PC KEEPS CRASHING. ARGH

[Lamented]

EXCUSE THE CAPS AND THE CURT BEHAVIOR BUT I'M VERY PISSED OFF.

 

WHENEVER I TRY TO PLAY A GAME LIKE JKA OR SWTOR, MY PC CRASHES AFTER AT LEAST TEN MINUTES OR LESS HAVE PASSED SINCE I'VE PLAYED. I HAVEN'T PLAYED A GAME ON MY PC FOR THREE WEEKS AND THIS STILL HAPPENED.

 

I KNOW THE PC ISN'T OVERHEATED. I KNOW THERE'S NOTHING WRONG WITH MY RAM. MY PC IS NOT CLUTTERED WITH DUST. WTF DO I DO. ARGH!!! I WANT TO PLAY THE NEW MBII RELEASE AND THEN THIS HAPPENED!

 

I AM ABOUT TO LOSE WHAT IS LEFT OF MY BLOODY STUMP OF A HEAD.

[CaptainCrazy]

Any blue screens?

 

You could download GPU-Z which will monitor your GPU temperature as your playing and you can see if it is actually a heat issue.

 

Real Temp: http://www.techpowerup.com/realtemp/  (for CPU temps whilst playing games)

GPU-Z: http://www.techpowerup.com/gpuz/               (for GPU temps whilst playing games)

 

Run these for maybe 5 minutes whilst playing one of the mentioned games and see what temperatures you get.  I know you said it's not a heat issue but better safe than sorry.  You could also try to re-sit the RAM in the slots.

[eezstreet]

1. Install MalwareBytes Anti-Malware. Run a complete scan.

2. Run CCleaner

3. Run combofix in safe mode, with networking (note: no compat for Windows 8)

4. Uninstall programs (most important: ones you don't use) until you have a minimum of 30 GB of free space (magic number for me)

5. Delete browser cache & cookies

6. Use the Task Manager to figure out which processes are using the most CPU time and memory. If they're programs which you don't need on 100% of the time (like EA's Origin service), turn them off and change the startup settings to not run them.

7. Move stuff from desktop to other folders on the hard drive (not really relevant, just speeds up startup time which you might find handy)

8. Are you getting choppy FPS? Change these settings:

• Antialiasing (number 1 drain of FPS)
• Draw distance (number 2 drain of FPS)
• Texture detail (biggest hit to your video card's VRAM)
• Shadow quality

9. Go with a clean slate in your forced AA and other settings, this will probably help (forced AA breaks a lot of games badly, such as Payday 2)

10. Provide us with some more details, perhaps a readout of dxdiag

[Lamented]

I neglected to mention that my DAMN SH** COMPUTER keeps crashing faster whenever I play a game sooner after the crash.

[CaptainCrazy]

Well that in itself should tell you that it's getting hot right?   Is the thermal paste on the CPU still good?  It could also be the PSU but right now it needs to be narrowed down a bit more.

[Xycaleth]

I neglected to mention that my DAMN SH** COMPUTER keeps crashing faster whenever I play a game sooner after the crash.

Sounds like overheating to me, like @@CaptainCrazy said.

[IrocJeff]

If it isn't the video card getting too hot, which you should hear the fan screaming, you may be running into an issue with your power supply failing. 

[Lamented]

The likelihood points to a failing power supply, considering the fan hasn't been screaming due to the video card. The temperature of my computer when ingame has varied from 77 to 80 degrees Celsius.

 

How do I take care of this problem?

[eezstreet]

Are you sure your fans are plugged in?

[Lamented]

Yes, I'm sure. I'm just going to call someone though.

[IrocJeff]

The likelihood points to a failing power supply, considering the fan hasn't been screaming due to the video card. The temperature of my computer when ingame has varied from 77 to 80 degrees Celsius.

 

How do I take care of this problem?

 

If you don't have a friend who build's his own systems, or access to parts. Or, you can't take it over to your colleges computer students and maybe get some help there, then take it to a shop. Explain the problem you are having and then ask them if will check your power supply to make sure the voltages are within range. Also, they can check the video card as well. 

 

Your problem is more than likely hardware related. 

 

If you can, run your system again and then wait until the system crashes. Note the time. Then, go into Event Viewer and try and look under system events or hardware events and look for any red exclamation points. Take a screenshot of whatever happens and post it here. 

 

You won't hurt your system at all.

[CaptainCrazy]

Maybe you have a friend who you could borrow a power supply from for an hour or more just to try it out?  77-80 degrees is a lot of heat for these older games, my GPU only reaches them temperatures when I'm playing next gen games.

 

Have you recently installed any new hardware like a new GPU or processor?  Maybe your power supply just can't handle it, what wattage is your PSU?  Maybe post the specs of your computer?