Video Card Crash Issue


GoNukemHigh

 

Posted

The problem I'm consistently having is when I enter the University in Steel Canyon to use the Invention tables, my screen goes black, the card fan spins faster and my system reboots, but the screen remains blacked out.

Below is CoH-Helper info:

---System information gathered by CoH Helper version 0.2.0.2---

DxDiag gathered at May 2, 2012 21:35 (-07:00)
Operating System: Windows XP Home Edition (5.1, Build 2600) Service Pack 3 (2600.xpsp_sp3_gdr.111025-1629)
System Manufacturer: Dell Inc.
System Model: Dimension 4700
BIOS: Phoenix ROM BIOS PLUS Version 1.10 A06
Central Processor: Intel(R) Pentium(R) 4 CPU 2.80GHz
Memory: 3070MB
.Net Memory Report: 2261MB out of 3070MB available
Page File: 3204MB (723MB currently in use)
C Drive: (Maxtor 6Y080M0) 11939MB out of 72912MB (16%) free
D Drive: (TSSTcorp CD-RW TS-H292B) zero-size drive
E Drive: (HL-DT-ST DVDRAM GSA-H62L) zero-size drive
Windows directory location: C:\WINDOWS
DirectX: DirectX 9.0c (4.09.0000.0904)
DirectX Diag version: 5.03.2600.5512 (32-bit version)

Display Notes: No problems found.
Sound Notes: No problems found.
Input Notes: No problems found.

Monitor: Plug and Play Monitor
Monitor's Max Resolution: 1600,1200
Video Device Name: NVIDIA GeForce GTS 250
Manufacturer / Chip: NVIDIA / GeForce GTS 250
Video Memory: 512.0 MB
Driver Version: 6.14.0012.9610
Driver Date: 2/29/2012 4:58:00 PM
Driver Language: English

Sound Device Description: Sound Blaster Live! 24-bit
Driver File: P17.sys
Driver Version: 5.12.0001.0512
Driver Date: 7/7/2005 5:14:30 PM


WMI Information
Motherboard Manufacturer: Dell Inc.
Motherboard Model: (empty)
Motherboard Product: 0M3918
Motherboard Version:
BIOS Manufacturer: Dell Inc.
BIOS Name: Phoenix ROM BIOS PLUS Version 1.10 A06
BIOS Version: DELL - 7
BIOS Release: 20050110000000.000000+000


Registry Information for Current User
Resolution: 1280x1024
3D Resolution: 1280x1024 (Not using renderscale)
Full Screen: Yes
Maximized: No
Screen Position: 0, 0
Refresh Rate: 60Hz
Vertical Sync Enabled: Yes


Physics Quality: None
Maximum Particles: 50000
Max Particle Fill? 10.000
Physics Card Enabled: No


Anti-aliasing: 2x
Anisotropic Filtering: 4x
Texture LOD Bias: Smooth
Water Effects: None
Bloom: 1.000 (turned off)
Depth of Field Enabled: No
Desaturation Effects (Sepia) Enabled: Yes
Shader Detail: Unknown (5)


World Texture Level: Low
Character Texture Level: High
World Detail Level (Vis_Scale): 0.800
Entity Detail Level: 1.000
Shadows Enabled: Yes
Shadow Mode: Stencil shadows
Shadow Map Shader: Unknown (0)
Environmental Reflections: Disabled
Advanced Occlusion Settings: No
Ambient Occlusion: Off
Occlusion Strength: Off
Blur: Bilateral
Ambient Resolution: Performance


Gamma Correction: 0.783
Geometry Buffers (VBOs) Enabled: Yes
Suppression of FX When Camera Close Enabled: Yes
Close Suppression Range: 3.000
Show Advertisements: No

Audio Mode: Performance
3D Audio: No
FX Sound Volume: 0.118
Music Sound Volume: 0.000

Show Advanced Graphics Options: No
Overall Graphics Quality: 0.250
Reverse Mouse Buttons: No
Save Login Username: Yes
Transfer Rate: 309179 bytes/second
Current Game Version: 1950.201102230015.1
Installation Directory: C:\Program Files\City of Heroes

Mod files in the Data directory
.\texture_library\MAPS\city has 1 file
.\texture_library\MAPS\Midnight_Squad has 1 file
.\texture_library\MAPS\Safeguard has 9 files
.\texture_library\MAPS\sewers has 44 files
.\texture_library\MAPS\static has 32 files
.\texture_library\PLAYERS\AVATAR\Female\Chest\Them ed has 3 files
.\texture_library\PLAYERS\AVATAR\Female\Chest\Tigh ts has 6 files
.\texture_library\PLAYERS\AVATAR\Female\Face has 2 files
.\texture_library\PLAYERS\AVATAR\Female\Hips\Theme d has 3 files
.\texture_library\PLAYERS\AVATAR\Female\Masks\Ches t has 2 files
.\texture_library\PLAYERS\AVATAR\Female\Masks\Hips has 1 file
.\texture_library\PLAYERS\AVATAR\Super_Shared\Boot s has 3 files
.\texture_library\PLAYERS\AVATAR\Super_Shared\Glov es has 3 files
.\texture_library\V_MAPS\Outdoor_Missions has 9 files
.\texture_library\V_MAPS\Static has 16 files








Hijack This Info:


Logfile of Trend Micro HijackThis v2.0.4
Scan saved at 9:40:21 PM, on 5/2/2012
Platform: Windows XP SP3 (WinNT 5.01.2600)
MSIE: Internet Explorer v8.00 (8.00.6001.18702)
Boot mode: Normal

Running processes:
C:\WINDOWS\System32\smss.exe
C:\WINDOWS\system32\winlogon.exe
C:\WINDOWS\system32\services.exe
C:\WINDOWS\system32\lsass.exe
C:\WINDOWS\system32\svchost.exe
C:\WINDOWS\System32\svchost.exe
C:\WINDOWS\Explorer.EXE
C:\WINDOWS\system32\spoolsv.exe
C:\Program Files\CyberLink\PowerDVD\PDVDServ.exe
C:\Program Files\Real\RealPlayer\RealPlay.exe
C:\WINDOWS\system32\Rundll32.exe
C:\Program Files\lg_fwupdate\fwupdate.exe
C:\WINDOWS\system32\dla\tfswctrl.exe
C:\Program Files\Creative\Sound Blaster Live! 24-bit\Surround Mixer\CTSysVol.exe
C:\Program Files\iTunes\iTunesHelper.exe
C:\Program Files\Olympus\ib\olycamdetect.exe
C:\Program Files\Kaspersky Lab\Kaspersky Anti-Virus 2012\avp.exe
C:\WINDOWS\system32\RunDLL32.exe
C:\Program Files\Common Files\Java\Java Update\jusched.exe
C:\WINDOWS\system32\ctfmon.exe
C:\Program Files\Hewlett-Packard\Digital Imaging\bin\hpobnz08.exe
C:\Program Files\Hewlett-Packard\Digital Imaging\bin\hpotdd01.exe
C:\Program Files\Logitech\SetPoint\SetPoint.exe
C:\Program Files\Common Files\Apple\Mobile Device Support\AppleMobileDeviceService.exe
C:\Program Files\Western Digital\WD SmartWare\WD Drive Manager\WDDMStatus.exe
C:\Program Files\Kaspersky Lab\Kaspersky Anti-Virus 2012\avp.exe
C:\Program Files\OpenOffice.org 3\program\soffice.exe
C:\Program Files\OpenOffice.org 3\program\soffice.bin
C:\Program Files\Common Files\Logishrd\KHAL2\KHALMNPR.EXE
C:\Program Files\Bonjour\mDNSResponder.exe
C:\WINDOWS\system32\CTsvcCDA.EXE
C:\WINDOWS\system32\IProsetMonitor.exe
C:\Program Files\Java\jre6\bin\jqs.exe
C:\WINDOWS\system32\nvsvc32.exe
C:\WINDOWS\system32\svchost.exe
C:\Program Files\Western Digital\WD SmartWare\WD Drive Manager\WDDMService.exe
C:\Program Files\Hewlett-Packard\Digital Imaging\bin\hpoevm08.exe
C:\Program Files\Western Digital\WD SmartWare\Front Parlor\WDFME\WDFME.exe
C:\Program Files\Western Digital\WD SmartWare\Front Parlor\WDSC.exe
C:\WINDOWS\system32\MsPMSPSv.exe
C:\Program Files\iPod\bin\iPodService.exe
C:\WINDOWS\system32\HPZipm12.exe
C:\WINDOWS\System32\svchost.exe
C:\Program Files\Hewlett-Packard\Digital Imaging\Bin\hpoSTS08.exe
C:\Program Files\Mozilla Firefox\firefox.exe
C:\Program Files\Mozilla Firefox\plugin-container.exe
C:\WINDOWS\system32\msiexec.exe
C:\Program Files\Trend Micro\HijackThis\HiJackThis.exe

R1 - HKCU\Software\Microsoft\Internet Explorer\Main,Default_Page_URL = http://www.dell4me.com/mywaybiz
R1 - HKCU\Software\Microsoft\Internet Explorer\Main,Search Bar = http://bfc.myway.com/search/de_srchlft.html
R0 - HKCU\Software\Microsoft\Internet Explorer\Main,Start Page = http://www.yahoo.com/
R1 - HKLM\Software\Microsoft\Internet Explorer\Main,Default_Page_URL = http://go.microsoft.com/fwlink/?LinkId=69157
R1 - HKLM\Software\Microsoft\Internet Explorer\Main,Default_Search_URL = http://go.microsoft.com/fwlink/?LinkId=54896
R1 - HKLM\Software\Microsoft\Internet Explorer\Main,Search Page = http://go.microsoft.com/fwlink/?LinkId=54896
R0 - HKLM\Software\Microsoft\Internet Explorer\Main,Start Page = http://go.microsoft.com/fwlink/?LinkId=69157
R1 - HKCU\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Int ernet Settings,ProxyOverride = *.local
O2 - BHO: AcroIEHelperStub - {18DF081C-E8AD-4283-A596-FA578C2EBDC3} - C:\Program Files\Common Files\Adobe\Acrobat\ActiveX\AcroIEHelperShim.dll
O2 - BHO: IEVkbdBHO - {59273AB4-E7D3-40F9-A1A8-6FA9CCA1862C} - C:\Program Files\Kaspersky Lab\Kaspersky Anti-Virus 2012\ievkbd.dll
O2 - BHO: DriveLetterAccess - {5CA3D70E-1895-11CF-8E15-001234567890} - C:\WINDOWS\system32\dla\tfswshx.dll
O2 - BHO: Java(tm) Plug-In SSV Helper - {761497BB-D6F0-462C-B6EB-D4DAF1D92D43} - C:\Program Files\Java\jre6\bin\ssv.dll
O2 - BHO: Google Toolbar Helper - {AA58ED58-01DD-4d91-8333-CF10577473F7} - C:\Program Files\Google\Google Toolbar\GoogleToolbar_32.dll
O2 - BHO: Google Toolbar Notifier BHO - {AF69DE43-7D58-4638-B6FA-CE66B5AD205D} - C:\Program Files\Google\GoogleToolbarNotifier\5.7.7227.1100\s wg.dll
O2 - BHO: Java(tm) Plug-In 2 SSV Helper - {DBC80044-A445-435b-BC74-9C25C1C588A9} - C:\Program Files\Java\jre6\bin\jp2ssv.dll
O2 - BHO: link filter bho - {E33CF602-D945-461A-83F0-819F76A199F8} - C:\Program Files\Kaspersky Lab\Kaspersky Anti-Virus 2012\klwtbbho.dll
O2 - BHO: JQSIEStartDetectorImpl - {E7E6F031-17CE-4C07-BC86-EABFE594F69C} - C:\Program Files\Java\jre6\lib\deploy\jqs\ie\jqs_plugin.dll
O3 - Toolbar: (no name) - {BA52B914-B692-46c4-B683-905236F6F655} - (no file)
O3 - Toolbar: Google Toolbar - {2318C2B1-4965-11d4-9B18-009027A5CD4F} - C:\Program Files\Google\Google Toolbar\GoogleToolbar_32.dll
O4 - HKLM\..\Run: [UpdReg] C:\WINDOWS\UpdReg.EXE
O4 - HKLM\..\Run: [UpdateManager] "C:\Program Files\Common Files\Sonic\Update Manager\sgtray.exe" /r
O4 - HKLM\..\Run: [RemoteControl] "C:\Program Files\CyberLink\PowerDVD\PDVDServ.exe"
O4 - HKLM\..\Run: [RealTray] C:\Program Files\Real\RealPlayer\RealPlay.exe SYSTEMBOOTHIDEPLAYER
O4 - HKLM\..\Run: [P17Helper] Rundll32 P17.dll,P17Helper
O4 - HKLM\..\Run: [LGODDFU] "C:\Program Files\lg_fwupdate\fwupdate.exe" blrun
O4 - HKLM\..\Run: [LanguageShortcut] "C:\Program Files\CyberLink\PowerDVD\Language\Language.exe"
O4 - HKLM\..\Run: [Kernel and Hardware Abstraction Layer] KHALMNPR.EXE
O4 - HKLM\..\Run: [IgfxTray] C:\WINDOWS\system32\igfxtray.exe
O4 - HKLM\..\Run: [HotKeysCmds] C:\WINDOWS\system32\hkcmd.exe
O4 - HKLM\..\Run: [dla] C:\WINDOWS\system32\dla\tfswctrl.exe
O4 - HKLM\..\Run: [CTSysVol] C:\Program Files\Creative\Sound Blaster Live! 24-bit\Surround Mixer\CTSysVol.exe /r
O4 - HKLM\..\Run: [QuickTime Task] "C:\Program Files\QuickTime\qttask.exe" -atboottime
O4 - HKLM\..\Run: [KernelFaultCheck] %systemroot%\system32\dumprep 0 -k
O4 - HKLM\..\Run: [iTunesHelper] "C:\Program Files\iTunes\iTunesHelper.exe"
O4 - HKLM\..\Run: [Olympus ib] "C:\Program Files\Olympus\ib\olycamdetect.exe" /Startup
O4 - HKLM\..\Run: [MDS_Menu] "C:\Program Files\Olympus\ib\MUITransfer\MUIStartMenu.exe" "C:\Program Files\Olympus\ib" UpdateWithCreateOnce "Software\OLYMPUS\ib\1.0"
O4 - HKLM\..\Run: [Adobe Reader Speed Launcher] "C:\Program Files\Adobe\Reader 9.0\Reader\Reader_sl.exe"
O4 - HKLM\..\Run: [Adobe ARM] "C:\Program Files\Common Files\Adobe\ARM\1.0\AdobeARM.exe"
O4 - HKLM\..\Run: [AVP] "C:\Program Files\Kaspersky Lab\Kaspersky Anti-Virus 2012\avp.exe"
O4 - HKLM\..\Run: [NvCplDaemon] RUNDLL32.EXE C:\WINDOWS\system32\NvCpl.dll,NvStartup
O4 - HKLM\..\Run: [NvMediaCenter] RunDLL32.exe NvMCTray.dll,NvTaskbarInit -login
O4 - HKLM\..\Run: [nwiz] C:\Program Files\NVIDIA Corporation\nview\nwiz.exe /installquiet
O4 - HKLM\..\Run: [SunJavaUpdateSched] "C:\Program Files\Common Files\Java\Java Update\jusched.exe"
O4 - HKCU\..\Run: [ctfmon.exe] C:\WINDOWS\system32\ctfmon.exe
O4 - HKCU\..\Run: [MSMSGS] "C:\Program Files\Messenger\msmsgs.exe" /background
O4 - HKCU\..\Run: [updateMgr] "C:\Program Files\Adobe\Acrobat 7.0\Reader\AdobeUpdateManager.exe" AcRdB7_1_0 -reboot 1
O4 - HKCU\..\Run: [OV2_Monitor] "C:\Program Files\OLYMPUS\OLYMPUS Viewer 2\OV2Monitor.exe" -NoStart
O4 - Startup: OpenOffice.org 3.0.lnk = C:\Program Files\OpenOffice.org 3\program\quickstart.exe
O4 - Global Startup: Adobe Gamma Loader.exe.lnk = C:\Program Files\Common Files\Adobe\Calibration\Adobe Gamma Loader.exe
O4 - Global Startup: hp psc 2000 Series.lnk = C:\Program Files\Hewlett-Packard\Digital Imaging\bin\hpobnz08.exe
O4 - Global Startup: hpoddt01.exe.lnk = ?
O4 - Global Startup: Logitech SetPoint.lnk = C:\Program Files\Logitech\SetPoint\SetPoint.exe
O4 - Global Startup: WDDMStatus.lnk = C:\Program Files\Western Digital\WD SmartWare\WD Drive Manager\WDDMStatus.exe
O8 - Extra context menu item: Add to Google Photos Screensa&ver - res://C:\WINDOWS\system32\GPhotos.scr/200
O9 - Extra button: &Virtual Keyboard - {4248FE82-7FCB-46AC-B270-339F08212110} - C:\Program Files\Kaspersky Lab\Kaspersky Anti-Virus 2012\ievkbd.dll
O9 - Extra button: URLs c&heck - {CCF151D8-D089-449F-A5A4-D9909053F20F} - C:\Program Files\Kaspersky Lab\Kaspersky Anti-Virus 2012\klwtbbho.dll
O9 - Extra button: Real.com - {CD67F990-D8E9-11d2-98FE-00C0F0318AFE} - C:\WINDOWS\system32\Shdocvw.dll
O9 - Extra button: (no name) - {e2e2dd38-d088-4134-82b7-f2ba38496583} - C:\WINDOWS\Network Diagnostic\xpnetdiag.exe
O9 - Extra 'Tools' menuitem: @xpsp3res.dll,-20001 - {e2e2dd38-d088-4134-82b7-f2ba38496583} - C:\WINDOWS\Network Diagnostic\xpnetdiag.exe
O9 - Extra button: Messenger - {FB5F1910-F110-11d2-BB9E-00C04F795683} - C:\Program Files\Messenger\msmsgs.exe
O9 - Extra 'Tools' menuitem: Windows Messenger - {FB5F1910-F110-11d2-BB9E-00C04F795683} - C:\Program Files\Messenger\msmsgs.exe
O16 - DPF: {01111C00-3E00-11D2-8470-0060089874ED} (Support.com ActionRunner Class) - http://www.help.rr.com/Foundrysdccom...ad/tgctlar.cab
O16 - DPF: {0CCA191D-13A6-4E29-B746-314DEE697D83} (Facebook Photo Uploader 5 Control) - http://upload.facebook.com/controls/...oUploader5.cab
O16 - DPF: {4ED9DDF0-7479-4BBE-9335-5A1EDB1D8A21} -
O16 - DPF: {5ED80217-570B-4DA9-BF44-BE107C0EC166} (Windows Live Safety Center Base Module) - http://cdn.scan.onecare.live.com/res...scbase1140.cab
O16 - DPF: {6414512B-B978-451D-A0D8-FCFDF33E833C} (WUWebControl Class) - http://www.update.microsoft.com/wind...?1199556045953
O16 - DPF: {6E32070A-766D-4EE6-879C-DC1FA91D2FC3} (MUWebControl Class) - http://update.microsoft.com/microsof...?1226824618500
O16 - DPF: {AA299E98-6FB5-409F-99D3-D30D749F4864} (kasRmtHlp Class) - http://msp.computica.com/inc/kaxRemote.dll
O16 - DPF: {BCC0FF27-31D9-4614-A68E-C18E1ADA4389} - http://download.mcafee.com/molbin/sh...23/mcgdmgr.cab
O16 - DPF: {D1E7CBDA-E60E-4970-A01C-37301EF7BF98} (Futuremark SystemInfo) - http://www.yougamers.com/systeminfo/FMSI.cab
O16 - DPF: {E2883E8F-472F-4FB0-9522-AC9BF37916A7} - http://platformdl.adobe.com/NOS/getPlusPlus/1.6/gp.cab
O22 - SharedTaskScheduler: Browseui preloader - {438755C2-A8BA-11D1-B96B-00A0C90312E1} - C:\WINDOWS\system32\browseui.dll
O22 - SharedTaskScheduler: Component Categories cache daemon - {8C7461EF-2B13-11d2-BE35-3078302C2030} - C:\WINDOWS\system32\browseui.dll
O23 - Service: Adobe Flash Player Update Service (AdobeFlashPlayerUpdateSvc) - Adobe Systems Incorporated - C:\WINDOWS\system32\Macromed\Flash\FlashPlayerUpda teService.exe
O23 - Service: Apple Mobile Device - Apple Inc. - C:\Program Files\Common Files\Apple\Mobile Device Support\AppleMobileDeviceService.exe
O23 - Service: Kaspersky Anti-Virus Service (AVP) - Kaspersky Lab ZAO - C:\Program Files\Kaspersky Lab\Kaspersky Anti-Virus 2012\avp.exe
O23 - Service: Bonjour Service - Apple Inc. - C:\Program Files\Bonjour\mDNSResponder.exe
O23 - Service: Creative Service for CDROM Access - Creative Technology Ltd - C:\WINDOWS\system32\CTsvcCDA.EXE
O23 - Service: Google Update Service (gupdate) (gupdate) - Google Inc. - C:\Program Files\Google\Update\GoogleUpdate.exe
O23 - Service: Google Update Service (gupdatem) (gupdatem) - Google Inc. - C:\Program Files\Google\Update\GoogleUpdate.exe
O23 - Service: Google Software Updater (gusvc) - Google - C:\Program Files\Google\Common\Google Updater\GoogleUpdaterService.exe
O23 - Service: Intel(R) PROSet Monitoring Service - Intel Corporation - C:\WINDOWS\system32\IProsetMonitor.exe
O23 - Service: iPod Service - Apple Inc. - C:\Program Files\iPod\bin\iPodService.exe
O23 - Service: Java Quick Starter (JavaQuickStarterService) - Sun Microsystems, Inc. - C:\Program Files\Java\jre6\bin\jqs.exe
O23 - Service: Logitech Bluetooth Service (LBTServ) - Logitech, Inc. - C:\Program Files\Common Files\Logishrd\Bluetooth\LBTServ.exe
O23 - Service: Mozilla Maintenance Service (MozillaMaintenance) - Mozilla Foundation - C:\Program Files\Mozilla Maintenance Service\maintenanceservice.exe
O23 - Service: NVIDIA Driver Helper Service (NVSvc) - NVIDIA Corporation - C:\WINDOWS\system32\nvsvc32.exe
O23 - Service: NVIDIA Update Service Daemon (nvUpdatusService) - NVIDIA Corporation - C:\Program Files\NVIDIA Corporation\NVIDIA Update Core\daemonu.exe
O23 - Service: Pml Driver HPZ12 - HP - C:\WINDOWS\system32\HPZipm12.exe
O23 - Service: WDDMService - WDC - C:\Program Files\Western Digital\WD SmartWare\WD Drive Manager\WDDMService.exe
O23 - Service: WD File Management Engine (WDFME) - Unknown owner - C:\Program Files\Western Digital\WD SmartWare\Front Parlor\WDFME\WDFME.exe
O23 - Service: WD File Management Shadow Engine (WDSC) - Unknown owner - C:\Program Files\Western Digital\WD SmartWare\Front Parlor\WDSC.exe

--
End of file - 12875 bytes


 

Posted

Do you experience the crashes going to the invention tables at any other universities? What about the invention table (not the vanguard merit table) in the Rikti War Zone?

Nothing in the logs really stands out to me (well, other than OpenOffice being supplanted by LibreOffice, but that's unrelated to this ).


Quote:
Originally Posted by ShadowNate
;_; ?!?! What the heck is wrong with you, my god, I have never been so confused in my life!

 

Posted

Hm. Nothing looks hugely wrong with any of that... Although I do applaud you for puttin' up with a single core P4 2.8G. I know what that chip can and can't do... it must be a real slide show sometimes, even with HT going on. And with all that background stuff... Perhaps a MSConfig and turn all that off might help...

Still. The point is very clear, you can *specifically* recreate the issue, so it points to a couple of things:

There is a bad .PIGG file regarding the Universty in Steel. Or, perhaps just the university textures or something. You should probably do a full check of the files and see if they fix themselves.

Could be a bad piece of main memory that happens to trigger when you load that. I would be very curious if turning off some of the background processes and then running the game again changes this in anyway, as the bad spot might not 'get hit'.

Could be a bad piece of video memory, but... there's no real checking that, and generally, the resultant video errors on screen are what you see, not a full system reboot.

I don't suppose you've checked your event viewer to see if it has any information regarding the reboots... I see the dumprep being called for, which can be called for after a bad reboot... so there should be an event log associated with this problem...?

Fully check your hard drive out. Full scan, sectors too. Could be the .PIGG for that Steel University is sitting on a bad sector or something.

Here's an easy test for the hard drive thing: Make a copy of the original. Then change the name of the original folder, then rename the new copy to the old original's name. Retest. If that changes the game, then it's a hard drive issue. If it doesn't, it's a system issue, see the above.

Hope that helps!


August 31, 2012. A Day that will Live in Infamy. Or Information. Possibly Influence. Well, Inf, anyway. Thank you, Paragon Studios, for what you did, and the enjoyment and camaraderie you brought.
This is houtex, aka Mike, signing off the forums. G'night all. - 10/26/2012
Well... perhaps I was premature about that whole 'signing off' thing... - 11-9-2012

 

Posted

I used to have almost the same issue, with my laptop and less with ym desktop, and it was the graphics card overheating.

First, get a temperature monitoring program to check and make sure it stays below 70 degrees Celsius while playing. I think you can Google a good one, but try this: http://www.cpuid.com/softwares/hwmonitor.html

If it is overheating then maybe it is doing so because the fan speed on your card is too slow to ramp up when it gets hot, which is an issue Nvidia cards have.
You can use this program to manually set your fan sped to something like 70% to keep it cooler rather than let it slowly react once it is already hot: http://www.nvidia.com/object/nvidia_...ools_6.06.html

Other than that, you can turn down your settings to keep it cooler.
Also, clean out the vents and the inside of your computer. They may have too much dust, restricting airflow and insulating the hardware, which makes it harder to cool.

The universities have a lot of little objects to render and many polygons to certain pieces as well as textures. It's one of those places that really taxes systems more than others.


 

Posted

One other thing. Since this is a Dell we're talking about, remembet that the power supplies are no stronger than they absolutely need to be (305W in this case).

It's possible that you're inducing some sort of spike in power usage that's exceeding the PSU's ability to supply, causing an insufficient power situation and leading to a crash.



Clicking on the linked image above will take you off the City of Heroes site. However, the guides will be linked back here.

 

Posted

The GTS 250 is listed on the nVidia site as needing a 450W power supply as the minimum.

If the Dell has only a 305W power supply that could be the cause of the problems.

CoH stresses hardware more than any other game I've played in years.

I use it to stress test computers after repairing them. I got that idea from houtex.

Running all of that ... stuff ... in the background is only adding to the load.


If the game spit out 20 dollar bills people would complain that they weren't sequentially numbered. If they were sequentially numbered people would complain that they weren't random enough.

Black Pebble is my new hero.

 

Posted

Quote:
Originally Posted by Texas Justice View Post
I use it to stress test computers after repairing them. I got that idea from houtex.

Uh..huh...




Clicking on the linked image above will take you off the City of Heroes site. However, the guides will be linked back here.

 

Posted

Quote:
Originally Posted by Hyperstrike View Post

Quote:
Originally Posted by Texas Justice View Post

I use it to stress test computers after repairing them. I got that idea from houtex.
Uh..huh...


Considering the (relatively) low end hardware I work with (especially power supplies and graphics cards) running CoH on them is either as a stress test for the hardware or for me.

I have enough staff members (Teachers and Administrators) giving me a stress test daily.

Also, one of the guys I work with doesn't believe in just replacing parts. He's repaired several of our video cards, power supplies and motherboards rather than just replacing them. Since much of it involved replacing capacitors, it's mostly a tedious job of desoldering the old caps and resoldering the new caps. For the video cards and motherboards he's sometimes reflowing the solder for the chips on the board as well.

Using CoH as a stress test has shown him a few flaws in his repairs before we put those parts back out on the campuses.


If the game spit out 20 dollar bills people would complain that they weren't sequentially numbered. If they were sequentially numbered people would complain that they weren't random enough.

Black Pebble is my new hero.

 

Posted

Quote:
Originally Posted by Hyperstrike View Post
One other thing. Since this is a Dell we're talking about, remembet that the power supplies are no stronger than they absolutely need to be (305W in this case).

It's possible that you're inducing some sort of spike in power usage that's exceeding the PSU's ability to supply, causing an insufficient power situation and leading to a crash.
I got that covered. Before I got my card, I upgraded to a Silencer 470 from PC Power & Cooling which is specifically for Dell machines. So I have 470W of power. I've had this for a few years now and never had this issue before until just recently.


 

Posted

When I do go inside the University, its usually a good 80% chance of this issue I'm having happening. Sometimes it happens as soon as I enter the University. Sometimes as soon as I start to move towards an Invention table. Sometimes I can get to the Invention table and craft recipes and then crash. Other times I can get in and out without a problem.

I reduced Anti-aliasing from x16 to x2 and ran around inside the University and did not experience the issue...yet. I'll continue to see if that changes anything.

I usually have all my background programs on and never had this issue before.

I did get the temp monitoring program which allows to control the fan speed from Nvidia.

The side panel of my machine is always removed to allow more air flow and venting of heat. I recently air-dusted too.


 

Posted

Quote:
Originally Posted by GoNukemHigh View Post
When I do go inside the University, its usually a good 80% chance of this issue I'm having happening. Sometimes it happens as soon as I enter the University. Sometimes as soon as I start to move towards an Invention table. Sometimes I can get to the Invention table and craft recipes and then crash. Other times I can get in and out without a problem.

I reduced Anti-aliasing from x16 to x2 and ran around inside the University and did not experience the issue...yet. I'll continue to see if that changes anything.

I usually have all my background programs on and never had this issue before.

I did get the temp monitoring program which allows to control the fan speed from Nvidia.

The side panel of my machine is always removed to allow more air flow and venting of heat. I recently air-dusted too.
Your CoH helper said 2x.

Removing the side panel usually (not always) makes things worse for temps. YMMV


H: Blaster 50, Defender 50, Tank 50, Scrapper 50, Controller 50, PB 50, WS 50
V: Brute 50, Corruptor 50, MM 50, Dominator 50, Stalker 50, AW 50, AS 50
Top 4: Controller, Brute, Scrapper, Corruptor
Bottom 4: (Peacebringer) way below everything else, Mastermind, Dominator, Blaster
CoH in WQHD

 

Posted

Quote:
Originally Posted by Texas Justice View Post
The GTS 250 is listed on the nVidia site as needing a 450W power supply as the minimum.

If the Dell has only a 305W power supply that could be the cause of the problems.

CoH stresses hardware more than any other game I've played in years.

I use it to stress test computers after repairing them. I got that idea from houtex.

Running all of that ... stuff ... in the background is only adding to the load.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Texas Justice View Post
Considering the (relatively) low end hardware I work with (especially power supplies and graphics cards) running CoH on them is either as a stress test for the hardware or for me.

I have enough staff members (Teachers and Administrators) giving me a stress test daily.

Also, one of the guys I work with doesn't believe in just replacing parts. He's repaired several of our video cards, power supplies and motherboards rather than just replacing them. Since much of it involved replacing capacitors, it's mostly a tedious job of desoldering the old caps and resoldering the new caps. For the video cards and motherboards he's sometimes reflowing the solder for the chips on the board as well.

Using CoH as a stress test has shown him a few flaws in his repairs before we put those parts back out on the campuses.
Wanted to say 'Good catch, TJ, I missed that!', so, uh... well, there, I just did.

Also... nifty! I influenced someone. Heh. Co* is still the worst thing for a computer to do, far as I can tell, and that's pretty cool that y'all are rebuilding video cards and using it to test. Awesomesauce.

Quote:
Originally Posted by GoNukemHigh View Post
I got that covered. Before I got my card, I upgraded to a Silencer 470 from PC Power & Cooling which is specifically for Dell machines. So I have 470W of power. I've had this for a few years now and never had this issue before until just recently.
As power supplies get used, and moreover, ones on the ragged edge like sounds like might be the case here, they lose their capabilities a bit. So what you might have been getting before, you might not be able to keep up now. It's a valid point that the 470W rating (constant, I'm sure, from PCPC, not peak, way different) is now not really able to get there. It may be that it's got 440 or 430 constant. And you're pushing it. Possibly. You did say years.

Also, I'm not in total agreement with the side not helping... indeed it can. A lot. And in the case of this dell, it may just be ok. It does, however, use a passive heat sink under that goofy green chute, with the rear fan pulling air from the underside and 'front' of the sink. The power supply fan sucks air from above that chute. There's no fan on the front, and the video card would get any passive air from the front and seams, and with the side on, it's air intake is in front of the hard drive, over the hard drive and then towards the CPU... laminar flow might just make it possible, if not likely, the airflow at the card is horrid by then (and the fan is on the other side to boot!), and the case side being off is actually more helpful than not. I would agree with not having it on, by far, given the design of this horrid case. However, having said that, the graphics card, if it's the same overall design, is exhausting air out the back as well, so there is a vaccum for new air in the middle of the case. It may make no difference either way. Air only cooling is funny that way...

But you might wanna check into another power supply... maybe.


August 31, 2012. A Day that will Live in Infamy. Or Information. Possibly Influence. Well, Inf, anyway. Thank you, Paragon Studios, for what you did, and the enjoyment and camaraderie you brought.
This is houtex, aka Mike, signing off the forums. G'night all. - 10/26/2012
Well... perhaps I was premature about that whole 'signing off' thing... - 11-9-2012