PC woes

[Boomer]

Is this system crashing relegated to just Far Cry 3? If so, it could be software related, particularly your video drivers may be conflicting with Direct X. I believe Direct X software has diagnostics that can be run. Also, have you tried running the game in different settings modes yet? It just seems odd that you would have this vital problem with just the one game. These things tend to be systemic.

[Franciscus]

Hi Hobbes.

As I should have known by now, just after I praised my iMac... it's graphic card just died

Going to get it repaired, it's still under warranty, but it serves me well LOL

Cheers

[Hobbes]

It's not just FC3. Skyrim also crashes in the same way.

Well Sods law is still operational then (or is it Murphy's or some other law? :blink .

[Hobbes]

In the past month I have read hundreds of posts about problems similar to the one I have experienced in various forums. Some of the forums are purely techy forums, some about specific motherboards or graphics cards and some about Far Cry 3. It has just occured to me that I have not seen a single post from anyone recommending a Windows reinstall as a possible solution to the problem I have. Yet the company I got the PC from recommended this almost straight away. I assume this is just a fob off? If this is the case it makes me wonder why it is ever worth getting a 3 year warranty if a company just tells you to do things like this before they will look at problems you have. I assume this is just a poor companys way of trying to prevent people from sending things back? At least in trying to fix this problem I have learnt a huge amount so I can hopefully fight my case better if I get fobbed off by a PC supplier in the future (Hmmm?). It's annoying that a consumer can spend £800 on a PC in order to play games but is never able to do so - and the blame for this can be passed from PC supplier to software developer to graphic card manufacturer to OS supplier etc. What can a poor punter do?

Cheers,
Chris

[Hobbes]

I just played Far Cry 3 for almost two hours without a crash (not that I can play the game with any enjoyment as I am expecting a crash any minute) - something seems to have changed. I couldn't play for 5 minutes before. Maybe I just got lucky but it feels like I have done something that made a difference. Unfortunately I tried too many things at one time to know what it was. I opened up the case and pushed every connection in firmer (and blew some more dust) but I also took the battery out again which sometimes seems to make a difference (but not recently, and also from what I have read the battery these days controls only the date and time - the BIOS or CMOS has a flash type memory?). I also set Nvidia to use the advanced 3d settings. Who knows? I'll keep things as they are for the moment and see how it goes. I'm also posting in case it could help other people with similar problems. I'm starting to think there may be some loose connection inside the PC - maybe the high fan rate when playing graphic intensive games could loosen it - but if that were the case why would it not cause problems with general use and with games like AGEOD once the connection had been loosened? Why would the PC sometimes take 8 hours to boot up and the next day work fine? I'm off on holiday on Monday but I will post about how things work out with this problem in the end - will I get a stable game of Far Cry or not?

Cheers,
Chris

[Carnium]

Glad you have somehow solved it Chris. God knows what might be wrong with your PC. An expert should check it once you have enough time and money as this is not normal behaviour.

[Hobbes]

Glad you have somehow solved it Chris. God knows what might be wrong with your PC. An expert should check it once you have enough time and money as this is not normal behaviour.

I don't think I have solved the problem Uros - after 3 years with this PC I just know it will crash again (you just get a feeling).
I can't wait to get rid of the damn thing. I just hope the new one will be more stable.
Maybe PCs can be cursed?

Edit: Just played the game for another hour with no problems at all - I even completed a mission. Not playing any more tonight so I can go on holiday with hope.

[Hobbes]

Can anyone tell me anything about the battery in a PC? When I first had this problem and called customer support they immediately told me to take out the battery - no preamble - just take the battery out. Almost as if they had had many people calling them with similar problems and this was the solution. In a 3 year old PC would it be likely that the battery is needed for changes in the BIOS settings to be stored? If a battery doesn't do this now how are they stored? Two flash type memories - one with the original settings and the other that stores changes?

[Hobbes]

My wife just called to tell me that the PC had turned itself off twice this morning when it was not even in use when it had been fine for the past two weeks. I give up! Decided to order a new PC. I think there must be a crack or a poor connection or some flaw somewhere which can make it unstable at any time. When I play graphic intensive games the fan blows harder and the vibration can make it even more unstable. My best guess – but it doesn’t really make any sense.

Thanks for all of the help. At least I have learnt a great deal.
Chris

[Boomer]

Well, Hobbes, at least you're not alone. That tornado storm that ripped through Moore, Oklahoma last week came through and knocked out my computer. My phone line took a direct hit from lightning and I ended up losing my modem, network card, and video card. There were pieces of copper wiring and phone cord all over my floor. The lightning bolt literally exited in my room through the phone line. Yikes! Computer was turned off so it at least survived, but let this be a lesson to everyone. When a storm comes roaring through, TURN YOUR COMPUTER HARDWARE OFF.

[Franciscus]

Well, Hobbes, at least you're not alone. That tornado storm that ripped through Moore, Oklahoma last week came through and knocked out my computer. My phone line took a direct hit from lightning and I ended up losing my modem, network card, and video card. There were pieces of copper wiring and phone cord all over my floor. The lightning bolt literally exited in my room through the phone line. Yikes! Computer was turned off so it at least survived, but let this be a lesson to everyone. When a storm comes roaring through, TURN YOUR COMPUTER HARDWARE OFF.

Hi Boomer.

Ykes, reading what's happened to you, glad you didn't suffer personal injuries !

Regards

[Boomer]

Yeah, it was pretty scary. I ended up lucky though, just had some computer and electrical problems. Moore wasn't so lucky. 24 dead so far, over 18,000 homes damaged or destroyed including 2 schools.

Here's a video of the F5 that hit Moore. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xTpceWd8UE4

We have insulation and Styrofoam in our yard that was scattered by the tornado from homes it hit (and we live 30-40 miles from the storm's path). Some reports have people in Kansas and Arkansas finding debris from Moore in their yards.

[Hobbes]

Well, Hobbes, at least you're not alone. That tornado storm that ripped through Moore, Oklahoma last week came through and knocked out my computer. My phone line took a direct hit from lightning and I ended up losing my modem, network card, and video card. There were pieces of copper wiring and phone cord all over my floor. The lightning bolt literally exited in my room through the phone line. Yikes! Computer was turned off so it at least survived, but let this be a lesson to everyone. When a storm comes roaring through, TURN YOUR COMPUTER HARDWARE OFF.

Also put a blanket over mirrors - no idea why but my grandma used to do this! Glad it was just your hardware that was hurt Boomer - a close escape!

Cheers,
Chris

[Hobbes]

I have a new PC! Far Cry 3 played for 5 minutes - no crash so far

[Carnium]

I have a new PC! Far Cry 3 played for 5 minutes - no crash so far

Congratulations
What is the specification of the new computer?

Have fun

[Hobbes]

Congratulations
What is the specification of the new computer?

Have fun

It's a mid range Alienware. I'm hoping the standard build will make problems less likely. It's tiny! W7 (and quiet).
Very happy with it so far.

Cheers,
Chris

[Jayme25]

the disease and the whole plant life , Louis XIII ayant fait appel au

[Hobbes]

New PC just started playing up. I thought I would post what I have learnt and tried so far + it will help me remember what to try next time.
Suddenly all manner of weird things started to happen. Search boxes appearing when trying to type an email address, Firefox find box constantly appearing - multiple big flashing boxes appearing in the middle of the screen and unable to stop them - even with Alt, Ctrl, Delete.

Ask wife to replace keyboard batteries
No effect

Run Malware software
Some sort of Pup thing found - but deleting doesn't help (what is that Pup thing?)

Run a full avast scan
Nothing

Send note to work to look up how to sort this kind of crap in lunch break
Sent

Sign up to a few geek sites just in case it gets that bad
Done

Do a system restore
No help - is it ever?

Ask wife if she really changed the keyboard batteries - otherwise I will have to go to loft to get the old non wireless keyboard out
Wife changed batteries in mouse not keyboard

Cheers,
Chris

[Jim-NC]

Did changing the batteries in the keyboard then final help the situation or not?

[Hobbes]

Yes So glad I found out otherwise I could have spent hours trying other things!

It must cause people a lot of hassle if they don't realise these sort of problems can be caused by low keyboard batteries.