Hi jvdc,
Well, lets try the software troubleshooting suggestion in my previous
post first, or if you want to skip forward to hardware troubleshooting...
Hardware issues can cause freezing, black screens and other
errors. Also, your drivers should always be kept up to date.
Try the following steps one at a time to try and resolve the issue.
I hope this helps. Please post back if you have any questions!
1. Update DirectX and your Chipset, Sound, &Video Drivers:
For all Video / DirectX / Game and Hardware Issues, I have a
Checklist of Solutions at:
http://mcse.mvps.org/Video.html
2. Dust your fans, vents and components using a 1/4" paintbrush
and a hose vacuum. Use compressed air for hard to reach places.
Set a housefan to blow cold air into your case to expose an over-
heating issue.. If it works add more fans or replace defective ones.
Use this Motherboard Monitor Utility:
http://mbm.livewiredev.com
3. A faulty power supply can cause STOP errors, random reboots,
and black screen lockups. One way to test for that is to check the
wattage sticker on your power supply and then calculate your need
http://www.jscustompcs.com/power_supply/ (Min. 350 for gaming)
4. Test your RAM using:
http://oca.microsoft.com/en/windiag.asp
Cheers, *Windows_XP_MVP_Shell/User*
Jimmy S.
http://mvp.support.microsoft.com
Visit my MSN Games and Windows Gaming Help Site:
www.msce.mvps.org
MS Games Help and Support Center:
http://support.microsoft.com/?pr=gms
My advice is donated "AS IS" without warranty; nor do I confer any rights.
_________________________________________________________
jvdc Wrote:
=================
| What about the hardware in my system? If I'm running the NVIDIA GeForce 6150
| LE, is that relevant? I read that upgrading to the NVIDIA 8800 would help.
|
| A second question relative to your suggestion is how and which operations
| are safe to turn off. I have a speedometer for the RAM and it always seems
| to be running close to max speed even with one or two programs running.
| Should I get this checked out as it shows that my system is working too hard
| to play a game?
|
| Jason
|
| "Jimmy S." wrote:
|
|| Hi jvdc,
||
|| Some security programs can hinder your response times when
|| you play, especially when you're playing online. You might be
|| able to exit those programs before starting the game, but make
|| sure you start them up again as soon as you've finished playing.
||
|| --
|| Cheers, *Windows_XP_MVP_Shell/User*
|| Jimmy S.
http://mvp.support.microsoft.com
||
|| Visit my MSN Games and Windows Gaming Help Site:
www.msce.mvps.org
|| MS Games Help and Support Center:
http://support.microsoft.com/?pr=gms
|| My advice is donated "AS IS" without warranty; nor do I confer any rights.
|| _________________________________________________________
||
||
|| jvdc Wrote:
|| =================
||| As usual, my system has enough to play the game, but the game play is so slow
||| that the movement is frame by frame. Is this a job for FireDog? Should I
||| delete other programs that are running? Which ones? Do I need the Xbox
||| controller, rather than the Logitech Dual Controller it SAYS it can run on?
||| Half-Life was the same way on a different system.
