# [SOLVED] Games freezing/black screen



## TheJazzProphet (Feb 8, 2012)

I've been having a problem with games freezing recently. After I play a game for about a minute or so, the game freezes. After several seconds, the screen turns black, my fans rev up, and then everything goes back to normal. This repeats within a minute, and seems to increase in frequency. This problem only occurs in high graphic games like Skyrim, Deus Ex, Crysis 2 ect. I updated my video driver, but that didn't help. I have an ATI HD 5770 GPU, an AMD Athlon II x4 2.9Ghz CPU, and 4GBs of DDR3 RAM.


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## PoWn3d_0704 (Aug 17, 2009)

*Re: Games freezing/black screen*

You need to check your temperatures, this could possibly be caused by overheating.

Download and run Hardware Monitor and let it run while you attempt to play a game. Report the temperatures that you see after a couple mins of game play or a freeze.


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## TheJazzProphet (Feb 8, 2012)

*Re: Games freezing/black screen*

It looks like my video card got up to 78, but the problem doesn't seem to be video related. I had the video settings low enough that the game was running without dropping in framerate up until the point where it froze.


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## PoWn3d_0704 (Aug 17, 2009)

I'm more worried about the CPU than the Graphics card.


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## dai (Jul 2, 2004)

*Re: Games freezing/black screen*

power supply

make
model
wattage


in the device manager uninstall the video card
reboot tapping f8 and choose low resolution mode
when windows finishes rebooting
disable a/virus
install your drivers
reboot the computer


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## TheJazzProphet (Feb 8, 2012)

*Re: Games freezing/black screen*

The CPU was in the 50s. The power supply is a Fatal1ty 550w.


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## dai (Jul 2, 2004)

*Re: Games freezing/black screen*

check the voltage range of the ram

asus boards sometimes default to low to cater for low quality ram


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## TheJazzProphet (Feb 8, 2012)

*Re: Games freezing/black screen*

How would I go about doing that?


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## PoWn3d_0704 (Aug 17, 2009)

Should be on the hardware monitor.


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## TheJazzProphet (Feb 8, 2012)

*Re: Games freezing/black screen*

There are a bunch of voltages listed under the mobo section, but I'm not sure what they refer to. Here a screen cap.


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## TheJazzProphet (Feb 8, 2012)

*Re: Games freezing/black screen*

Oh and if this helps at all, I was able to play Skyrim for a while, but after maybe an hour it froze, black screened, then white screened. This time it stayed frozen instead of going back to normal.


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## dai (Jul 2, 2004)

*Re: Games freezing/black screen*

see what this lists on the spd tab

Download CPU-Z 1.59 - FileHippo.com


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## TheJazzProphet (Feb 8, 2012)

*Re: Games freezing/black screen*

It says 1.5v.


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## dai (Jul 2, 2004)

*Re: Games freezing/black screen*

check on the manufacturers site for it's voltage range 

for 2x2g sticks it is what is expected


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## TheJazzProphet (Feb 8, 2012)

*Re: Games freezing/black screen*

I coudn't find them on their website, but Newegg says 1.5v.


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## dai (Jul 2, 2004)

*Re: Games freezing/black screen*

d/load and run the h/drive makers diagnostic utility on the h/drive

Hard Drive Diagnostics Tools and Utilities (Storage) - TACKtech Corp.

if it comes up clear run

chkdsk /f


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## TheJazzProphet (Feb 8, 2012)

*Re: Games freezing/black screen*

It passed both.

On my first boot-up today it froze for a bit, then the fan revved and it went back to normal. It didn't happen again when it started up from running chkdsk, but the network connection icon is stuck on the loading animation.


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## dai (Jul 2, 2004)

*Re: Games freezing/black screen*

check if you have any dumps

Blue Screen of Death (BSOD) Posting Instructions - Windows 7 & Vista - Tech Support Forum


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## TheJazzProphet (Feb 8, 2012)

*Re: Games freezing/black screen*

There you go.


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## dai (Jul 2, 2004)

*Re: Games freezing/black screen*

i have asked someone to check the dumps when they come online

hopefully they will point to something


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## jcgriff2 (Sep 30, 2007)

*Re: Games freezing/black screen*

Hi - 

There were 8 BSODs dated Jan-Dec 2011; none more recent. All had bugcheck *0x116* and named ATI video.

Logs show 59 *0x117* Live Kernel Events in the last week. 

0x116/7 = Video TDR timeout; video driver unable to reset in 30 secs.

0x117 = video driver ultimately recovers
0x116 = " " unable to recover; system BSODs

Make sure ATI drivers are updated - http_:_//sysnative.com/drivers/driver.php?id=atikmdag.sys 

There were 9 *chkdsk* runs in the last few days. All shows -0- bad sectors.

Run HDD diags - SeaTools for DOS, LONG test - http://www.techsupportforum.com/2828431-post7.html

Test video RAM w/ MemtestG80/CL - http://folding.stanford.edu/English/DownloadUtils
Run memtest86+ - http://www.techsupportforum.com/2863029-post5.html


Regards. . .

jcgriff2


`

BSOD SUMMARY 

```
[font=lucida console]
Loading Dump File [C:\Users\PalmDesert\_jcgriff2_\dbug\__Kernel__\122211-23197-01.dmp]
Built by: 7601.17640.amd64fre.win7sp1_gdr.110622-1506
Debug session time: Thu Dec 22 14:03:01.978 2011 (GMT-5)
System Uptime: 0 days 2:31:43.539
*** WARNING: Unable to verify timestamp for atikmpag.sys
*** ERROR: Module load completed but symbols could not be loaded for atikmpag.sys
Probably caused by : atikmpag.sys ( atikmpag+78b8 )
DEFAULT_BUCKET_ID:  GRAPHICS_DRIVER_TDR_FAULT
BUGCHECK_STR:  0x116
PROCESS_NAME:  System
FAILURE_BUCKET_ID:  X64_0x116_IMAGE_atikmpag.sys
Bugcheck code 00000116
Arguments fffffa80`051bf010 fffff880`045ab8b8 00000000`00000000 00000000`00000002
BiosVersion = 1015   
BiosReleaseDate = 03/31/2010
SystemManufacturer = System manufacturer
SystemProductName = System Product Name
¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨``
Loading Dump File [C:\Users\PalmDesert\_jcgriff2_\dbug\__Kernel__\031211-20950-01.dmp]
Built by: 7600.16695.amd64fre.win7_gdr.101026-1503
Debug session time: Sat Mar 12 17:05:16.141 2011 (GMT-5)
System Uptime: 0 days 5:34:16.531
Probably caused by : atikmdag.sys ( atikmdag+90817 )
DEFAULT_BUCKET_ID:  VISTA_DRIVER_FAULT
BUGCHECK_STR:  0x3B
PROCESS_NAME:  dwm.exe
FAILURE_BUCKET_ID:  X64_0x3B_atikmdag+90817
Bugcheck code 0000003B
Arguments 00000000`c0000005 fffff880`0495e817 fffff880`03d33900 00000000`00000000
BiosVersion = 1015   
BiosReleaseDate = 03/31/2010
SystemManufacturer = System manufacturer
SystemProductName = System Product Name
¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨``
Loading Dump File [C:\Users\PalmDesert\_jcgriff2_\dbug\__Kernel__\030511-20514-01.dmp]
Built by: 7600.16695.amd64fre.win7_gdr.101026-1503
Debug session time: Sat Mar  5 15:30:30.957 2011 (GMT-5)
System Uptime: 0 days 3:10:28.720
Probably caused by : atikmdag.sys ( atikmdag+90817 )
DEFAULT_BUCKET_ID:  VISTA_DRIVER_FAULT
BUGCHECK_STR:  0x3B
PROCESS_NAME:  dwm.exe
FAILURE_BUCKET_ID:  X64_0x3B_atikmdag+90817
Bugcheck code 0000003B
Arguments 00000000`c0000005 fffff880`048bf817 fffff880`07aa7900 00000000`00000000
BiosVersion = 1015   
BiosReleaseDate = 03/31/2010
SystemManufacturer = System manufacturer
SystemProductName = System Product Name
¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨``
Loading Dump File [C:\Users\PalmDesert\_jcgriff2_\dbug\__Kernel__\030411-19078-01.dmp]
Built by: 7600.16695.amd64fre.win7_gdr.101026-1503
Debug session time: Fri Mar  4 18:22:09.888 2011 (GMT-5)
System Uptime: 0 days 5:35:38.277
Probably caused by : atikmdag.sys ( atikmdag+90817 )
DEFAULT_BUCKET_ID:  VISTA_DRIVER_FAULT
BUGCHECK_STR:  0x3B
PROCESS_NAME:  dwm.exe
FAILURE_BUCKET_ID:  X64_0x3B_atikmdag+90817
Bugcheck code 0000003B
Arguments 00000000`c0000005 fffff880`048d5817 fffff880`08f06900 00000000`00000000
BiosVersion = 1015   
BiosReleaseDate = 03/31/2010
SystemManufacturer = System manufacturer
SystemProductName = System Product Name
¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨``
Loading Dump File [C:\Users\PalmDesert\_jcgriff2_\dbug\__Kernel__\022411-22261-01.dmp]
Built by: 7600.16695.amd64fre.win7_gdr.101026-1503
Debug session time: Thu Feb 24 12:44:34.304 2011 (GMT-5)
System Uptime: 0 days 1:00:52.694
Probably caused by : atikmdag.sys ( atikmdag+90817 )
DEFAULT_BUCKET_ID:  VISTA_DRIVER_FAULT
BUGCHECK_STR:  0x3B
PROCESS_NAME:  dwm.exe
FAILURE_BUCKET_ID:  X64_0x3B_atikmdag+90817
Bugcheck code 0000003B
Arguments 00000000`c0000005 fffff880`04918817 fffff880`03b33900 00000000`00000000
BiosVersion = 1015   
BiosReleaseDate = 03/31/2010
SystemManufacturer = System manufacturer
SystemProductName = System Product Name
¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨``
Loading Dump File [C:\Users\PalmDesert\_jcgriff2_\dbug\__Kernel__\012911-25677-01.dmp]
Built by: 7600.16617.amd64fre.win7_gdr.100618-1621
Debug session time: Sun Jan 30 02:31:28.241 2011 (GMT-5)
System Uptime: 0 days 14:32:04.005
Probably caused by : atikmdag.sys ( atikmdag+90817 )
DEFAULT_BUCKET_ID:  VISTA_DRIVER_FAULT
BUGCHECK_STR:  0x3B
PROCESS_NAME:  dwm.exe
FAILURE_BUCKET_ID:  X64_0x3B_atikmdag+90817
Bugcheck code 0000003B
Arguments 00000000`c0000005 fffff880`04986817 fffff880`0b72f900 00000000`00000000
BiosVersion = 1015   
BiosReleaseDate = 03/31/2010
SystemManufacturer = System manufacturer
SystemProductName = System Product Name
¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨``
Loading Dump File [C:\Users\PalmDesert\_jcgriff2_\dbug\__Kernel__\012611-18844-01.dmp]
Built by: 7600.16617.amd64fre.win7_gdr.100618-1621
Debug session time: Thu Jan 27 00:45:32.637 2011 (GMT-5)
System Uptime: 0 days 12:46:04.401
Probably caused by : atikmdag.sys ( atikmdag+90817 )
DEFAULT_BUCKET_ID:  VISTA_DRIVER_FAULT
BUGCHECK_STR:  0x3B
PROCESS_NAME:  dwm.exe
FAILURE_BUCKET_ID:  X64_0x3B_atikmdag+90817
Bugcheck code 0000003B
Arguments 00000000`c0000005 fffff880`048c6817 fffff880`089f8900 00000000`00000000
BiosVersion = 1015   
BiosReleaseDate = 03/31/2010
SystemManufacturer = System manufacturer
SystemProductName = System Product Name
¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨``
Loading Dump File [C:\Users\PalmDesert\_jcgriff2_\dbug\__Kernel__\011411-22932-01.dmp]
Built by: 7600.16617.amd64fre.win7_gdr.100618-1621
Debug session time: Fri Jan 14 23:10:21.194 2011 (GMT-5)
System Uptime: 0 days 11:10:06.958
Probably caused by : atikmdag.sys ( atikmdag+90817 )
DEFAULT_BUCKET_ID:  VISTA_DRIVER_FAULT
BUGCHECK_STR:  0x3B
PROCESS_NAME:  dwm.exe
FAILURE_BUCKET_ID:  X64_0x3B_atikmdag+90817
Bugcheck code 0000003B
Arguments 00000000`c0000005 fffff880`0493b817 fffff880`08f3e900 00000000`00000000
BiosVersion = 1015   
BiosReleaseDate = 03/31/2010
SystemManufacturer = System manufacturer
SystemProductName = System Product Name
¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨``
  

	    
             
       [color=#000033]J. C. Griffith, Microsoft MVP (jcgriff2)[/color]   
             
           [url=https://mvp.support.microsoft.com/profile/Griffith][color=#000055][u]https://mvp.support.microsoft.com/profile/Griffith[/u][/color][/url]   

           [url=http://sysnative.com][color=#000033][u]www.sysnative.com[/u][/color][/url]
             
           [url=http://jcgriff2.com][color=#000055][u]www.jcgriff2.com[/u][/color][/url] 


¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨


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## TheJazzProphet (Feb 8, 2012)

*Re: Games freezing/black screen*

It passed both RAM tests, and I already did a HDD test that one of the other guys recommended.


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## dai (Jul 2, 2004)

*Re: Games freezing/black screen*

in the device manager uninstall the video card
reboot tapping f8 and choose low resolution mode
when windows finishes rebooting
disable a/virus
install your drivers
reboot the computer


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## TheJazzProphet (Feb 8, 2012)

*Re: Games freezing/black screen*

Well, I re-reinstalled my video driver and it works now... Thanks for your help, even though my problem was kind of derpy.


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## dai (Jul 2, 2004)

*Re: Games freezing/black screen*

glad you have it sorted


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