Curse

Moloch Vein · Aug 08, 2007, 06:02 AM // 06:02

Alright, so I'm having a major problem when playing Guild Wars. This problem only occurs when playing Guild Wars, which leads me to wonder if there is some sort of incompatibility problem.

The game simply freezes, and hard-crashes the computer. Everything stops responding, nothing moves, sound dies. This happens a LOT. It also _seems_ to have gotten a little worse lately. Only thing to do; shut down the computer. Game can run perfectly fine for a while, even for a long time, then inexplicitely the computer just, dies.

As I suspect you will want some more info than that, this is my system.

SiSoftware Sandra

System

Processor
Model : AMD Athlon(tm) 64 Processor 3000+
Speed : 1.81GHz
Model Number : 3000 (estimated)
Cores per Processor : 1 Unit(s)
Threads per Core : 1 Unit(s)
Internal Data Cache : 64kB Synchronous, Write-Back, 2-way set, 64 byte line size
L2 On-board Cache : 512kB ECC Synchronous, Write-Back, 16-way set, 64 byte line size

Mainboard
Bus(es) : ISA PCI PCIe IMB USB FireWire/1394 i2c/SMBus
MP Support : 1 Processor(s)
MP APIC : Yes
System BIOS : Award Software International, Inc. F6
Mainboard : Gigabyte Technology Co., Ltd. NF-CK804
Total Memory : 1GB DDR-SDRAM

Chipset 1
Model : Advanced Micro Devices (AMD) Athlon 64 / Opteron HyperTransport Technology Configuration
Front Side Bus Speed : 2x 1005MHz (2010MHz data rate)
Total Memory : 1GB DDR-SDRAM
Memory Bus Speed : 2x 201MHz (402MHz data rate)

Video System
Monitor/Panel : Plug and Play Monitor
Adapter : ASUS Extreme AX600 Series
Adapter : ASUS Extreme AX600 Series Secondary

Physical Storage Devices
Removable Drive : Floppy disk drive
Hard Disk : Maxtor 4D060H3 (57GB)
Hard Disk : SAMSUNG SP2504C (233GB)
Hard Disk : ST3120026A (112GB)
Hard Disk : ST3200822AS (186GB)
CD-ROM/DVD : _NEC DVD_RW ND-3520A (CD 48X Rd, 48X Wr) (DVD 6X Rd, 6X Wr)

Logical Storage Devices
GEHENNA (D

: 112GB (66GB, 59% Free Space) (FAT32)
ZAIM (E

: 57GB (7.8GB, 14% Free Space) (NTFS)
BALTHAZAR (C

: 186GB (17GB, 9% Free Space) (NTFS)
ANTENORA (G

: 233GB (9.3GB, 4% Free Space) (NTFS)
CD-ROM/DVD (F

: N/A
3.5" 1.44MB (A

: N/A

Peripherals
Serial/Parallel Port(s) : 2 COM / 1 LPT
USB Controller/Hub : Standard OpenHCD USB Host Controller
USB Controller/Hub : Standard Enhanced PCI to USB Host Controller
USB Controller/Hub : USB Root Hub
USB Controller/Hub : USB Root Hub
FireWire/1394 Controller/Hub : Texas Instruments OHCI Compliant IEEE 1394 Host Controller
Infrared Device : Built-in Infrared Device
Keyboard : Standard 101/102-Key or Microsoft Natural PS/2 Keyboard
Mouse : PS/2 Compatible Mouse

MultiMedia Device(s)
Device : Pinnacle WDM PCTV Video Capture
Device : Pinnacle WDM PCTV Audio Capture
Device : Realtek AC'97 Audio

Printers and Faxes
Model : Adobe PDF

Power Management
Mains (AC) Line Status : On-Line

Operating System(s)
Windows System : Microsoft Windows XP/2002 Professional 5.01.2600 (Service Pack 1)
Platform Compliance : Win32 x86

Network Services
Adapter : Realtek RTL8029(AS) PCI Ethernet Adapter

Performance Tips
Warning 100 : Large memory sizes should be made of Registered/Buffered memory.
Tip 2546 : Large memory modules should be ECC/Parity.

I have:

Updated the graphics driver to the latest.
Upgraded system BIOS to latest.
Installed all relevant motherboard drivers.

Any info or even encouraging words would be welcome.

Kindly, Moloch

Thom The Brawler · Aug 08, 2007, 06:33 AM // 06:33

This exact thing happens to me on both pc's of which the only thing in common is windows xp, it also happens to my brother. So actually everyone i know that plays GW has this same problem.

Moloch Vein · Aug 08, 2007, 06:43 AM // 06:43

Oh, and also, turning down the graphics quality to the very lowest in the game does not help. It still crashes in exactly the same way.

Dex · Aug 08, 2007, 06:45 AM // 06:45

It's not a GW problem or a Windows XP problem. This kind of thing is going to be caused by a driver problem or a hardware problem. The first thing I would try is an update to your video and audio drivers, then possibly check to see if your directx is up to date. Also check in the system and application logs under "manage computer" to see if any problems made it into the log before the freeze.

Moloch Vein · Aug 08, 2007, 04:08 PM // 16:08

Re: Dex

I have:

* Updated the audio drivers for my Realtek AC97 onboard sound system to the latest
* Updated my video driver to the latest; have tested with several different drivers, am now running the latest from manufacturer
* Tested running GW with lowest quality both sound and graphics setting
* DirectX is 9.0c installed; dxdiag can't find any problems

All these things I did before writing first post. Problems persist.

Any advice?

Zodiak · Aug 08, 2007, 04:20 PM // 16:20

How's your system heat?

SigurdTheBalmung · Aug 08, 2007, 06:06 PM // 18:06

Question... The more you are able to answer the easiest it might be to determine if it is a heat problem or not.

-As said above how is the heat, what temperature is it inside the case?
-It seems the videocard you have is non-integrated, does it have enough ventilation?
-How many fans does your computer have inside?
-Does it always freeze after the same amount of time playing Guild Wars?
-Does it only freeze when playing GW, or does it freeze when doing other things?
-Does it freeze faster after resetting the machine, or after reseting does it take just as long for it to freeze as when you have just started the machine after it being off for a while?

akatookey · Aug 08, 2007, 08:05 PM // 20:05

Does it freeze with other high end games?
Is it always after a certain time or is it random?

If it is random I would recommend testing your RAM sticks for errors, that's what the crash sounds like to me.

Dex · Aug 08, 2007, 11:49 PM // 23:49

Quote:

Originally Posted by akatookey

Does it freeze with other high end games?
Is it always after a certain time or is it random?

If it is random I would recommend testing your RAM sticks for errors, that's what the crash sounds like to me.

Yeah, after drivers heat and memory are probably the second things to check for random lock-ups. If you think you're good on heat go and download Memtest86+, create the bootable floppy using the utility, and boot from it. Let it run the full spread of tests overnight and if you have more than 1 or 2 errors the next day you've got a bad RAM stick.

akatookey · Aug 09, 2007, 01:16 AM // 01:16

Quote:

Originally Posted by Dex

Yeah, after drivers heat and memory are probably the second things to check for random lock-ups. If you think you're good on heat go and download Memtest86+, create the bootable floppy using the utility, and boot from it. Let it run the full spread of tests overnight and if you have more than 1 or 2 errors the next day you've got a bad RAM stick.

Yeah I probably should've posted more details on what I meant. Just google "Memtest86" and you should find a download page. You can either make a bootable floppy or cd of it, there should be instructions, and just run a 3-4 hours test (I just go overnight).

Moloch Vein · Aug 09, 2007, 01:55 AM // 01:55

Alright, I have a problem here.

SiSoftware Sandra

Temperature Sensor(s)
Board Temperature : 25.0°C / 77.0°F
CPU Temperature : 42.0°C / 107.6°F td
Auxiliary Temperature : 69.0°C / 156.2°F

As you can see the auxiliary temperature is too high. What does this value measure? It looks like the board and CPU temperature are both ok.

I should add that I recently changed power supply, as well. However I had freezing problems both before and after.

My computer only freezes in this manner while playing Guild Wars. Oblivion, for example, runs fine. Jade Empire runs fine. Actually, everything else runs fine.

As far as I can tell the graphics card ventilation is fine. It's got an own fan. I have plenty of room between the cards, and between the hard drives (installed them with that in mind.)

The system only has three fans - Cpu fan, GFX card fan and one fan that cools a peculiar support card located right above the Cpu. I guess that's too little? I asked the support tech that changed the power supply for me, but he said he thought ventilation and cooling was fine. What gives?

I will test the RAM sticks tonight.

akatookey · Aug 09, 2007, 06:57 AM // 06:57

auxiliary might be an ambient sensor for something, or it could be chipset temp...it varies from motherboard to motherboard...it could also be your graphics card, but if oblivion doesnt mess up then it's probably not. Have you tried re-installing guildwars?

$neekie · Aug 09, 2007, 09:42 AM // 09:42

I have the same problem as the OP, but only wenn i try to close the game everything just freezes. Cant even accses my taskmanager, have to reboot.

I got the newest drivers(new graphics card 7900GS), no overheating. And i dont ask to much, run most settings medium.

Only thing i can think of myself is that i had some trouble installing prohfecies, at first it didnt read disc 2 on install. After a few tries it installed.
I didnt play it yet(still busy doing factions), just went to LA to activate.

Tryed all the usuall stuf, defrag, virus and spam, clean fans,ect its not a big problem although very anouying. The battlefield2 runs fine, and thats the buggiest game ever, as do the rest of my games.

Asus deluxe4000+ AMd 64
4gig ram
256 7900GS

If anybody find a sollution would be great, im gonna try a reinstall wenn i have the time

mzzls

PS i installed GRAW a while back and now there is something ag phisyx on my systen anybody know what that is, something to with the graphics.....

SigurdTheBalmung · Aug 09, 2007, 02:26 PM // 14:26

It's probably Aegia Phisyx, which is used by compatible cards to create life like physics within 3d environments.

As Dex said, those of you with problems try using Memtest86+. I was trying to think of this myself when I originally posted, glad someone said it. You can find the Memtest86+ website here. Just remember to use it overnight, as it will take a while to run.

If you are having problems with other 3d applications and believe your videocard might be at fault try contacting the manufacturer of your videocard to see if they have any sort of memory testing program for your card.

$neekie · Aug 09, 2007, 06:14 PM // 18:14

Thnx for the info, could this cause any troubles? the aegia phisyx thing. It came with GRAW, not my new graphics card.

I dont think its my graphics card(new and its says its fine) or my memory(tested it a month back, problems with bf2). Like i said ill try a reinstall later see if thats the problem.

mzzls

SigurdTheBalmung · Aug 09, 2007, 06:59 PM // 18:59

I don't think Aegia Phisyx would cause such problems. But if you want to get rid of it, go into the control panel and then add and remove programs. If there is a listing for Aegia Phisyx, just uninstall it. If you don't have a compatible card, it really does you no good having it installed.

Moloch Vein · Aug 20, 2007, 03:28 PM // 15:28

I have done the following:

Updated almost every driver on the system. (Including sound driver, graphics driver, mainboard driver, etc.)

Installed two giant chassis fans.

Reinstalled gw from scratch and did an -image on it.

This, after I'd reinstalled gw, seemed to fix the problem. The game did not freeze for two days. Now, it's freezing again.

I have checked the memory sticks - zero errors on a complete run.

I repeat that the only application that causes this problem is Guild Wars. Everything else works perfectly.

What gives?