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Post by simplyslick on Feb 14, 2008 21:42:42 GMT -5
Hello all!
I've had a problem with the game crashing. It only happens to my computer when I'm playing CS, not when I'm using any other programs. Results have been a freezing screen (and power still runs through the keyboard but I can't toggle the NumLock so the light stays on), complete rebooting of the system (with a little beep from inside the case), or just a complete shutdown of the system (also with a beep from inside the case). I'm not sure where the beeping is coming from inside the case because there is no sound/speakers inside the case. This occurs anywhere from 2 to 30 minutes of gameplay, everytime.
I'm fairly good with computers. I've updated the graphics driver, checked for BIOS updates, scanned the system for spyware/viruses/all that. I also used a restore point from a time prior to the problem starting. This past weekend I even reformatted the computer and reinstalled windows. Since the reinstall, it continues to occur.
So first, sorry to anyone if we're talking/playing and I completely randomly leave. And second, I'm guessing it's probably a hardware problem.. I'm just not sure where to look first.
Systems Specs:
Intel P4 at 2.80 Ghz
1.5 Gb of RAM running 333Mhz (2- 265Mb sticks and 1- 1Gb stick)
Sapphire Radeon X1600
AOpen Mobo (Model: AX4SG-UN)
Windows XP OS
450W Power Supply
3- 80mm fans (plus the tiny, hardly useful fan on the GPU)
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Post by Mr. Sassy Pants on Feb 14, 2008 23:03:43 GMT -5
theres a chance it could be overheating, but if you have any games that take a larger toll on your system that dont crash, it might not be. the other possability i can think of at the moment would be some sort of error in game that causes the crash....if thats the case, perhaps a fresh install of CS to solve the problem...or perhas a few tweaks to CS... heres a link to some good tweaks i have found... downloads.teqnohaxor.com/cs/csstweak/yes thats for NVIDEA, so dont worry about the graphics end, try some of the CSS ones though...=D and stupid question, but have you updates directX since the reformat? |
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Post by B8 on Feb 15, 2008 7:28:09 GMT -5
I hhave had some problems with things plugged into my USB bus. Try unplugging all of the active unused USB devices and see if that helps.
This is probably a mouse issue for me because I have a USB mouse.
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Post by Jayne, The Hero of Canton on Feb 15, 2008 10:03:53 GMT -5
I second the motherboard overheating theory. Check to see if your fans are spinning (especially on the processor and in the power supply).
Motherboards usually have beep codes. They signal things like bad RAM, overheating and power fluctuations. Given the symptoms you describe, I'm going to guess its a heat thing.
Check your fans!
-Jayne
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Post by Amy on Feb 15, 2008 21:36:03 GMT -5
I agree with the overheating and would like to throw out the possible power supply issue.
How old is it, and how long has it run? When I had my P4 (sony, with a 7600GT and 2 gigs of ram) I put in a 500W Antec phantom power supply. I'd be worried about it possibly not being strong enough to support CS:S.
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Post by simplyslick on Feb 15, 2008 23:01:46 GMT -5
It's been running on this computer fine for just over a year. All the fans are running but im starting to wonder if that's enough now.. the heatsink on the processor was extremely hot anfter it just shut down (aobut 15 minutes ago, hah..). Also, I've noticed the "default voltage" in the BIOS fluctuating between 1.3125v(which I think was the normal voltage) and 1.3875v. I've kept it at the lower setting though just in case.. I'll go double check and update (if need be) the DirectX.
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Post by Amy on Feb 17, 2008 8:24:36 GMT -5
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Post by simplyslick on Feb 17, 2008 21:18:32 GMT -5
I was setting up that program you sent me Amy, and it looked real good too. But when I was setting up, my MB model wasn't listed in order to moniter... It's ancient.. Thanks though! The prog. looked really good!
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Post by DubiousMonkey on Mar 8, 2008 12:12:23 GMT -5
Slick, is there any way you can get a temperature from the CPU? You might be able to get to it through the BIOS right after the system reboots/fails. My suspicion is that your processor is overheating. If your bios has an option of shutting down if a certain temperature is reached, then I would test the system by lowering that temperature to about 50 degrees C (default is probably around 65) and verifying that the same fault occurs sooner with a lower cut off point. Another thing you may want to try is to run burnin test from passmark. www.passmark.com/download/bit_download.htmget the standard edition - it has a 30 day fre trial. You will get a result like the one below if your hardware is all OK.  |
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Post by simplyslick on Mar 8, 2008 16:45:15 GMT -5
Sounds good man. I'll test it when I get home from work tonight. I'll let you know how it goes. Thanks man.
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Post by simplyslick on Mar 8, 2008 23:37:17 GMT -5
Alright so I'm looking at BIOS right now and the CPU is idling at 70 deg. C./158deg. F. The "system temp" is 28C/82F. Is that normal...? lol
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Post by ŞíŘ on Mar 9, 2008 3:38:57 GMT -5
CPU should NOT be idling at 70 degrees Celsius. For contrast, mine idles at 41 (to be fair, I have an AMD x64 that is notorious for running pretty cool).
If you're idling at 70C, I can absolutely see it overheating under stress. Get some good cool airflow over that thing. I'd suggest checking thermal grease but if you don't know much, that's a quick-and-easy way to make the problem worse.
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Post by DubiousMonkey on Mar 9, 2008 8:24:05 GMT -5
At 70 degree C idle, you are probably seeing the CPU go into self protect mode and shutting down when stressed. Make sure all of your fans are working and if you have any case filters they are clean. If you are comfortable with reseating your CPU heatsink, then I would re-apply thermal paste and re-mount it as well. This is from the Intel website: www.intel.com/support/processors/pentium4/sb/cs-007999.htmIf you scroll down to Table 2, you will see the desired max case temperatures for given CPUs. |
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Post by simplyslick on Mar 9, 2008 13:24:44 GMT -5
I put some new thermal paste on about two weeks ago. That is, after I tried another P4 processor that runs just at 2.0Ghz. When I tested that in a game on CS, the computer still had problems. So I put my CPU back in with new thermal paste. I tried that BurnIn last night and ran it quite a few times with different tests. The first test, I tested everything. Then about 13 minutes into a 15 minute test, the computer shut down. After that I only tried a few combinations of tests at a time. The computer ran those with no problems, passing everything except the floppy drive because I dont have one but it was still looking for it lol. Then I tried CS about 30 minutes later. I was able to play for about 20 minutes then it crashed again.. I really think it's the mb but I'm not positive. The mb is ancient hah. I think I'm probably going to build a new computer in the summer possibly, but until then I still want to figure this out. Thanks for the help so far though. I like the BurnIn program.
-Slick
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Post by simplyslick on Mar 15, 2008 22:49:07 GMT -5
Power supply! I'm pretty sure it was the power supply! How I figured it out, I have no idea, but I've got a new one in there now and I haven't had any problems for 3 days (which is very exciting).
See you all on the server soon!
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