yeah i have yet ANOTHER problem with my pc

ok heres the problem i got... My computer keeps rebooting when im inside a game.

it all started a few weeks ago. when im in a game my pc would reboot after like 5+ hours of being on. its been getting worse and worse as time has went and now at this moment in time when i go into the game in a matter of say 30mins to and hour my pc will reboot.

i have automatic restart off to see the BSOD - there is none.

My temperatures are fine and my side panel is actually off to keep it really cool untill i get a new case - so its not heat.

It does not (but not 100% sure) reboot when watching a movie in WMP for example - so its just inside games.

Ive been told by two friends that it will most likely be faulty RAM - because of the rebooting and no BSOD.

I am going to buy some blank CD's tomorrow and get memtest on it and check it out but i just wanted to post this now incase any of you have any other ideas for this.

i have deleted my graphics drivers and installed them fresh from the CD i got with the GFX card and still reboots.

i have two RAM cards - 1024 each and 4 slots on my mobo for it and both DDR2

also Jephree if you happen to reply to this like you have to all my other problems i still get them 16-bit subsystem popups or whatever when i startup or just randomly after i close a game and leave it idle for some time. its always this one though

http://img174.imageshack.us/img174/7843/defragpm2.jpg

i dont really know what other information i can give. so thats the problem.

any help would be great as its getting worse now quite quickly.

oh and i done a spyware scan - nothing, and used CCleaner and still reboots. going to do a virus scan now

P.S its not a soundcard problem i dont think, it just happens out of the blue in the game but there is no distortion in sound etc before hand

SECOND EDIT - i have removed one of the RAM sticks and am going to see how long the game lasts now. also is there anyway to check your GFX cards memory? because ive been told if it doesnt restart whilst watching videos or listening to music etc but crashes when in a game then it may be the GFX memory...which i really hope its not

THIRD EDIT - didnt help, still rebooted after about 30 minutes of being in game. going to put the one i took out, back in and take the one i have in, out haha. but yeah, you know what i mean :P

FORTH EDIT! - still crashed...so either both the RAM sticks have somehow gone bad or its something else...

now i really need help lol

oh and my mobo and gfx cards capacitors aren't bulging and look fine. im just stumped as to how it was ok a few days ago really, and now it constantly does it every 30ish mins when a game is up.

ARGH. hate pc's

How hot is your CPU when it fails?

Have you monitored this?

If it is not heat then RAM is the next suspect.

Run MemTest.

http://www.memtest.org/

If your board was giving too high a voltage or if the RAM was overclocked it is very common for all RAM to fail at once and the symptoms would pretty much be what you are experiencing.

Anyway MemTest will fail right off the bat if the above has occurred.

how can i check the volts through the RAM? also i dont overclock. and i can burn memtest to cd and boot it and it will work? right? cause i burned it to a dvd but it doesnt work when i boot from dvd drive (i only have blank DVDs)

also im sure its not heat as we solved that before (in one of my old threads)

You should be able to burn to either CD or DVD.

It is an ISO. Are you familiar with ISO's? This is an image file and not data.

It can not be burned as data but you need to create the disk image.

If you use Nero for example the option reads: "Create Disk Image".

If you do not have Nero (or similar) you can use this free ISO creator:

http://isorecorder.alexfeinman.com/isorecorder.htm


Your RAM voltage would be listed in your BIOS Setup.

You would then need to compare this to the manufacturers specs.

hmmm i probably did write it as data then.

and also compare it to what. the ram manufacturer specs or mobo?

i will do the memtest tomorrow then.

thanks again jephree you always have a solution! keep it up

The RAM voltage is usually adjustable in the BIOS Setup.

When people overclock they usually up the voltage which also ups the heat which also ups the risk of failure over time.

Most range between 1.8 to 2.1 Volts.

Most manufacturers specs will spec a specific default Voltage for the RAM in question.

Motherboards defaults do not always coincide with the RAM defaults.


...thanks for the thanks!

alright i had a quick check and its set at 1.9

im goin to run memtest tomorrow and how long will it take? im quite cut for time.

i will probably just buy another 2 gig of ram tomorrow and hope it works.

what sort of results should i get in memtest if it is faulty ram?

Just to clarify: This is always my first test if you are assured that heat is not an issue.

RAM failure usually shows degenerating symptoms resulting in more frequent crashes sooner and sooner after boot until the computer will not boot.

If this condition is present MemTest should fail right off the bat.

If the MemTest starts posting RED ERRORS right when it boots then your RAM is shot.

Otherwise MemTest will run until you turn it off. If you can run it for an hour with no errors your RAM is probably fine.

If it does fail keep in mind that most RAM has a lifetime warranty as long as it was not overclocked or physically damaged.

Again this is just the first thing I always test. If the RAM passes then obviously we need to look elsewhere.

hmmm ok i will post back tomorrow with results!

thanks again!