Re: what actually happens when games freeze?

If your PC is overclocked it can be because it is getting too hot Colin Harris <[email hidden]> wrote in message news:hFSz4.272$[email hidden]... > The title says it all, really...I have a couple of games (GP500, SBK,TOCA) > that freeze, and the only way to get out is to switch the on/off button. > Now, what's happened that would make a game do this? Is it out of memory?Is > it DirectX? Drivers? I'm determined to get to the bottom of this, cos it'sa > hell of a pain in the arse. > System specs: AMD K6 II 400, 128 Mb RAM, SB Live, Voodoo3 2000....anyhelp

Quoted text (12 lines)

> putting me in the right direction would be appreciated. > > -- > > Colin Harris > ColinHarris in N3/NL > Proud co-owner - CLONE N.Legends league > http://members.chello.se/clone/index.htm > ICQ 25485061 > > >

I had similar problems and ALL my black screen lockups were cured by doing two things: 1. Installing an additional fan for my GeForce card for some additional cooling. 2. Upgrading my chipset drivers to the latest version. Also ensure you have the latest sound card and video card drivers. My best guess would be your motherboard though... ...Colin "Colin Harris" <[email hidden]> wrote in message news:75Tz4.310$[email hidden]... > none of these...I have no screensaver, the power saver is set to never,and > I don't overclock...any other ideas? What actually happens is that the > screen freezes, and whatever sound is playing in the background loops over > and over again...

I had the same problem (freeze w/looping sound) with a Voodoo 2 card. Downloading the latest drivers fixed it. Also, underclocking it might be an easy way to find out if it's a heat prolem. Not sure how you do that for a Voodoo 3, but for the V2 it's as easy as adding a line to your autoexec.bat. My V2 runs remarkably cooler at 80 MHz instead of the default 90. -A Colin Harris <[email hidden]> wrote in message news:SDWz4.777$[email hidden]... > I really appreciate those who answered in here, and those who emailed me > privately...I'm cracking on with a few things, but they're all stabs inthe

Quoted text (14 lines)

> dark. If anyone else has ideas, I'd love to hear them! > > -- > > Colin Harris > ColinHarris in N3/NL > Proud co-owner - CLONE N.Legends league > http://members.chello.se/clone/index.htm > ICQ 25485061 > > > > >

It could just be because PC's suck - get a Gameboy : ) Colin <[email hidden]> wrote in message news:8ap30r$hh1$[email hidden]...

Quoted text (16 lines)

> I had similar problems and ALL my black screen lockups were cured by doing > two things: > 1. Installing an additional fan for my GeForce card for some additional > cooling. > 2. Upgrading my chipset drivers to the latest version. > > Also ensure you have the latest sound card and video card drivers. > My best guess would be your motherboard though... > ...Colin > > "Colin Harris" <[email hidden]> wrote in message > news:75Tz4.310$[email hidden]... > > none of these...I have no screensaver, the power saver is set to never, > and > > I don't overclock...any other ideas? What actually happens is that the > > screen freezes, and whatever sound is playing in the background loops

over > > and over again... > > >

>The title says it all, really...I have a couple of games (GP500, SBK, TOCA) >that freeze, and the only way to get out is to switch the on/off button. >Now, what's happened that would make a game do this? Is it out of memory? Is MOST of the time, freezes without errors are caused by bad power (power supply, or just dirty power into the computer); CPU or RAM. Flaky memory does VERY bizarre things. Temperature and power are the two biggest culprits. Gunner

The title says it all, really...I have a couple of games (GP500, SBK, TOCA) that freeze, and the only way to get out is to switch the on/off button. Now, what's happened that would make a game do this? Is it out of memory? Is it DirectX? Drivers? I'm determined to get to the bottom of this, cos it's a hell of a pain in the arse. System specs: AMD K6 II 400, 128 Mb RAM, SB Live, Voodoo3 2000....any help putting me in the right direction would be appreciated. -- Colin Harris ColinHarris in N3/NL Proud co-owner - CLONE N.Legends league http://members.chello.se/clone/index.htm ICQ 25485061

Could be your screen saver kicking in? or the power saving stuff in Windows? turn them both off and see what happens. I'm sure there's other possibilities to. Colin Harris wrote in message ... >The title says it all, really...I have a couple of games (GP500, SBK, TOCA) >that freeze, and the only way to get out is to switch the on/off button. >Now, what's happened that would make a game do this? Is it out of memory?Is >it DirectX? Drivers? I'm determined to get to the bottom of this, cos it'sa

Quoted text (14 lines)

>hell of a pain in the arse. > System specs: AMD K6 II 400, 128 Mb RAM, SB Live, Voodoo3 2000....any help >putting me in the right direction would be appreciated. > >-- > >Colin Harris >ColinHarris in N3/NL >Proud co-owner - CLONE N.Legends league >http://members.chello.se/clone/index.htm >ICQ 25485061 > > >

none of these...I have no screensaver, the power saver is set to never, and I don't overclock...any other ideas? What actually happens is that the screen freezes, and whatever sound is playing in the background loops over and over again... -- Colin Harris ColinHarris in N3/NL Proud co-owner - CLONE N.Legends league http://members.chello.se/clone/index.htm ICQ 25485061 CLAW <[email hidden]> wrote in message news:8aoueo$ktl$[email hidden]... > If your PC is overclocked it can be because it is getting too hot > > > Colin Harris <[email hidden]> wrote in message > news:hFSz4.272$[email hidden]... > > The title says it all, really...I have a couple of games (GP500, SBK, > TOCA) > > that freeze, and the only way to get out is to switch the on/off button. > > Now, what's happened that would make a game do this? Is it out of memory? > Is > > it DirectX? Drivers? I'm determined to get to the bottom of this, cos it's > a > > hell of a pain in the arse. > > System specs: AMD K6 II 400, 128 Mb RAM, SB Live, Voodoo3 2000....any > help > > putting me in the right direction would be appreciated. > > > > -- > > > > Colin Harris > > ColinHarris in N3/NL > > Proud co-owner - CLONE N.Legends league > > http://members.chello.se/clone/index.htm > > ICQ 25485061 > > > > > > > >

My guess is a problem with SB Live and AMD. I replaced by SB live (I also have a AMD K7 600 cpu) with a old POS ensonique (sp) and haven't had a problem yet with locking up but sound is well, uh lacking. Can't have everything. Where would you put it all. On Wed, 15 Mar 2000 20:52:15 -0000, "Colin Harris" <[email hidden]> wrote:

Quoted text (18 lines)

>The title says it all, really...I have a couple of games (GP500, SBK, TOCA) >that freeze, and the only way to get out is to switch the on/off button. >Now, what's happened that would make a game do this? Is it out of memory? Is >it DirectX? Drivers? I'm determined to get to the bottom of this, cos it's a >hell of a pain in the arse. > System specs: AMD K6 II 400, 128 Mb RAM, SB Live, Voodoo3 2000....any help >putting me in the right direction would be appreciated. > >-- > >Colin Harris >ColinHarris in N3/NL >Proud co-owner - CLONE N.Legends league >http://members.chello.se/clone/index.htm >ICQ 25485061 > > >

Colin Harris wrote in message ... >The title says it all, really...I have a couple of games (GP500, SBK, TOCA) >that freeze, and the only way to get out is to switch the on/off button. >Now, what's happened that would make a game do this? Is it out of memory?Is MOST of the time, freezes without errors are caused by bad power (power supply, or just dirty power into the computer); CPU or RAM. Flaky memory does VERY bizarre things. Temperature and power are the two biggest culprits. Gunner

I really appreciate those who answered in here, and those who emailed me privately...I'm cracking on with a few things, but they're all stabs in the dark. If anyone else has ideas, I'd love to hear them! -- Colin Harris ColinHarris in N3/NL Proud co-owner - CLONE N.Legends league http://members.chello.se/clone/index.htm ICQ 25485061

>none of these...I have no screensaver, the power saver is set to never, and >I don't overclock...any other ideas? What actually happens is that the >screen freezes, and whatever sound is playing in the background loops over >and over again... Well this just happened to me while under yellow (NR99) at Daytona with 5 to go!! What happened after that was alot of swearing and frustration, amybe a bit uncalled for as I was in 36th position at the time:) This only happens to me in NR99 (always under a caution) and a couple of D3D games. Fortunatly not in GPL or SCGT though:) The problem with the D3D games is My Savage 4 card. I don't know about NR99 though as this happened before I had the Savage 4. Could be sloppy programming by Papyrus, like when your car goes inside another one! I wouldn't dare to suggest such a thing in this forum though. Chris

Quoted text (12 lines)

>-- >Colin Harris >ColinHarris in N3/NL >Proud co-owner - CLONE N.Legends league >http://members.chello.se/clone/index.htm >ICQ 25485061 >> If your PC is overclocked it can be because it is getting too

hot >> > The title says it all, really...I have a couple of games (GP500, SBK, >> TOCA) >> > that freeze, and the only way to get out is to switch the on/off button. >> > Now, what's happened that would make a game do this? Is it out of >memory? >> Is >> > it DirectX? Drivers? I'm determined to get to the bottom of this, cos >it's >> a >> > hell of a pain in the arse. >> > System specs: AMD K6 II 400, 128 Mb RAM, SB Live, Voodoo3 2000....any

Quoted text (10 lines)

>> help >> > putting me in the right direction would be appreciated. >> > -- >> > Colin Harris >> > ColinHarris in N3/NL >> > Proud co-owner - CLONE N.Legends league >> > http://members.chello.se/clone/index.htm >> > ICQ 25485061

* Sent from RemarQ http://www.remarq.com The Internet's Discussion Network * The fastest and easiest way to search and participate in Usenet - Free!

I had similar problems w/ D3D games and got the same advice from NGs, e.g. fans/heat, bad memory, antivirus software. For me, it turned out to be MoBo BIOS settings. I DL'ed some shareware called Powertweak (www.powertweak.com) that fixed it. I don't know what it really did, other than fix the freeze problems. Good thing though, because I was at the end of my rope. Good luck * Sent from RemarQ http://www.remarq.com The Internet's Discussion Network * The fastest and easiest way to search and participate in Usenet - Free!

LOL >It could just be because PC's suck - get a Gameboy : ) --------------------------------------------- Remove "NOSPAM" before using my email-address JensSchumi homepage at http://members.xoom.com/JensSchu/ Racing simulation, esp. GPL Logitech Wingman FF optimization Classic cars, esp. Morris Minor Radio controlled airplanes

True to a certain extent, but check out this info about VXD problems (it fixed my D3D problems): http://www.mcs.net/~revolutn/win98_vxd_fix.htm -- JB >>The title says it all, really...I have a couple of games (GP500, SBK, TOCA)

Quoted text (10 lines)

>>that freeze, and the only way to get out is to switch the on/off button. >>Now, what's happened that would make a game do this? Is it out of memory? >Is > MOST of the time, freezes without errors are caused by bad power (power >supply, or just dirty power into the computer); CPU or RAM. Flaky memory >does VERY bizarre things. Temperature and power are the two biggest >culprits. >Gunner

This is probably a VXD problem in your Windows operating system. I had similar problems and I found a great site that has a VXD fix batch file and instructions -- here's the scoop: What are .VXD's and why does Windows 98 need a fix? Windows 95 and 98 both use a compression technique to theoretically speed up Windows load time, which combines many system VXD's into one monolithic VXD file named VMM32.VXD. However, theory and the real world have been proven not to work 100% of the time. The results for many users of Windows 98 are: System instability BSOD's (Blue Screen Of Death) Mouse lockups Problems during Shut Down. Screen suddenly freezes, ALT+CTRL+DEL will not recover. If YOU have experienced these problems, this fix alone may eliminate them completely!! .VXD's are Virtual eXtended Device drivers, and Windows uses them to control the function of such things as: Your mouse. The hardware you modem uses. (Comm Port) Your Video Display Adaptor (Video Card) And others Visit their site for a "fix": http://www.mcs.net/~revolutn/win98_vxd_fix.htm Or go to their FAQ file for more info: http://www.mcs.net/~revolutn/vxdfaq.htm I didn't use their batch file, but I did read over the FAQ, and then I extracted the "magic 7" VXD files manually, and it really helped my lockup problems. I HIGHLY recommend this if you're having lockups -- think of it as a system "tuneup." -- JB >The title says it all, really...I have a couple of games (GP500, SBK, TOCA) >that freeze, and the only way to get out is to switch the on/off button. >Now, what's happened that would make a game do this? Is it out of memory? Is >it DirectX? Drivers? I'm determined to get to the bottom of this, cos it's a

Quoted text (11 lines)

>hell of a pain in the arse. > System specs: AMD K6 II 400, 128 Mb RAM, SB Live, Voodoo3 2000....any help >putting me in the right direction would be appreciated. >-- >Colin Harris >ColinHarris in N3/NL >Proud co-owner - CLONE N.Legends league >http://members.chello.se/clone/index.htm >ICQ 25485061

Nope -- not sloppy programming, just D3D problems with certain cards, I suspect. I had similar problems with my Banshee Blaster card in D3D games before I applied the VXD fix mentioned elsewhere (http://www.mcs.net/~revolutn/win98_vxd_fix.htm [address restored] but once I "freshened" my VXD files, the D3D problems went away. It's not uncommon for things in the Win95/98 OS to become corrupted and degrade over time (must be a Microsoft "feature"), so I wouldn't blame the game programmers. Hope this helps. -- JB

Quoted text (68 lines)

>>none of these...I have no screensaver, the power saver is set >to never, and >>I don't overclock...any other ideas? What actually happens is >that the >>screen freezes, and whatever sound is playing in the background >loops over >>and over again... >Well this just happened to me while under yellow (NR99) at >Daytona with 5 to go!! What happened after that was alot of >swearing and frustration, amybe a bit uncalled for as I was in >36th position at the time:) >This only happens to me in NR99 (always under a caution) and a >couple of D3D games. Fortunatly not in GPL or SCGT though:) >The problem with the D3D games is My Savage 4 card. I don't >know about NR99 though as this happened before I had the Savage >4. Could be sloppy programming by Papyrus, like when your car >goes inside another one! I wouldn't dare to suggest such a >thing in this forum though. >Chris >>-- >>Colin Harris >>ColinHarris in N3/NL >>Proud co-owner - CLONE N.Legends league >>http://members.chello.se/clone/index.htm >>ICQ 25485061 >>> If your PC is overclocked it can be because it is getting too >hot >>> > The title says it all, really...I have a couple of games >(GP500, SBK, >>> TOCA) >>> > that freeze, and the only way to get out is to switch the >on/off button. >>> > Now, what's happened that would make a game do this? Is it >out of >>memory? >>> Is >>> > it DirectX? Drivers? I'm determined to get to the bottom of >this, cos >>it's >>> a >>> > hell of a pain in the arse. >>> > System specs: AMD K6 II 400, 128 Mb RAM, SB Live, Voodoo3 >2000....any >>> help >>> > putting me in the right direction would be appreciated. >>> > -- >>> > Colin Harris >>> > ColinHarris in N3/NL >>> > Proud co-owner - CLONE N.Legends league >>> > http://members.chello.se/clone/index.htm >>> > ICQ 25485061 >* Sent from RemarQ http://www.remarq.com The Internet's Discussion Network

* >The fastest and easiest way to search and participate in Usenet - Free!

Well it ain't my video card as this problem happened with my last SIS card and also with my Savage 4. As NR99 doesn't have D3D support I doubt it would be the card. This also doesn't explain how you can drive "inside" another car in NR99? Chris * Sent from RemarQ http://www.remarq.com The Internet's Discussion Network * The fastest and easiest way to search and participate in Usenet - Free!

In article <[email hidden]>, Chris Bloom <[email hidden]> writes:

Quoted text (7 lines)

>Well it ain't my video card as this problem happened with my >last SIS card and also with my Savage 4. As NR99 doesn't have >D3D support I doubt it would be the card. > >This also doesn't explain how you can drive "inside" another car >in NR99? >

You can do it in N3, too. At least online. I ran a race the other day. When I got lapped, instead of going around me, the assholes drove right THROUGH my car...sheesh! Eldred p.s. I guess should say *some* - others were professional... -- Tiger Stadium R.I.P. 1912-1999 Own Grand Prix Legends? Goto http://gpl.gamestats.com/vroc Never argue with an idiot. He brings you down to his level, then beats you with experience... Remove SPAM-OFF to reply.

In article <[email hidden]>, [email hidden] writes: >My guess is a problem with SB Live and AMD. I replaced by SB live (I >also have a AMD K7 600 cpu) with a old POS ensonique (sp) and haven't >had a problem yet with locking up but sound is well, uh lacking. Can't >have everything. Where would you put it all. I don't think it's the SBLive and AMD. Not as a rule, anyway. I'm running a K62-350 and SBLive with no problems. Not lockups, anyway... Speed is another issue...<g> Eldred -- Tiger Stadium R.I.P. 1912-1999 Own Grand Prix Legends? Goto http://gpl.gamestats.com/vroc Never argue with an idiot. He brings you down to his level, then beats you with experience... Remove SPAM-OFF to reply.