Anytime we play a movie or larger video game our comp freezes up. Can't use Esc or Ctrl, Alt, Delete. We thought it was the video card so we went and got a brand new one, which should easily run anything we ever use, but it's still freezing. I'm being told our RAM is probably not running fast enough?? Any suggestions? I'm tired of playing FFXI on the PS2!!!
2007-01-05 05:56:53 · 5 answers · asked by Janine W 1 in Computers & Internet ➔ Hardware ➔ Other - Hardware
It's not the temperature, it happens within minutes of turning it on if we use something that would normally freeze from a faulty video card. But we've bought 3 different cards and it's something with the computer itself. There's still 74% of the RAM left and we just recently restarted the computer from scratch.
2007-01-05 16:04:48 · update #1
It used to work just fine, for over a year we've played Final Fantasy XI for hours a day, and it just recently started freezing.
2007-01-07 17:12:25 · update #2
When in windows hit Ctrl Alt Del. In the window that comes up, go to the performance tab.
Check the Physical Memory section. Look at the available memory, if that number is 50% or lower of the total memory, then it's time for a memory upgrade. There really isn't a problem with memory running fast enough. But you COULD be running out of memory, and that would definitely cause the issues you're seeing.
2007-01-05 06:02:54 · answer #1 · answered by binaryking 3 · 1⤊ 0⤋
Your RAM is too low. If it's not over heating and it's not the video card, and it only happens during games and videos that's the problem.
There isn't enough RAM to hold that amount of graphics at one time. you should have a min. of 1GB of RAM for that type of entertainment. I'm having the same problem. if you hit ctrl alt del it will come up just be patient. The performance is at an all time high (90-100 percent) because it can't process it fast enough.
Check to see how much RAM you have. It's usually about 512MB you can buy another 512MB RAM and it should be fine.
I'm a computer studies major and fix these problems all the time. It'll cost about over $100 for the part and labor.
If you check the RAM (go to My Computer, on the side panel there should be view system information) if RAM is over 1GB already I'd scan for spyware and malware. They can also slow down the CPU because something outside is using your computer effecting it in a dangerous way.
But it's more than likely low RAM
Good luck :)
2007-01-07 15:45:52 · answer #2 · answered by jussgee 2 · 0⤊ 0⤋
If you have not installed any new software on the computer and it was working before my guess is have a dirty CPU fan, many people don't realize tat dirty CPU fan will heat up very fast, Turn on the machine drop into BIOS and look to see if your computer has a temptures monitor for the CPU, if it does watch it and see how hot it gets, if it dies in a short time while in bios you can be pretty sure it's the problem.
2007-01-12 20:39:20 · answer #3 · answered by Right 6 · 0⤊ 0⤋
It could be that your computer is overheating, it could be your RAM too. Use SpeedFan to check your temperatures (and voltages for your power supply) and MemTest86 to test your RAM.
2007-01-05 06:03:19 · answer #4 · answered by Yoi_55 7 · 0⤊ 0⤋
If your computer is not working properly while you are working on it, it could be a problem with device drivers, hardware or software.
Detailed instructions at http://tinyurl.com/yk5zpr
2007-01-05 15:59:42 · answer #5 · answered by asila 3 · 0⤊ 0⤋