Screen Freezing

grif77 · Member Joined: 14 Feb 2007 Posts: 32 Location: Wichita, KS

Here is a problem i've had over the last few months. I've tried a few things without success. Occasionally my screen will freeze when playing EQ. It doesn't happen every time I play and sometimes will go a week without happening. Usually the cursor will still move at first, then it will also freeze. After anywhere from 10-30sec it (usually) unfreezes. Sometimes it only does it once, sometimes it will happen 2 or 3 times again immediately after unfreezing. It has happened when just siting in the guild hall as well as when actively doesn't something so it doesn't seem to be related to the video card having to work harder. Here is what I've tried:

-Desk fan blowing into the open case in case it was heat related. Didn't work. Checking both CPU and GPU temps while playing show them to be well within normal limits.
- Changing visual settings don't do anything.
-Reinstalling windows and EQ completely. I did this sunday. The freezing problem has happened once since then.
-Drivers and directx are at their most current.
-No Anti-virus or other software running.

Here are the computer specs (home built system): Opty 165 Dual-Core (this also happened when i had an AMD64 3700+ San Diego), Geforce 7800gt 256mb video card, 2gb G.Skill Extreme Ram, SB Audigy 2 Soundcard, Antec Smartpower 500W PSU, Win Xp Home SP2. I always set EQ to run on only the first core.

The odd thing is that this only happens with EQ. No other games have ever given me problems even newer ones like FEAR, Oblivion, Call of Duty 2, Vanguard, etc. Also my second computer (both connected to the same router) doesn't have this problem. It's an older system. AMD XP 2500+, 2gb crucial ram, Geforce 4 Ti4600 128gb video card, onboard audio.

Any other thoughts about things I can try?

Thanks
- Angrif

kelci · Officer Joined: 17 May 2006 Posts: 330 Location: Wisconsin

Shiloch Veneficus · Posted: Wed Mar 28, 2007 9:15 am Post subject:

The only real thing that jumps out at me (especially if you have no virus software running, because that is what I'd jump to first) is Windows XP Home. Do you have a 64-bit version of XP Home? If not, then I think that XP Home will not take advantage of your dual Operton cores. I will do some research on this to try and help you.

Shiloch Veneficus · Posted: Wed Mar 28, 2007 9:34 am Post subject:

After doing some research, I have more questions.

Did you install the latest drivers for your Audigy 2 or did you use the CD? Try updating the sound driver.

Also, try disabling the sound in EQ by unchecking the sound box in Options from the login screen. Run w/o sound for a while and see if you get any freezes.

Is your processor overclocked?

grif77 · Member Joined: 14 Feb 2007 Posts: 32 Location: Wichita, KS

This preblem happened with a single core AMD64 3700 as well. I thought about the sound card drivers last night and have been trying to update them, however the creative website is giving me problems. The self extracting .exe for the new drivers errors as it extracts and their website autoupdate failed as well. I'll try disabling the sound to see if it helps next. Thanks

Shiloch Veneficus · Posted: Thu Mar 29, 2007 8:18 am Post subject:

Okay, sorry about Creative's web site. If you give me the model number, I can try to grab the file myself and I'll stick it up here for you to download.

I didn't realize this was happening on your other processor as well. Did you have any hardware from your machine now that was built in the same machine with the old processor?

grif77 · Member Joined: 14 Feb 2007 Posts: 32 Location: Wichita, KS

All the hardware is the same with the current CPU as the old CPU. I actually took out the sound card, uninstalled the drivers and software and just installed the onboard sound drivers (i'll be honest I can't tell a difference). I still froze up again... any chance it's the memory? I could try running with just one of the two sticks (each one is 1gb) to see if it happens still. I don't have any other Vid Cards to swap out with it at the momment to see if that is the problems. Hrmmm

EDIT: I also completely disabled sound in the options at login. Still happened. I'm down to thinking it's the video card?

grif77 · Member Joined: 14 Feb 2007 Posts: 32 Location: Wichita, KS

More "evidence" to consider. Usually when this happens I'm in a group, not moving. Today i froze while autorun was on going through POK. When I unfroze, i was still in the place I froze at but started moving again, I wasn't halfway across the zone. Mean anything? Thanks again for all the help and ideas to try. Even yours Kel...

bandin · Member Joined: 09 Sep 2006 Posts: 49 Location: Houston

Perhaps you're in the matrix and you're making time practically stand still. You should be doing flying sidekicks or something....

there is no spoon
_________________
Bandin

These Linux guys never cease to amuse. Here is the timeout message from ftp:

421 Timeout - try typing a little faster next time

Shiloch Veneficus · Posted: Sun Apr 01, 2007 7:49 am Post subject:

It could be the video card. I could also be the memory, but I'm thinking if it were a bad block on either of your memory chips, EQ would crash altogether, or your PC would simply freeze up and need to be restarted.

Try running with one memory chip and see what happens.

grif77 · Member Joined: 14 Feb 2007 Posts: 32 Location: Wichita, KS

Here's an update. I recently (last month or so) have gotten a couple random restarts. The computer just restarts on it's own. It has happened 3 or 4 times. Each time a blue screen flashes but goes by too fast to read the text/error message. I ran with each memory stick by itself for awhile and for each stick, i still got the freezing. I also ran memtest and showed no errors. So this leaves me with it's either the Video Card or PSU. I may try replacing the PSU first since it's the cheaper of the two.

Tindirt · Officer Joined: 04 Dec 2003 Posts: 182

I had that same problem of random restarts back in Nov of '04 on a HP comp i had. Problem turned out to be a bad connector on the mobo from the psu, how I finally found out was I opened the case while the comp was on & jiggled the wire. (Yes highly unrecomended but it was a rent to own so I had nothing to lose Rolling Eyes

) Hope that helps Shocked

_________________
Dying is what I do best.

grif77 · Member Joined: 14 Feb 2007 Posts: 32 Location: Wichita, KS

Update again...

I've run memtest for 12 hours with no errors. I recently bought a new more powerful PSU. I've disabled sound in EQ as well as removing the sound card and I'm back to onboard sounds. My computer was good for about 48hours then today when 2boxing with my pally on my other comp, i started freezing again. Basically for about 5 minutes with it looking like it would stop then freeze again. I even had to have my pally chain heal himself and LoH himself to not die while waiting it out.

So obviously the PSU wasn't the problem. The freezing thing also happened in a non online game recently (before the new PSU) Gothic, so it's not a network thing. The only thing I can think of left to try is buying a new video card...

It still doesn't seem to be heat. I had the nvidia control panel up and the GPU did get to 60 but not higher while playing EQ. The slowdown threshhold is 115 though. Even still when the comp was basically freezing up for those 5min i took the panel off and started blowing a fan on it but it didn't seem to clear up the freezing. It still acted funny for another 2-3min.

This is sooo frustrating

Shiloch Veneficus · Posted: Mon May 21, 2007 7:20 pm Post subject:

Would it be possilbe for you to get CPU temp readings during a slowdown?

grif77 · Member Joined: 14 Feb 2007 Posts: 32 Location: Wichita, KS

When the screen would freeze it would temporarily lockup the computer so that i couldn't tab out or anything. But i had CPU and GPU temp monitors running in the background before and looked at them after it unfroze and never saw a temp rise higher than limits.

I'm trying a new network card (actually a different MOBO) because I've had soem other problems all somewhat related to using the interenet in some way, so we will see if i get these problems still...