When it crashes, it usually happens after 1-10 minutes of playing, a few times it might go for around 20 minutes. When creating a character in a game, something that only needs very little processing power, it can go on for ages - even if the game itself would crash soon after playing normally. this only supports my theory about the power supply.
I've got all the latest drivers and such installed, and always have.
Things I've tried to fix my problem, all without success, include:
- Switching graphics card and installing the proper drivers.
- Formatting my computer, reinstalling windows and everything else.
- Taking off the side of the cabinet and have a big fan blow air directly into the computer to cool off everything.
- Switching hard disk. The computer/BIOS won't recognize either of the two other drives I've tried connecting.
- Paying too much money for having the place I bought it from fix it, only to have them tell me "it's a software problem". They told me they experienced no problems while playing any games on their own hard disk they installed for testing. This is the only thing that goes against my theory about the power supply, as far as I can tell.
I've never tested or switched the mother board, RAM, or processor.
The OS I've used has been the same all the time - an old copy of Windows XP Professional from a burned CD.
I'll try to install Windows 7 on my computer if nothing else can fix it. But of course I'd rather not spend time on formatting and installing windows when I'm not even sure that it's going to solve my problem. Because if it's a hardware problem, namely a weak power supply, I would lose my entire windows setup for nothing.
Any and all ideas are welcome. Hopefully I can get this problem solved without spending any money.
Mainboard : BIOSTAR GF7050V-M7
Chipset : nVidia GeForce 7050
Processor : Intel Core 2 Duo E8200 @ 2666 MHz
Physical Memory : 2048 MB (2 x 1024 DDR2-SDRAM )
Video Card : NVIDIA GeForce 9600 GT
Hard Disk : WDC (400 GB)
Operating System : Microsoft Windows XP Professional 5.01.2600 Service Pack 3
If possible, I'd like any of you to help me identify the problem, and find a solution.
I've never been able to fix this problem, on what should be a perfectly fine computer, bought new in march 2008. Full spec list in the end of the post. OS is Windows XP Pro.
The problem is that the computer is either crashing completely, or forcing games to shut down when I'm playing games. What I've come to think is that my power supply can't handle the hardware that's in the computer, when all the parts are being used maximally. Here's what I'm thinking: When a game that demands the whole computer to work at maximum capacity is running, the power supply will attempt to deliver the power all the hardware parts need to function properly at full speed. 'Say the computer actually need a 550w power supply to function properly, but the power supply i have only works at 500w, it will actually try to deliver 550w, ultimately causing it to "overheat", and force itself to reboot as a means of getting cooled down or simply slowing down to work at normal capacity - instead of keeping on working at more than 100% capacity over a longer period of time, which would end up destroying the power supply altogether. The crashes rarely occur when I do anything other than playing demanding games, basically any game that's got high hardware demands will result in a computer crash - most often the BSOD kind - or forcing the game itself to abruptly shut down. Older games, or games that simply doesn't need high end hardware, will go on forever without causing any problems.
When it crashes, it usually happens after 1-10 minutes of playing, a few times it might go for around 20 minutes. When creating a character in a game, something that only needs very little processing power, it can go on for ages - even if the game itself would crash soon after playing normally. this only supports my theory about the power supply.
I've got all the latest drivers and such installed, and always have.
Things I've tried to fix my problem, all without success, include:
- Switching graphics card and installing the proper drivers.
- Formatting my computer, reinstalling windows and everything else.
- Taking off the side of the cabinet and have a big fan blow air directly into the computer to cool off everything.
- Switching hard disk. The computer/BIOS won't recognize either of the two other drives I've tried connecting.
- Paying too much money for having the place I bought it from fix it, only to have them tell me "it's a software problem". They told me they experienced no problems while playing any games on their own hard disk they installed for testing. This is the only thing that goes against my theory about the power supply, as far as I can tell.
I've never tested or switched the mother board, RAM, or processor.
The OS I've used has been the same all the time - an old copy of Windows XP Professional from a burned CD.
I'll try to install Windows 7 on my computer if nothing else can fix it. But of course I'd rather not spend time on formatting and installing windows when I'm not even sure that it's going to solve my problem. Because if it's a hardware problem, namely a weak power supply, I would lose my entire windows setup for nothing.
Any and all ideas are welcome. Hopefully I can get this problem solved without spending any money.
Mainboard : BIOSTAR GF7050V-M7
Chipset : nVidia GeForce 7050
Processor : Intel Core 2 Duo E8200 @ 2666 MHz
Physical Memory : 2048 MB (2 x 1024 DDR2-SDRAM )
Video Card : NVIDIA GeForce 9600 GT
Hard Disk : WDC (400 GB)
Operating System : Microsoft Windows XP Professional 5.01.2600 Service Pack 3