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Computer consistently halts when playing games

Discussion in 'Windows XP' started by Munchkinguy, 2008/03/12.

  1. 2008/03/12
    Munchkinguy

    Munchkinguy Inactive Thread Starter

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    Whenever I am playing any game on my computer, it consistently slows down to a halt and then resumes again. This is not just for new games; my games from 1999 do the same thing. Whenever this happens, I open up Taskmanager and it tells me that the game is taking up 99% of the CPU. I thought that downloading SP 3 Beta might fix the problem, but it continues. Perhaps it has something to do with DirectX?

    Anyhow, my DxDiag file can be seen here.
     
    Munchkinguy,
    #1
  2. 2008/03/12
    oxoTwisToxo

    oxoTwisToxo Inactive

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    What games are you playing? 128 Megs may not be enough for some of the more demanding games.

    Also, do you have anything automated running? Anit-virus, defrags...... It could be hammering your resources. Just a thought....
     
    oxoTwisToxo,
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  4. 2008/03/12
    broni

    broni Moderator Malware Analyst

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    Beta version of anything will never help, it may make things worse.
    Uninstall.
    What are computer temps, and specs?
     
    broni,
    #3
  5. 2008/03/13
    PeteC

    PeteC SuperGeek Staff

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    oxoTwisToxo

    If you read the attached DxDiag the computer has a gig of ram which is enough. Lack of video ram should not cause the computer to slow down, just the graphics and 128 Mb video ram for 1999 games is overkill :) I don't think it is a graphics problem.
     
    PeteC,
    #4
  6. 2008/03/13
    Arie

    Arie Administrator Administrator Staff

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    Arie,
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  7. 2008/03/13
    LostUser

    LostUser Inactive

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    All good things to try posted so far. I had a problem somewhat similar in that my PC (I built it) would lock up occasionally and restarting would fix it for a time. When I bought Quake III arena (very graphics intensive), it would lock up much more frequently and in odd ways. I will spare you the details of my troubleshooting, drivers, updates, etc.

    The end result was my ATI All-In-Wonder 128 pro was overheating. I fixed the problem by cutting up a heat sink from an old motherboard and making a modified paper clip attachment with some heat sink compound to the main processor on the video card. This was before fans and heatsinks on video card were widely available.

    I want to NOTE however, I would caution you on putting anything metallic in your PC that is not specifically designed to go in there (modified paperclip). If it touches something it shouldn't or falls off, you could electrically short/ruin components on your MB.

    Have fun now.
     
    LostUser,
    #6
  8. 2008/03/15
    Munchkinguy

    Munchkinguy Inactive Thread Starter

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    Defrag didn't work. It has never helped me with anything, by the way. There's still lots of space on the hard drive, so I'm not sure how cleaning it up will help, but I am currently trying that.

    I am wary of sticking paper clips on my PC's circuitry. What if I just leave the sides open?
     
    Munchkinguy,
    #7
  9. 2008/03/15
    broni

    broni Moderator Malware Analyst

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    What are your computer temps?
     
    broni,
    #8
  10. 2008/03/23
    Munchkinguy

    Munchkinguy Inactive Thread Starter

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    Temperatures:
    Motherboard: 42 °C (108 °F)
    CPU: 69 °C (156 °F)
    Seagate ST3320620A: 36 °C (97 °F)
     
    Munchkinguy,
    #9
  11. 2008/03/23
    broni

    broni Moderator Malware Analyst

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    ...and what processor might it be?
     
    broni,
    #10
  12. 2008/03/24
    Bronan

    Bronan Inactive

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    The overall temps i see are kinda warm to begin with thats why i guess the airflow in your case seems faulty to me.

    I guess you need some flow in your computer case so if there is space for a extra fan in your case add one or more.

    69 is very hot for a cpu so the machine throttles it down for prevent it from burning.
    A normal temp for a cpu under full load is between 30 to 60 C to me anything above 55 is hot.

    Ofcourse this depends on your cpu type, if its an older amd xp cpu these can go as high as 85 without having a problem.
     
    Bronan,
    #11
  13. 2008/03/24
    broni

    broni Moderator Malware Analyst

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    ...and what processor might it be?
     
    broni,
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  14. 2008/03/24
    Munchkinguy

    Munchkinguy Inactive Thread Starter

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    All my system information is in the DxDiag file.
     
    Munchkinguy,
    #13
  15. 2008/03/24
    broni

    broni Moderator Malware Analyst

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    Your Pentium max temps are listed as 70-76C, so you're on really hot side.
     
    broni,
    #14
  16. 2008/03/24
    markp62

    markp62 Geek Member Alumni

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    If your CPU temp was taken when the processor is more or less idle, that is way too high, my P4 typically is from 34C to 37C. I recommend removal of the fan, and blowing out your heatsink with canned air. If you do not want to attempt removal of the fan, hold it from spinning while you use the air can.
     
    markp62,
    #15
  17. 2008/03/30
    Munchkinguy

    Munchkinguy Inactive Thread Starter

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    I cleaned out the heat sink, etc. I will try some games in a while. In the meantime, my computer decided to spit out a cryptic error message at me after restarting:

    svchost.exe - Application Error
    The instruction at "0x75334123" referenced memory at "0x02600004 ". The memory could not be "written ".

    I often get these messages (for years) so I was wondering if anyone knew what they meant.
     
    Munchkinguy,
    #16

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