There are a few things I'll recommend that you can try if you want to give it a shot.
(In no specific order)
- Download DXCleaner and Drivercleaner (freeware) and use them. Some times the older nv_disp.dll file is not removed. This thing will remove it. Now install DirectX 9.0c and 9X.XX version of nvidia drivers (version 94.XX to 97.XX are highly recommended for SH3).
- Bring up the Nvidia control panel or install the utlities from the GPU's installation disk and monitor the temperature of the GPU while running any 3D game. Any temperatures above 65 degrees celcius are undesirable and require an improved cooling solution.
- Make sure the processor is also operating within the desirable temperature limits (around 55 celcius) while running a 3D game.
- Sound card drivers are also very important here. Any 3rd party sound drivers used with Creative line of sound cards (Audigy 1/2 models) are known to cause blue screens. If your sound screeches and stutters to a halt before a blue screen, this might be the problem.
- Aging windows install. This is another thing looked down upon among computer techs. A windows install over a year old is most likely to cause problems that are too tedious to work with. A clean format of windows, or if that's inconvenient, make a seperate, clean install just for your games. This should take care of most software related problems.
- Virtual devices! Having a virtual CD-ROM device to mount images from hard disk -might- cause problems sometimes. It is especially a no-no when running games with Starforce protection (e.g. SH3).
- Last but not least. Virtual memory settings. Yes, you have 4GB RAM but some tweaks with the virtual memory settings can sometimes make all the difference. I recommend that you adjust the size of the page file in the system settings and make it fixed and not windows managed. Make the file size 3GB to 4GB.
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