Re: My Computer SUCKS

"Chuck Kandler" <[email hidden]> wrote in message > > You guys got at least one thing in common, the SB Live! card. Just for > giggles, try it one night with that card out of your machine. Let's see > if anything does (or doesn't) happen. > I hope Dave can get his problems sorted out, but I'm sure glad now that I went with the PCI128 rather than a Live! card after everything I've read in the last couple of weeks. To think I nearly bought an X-Gamer card. Seriously though Dave...I bought a case fan for my computer recently which I hooked into my FAN3 connector on my motherboard, and the price was very dirt cheap. Even here in Canada, it was only $9 and it's an excellent thing to have because it helps keep the components cool. I've read and skimmed over so many messages about your machine that it's got to be something to do with the design of your motherboard in conjunction with the Live card, or drivers needing work, or a case of high heat. Even if the case fan doesn't help your situation, it's worth a try and it's a good thing to have anyway. ~NightSky 421~

In article <CBRS4.526$[email hidden]>, Dave St.Onge <[email hidden]> wrote:

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>"Charlie B (Hans)" <[email hidden]> wrote in message >news:yrLS4.257$D%[email hidden]... >> yes usually its heat related when it takes an amount of time for the >problem >> to occur. >> >> Jeff Jones wrote in message ... >> >> >Try taking your case cover off. You may have a heat problem. A great many >> >computer problems are heat-related. >> > >> >Well, once I got my computer home, I started reinstalling programs around 6 >pm, and when I was done, I started playing Unreal Tournament around 10 pm, >and played about 15 mins before it froze. After doing the scandisk thing, I >went back into Unreal Tournament and it froze after about 10 minutes. > >Dave

Which REALLY sounds like a heat problem - you used your machine for 4 hours, and as soon as you play unreal, it got a bit hotter (more CPU usage, etc), and crashed. You're not overclocking your CPU, are you? Mattias -- Mattias Hembruch, BASc, MASc ([email hidden]) E2-3343, ext 6165, Software Support, Electrical and Computer Engineering, University of Waterloo, Waterloo, Ontario

In article <CBRS4.526$[email hidden]>, "Dave St.Onge" <[email hidden]> wrote: > Well, once I got my computer home, I started reinstalling programsaround 6 > pm, and when I was done, I started playing Unreal Tournament around10 pm, > and played about 15 mins before it froze. After doing the scandiskthing, I > went back into Unreal Tournament and it froze after about 10 minutes. > > Dave > I'm curious. When UT locks up on you, does it freeze with a looping sound effect? I ask because I started having this problem a while back and still haven't figured out how to resolve it. If I play UT, I'll just get random crashes that freeze my system with a looping sound effect and I have to hard reset my machine. I don't have this behavior with any other game on my system and I've been pulling my hair out trying to resolve it. My system configuration is fairly different from yours, but perhaps we have something in common that's causing the problem. My system is basically as follows: Win98 Abit BH6 MB 256megs PC100 RAM Creative TNT2 Ultra (not sure what reference driver version) SB Live! Value (LiveWare 3) 1 9gig IDE 1 6gig SCSI 2940AU (1.30, I think) 3COM PCI modem (NOT a Winmodem) Hauppage WinTV PCI LOTS of fans Anyway, I started seeing these crashes a while back, so I updated my video drivers, went from LiveWare 2 to 3, tried D3D, OpenGL, turning 3D sound hardware off, stopped all background processes and did pretty much everything else I could think of. Still, I get random lock-ups anywhere from 1 minute to 20 minutes into a game. It's really unfortunate as there are lots of new maps that I'd really like to play, but it's frustrating to have to keep rebooting my machine. Anyway, it's not the end of the world as I have plenty of other games to play, but I'd love to figure out what's causing this. I'm crossing my fingers that the upcoming 4.18 patch will make the problem disappear, but I haven't really heard of many other people having the same issue. Is this like the problem you're seeing? I'd love it if somebody could help me figure this out. Anyway, good luck with your system. -MikeC Sent via Deja.com http://www.deja.com/ Before you buy.

Actually, it may not be a bad idea to return the soundcard and get a replacement sblive. I bought a voodoo2 card back when they were new and it continually locked up my system when I used it to play games. I went through the rigamorale of adding heatsinks and fans- even so far as putting an icepack on top of the voodoo card - and still experienced great problems. Eventually I just replaced the card and everything worked out just fine. bubble PS I just bought a sblive and fps2000 speaker system - they ROCK! :) So keep at it.

I think the heat theory is probably the most likely cause of your troubles. However, it does not fix your problem, you might want to get your memory tested/replaced. Bad memory can cause those problems too. -/- Walk Walker "Dave St.Onge" <[email hidden]> wrote in message news:IKKS4.177$[email hidden]... > Basically, for those who have been following my impossible computerproblems > in a previous thread, I am totally lost now. In a nutshell, I haverecently

Basically, for those who have been following my impossible computer problems in a previous thread, I am totally lost now. In a nutshell, I have recently installed sb Live X-Gamer, and updated to Live Ware 3.0. My computer keeps crashing after an hour or so, and sometime less. Just today, I brought my computer in to the computer shop whe I purchased it and had the hard drive reformatted, and windows 98 was reinstalled. My computer is an NEC 9897 Ready, and the soundcard which came with the computer is disabled in the BIOS. There are no IRQ conflicts, from what I can see.... Windows 98 reinstalled SB Live X-Gamer w/ Liveware 3.0 Voodoo 3 2000 Direct x 7.0a 96 mb ram 400 mhz Pentium II Sorry for the cross-posting, but has anyone else playing Unreal Tournament v 413 or Half Life have trouble with hard crashes. I didn't have any sort of problems this evening until I played Unreal Tournament, then it froze twice. I haven't had any trouble with N3, that I can remember, although I haven't tried it tonight. In addition, I have DTT 2500's and have them set on the surround sound (5 speakers), and use the stereo sound instead of the 4 speaker sound for when I play games. Could this possibly have an effect. Lastly, I have about 2 weeks left where I can return the speakers and soundcard, and I am seriously tempted to do so, even though I love the sound, as I don't recall having these crashes before then.... Dave

>Sorry for the cross-posting, but has anyone else playing Unreal Tournamentv >413 or Half Life have trouble with hard crashes. I didn't have any sort of >problems this evening until I played Unreal Tournament, then it frozetwice. Try taking your case cover off. You may have a heat problem. A great many computer problems are heat-related. >In addition, I have DTT 2500's and have them set on the surround sound (5 >speakers), and use the stereo sound instead of the 4 speaker sound for when >I play games. Could this possibly have an effect. Doubtful, but you could always switch back to 4 speakers and try it. I don't think that's the problem at all though. >Lastly, I have about 2 weeks left where I can return the speakers and >soundcard, and I am seriously tempted to do so, even though I love the >sound, as I don't recall having these crashes before then.... I would absolutely NOT do that. Those are just about the best you can get in each category. I have the same setup (except I have the FPS 2000's instead) and I don't have the crash/freeze problems. I *did* have those type problems at one time, but I added a 90mm case fan to the interior, blowing directly onto my V3 card, and I also removed the slot cover from slot just below the V3. Since then, all my crash problems ceased. Your problems could be heat related, since they happen in intense, 3D games, and also after a certain length of time has passed. I would try removing the case cover. If that fixes it, add an interior case fan, or a cooling fan for your vid card. Email me if you need any help. jeff >Dave > >

yes usually its heat related when it takes an amount of time for the problem to occur. Jeff Jones wrote in message ... >Try taking your case cover off. You may have a heat problem. A great many >computer problems are heat-related. >

Sorry for the double-reply, but I thought I'd give you an URL that could be the answer to your problems: http://www.3dcool.com They specialize in excellent fans and the coolest cases around.

Well, once I got my computer home, I started reinstalling programs around 6 pm, and when I was done, I started playing Unreal Tournament around 10 pm, and played about 15 mins before it froze. After doing the scandisk thing, I went back into Unreal Tournament and it froze after about 10 minutes. Dave "Charlie B (Hans)" <[email hidden]> wrote in message news:yrLS4.257$D%[email hidden]... > yes usually its heat related when it takes an amount of time for theproblem

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> to occur. > > Jeff Jones wrote in message ... > > >Try taking your case cover off. You may have a heat problem. A great many > >computer problems are heat-related. > > > > >

Try turning off 3d sound. "Dave St.Onge" wrote:

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> Basically, for those who have been following my impossible computer problems > in a previous thread, I am totally lost now. In a nutshell, I have recently > installed sb Live X-Gamer, and updated to Live Ware 3.0. My computer keeps > crashing after an hour or so, and sometime less. Just today, I brought my > computer in to the computer shop whe I purchased it and had the hard drive > reformatted, and windows 98 was reinstalled. My computer is an NEC 9897 > Ready, and the soundcard which came with the computer is disabled in the > BIOS. There are no IRQ conflicts, from what I can see.... > > Windows 98 reinstalled > SB Live X-Gamer w/ Liveware 3.0 > Voodoo 3 2000 > Direct x 7.0a > 96 mb ram > 400 mhz Pentium II > > Sorry for the cross-posting, but has anyone else playing Unreal Tournament v > 413 or Half Life have trouble with hard crashes. I didn't have any sort of > problems this evening until I played Unreal Tournament, then it froze twice. > I haven't had any trouble with N3, that I can remember, although I haven't > tried it tonight. > > In addition, I have DTT 2500's and have them set on the surround sound (5 > speakers), and use the stereo sound instead of the 4 speaker sound for when > I play games. Could this possibly have an effect. > > Lastly, I have about 2 weeks left where I can return the speakers and > soundcard, and I am seriously tempted to do so, even though I love the > sound, as I don't recall having these crashes before then.... > > Dave

On Fri, 12 May 2000 07:11:07 -0400, "Dave St.Onge" <[email hidden]> wrote: >Well, once I got my computer home, I started reinstalling programs around 6 >pm, and when I was done, I started playing Unreal Tournament around 10 pm, >and played about 15 mins before it froze. After doing the scandisk thing, I >went back into Unreal Tournament and it froze after about 10 minutes. Yeah, that still sounds like overheating. When you're playing games, the video card gets really hot. It took fifteen minutes to reach critical. Then, while your computer rebooted and ran scandisk, the video card cooled off a bit, but not completely. That's why it only took 10 minutes the next time. It's odd that it didn't happen before you added the soundcard. Is the soundcard blocking airflow to the video card? Does your BIOS have a hardware monitor option? Go into your BIOS and look for that. It may have hardware monitoring which will tell you the temperature of your processor and case. That might answer some questions about whether or not you're overheating. -T

Hey Dave Try removing the sb live for an evening or 2 and see what happens.. maybe u already have, and if so.. sorry.. Md "Dave St.Onge" wrote:

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> > Basically, for those who have been following my impossible computer problems > in a previous thread, I am totally lost now. In a nutshell, I have recently > installed sb Live X-Gamer, and updated to Live Ware 3.0. My computer keeps > crashing after an hour or so, and sometime less. Just today, I brought my > computer in to the computer shop whe I purchased it and had the hard drive > reformatted, and windows 98 was reinstalled. My computer is an NEC 9897 > Ready, and the soundcard which came with the computer is disabled in the > BIOS. There are no IRQ conflicts, from what I can see.... > > Windows 98 reinstalled > SB Live X-Gamer w/ Liveware 3.0 > Voodoo 3 2000 > Direct x 7.0a > 96 mb ram > 400 mhz Pentium II > > Sorry for the cross-posting, but has anyone else playing Unreal Tournament v > 413 or Half Life have trouble with hard crashes. I didn't have any sort of > problems this evening until I played Unreal Tournament, then it froze twice. > I haven't had any trouble with N3, that I can remember, although I haven't > tried it tonight. > > In addition, I have DTT 2500's and have them set on the surround sound (5 > speakers), and use the stereo sound instead of the 4 speaker sound for when > I play games. Could this possibly have an effect. > > Lastly, I have about 2 weeks left where I can return the speakers and > soundcard, and I am seriously tempted to do so, even though I love the > sound, as I don't recall having these crashes before then.... > > Dave

[email hidden] wrote:

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> > In article <CBRS4.526$[email hidden]>, > "Dave St.Onge" <[email hidden]> wrote: > > Well, once I got my computer home, I started reinstalling programs > around 6 > > pm, and when I was done, I started playing Unreal Tournament around > 10 pm, > > and played about 15 mins before it froze. After doing the scandisk > thing, I > > went back into Unreal Tournament and it froze after about 10 minutes. > > > > Dave > > > > I'm curious. When UT locks up on you, does it freeze with a looping > sound effect? I ask because I started having this problem a while back > and still haven't figured out how to resolve it. If I play UT, I'll > just get random crashes that freeze my system with a looping sound > effect and I have to hard reset my machine. I don't have this behavior > with any other game on my system and I've been pulling my hair out > trying to resolve it. My system configuration is fairly different from > yours, but perhaps we have something in common that's causing the > problem. My system is basically as follows: > > Win98 > Abit BH6 MB > 256megs PC100 RAM > Creative TNT2 Ultra (not sure what reference driver version) > SB Live! Value (LiveWare 3) > 1 9gig IDE > 1 6gig SCSI > 2940AU (1.30, I think) > 3COM PCI modem (NOT a Winmodem) > Hauppage WinTV PCI > LOTS of fans

You guys got at least one thing in common, the SB Live! card. Just for giggles, try it one night with that card out of your machine. Let's see if anything does (or doesn't) happen. -- Chuck Kandler #70 K&S Racing http://www.fortunecity.com/silverstone/thepits/195 Competitor in the TopGear MGPRS2 league at: http://topgear.dhs.org/ Come on & join the fun! They'll call you names And spit in your face, But legends never die. --Gene Simmons

> You guys got at least one thing in common, the SB Live! card. Just for > giggles, try it one night with that card out of your machine. Let's see > if anything does (or doesn't) happen I'm going to yank the card out tomorrow...it froze today while I was deleting files, for no apparent reason. Although, when I did a scandisk after I had to turn off the power bar, the errors were reported in some dating of files in IE 5....go figure... Dave

"Dave St.Onge" wrote:

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> > > You guys got at least one thing in common, the SB Live! card. Just for > > giggles, try it one night with that card out of your machine. Let's see > > if anything does (or doesn't) happen > > I'm going to yank the card out tomorrow...it froze today while I was > deleting files, for no apparent reason. Although, when I did a scandisk > after I had to turn off the power bar, the errors were reported in some > dating of files in IE 5....go figure... > > Dave

Two WAGs Try removing and re-installing the memory dimms. The contacts may be very slightly corroded or dirty. and/or Move the SBLive to another slot, if available. -Greg ============ Anti-Spam measures have been taken! Remove the duplicate 'g' and 's' to reply.