Please Help, My Computer Crashes On Start of Any Game

[HighFlyin]

Hey this is my first post, but i have been desperately looking for help with my computer lately...

I run Windows Xp, and use a AMD Athalon(tm) 64 Processor 3200+, MMX, 3DNow, ~2.0GHz processor, I have 1GB of RAM, and a NVIDIA GeForce 6600 GT video card...

I have some but little knowledge of computers and have been having a very hard time trying to figure out whats wrong with my computer.

My computer has been completely crashing at the start up of any video game... which i must say has been pretty frustrating...

So if anybody has any suggestions for me it would be greatly appreciated

 

[Tmagic650]

How long have you been having this problem? Are you keeping up with the Windows Updates? XP is now up to service pack 3. Have you installed this update?

 

[Tedster]

run crap cleaner registry repair, update your windows ensure drivers are up to date.

 

[Badfinger]

Are you using a 'tweaked' Nvidia driver you found somewhere? Those can do that.
Replace it with a stable nvidia driver like version 93.71 (see archives on nvidia.com)

Check the fan on that video card to see if it's still working and check all of PC for dust and clear it out of there.

Games kick the video card into a higher gear (more heat) and if the fan is dead, that would hang you, the good news is fans are replaceable if the card isn't hosed from all the abuse. Good time to upgrade to a better card though, too.

 

[BorisandBailey]

I'd vote for a new video card; also, 2 or 3 gigabytes of ram would help your computer. Games are filled over the brim with math and extra memory will help them run smoothly. Your computer sounds like it's built very well for the usual activities...word processing, Internet, and photo manipulation...but it may need some more firepower for the intensive animation and math of games. A higher processor might be on the wish list, too. But try the other suggestions first and see if you can get it going before you invest any more money.