Getting reboots when playing a game

[RastaManBob]

I appreciate that I haven’t got much info on to give in order to help diagnose this problem but any help appreciated.

I have not used my PC for anything game related (Well apart from a 2D snooker game ) for a while now... Recently downloaded the demo of Darwinia (So still not heavy at all) and I keep getting reboots on it after a little time. I tried Multiwinia and I get the same problem.

I have a feeling this is a graphics related problem and that it is not a fault with the game.

How would I go about finding what the issue is and how to fix it?

Specs:

AMD Athlon XP 3000+ (~2.2GHz)
512MB RAM
GeForce FX 5600

Cheers!

 

[RastaManBob]

First supspect has to be heat - Clean out your fans/coolers & case.

2nd suspect would be GFX drivers - Update them.

Sounds like a plan, thank you Not had this PC open in quite a few years so I wouldn't be suprised if it's clogged with rubbish!

Cheers.

 

[RastaManBob]

pour water onto your graphics card to cool it down

I'm not that stupid

I'm still pretty PC competent just not invested in hardware in ages, to the extent I don't know backside from my elbow! Infact, nearly every PC I've had has been made up of other peoples seconds...

Whilst I'm still able to browse the net, do the odd bit of coding, complete Uni work, etc, okay I don't feel it's worth upgrading... Once it starts impacting on one of these I'll definitely start looking for upgrades. And no doubt this place will be my first point of call Cannot remember the last time I installed a game before this... And even now the PC is within spec - I think it's clear I'm not a hardcore PC gamer

I'll clear any muck out of the PC ASAP... At the moment still busy writing some documentation for a Uni assessment

Cheers guys! I'll let you know if I need any more help if that doesn't solve the problems.

 

[RastaManBob]

Agree heat and drivers should be first ports of call. However, if neither turns out to be responsible, PSU would be the next suspect.

I'm guessing your whole system, including PSU is quite old? Possible that ageing capacitors have led to a decline in its peak output and your system is attempting to draw more power over the 12V rail than it can supply.

This happened to me a couple of years ago when my old 480W Antec Truepower eventually stopped being able to power my Q6600/8800GT system in games. It worked at first, then I got the same reboots you describe. Replacing PSU with Be Quiet 600W sorted it all out.

This is very interesting. I did have to replace the PSU once before for this reason (It had escaped my mind). At the time, I quickly got a spare from a friend (As I needed the PC urgently).

It is very possible that the PSU is not rated highly enough for full load... (Added to the fact of it's age). As I've never run games since then I wouldn't know... Is there anything I can run which will log the voltages? Maybe I can see what happens as the PC reboots?

I'm very glad you brought this up; Something that completely escaped me.