cant find the source of the problem

bobofengland · 06-26-2009

Well my PC was working fine for a while, until i bought sims 3 and my DVD drive decided to stop reading discs all of a sudden, so I replaced it and it worked fine again until I started playing mass effect. The game would run fine but after a while the sound would stutter and not play properly and music would freeze. I turned off the sound and dismissed it as a driver issue but the graphics started to get messed up after that with weird artifacts appearing across the screen, and now in the sims 3 all the trees are square and are glowing yellow (WTH?!)

Then I knew something definitely isn't right when it started crashing on the desktop without BSODing tho... it just freezes and any music or sound playing hangs too... plz help because i have no idea what the hell is wrong with it.

Amtech · 06-26-2009

I would have said this could be a graphics card, processor or memory issue. Basically, the games or at least the display/sound settings you have on the games are too much for your PC.

But your specs seem okay, at least for the standard to mid settings.

Are all these games installed to the hard drive?

As far as I am aware, the dvd is only required when playing the PC to guard against piracy. And the actual game files are usually read from the hard drive itself.

Have you tried reinstalling the game? Maybe some of the files became corrupt. And did you update your graphics card drivers recently?

Lastly, try running the games on minimum settings or with as many visual effects turned off as possible and see if that helps.

bobofengland · 06-26-2009

I already run mass effect on min settings... it runs really badly on my PC (tho race driver grid is fine on max graphics) and the sims runs fine, its just the trees are screwed up... and it crashes for no reason from time to time...

Amtech · 06-26-2009

Have you ran Speedfan to check the temperatures? You can download Speedfan from here:

Download SpeedFan - Access temperature sensor in your computer

High temperatures have a flame icon next to them.

Do you have a lot of programs running in the background? Try exiting all programs so that the game is the only thing you have running. But this will only help with lag/slowdown issues.

The strange display issues are most likely due to your graphics card. Try updating your graphics card drivers or trying a new graphics card altogether. To run those games you want a graphics card with at least 512MB of memory.

bobofengland · 06-26-2009

Checked Speedfan, nothing unusual there... all the temps were below 35c although it did lock up a few times while opening speedfan and coretemp. Which was wierd.

I tried the games again with as few background programs open as I could and there was no difference there.

I also tried the onboard GPU but that wasn't powerful enough to run mass effect... kinda unfortunate that my old 8500GT broke or I could have tried that...

bobofengland · 06-27-2009

ok update on the problem and it doesnt look good... i got it working fine for about 20 mins before it crashed again and now it wont boot. The system powers on and then it just starts beeping... thing is i cant remember what the code means and what the problem is... please help!

Amtech · 06-27-2009

Well in all likelihood it seems like it would be a graphics card problem. If you can turn on the PC and make a note of the beeps eg one long, two short

Then we can determine exactly what the problem is. I recommend ATI graphics cards over nVIDIA. nVIDIA cards I have found to be a bit buggy.

PS what happens if you take out the graphics card and try booting with the onboard? Unless you're doing that already.

06-26-2009	#1
bobofengland Bronze Member Join Date: May 2009 Posts: 38 PC Experience: Experienced	cant find the source of the problem Well my PC was working fine for a while, until i bought sims 3 and my DVD drive decided to stop reading discs all of a sudden, so I replaced it and it worked fine again until I started playing mass effect. The game would run fine but after a while the sound would stutter and not play properly and music would freeze. I turned off the sound and dismissed it as a driver issue but the graphics started to get messed up after that with weird artifacts appearing across the screen, and now in the sims 3 all the trees are square and are glowing yellow (WTH?!) Then I knew something definitely isn't right when it started crashing on the desktop without BSODing tho... it just freezes and any music or sound playing hangs too... plz help because i have no idea what the hell is wrong with it.

06-26-2009	#2
Amtech Tech Support Team Join Date: Nov 2008 Location: Bolton Posts: 1,656 PC Experience: Some Experience	Re: cant find the source of the problem I would have said this could be a graphics card, processor or memory issue. Basically, the games or at least the display/sound settings you have on the games are too much for your PC. But your specs seem okay, at least for the standard to mid settings. Are all these games installed to the hard drive? As far as I am aware, the dvd is only required when playing the PC to guard against piracy. And the actual game files are usually read from the hard drive itself. Have you tried reinstalling the game? Maybe some of the files became corrupt. And did you update your graphics card drivers recently? Lastly, try running the games on minimum settings or with as many visual effects turned off as possible and see if that helps. __________________ File Recovery Removing CMOS Battery ASTRA32 (Device Drivers)

06-26-2009	#3
bobofengland Bronze Member Join Date: May 2009 Posts: 38 PC Experience: Experienced	Re: cant find the source of the problem I already run mass effect on min settings... it runs really badly on my PC (tho race driver grid is fine on max graphics) and the sims runs fine, its just the trees are screwed up... and it crashes for no reason from time to time...

06-26-2009	#4
Amtech Tech Support Team Join Date: Nov 2008 Location: Bolton Posts: 1,656 PC Experience: Some Experience	Re: cant find the source of the problem Have you ran Speedfan to check the temperatures? You can download Speedfan from here: Download SpeedFan - Access temperature sensor in your computer High temperatures have a flame icon next to them. Do you have a lot of programs running in the background? Try exiting all programs so that the game is the only thing you have running. But this will only help with lag/slowdown issues. The strange display issues are most likely due to your graphics card. Try updating your graphics card drivers or trying a new graphics card altogether. To run those games you want a graphics card with at least 512MB of memory. __________________ File Recovery Removing CMOS Battery ASTRA32 (Device Drivers)

06-26-2009	#5
bobofengland Bronze Member Join Date: May 2009 Posts: 38 PC Experience: Experienced	Re: cant find the source of the problem Checked Speedfan, nothing unusual there... all the temps were below 35c although it did lock up a few times while opening speedfan and coretemp. Which was wierd. I tried the games again with as few background programs open as I could and there was no difference there. I also tried the onboard GPU but that wasn't powerful enough to run mass effect... kinda unfortunate that my old 8500GT broke or I could have tried that...

06-27-2009	#6
bobofengland Bronze Member Join Date: May 2009 Posts: 38 PC Experience: Experienced	Re: cant find the source of the problem ok update on the problem and it doesnt look good... i got it working fine for about 20 mins before it crashed again and now it wont boot. The system powers on and then it just starts beeping... thing is i cant remember what the code means and what the problem is... please help!

Similar discussions...
Thread	Thread Starter	Forum	Replies	Last Post
Solved: Still can't find the problem	pstands	[Fixed] Hijackthis! Logs	12	12-21-2008 12:02 AM
Help me with source SDK please ^_^	thedudesam	PC Games	2	01-27-2008 08:12 AM
Graphics, connection, and Counter-Strike Source problem	strikerUSAF	Graphics	5	04-27-2007 01:15 PM
BSOD - cant find the problem or fix it!!!	kaktus	Blue Screen Errors	4	04-15-2007 08:39 PM
Driver problem.... cant find the right one	Dr_Octagon	Graphics	13	02-15-2007 01:15 AM

Thread Tools	Search this Thread
Show Printable Version Email this Page	Search this Thread: Advanced Search
Display Modes
Linear Mode Switch to Hybrid Mode Switch to Threaded Mode