weird crashes on recent games

mranubis · 27 Feb 2011

hello
i have sadly a new problem

i brought test drive unlimited 2 and i experinced some weird crashes
when playing the game was crashing randomly (from the first minutes of the game to more than an hour and sometime never) my computer in a strange way :
the computer would freeze then go in a black screen with a buzzing noise (acutualy the last sound played looped at an high frequency) and instead of rebooting the computer stay on a black screen, i read much other user complaining of crashes so i concluded that the problem was the game and i give up,waiting for a patch.
But when i decided to play another recent game (dead space 2) i continued to experenced thoes freezes. But when i play more old game like fsx the game work properly and my computer don't freeze on desktop or such.

it tried to pin down the problem but i am blindfolded in fact the crash don't generate a mini dumb nor a trace in the windows journal apart of "the last stop was not planed"
i checked the temperature while running i don't think they are exesives
CPU : 50-62°C
GPU : 70-80°C
no viruses or such
so i ask you if someone have an idea on whats going on and if there is a way to fix this
thanks in advance
ps:sorry for my bad english

usasma · 27 Feb 2011

I suggest starting all troubleshooting with the following diagnostic tests. They'll save you a lot of time and heartache if there is a hardware failure, and you'll have the disks on hand in case you need them in the future:

H/W Diagnostics:
Please start by running these bootable hardware diagnostics:
Memory Diagnostics (read the details at the link)
HD Diagnostic (read the details at the link)

Also, please run one of these free, independent online malware scans to ensure that your current protection hasn't been compromised: Free Online AntiMalware Scanners (read the details at the link)

Then, if the above tests pass, I'd try these free stress tests:

FurMark download site: FurMark: VGA Stress Test, Graphics Card and GPU Stability Test, Burn-in Test, OpenGL Benchmark and GPU Temperature | oZone3D.Net
FurMark Setup:
- If you have more than one GPU, select Multi-GPU during setup
- In the Run mode box, select "Stability Test" and "Log GPU Temperature"
Click "Go" to start the test
- Run the test until the GPU temperature maxes out - or until you start having problems (whichever comes first).
NOTE: Set the alarm to go off at 90ºC. Then watch the system from that point on.
- Click "Quit" to exit

Prime95 download site: Free Software - GIMPS
Prime95 Setup:
- extract the contents of the zip file to a location of your choice
- double click on the executable file
- select "Just stress testing"
- select the "Blend" test. If you've already run MemTest overnight please run the "Small FFTs" test instead. (run all 3 if you find a problem and note how long it takes to error out with each)
- "Number of torture test threads to run" should equal the number of CPU's times 2 (if you're using hyperthreading).
The easiest way to figure this out is to go to Task Manager...Performance tab - and see the number of boxes under CPU Usage History
Then run the test for 6 to 24 hours - or until you get errors (whichever comes first).
This won't necessarily crash the system - but check the output in the test window for errors.
The Test selection box and the stress.txt file describes what components that the program stresses.
More details on the use of this test: Torture test your CPU with Prime95

Two other video stress tests (may be more stressful than FurMark):
Video Memory stress Test - ÐœÐ˜Ð NVIDIA / Ð£Ñ‚Ð¸Ð»Ð¸Ñ‚Ñ‹ / VMT
Artifact Locator - ÐœÐ˜Ð NVIDIA / Ð£Ñ‚Ð¸Ð»Ð¸Ñ‚Ñ‹ / Artifact Locator
Sorry, but I don't read the language that this website is made in.

Another interesting test that just came to my attention: Download - OCCT Website english
USE AT YOUR OWN RISK - program doesn't have a whole bunch of safety features to protect you from yourself!

mranubis · 28 Feb 2011

thanks man i will try this out
i will post if there is anything

mranubis · 06 Mar 2011

i back with some result sorry for the delay
i tried everyting and no problem were found and the computer sill work correcly on the stress tests
so i start thinking that the problem might be the game someting these game don work correctly but what directx, the gpu ?
i managed to play at dead space 2 more than 1 hour without problem and test drive unlimited 2 freezed a the same moment where it had the problem before it's this that made me think that the game are problably the cause of the problem
but i would like to know what you think about it.

usasma · 06 Mar 2011

I know nothing about the games - but would suspect that if it happens at the same point in the game every time, then see if there's a patch for the game - or if others report the same problem.

mranubis · 07 Mar 2011

yes i reported the issue for tdu2.
i will try to reinstall the games on the x64 program folder of the computer t see what it does
thanks