DVA2097
Senior Captain, B777-200
Joined on January 20 2005
Online Century Club
Double Century Club
Kentriki Makedonia Greece
222 legs, 432.9 hours
151 legs,
305.1 hours online 168 legs,
355.3 hours ACARS
|
Posted onPost created on
May 26 2007 14:06 ET by Terry Doumlas
|
I have had this issue for a long time and I don't know what to do honestly.
When I try to play any "new" game I get sound crashes. Specifically one of two things happens: either everything hangs and I hear a repetitive "stuck" sound (bibibibibibibibi...) or (rarely) the music loops, stops for a few seconds, loops, stops. During this time no action is possible (mouse movement, alt tab, ctrl alt del) and it goes on indefinitely. Only thing I can do is manually reboot.
It started happening after I switched graphics cards (from an old Nvidia 4400 to a GeForce 7600GS). FS2004 rarely did it and updating sound card/GPU drivers fixed it. Any other game (I currently play Silent Hunter III and Heroes of Might and Magic V) crashes. The newer the game, the worse the crash. SHIII crashes every few hours perhaps, HoMM every few minutes. Same with Silent Hunter IV. That's how I interpret it anyway =p
It's not the temperature, I'm pretty sure. Also, it doesn't seem to be a conflict. None appear on the manager and as far as I can see there are no shared IRQs (at least between GPU and sound card). I think it has to be some DX issue or some codec interfering, but so help me I have no idea how to find and fix the problem. My wife's computer with an older GPU and an on board sound card can run all these games just fine.
Anyway, system specs:
AMD 64 1800+
1GB RAM
GeForce 7600GS (AGP)
SoundBlaster Audigy (probably value). Also onboard sound card (disabled)
Latest drivers on GPU and sound card. DirectX 9.0c (latest as far as I know)
Any help much appreciated.
|
DVA3512
Captain, B737-800
Joined on September 04 2006
Western United States
54 legs, 146.3 hours
|
Posted onPost created on
May 26 2007 16:07 ET by Barry Harmon
|
My first suspicion is always heat buildup, but if you've checked your temps and that's not it...
First things first, if you just installed the new drivers over the old there could be some bits of the old ones left behind. There are some driver removal tools you can use to take all traces of the old ones off your system, then reinstall the newest drivers (get them from the nVidia site, but NOT THE BETA drivers). A fresh install can clear up a lot of issues you run into with sound and video glitches.
Watch your drive lights when these glitches occur. Hard drive or CD/DVD drive access during game play can also cause this kind of glitch. You're running a gig of RAM, which should be enough, but might consider upgrading to 2 gigs if your motherboard will support it. Windows and Windows based software are ALWAYS happier with more RAM.
If none of these help, then it's time to open the box...
Check to make sure your power supply is big enough. That new card takes a lot more juice than the old one, and could be enough to put your current PS right at the edge of what it can provide. While you have the case open make sure all the connectors are tight, and that all your cards and memory are seated properly. Double check that all of your fans are running and there's no dust bunnies procreating inside the case.
(I am assuming, of course, that all the latest patches have been applied to the games in question!)
|
DVA2097
Senior Captain, B777-200
Joined on January 20 2005
Online Century Club
Double Century Club
Kentriki Makedonia Greece
222 legs, 432.9 hours
151 legs,
305.1 hours online 168 legs,
355.3 hours ACARS
|
Posted onPost created on
May 26 2007 16:10 ET by Terry Doumlas
|
Thanks for the response.
Drivers were installed after a clean removal of the old ones (via driver remover utility), no beta drivers installed. I bought a huge power supply suspecting what you said - that wasn't it. Case has been opened, everything reseated, dust cleared, fans working. Games are patched to the latest versions.
I will look for the LEDs next time, thanks.
EDIT: LEDs are all off, no activity, just the stuck sound. Also, things are better (I think) if I turn hardware sound acceleration down to "basic" (from the directX console). I still crash, just not as much. No idea...
|
DVA734
Senior Captain, B767-300
Joined on July 26 2002
Online Century Club
Everett 500 Club
DVA Twenty-Year Anniversary
Million Mile Club
Millennium Club
Miami, FL USA
1,007 legs, 2,680.4 hours
172 legs,
490.3 hours online 970 legs,
2,604.7 hours ACARS 5 legs,
11.6 hours event
|
Posted onPost created on
May 26 2007 17:29 ET by Luis Rivera
|
Terry, I have the same video card as you, PNY 7600GS PCI-E. I put together a new system board, new AMD X2 processor, memory (2G) and video card, whenever tried to fly with FS2004, my system will crash after maybe 15 minutes of flying. Video was corrupted and error related to the NVIDIA drivers. I tried different video drivers, got a new power supply and still will crash. My temps were o.k.Tried different games and the same. Since everything was new, not sure what was the problem. I searched the forums and people always mentioned overheating or power supply as the main problem. Finally decided to get another video card and problem resolved. At the end it was a defective video card. It took me almost a month before realizing that the problem was the video card.
Luis RiveraSenior Captain, B767-300
|
|