# [SOLVED] My computer freezes after 5 minutes of playing games



## miguel077 (Aug 25, 2007)

I have a NVIDIA 7200 512MB TURBO CACHE GE-FORCE PCI EXPRESS GRAPHICS CARD , i dont know much about graphic/video cards but when i bought it i thought it was good as it said it was 512mb.
Anyway the problem is that when i try to play most games, in this case age of empires 3 and warrock, after around 5 minutes, sometimes after 1 minute, my computer freezes and i totally lose control of it (cant press ctrl alt del, or esc, or alt f4, or even the windows button), when this happens the only solution is to hit the power button, i have no clue on what is going on, i think its the video card's problem but im not sure. Can anyone help me either fix it or tell me what the problem is? thanks.




_Ps, these are the properties of my system.... 
-its a dual core
-Intel(R) Pentium(R) D CPU 3.2GHz
-4gb ddr2 ram
-500gb sata hard drive
-i have windows xp professional, 2002 version, service pack 2
-450W power supply
- and as i stated above....NVIDIA 7200 512MB TURBO CACHE GE-FORCE PCI EXPRESS GRAPHICS CARD._


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## Guest (Aug 25, 2007)

*Re: My computer freezes after 5 minutes of playing games*

Hi and welcome to TSF :grin:

I would like you to download and install the program SpeedFan. When you have it installed I would like you to tell me the Temperatures and voltages of the computer in a list. This will allow me to tell if it is the voltages or overheating. Please test speedfan while the computer is idle (send results when idle) and send results when playing a game.


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## miguel077 (Aug 25, 2007)

*Re: My computer freezes after 5 minutes of playing games*

Thanks for trying to help, here are the results...
IDDLE:

System: 35C
CPU: 41C/42C
AUX: 45C
HD0: 36C

Vcore: 1.25V
+12V: 12.25V
AVcc: 3.31

Playing game:

System:35 C
CPU: 49C
AUX: 46C
HD0: 36C

Vcore:1.26 V
+12V: 12.25V
AVcc: 3.28V


OH My God i tried playing again and i kept looking at the speedfun thing, on the cpu temperature it was 50C and a fire sign showed, i guess that means it was overheating, right?


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## Guest (Aug 25, 2007)

*Re: My computer freezes after 5 minutes of playing games*

Yes that is not good, computer temps should never go beyond 50 C so I would recommend cleaning the Heatsink and fan. You can find these 2 usually on top of the CPU. Clean all the dust and dirt out of the heatsink and fan and post back if this fixes the problem.


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## miguel077 (Aug 25, 2007)

*Re: My computer freezes after 5 minutes of playing games*

ok ill do that now, but i dont think that would be the problem as this computer is new, anyway ill be right back and ill tell u if its fixed =)


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## Guest (Aug 25, 2007)

*Re: My computer freezes after 5 minutes of playing games*

Okay, hoping for the best!!


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## miguel077 (Aug 25, 2007)

*Re: My computer freezes after 5 minutes of playing games*

ghrrrr im such a newbie with computers...do i need to take out the fan? and if so, how do i do it?


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## miguel077 (Aug 25, 2007)

*Re: My computer freezes after 5 minutes of playing games*

sorry for being such a newb


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## miguel077 (Aug 25, 2007)

*Re: My computer freezes after 5 minutes of playing games*

ok i just found pout how to disconnect the heatsink... im going to try it ill be right back


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## Guest (Aug 25, 2007)

*Re: My computer freezes after 5 minutes of playing games*

No way nobody is a noob in this forum, we are all here to help each other I mean sometimes the people with over 2000 post ask questions. I hate the word noob because it means that you are low and are bad at something. Who knows if you stay here a lot longer then you will probably be answering my questions soon.

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Now it seems you want to take out your fan. I would first recommend that you just buy a can of compressed air and blow all of the dust out of the computer. You can wipe dust that dosen't come out with a non static lint free cloth. It there is dust on the heat sink you can't get to then unscrew from the heatsink and the wire that connects the fan to the system board you will have to disconnect. I do not recommend taking out your heatsink as you might have to buy thermal paste to put back on it.


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## Guest (Aug 25, 2007)

*Re: My computer freezes after 5 minutes of playing games*

No don't remove it!! :frown:


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## miguel077 (Aug 25, 2007)

*Re: My computer freezes after 5 minutes of playing games*

ok i was a bit late and didnt read ur message :s
i removed the heatsink and the fan, and i cleaned everything...
i found an odd brownish substance inbetween the heatsing and cpu, i wounder what it is :s


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## miguel077 (Aug 25, 2007)

*Re: My computer freezes after 5 minutes of playing games*

i guess thats thermal paste?


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## Guest (Aug 25, 2007)

*Re: My computer freezes after 5 minutes of playing games*

:frown: Yes sadly that was thermal paste, it is used to keep the heatsink and CPU connected tightly. You will have to buy some more thermal paste to connect the CPU and heatsink again. I am very sorry I did not say it quick enough. Do you have an AMD processor or a Intel?


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## miguel077 (Aug 25, 2007)

*Re: My computer freezes after 5 minutes of playing games*

no problem it was my fault :s is it really needed for me to buy thermal paste? the cpu seems to be working fine, anyway, my i have an intel processor


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## Guest (Aug 25, 2007)

*Re: My computer freezes after 5 minutes of playing games*

Do not turn on the computer again until we can get some thermal paste to lock the heatsink back into place


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## miguel077 (Aug 25, 2007)

*Re: My computer freezes after 5 minutes of playing games*

if i turn it off i wont be able to see what to do =s this is the computer iam woking on


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## Guest (Aug 25, 2007)

*Re: My computer freezes after 5 minutes of playing games*

You will have to work from another computer because without a cooling system the CPU will literally melt ant the Motherboard and CPU will be useless. Sorry you will have to work from another computer.


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## miguel077 (Aug 25, 2007)

*Re: My computer freezes after 5 minutes of playing games*

would you be able to advise me in which thermal paste to buy please? iam o ebay searching for thermal paste but loads of them come up=s


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## miguel077 (Aug 25, 2007)

*Re: My computer freezes after 5 minutes of playing games*

ok i will switch computers now, brb


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## Guest (Aug 25, 2007)

*Re: My computer freezes after 5 minutes of playing games*

Okay and Arctic Cool Thermal Paste I recommend


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## miguel077 (Aug 25, 2007)

*Re: My computer freezes after 5 minutes of playing games*

ok im back, would you please tell me which thermal paste i should use?


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## Guest (Aug 25, 2007)

*Re: My computer freezes after 5 minutes of playing games*

I recommend Arctic Cooling Thermal Paste. I've never had to use it so I don't know much about it but I know that is probably the best choice.


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## miguel077 (Aug 25, 2007)

*Re: My computer freezes after 5 minutes of playing games*

would you please look at this thermal paste and tll me if it is a good one?

http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/Arctic-Silver...ryZ46322QQssPageNameZWDVWQQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem

Thanks =p


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## Guest (Aug 25, 2007)

*Re: My computer freezes after 5 minutes of playing games*

It seems like it will get the job done, but as I said before I do not know much about thermal paste :frown:


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## miguel077 (Aug 25, 2007)

*Re: My computer freezes after 5 minutes of playing games*

ok thanks anyway, ill buy it now, so you think that will make my cpu cool down and let me play in peace? =)


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## Guest (Aug 25, 2007)

*Re: My computer freezes after 5 minutes of playing games*

Yes hopefully this will do the job and fix this 2 page problem :smile:


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## miguel077 (Aug 25, 2007)

*Re: My computer freezes after 5 minutes of playing games*

lol yay =) if it doesnt ill come and annoy you a little bit more =)


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## miguel077 (Aug 25, 2007)

*Re: My computer freezes after 5 minutes of playing games*

ok im off now, speak to you later =)
Thanks alot!!!


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## Guest (Aug 25, 2007)

*Re: My computer freezes after 5 minutes of playing games*

Computer cases are never annoying lol I love working and this case was just another part of work. :smile:


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## miguel077 (Aug 25, 2007)

*Re: My computer freezes after 5 minutes of playing games*

oh can i just ask you one or two =p more questions please? =)


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## Guest (Aug 25, 2007)

*Re: My computer freezes after 5 minutes of playing games*

It is no problem, feel free to ask any questions at any time. So shoot whats your question?:smile:


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## miguel077 (Aug 25, 2007)

*Re: My computer freezes after 5 minutes of playing games*

i have a 500gb sata hard drive, but for some reason when i click properties on my computer it only shows 120gb, do you happen to know how to fix this problem?


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## miguel077 (Aug 25, 2007)

*Re: My computer freezes after 5 minutes of playing games*

i would also like to know how to overclock something or how to know if something is overclocked =s


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## Guest (Aug 25, 2007)

*Re: My computer freezes after 5 minutes of playing games*

1. When you first got the computer did it always say 120 Gb? Or did it come up recently? This might be a BIOS problem.

2. You can overclock something through the BIOS but changing the speeds on the processor higher then what is set now. Usually the manufacturer tells you if the computer has come pre-overclocked. Also you can use a application like SpeedFan to change the speeds if you are working on a desktop. Just google speedfan and it should come up.

*If you ever have any questions just Private Message me and I will be more then willing to help you out with any of your problems, also you should know, I am actually only 13 to put it out there* Lol dont be to shocked


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## miguel077 (Aug 25, 2007)

*Re: My computer freezes after 5 minutes of playing games*

thanks btw, and no worries im only 17 myself and i always like to be taught by younger peeps lol


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## Guest (Aug 25, 2007)

*Re: My computer freezes after 5 minutes of playing games*

Oh thats good well I hope that your problem can be resolved easily and quickly.:smile:


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## miguel077 (Aug 25, 2007)

*Re: My computer freezes after 5 minutes of playing games*

Hello again, i have just put the thermal paste in between my cpu and heatsink.
after that i started doing a memory test wid everest, and it got my cpu to 58C 
I dunno what to do, but i read on te thermal thingy it takes 200 hours to maximise the heat conduction, that might be the problem, for now ill just use my home fan inside my computer =p thats what im doing now lol, while doing a memory test my cpu temp is constantly 50-51 C
I recon thats not so bad as 58C lol.
Ok post some ideas of what i can do pls


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## Guest (Aug 30, 2007)

*Re: My computer freezes after 5 minutes of playing games*

Okay, first don't use the fan to cool down the computer for a long time because I do not recommend this in long term computing. Also, yes, you will have to wait the full 200 hours and then we will check back on the computer and its temps. If it still stays at that temperature we could check that the fans are running or we could try resnapping in the heatsink. For now just leave the computer off :smile:


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## miguel077 (Aug 25, 2007)

*Re: My computer freezes after 5 minutes of playing games*

=p i have just noticed something else that might be another cause, my graphics card when i play games its always around 59-60-61C is that normal or might it be the problem?
Because my cpu temperature with the fun wrking keeps it at around 40 C while playing and i still freeze, but takes alot longer now, i think that the actual problem is whith the graphics card not the cpu =\
Help me out here please, what are the usual temperatures for graphic cards? thanks m8 =)

oh and when its not on a game my graphics card temperature is always around 49-50C


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## Guest (Aug 30, 2007)

*Re: My computer freezes after 5 minutes of playing games*

Yes this is actually the correct temperature for a graphics card when it is idle. Graphics cards do not have the same temperature rating as CPU's which is 50 C. It does not seem to be your graphics card but if you would like you could reseat the card back into it's slot. Like I said you should leave your computer off:smile: srry but we will have to wait


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## miguel077 (Aug 25, 2007)

*Re: My computer freezes after 5 minutes of playing games*

=( what u mean reseat it back into the slot lol? oh and btw have u got msn so we can contact easily, thanks, and i know we gotta wait lol =(


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## miguel077 (Aug 25, 2007)

*Re: My computer freezes after 5 minutes of playing games*

man iam almos 100% sure it ait the temperature now, i have just froze while playing wid a temperature of 43C =\


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## bodco (Aug 9, 2007)

*Re: My computer freezes after 5 minutes of playing games*

Ok switch on but don't play heavy games on it because it cqan cause problem to it without paste.


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## miguel077 (Aug 25, 2007)

*Re: My computer freezes after 5 minutes of playing games*

it has paste now, it just says for the paste to be 100% we have to wait around 200 hours but wid computer in temporary use.


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## miguel077 (Aug 25, 2007)

*Re: My computer freezes after 5 minutes of playing games*

i aded an extra fan but im not sure if i should be making it throw air in or pull air out, ive made it pull air in, so now i have 3 fans pulling air in, so when iddle my cpu is constantly at 39-40-41
If i put the desk fan in i can make it 33C while iddle and 40 while playing, ive tried playing wid the desk fan, the temp was 41C and after around 10 minutes of playing it froze again. So now im starting to think that the problem might not be overheating but something else. which i dunno what is lol (does that make sense? lol)


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## Guest (Aug 30, 2007)

*Re: My computer freezes after 5 minutes of playing games*

Yes, i do have a hotmail. Also to reseat the card just unscrew the back of the card and take it out. Then reinsert. Don't worry I will finish this case :smile:


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## miguel077 (Aug 25, 2007)

*Re: My computer freezes after 5 minutes of playing games*

i have added you to msn


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## miguel077 (Aug 25, 2007)

*Re: My computer freezes after 5 minutes of playing games*

i tried the memtest, it run for about 13 hours, luckily i got a screenshot of what it was before my electricity run out.
Do i need to do the test again?

here is the screenshot of what it said b4 the electricity ran out....


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## StwS (Aug 26, 2007)

*Re: My computer freezes after 5 minutes of playing games*



miguel077 said:


> i have a 500gb sata hard drive, but for some reason when i click properties on my computer it only shows 120gb, do you happen to know how to fix this problem?


If you are using Windows XP sub SP1, as far as I know it doesn't support HDDs larger than about the size you are describing, try updating to SP1/SP2 it *should *fix the problem.


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## miguel077 (Aug 25, 2007)

*Re: My computer freezes after 5 minutes of playing games*

ive got sp2 =\


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## miguel077 (Aug 25, 2007)

*Re: My computer freezes after 5 minutes of playing games*

could some1 tell me what the normal pcu temperature and the temp when it is under pressure for example playing games, for a intel(R) pentium (R) D cpu 3.20ghz? thanks


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## StwS (Aug 26, 2007)

*Re: My computer freezes after 5 minutes of playing games*

I googled xbitlabs and anandtech, and found this article.

While it doesn't directly answer your question, it does say that the Pentium D does tend to run hot ^_^

Sorry that's all the info I can offer you at the moment, I have a... rather serious computer problem of my own at the moment.


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## miguel077 (Aug 25, 2007)

*Re: My computer freezes after 5 minutes of playing games*

thanks anyway =) could you tell me your problem? i can also try to help you out =p


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## miguel077 (Aug 25, 2007)

*Re: My computer freezes after 5 minutes of playing games*

Help please!!!!!!!!!! i kinda thing it can also be a Psu problem, i have win Power 450W psu, i heard it is not a good 1 and that i should get a better 1 =\ helllpppp please!


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## miguel077 (Aug 25, 2007)

*Re: My computer freezes after 5 minutes of playing games*

ok i have just rebooted my computer, iam installing all the updated drivers now, =) 
fingers crossed it was this easy to fix the problem =)


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## miguel077 (Aug 25, 2007)

*Re: My computer freezes after 5 minutes of playing games*

ok still freezing, im gonna try playing but in low graphics mode and 16 bit color ill report back what happened


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## miguel077 (Aug 25, 2007)

*Re: My computer freezes after 5 minutes of playing games*

ok, i unplugged most of the things that take alot of power from my power supply(dvd-rw drive, fan with a neon light on it (put a big desk fan blowing air into comp) and also unplugged my floppy drive and card reader) and set the game graphics really low and only 16bit color, and guess what? it let me play alot longer for about 1 hour and a half and then still froze, but i think its either a gpu or a psu problem, i would really appreciate any help i can get, even if it is to tell e that my theory is wrong, but do hep please, thanks.


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## miguel077 (Aug 25, 2007)

*Re: My computer freezes after 5 minutes of playing games*

i have just bought a new power supply, when it comes i will test it and lets hope that solves the problem =p


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## miguel077 (Aug 25, 2007)

*Re: My computer freezes after 5 minutes of playing games*

OMFG help!! i just wasted £85 on a new psu and it is still freezing ='( im getting frustrated now, please help =\, tomorow ill try another graphics card to see if that helps, =\ any suggestions are welcome, thanks


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## dai (Jul 2, 2004)

*Re: My computer freezes after 5 minutes of playing games*

you have not wasted it
keep replies in the thread or we don't know what or what has not been tried
do not post your problems on someone else's thread this is hijacking the thread and leads to confusion
d/l and run the hard drive makers diognostic utility on the hard drive
if it comes up clear run
sfc /scannow
summary of what's been done
replaced psu
chkdsk
memtest
redone paste on cpu
have the drivers been updated


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## miguel077 (Aug 25, 2007)

*Re: My computer freezes after 5 minutes of playing games*

ok, iam really sorry, i didn't mean to cause any confusion =\

and i have updated, the sound drivers and the graphics card drivers, im not sure how to update the rest of the drivers =\ if you could post some links or something would be very helpful, thanks =p


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## dai (Jul 2, 2004)

*Re: My computer freezes after 5 minutes of playing games*

i was refering to the graphics drivers which version number are you using


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## miguel077 (Aug 25, 2007)

*Re: My computer freezes after 5 minutes of playing games*

iam not sure, how do i see that? i just went to the nvidia site and downloaded the drivers that corresponded to my graphics card


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## dai (Jul 2, 2004)

*Re: My computer freezes after 5 minutes of playing games*

in the device manager click on the card entry and in properties click on the driver tab and you will see the number
what card is in it


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## miguel077 (Aug 25, 2007)

*Re: My computer freezes after 5 minutes of playing games*

date: 29/06/2007
version 6.14.11.6218

is that what u wanted to know?


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## dai (Jul 2, 2004)

*Re: My computer freezes after 5 minutes of playing games*

i was using those before with no problems with the vista version
try these
http://www.nvidia.com/object/winxp_2k_163.44.html


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## miguel077 (Aug 25, 2007)

*Re: My computer freezes after 5 minutes of playing games*

so im going to remove the other ones and thn install this ones? ok....after ill tell you if this fixed the problem


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## miguel077 (Aug 25, 2007)

*Re: My computer freezes after 5 minutes of playing games*

ok, i have just downloaded and installed the drivers u told me, the same problem happened while playing...


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## miguel077 (Aug 25, 2007)

*Re: My computer freezes after 5 minutes of playing games*

im going to test my hard drive now with that program...
i guess ill tell you what happened tomorw, as i will run the program overnight...


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## StwS (Aug 26, 2007)

*Re: My computer freezes after 5 minutes of playing games*



miguel007 said:


> i have a 500gb sata hard drive, but for some reason when i click properties on my computer it only shows 120gb, do you happen to know how to fix this problem?





miguel077 said:


> ive got sp2 =\


Did you install XP SP2 directly, or did you install XP, then update to SP2. If you used the latter, then you might have to merge your unpartitioned space with the ~130GB Windows partition. There are programs to do this, but I don't know what they are, sorry, someone else will have to tell you =/

Then of course, if you did directly install XP SP2, then I really have no idea why your HDD only shows as being 120GB.


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## miguel077 (Aug 25, 2007)

*Re: My computer freezes after 5 minutes of playing games*

i installed windows xp, and then updated to sp2 by the microsoft website, i guess ill have to try and find out what that program is called =p Thanks anyway,

p.s the most important problem at the moment is with the freezing =\


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## StwS (Aug 26, 2007)

*Re: My computer freezes after 5 minutes of playing games*



miguel077 said:


> i installed windows xp, and then updated to sp2 by the microsoft website, i guess ill have to try and find out what that program is called =p Thanks anyway,
> 
> p.s the most important problem at the moment is with the freezing =\


Yeah, but I figured that I may as well point that out now, while it is in my mind, rather than wait for later, when I will probably have forgotten.

I just did a little bit of research, and found this information:



GAMESPOT (Age of Empires 3) said:


> Well, I said it once and I’ll say it again; This game is a HOG. Not to mention it took them about a month to finally release the first patch for the game fixing some really bad bugs such as levels freezing, graphic glitches and more. There are still people out there reporting bugs, but then again, isn’t it expected? We are talking about a Microsoft game! Seriously, I find that this game gobbles up too much resources for what you get -- not enough bang for you buck. I’d wait and buy a copy for no more than $19.99 when it eventually goes on sale.


Have you got the latest patches for the game? (avaliable here)

I couldn't find anything about Warrock 3 that wasn't a dead link, but I didn't search for very long. From what I can tell, it is open source, and there are several people will several differnet problems. If the above patch fixes AOE 3 for you, then you can be pretty sure that it is a software issue and not a hardware issue. If not, then it is probably hardware related, as every other possible software issue seems to have been looked at. If the patch DOES work for AOE 3, let us know so that we can try to find what is wrong with Warrock 3.


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## miguel077 (Aug 25, 2007)

*Re: My computer freezes after 5 minutes of playing games*

ok problem has been fixed after spending £110 for nothing lol,
the problem seemed to be too much ram =\, so i took out 2 ram sticks(so now its working with only 4gb) and it works fine, well ive been playing for 3 hours so i think its working, thanks for all u help anyways =)


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## dai (Jul 2, 2004)

*Re: My computer freezes after 5 minutes of playing games*

you need 64x to use more than 4g most use 1g with xp,it never occured that someone would be trying to use 6g


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## miguel077 (Aug 25, 2007)

sorry that was a typo, i meant im using 2gb now


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