Curse

rascallysquirrel · May 24, 2005, 08:06 AM // 08:06

Just got GW's today. Love it! The problem is that I can only play in about 5-10 min intervals. After that my computer will restart. Please help me solve this problem. It'd be nice to not throw my computer across the room every 5-10mins. =)

Here's some info:
Operating System: Windows XP Home Edition (5.1, Build 2600) Service Pack 2
Processor: AMD Athlon(tm) XP 3000+
Memory: 704MB RAM
DirectX Version: DirectX 9.0c (4.09.0000.0904)

Card name: NVIDIA GeForce4 MX Integrated GPU
Chip type: GeForce4 MX Integrated GPU
Description: NVIDIA(R) nForce(TM) Audio

Dyeeo · May 24, 2005, 08:48 AM // 08:48

What is your powersupply?

rascallysquirrel · May 24, 2005, 09:49 AM // 09:49

Quote:

Originally Posted by Dyeeo

What is your powersupply?

Is there a way to find out if I don't know?

Gristy · May 24, 2005, 09:57 AM // 09:57

should be a sticker on the side. but there is a big thread with lots of people having difficultys with this game.. go to like page 2 of this forum. seems to be problem with GW

EnDinG · May 24, 2005, 01:45 PM // 13:45

It is your supply. Guild Wars sucks up a lot of juice so that your system can run it.

If you have a spare PSU around or are able to borrow one from a friend, switch them if its more powerful and test the game out again.

shawn23233 · May 24, 2005, 02:29 PM // 14:29

Quote:

Originally Posted by rascallysquirrel

Just got GW's today. Love it! The problem is that I can only play in about 5-10 min intervals. After that my computer will restart. Please help me solve this problem. It'd be nice to not throw my computer across the room every 5-10mins. =)

Here's some info:
Operating System: Windows XP Home Edition (5.1, Build 2600) Service Pack 2
Processor: AMD Athlon(tm) XP 3000+
Memory: 704MB RAM
DirectX Version: DirectX 9.0c (4.09.0000.0904)

Card name: NVIDIA GeForce4 MX Integrated GPU
Chip type: GeForce4 MX Integrated GPU
Description: NVIDIA(R) nForce(TM) Audio

The Power Supply is the obvious first thing to try in this situation I think.

However I am suspicious of your on board video (MX series). If you can get another card for testing purposes, try disabling the onboard video an using the PCIe or APG slot to run a GPU. (its an MX series - not the best of nvidia - and onboard it is sharing system memory im sure).

EnDinG · May 24, 2005, 02:43 PM // 14:43

SK knows about the nForce boards pretty well. I think there is suppose to be some kind of bug with them...

Do a search on the forums for nForce and see what turns up. There is a few threads buried around here somewhere.

rascallysquirrel · May 24, 2005, 04:08 PM // 16:08

Thanks for the help guys. I checked out my power and it seems to be 300w max. =( I never thought to look before because it was fine through out all my other games. I guess this is where i should start. Any recommendations about how much power I should get would be greatly appreciated. Thanks again!

p.s. GW's has an awesome community.

Trenchsoul · May 24, 2005, 04:32 PM // 16:32

300 watts should be plenty...

geocurt · May 24, 2005, 05:21 PM // 17:21

Many things could cause a crash, statements like 'It's your power supply' are absurd.

It could be your psu, they don't always deliver the power they claim, but it could be your chipset (my old VIA P4M266A chipset crashed constantly, my new 865PE mobo hasn't crashed once in 2 weeks), your video drivers, your audio drivers, some background service running, heat, running av while trying to play, or ANY NUMBER of issues.

I'd suggest you submit your dxdiag file to tech support and see what they come up with.

EnDinG · May 24, 2005, 06:10 PM // 18:10

geocurt: If you have been around in the forums enough, you will discover that GW does suck up a lot of energy from your computer.

It was one of the best places to start considering it is a power outage that he is suffering and in many previous posts people have had the same problem and after enough boiling down of the problem, that was one of the most common solutions.

Since I'm not big mobo hardware tech, I suggested that SK take a look at this thread to see what he thinks since the man is a living hardware knowledge base.

I start with what I know, elminate a problem then continue to other solutions that could be causing a reset.

Speaking of which, make sure there is no dust on your hardware. If there is, it could cause an overheating that (due to the excessive power sucking) can restart your computer automatically.

To view the error you have when it restarts, I suggest doing the following (for XP if your using it):
From the desktop right click on My Computer.
Click the Properties option.
In the System Properties window click the Advanced tab.
In Advanced click the Settings button under Startup and Recovery.
In the Startup and Recovery window uncheck the Automatically restart check box.
Click Ok.

That should let you view the error that is causing the restart.

geocurt · May 24, 2005, 06:22 PM // 18:22

Quote:

Originally Posted by EnDinG

geocurt: If you have been around in the forums enough, you will discover that GW does suck up a lot of energy from your computer.

It was one of the best places to start considering it is a power outage that he is suffering and in many previous posts people have had the same problem and after enough boiling down of the problem, that was one of the most common solutions.

I don't question any of this, or your level of expertise/knowledge. However, stating 'the psu is the problem', I do question. There may be a high likelihood that's the issue, but the OP can do some free troubleshooting before they run off to buy a new psu not knowing for sure if that will fix the problem.

I've seen lots of folks on other forums throw money at their problems in the form of hardware upgrades without ever solving them. Heck, it could be something simple like a trojan hiding somewhere. We just don't know for sure, and that's my only point.

Not trying to start anything personal, I'm sure everyone appreciates the help and insight you are providing.

EnDinG · May 24, 2005, 06:36 PM // 18:36

Well, thats right. LoL.

I never, ever, tell anyone to buy any new hardware until they test out what they currently have or are able to borrow or replace what they have with a friends or another peice around the house. (Which I made sure to mention in my first post. )

But due to the lack of other suggestions in the thread (and the well known very slow working ANet support team) starting from a common known soruce of problems can never hurt. Also trying to get an error message might help out as well. =)

shawn23233 · May 24, 2005, 06:45 PM // 18:45

Quote:

Originally Posted by EnDinG

SK knows about the nForce boards pretty well. I think there is suppose to be some kind of bug with them...

Do a search on the forums for nForce and see what turns up. There is a few threads buried around here somewhere.

I myself use 2 different NFORCE boards to play GW (NFORCE2 and NFORCE4) and have no problems with either. I am thinking it is his onboard MX card. The power supply is the first thing to try but if that doesnt work try putting a card in and disableing the onboard.

The NFORCE4 board did give me problems initially as I was running SLI, but since the new drivers it has been perfect.

Serafita Kayin · May 24, 2005, 06:46 PM // 18:46

I'm leaning toward PSU too. That and chipset heat.

What board do you have, BTW?

shawn23233 · May 24, 2005, 06:48 PM // 18:48

Quote:

Originally Posted by rascallysquirrel

Thanks for the help guys. I checked out my power and it seems to be 300w max. =( I never thought to look before because it was fine through out all my other games. I guess this is where i should start. Any recommendations about how much power I should get would be greatly appreciated. Thanks again!

p.s. GW's has an awesome community.

As big as you can afford. I had to go 600w on my NFORCE4 (64bit and 2x6600GTs) really sucks power big time with the two PCIe cards. I really wouldnt go under 500, if your gonna buy one get your self some room to grow.

geocurt · May 24, 2005, 06:58 PM // 18:58

I would recommend, for your system, a 350 or 400w power supply from a reliable name like Antec or Allied. Anything more than that, with the rig you have, is total overkill.

Now, if you are planning on building a new rig in the near future, and want to port the psu to it, then it might be worth investing in something more expensive.

BTW, my system:
Asus P4P800SE
P4 2.4Ghz Northwood
1 GB 400Mhz RAM
Radeon 9600XT
Onboard Audio and LAN
1 HDD, 1 Optical drive (I heard these can suck a surprising amount of power)
350 Antec TruePower PSU (so I know a 350 can run it fine)

My crashes were due to my previous chipset, a P4M266A, and that's why I suggest looking into possibilities beyond the psu. If it is pushing 300w it should run your system fine.