# Computer "freezes". Graphical glitches and sound gets distorted/slows down.



## Bobbythehorse (Jul 25, 2012)

Greetings!

So, as the title says, my computer have run into some issues starting two days ago.

It first occured when I was playing SWTOR (Star Wars: The Old Republic), I got these weird pixel bugs, like, some of the pixels turns white in a certain patterns, and the sound slows down and get really distorted. The weird pixels doesn't just occur in the game, I use two monitors and it happens on both of them at the same time. The only way to get rid of it was to reset the computer with the power button.

I figured it was overheating, so I was going to test an old videocard I know works, but before I did that I googled some and came across something about bad drivers. I hadn't updated any drivers or installed anything in particular but I figured I might restore the computer to an earlier point, so I did, by two days.

After I did this the computer worked fine, so I wanted to check if it was an overheating issue. I unplugged the fans on my case and closed it. I also shut my balcony door (summer is hot). The usual temperatures I have while I'm playing are around 50-60 celsius on the CPU and 60 on the videocard, now the CPU was at 65-70 and the videocard at 82 celsius. I've never had them this hot before and I played without any problems for over half an hour.

The rest of the next day it worked fine, no problems at all. And then later that evening, the same problem occured. I hadn't changed anything. So I did another restore to the same point I used the day before, but that didn't work. Now I didn't even get into windows. It booted up fine, got past the "loading windows" screen and then it got stuck on a black screen and I could only move my mouse and nothing else (ctrl+alt+delete did nothing).

So I formated my drive, did a clean new windows install. Didn't download anything except SWTOR, wich I could play fine for an hour, and then the same issue occurs. League of Legends runs fine, wich is a lot less demanding then SWTOR (issue occurs while playing Skyrim also).

SWTOR and Skyrim are the only two games that causes this problem to occur, but then again, those two games are a lot more demanding then the other games I play.


Windows 7 Ultimate Service Pack 3 (64 bit)
Gigabyte GA-970A-UD3 motherboard
AMD Phenom II X4 955 3.20 GHz CPU
8192MB RAM
Directx 11
Nvidia GeForce 9800GTX

What more info would help?

My theory right now is that my HDD is giving up, or that my PSU doesn't give the card enough power (it's an 650 watt one that's around 3 years old).

I've had many videocards give up on me and they've all only shown problems "inside the game window". But the card is old (4 years or so) and I would be sad if I had to bury my baby.

Oh well, any help on the issue would be greatly appreciated.


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## writhziden (Jul 23, 2012)

*Re: Computer "freezes". Graphical glitches and sound gets distorted/slows down.*

Since this seems like a hardware concern, run some hardware checks. 

*If you are overclocking any hardware, please stop.

*
Run all but the advanced tests with SeaTools for HDDs.
SeaTools for Windows
SeaTools for DOS​
*Monitor temperatures during the following tests.*  
Use the following programs to monitor the temperatures.​
Real Temp is a good CPU temperature monitor.
Speccy - System Information - Free Download will monitor all hardware temperatures.
HWiNFO, HWiNFO32 & HWiNFO64 - Hardware Information and Analysis Tools can be inaccurate for CPU temperatures, but is a good program for GPU temperature monitoring.


Use FurMark: VGA Stress Test, Graphics Card and GPU Stability Test, Burn-in Test, OpenGL Benchmark and GPU Temperature | oZone3D.Net to test the graphics card GPU. Let it run until the GPU temperatures even out or until the GPU temperatures reach a dangerous level (you can find the max temperature for your card on either the nVidia or AMD sites; if you are not sure, ask us). The goal is to get a steady temperature, find out if the GPU is overheating, or to see if there are any artifacts present in the test itself: look for strange pixelated patterns on the screen or colors that do not look like they belong. Then use the |MG| Video Memory Stress Test 1.7.116 Download*FurMark Steps:*

First, download and install the latest version of FurMark.
Run FurMark *as an administrator*.
Find your display resolution by right clicking the Desktop and clicking *Screen resolution* and enter it into FurMark's options:
Change FurMark's settings as in the image. You want to run it for 20 minutes or until it reaches the alarm temperature you set up. 90 is a good number for AMD display cards, 80 or 85 is probably best for NVIDIA cards. The best method to set the temperature alarm is the maximum temperature of your card minus 10 C. Again, if you do not know the maximum temperature, and you cannot find it through a Google search, ask us to find it for you.







Run the Benchmark with user's settings and stop it once the temperature reaches a constant temperature, once the card reaches the alarm temperature, or once the video shows artifacts or strange colors.
to test your graphics card memory. Let the memory test run for at least seven passes; the more the better.



Run Prime95 to determine any hardware problems. Run all three tests for a few hours each. If you get errors, stop the test and post back here.











​

Run the boot version of Memtest86+. Let it run for at least 7-10 passes (preferably more) or until errors show up.





​If you see even one error, stop the test and do the following:


> Before you proceed with the following, answer these two questions: *Are you still under warranty? Does your warranty allow you to open up the machine to check hardware?* If you are unsure of the answers to these questions, *contact your system manufacturer.* *WARNING: The steps that follow can void your warranty!!!*



Shut down and turn off your computer.
Unplug all power sources to the system: unplug the power from the outlet/surge protector or PSU (then remove the battery if it is a laptop).
Hold down the power button for 30 seconds (for your safety and the safety of the components) to close the circuit and drain all power from components.
Remove the casing (or remove the RAM panel if it is a laptop).
Remove all but one memory module making sure you are grounded while doing so.Make sure you are grounded by using proper grounding techniques, i.e. work on an anti-static workbench, anti-static desk, or an anti-static pad. Hold something metallic while touching it to the anti-static surface, or use an anti-static wristband to attach to the anti-static material while working. If you do not have an anti-static workbench, desk, or pad, you can use your computer tower/case by finding a metal hold in it, such as a drive bay.​
Replace the casing (or replace the RAM panel if it is a laptop) and put the remaining memory module(s) in a safe, static free environment.
If the problem persists, repeat steps 1-4 and move the memory module to another slot (while staying grounded, of course).



Do this until all slots have been tested. If all slots fail, the memory module may be bad. Test with one of the remaining modules. Continue one module at a time in one slot at a time until you find a good module and good slot. Test remaining modules in the good slot, test good modules in other slots to find bad slots, etc.​Also, in case Memtest86+ misses anything and comes up with no errors, run the extended version of the Windows Memory Diagnostics Tool for at least five passes. You may want to run both Memtest86+ and the Windows Memory Diagnostics Tool overnight since they take a long time to complete (run them an hour before bed each of the next two nights and check before going to sleep that they are still running).


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