problems with SH4 crashing on XP

chrishyde · 11-09-10, 09:18 AM

Hi Everybody,

Just bought SH4 and installed it without any problem. The trouble is that after running game fine for 3 mins, the screen goes blank, I get a message saying no signal being received and in order to light the screen up again I have to turn the computer off and on. I have tried two SH4discs and the same thing happens. I have windows xp home version 5.1 with 2gb of ram, and an Athlone 64*2 processor. I have also downloaded patch 1.4. All help appreciated

Chris

Herr-Berbunch · 11-09-10, 09:23 AM

Check with another fairly graphic intensive game, sounds like a graphic card fault to me. Check cable too. Check fans running, and inside system is clean and dust free!

Jan Kyster · 11-09-10, 09:26 AM

Sounds like overheating...

Have a look in XP log-files from before shutdown. There should be a message... Your cpu is protected by overheating and automatically shuts down the system when too hot.

Check if coolers and vents are clean from dust.

irish1958 · 11-09-10, 09:28 AM

Did you install outside of the program files? Could you get two more GBs of RAM to fit on your computer? What kind of video card do you have, and how much dedicated RAM (not shared RAM) does it have? I suspect your problem is RAM.
And welcome aboard!

Herr-Berbunch · 11-09-10, 09:39 AM

Oops, yes, sorry how rude of me.

Welcome aboard

Armistead · 11-09-10, 10:24 AM

I agree, it's overheating, probably your video card going bad. Check and clean all your fans...I'm going through this right now and the same thing is happening. Think my fan is going bad, so I have another fan blowing on my card and it runs fine, unhook it, only takes a few minutes for it to go black. The "no signal" is the give away and I'm sure it boots up fine until you place a load on it.

WernherVonTrapp · 11-09-10, 12:39 PM

Welcome to the Pacific Chris.

I'm inclined to agree that it sounds very much like an overheating of your graphics card. Still, it would help to know a little more about your system in order to make sure.
First, are you talking about a desktop or a laptop system?
Do you have a dedicated graphics card or is it an integrated system?
Lastly, how old is this PC you are talking about?

MaddogK · 11-09-10, 02:17 PM

Concur- temperature problem, check your fans and clean em out. Shut down any un-necessary external apps.
Ensure DX9C is installed, and you may want to pull down the video settings in the game to 'med' or below. A cheap video card is better than onboard video.
2 gigs of ram should run SHIV without issue (I used to run it on 1 gig). I would think a RAM problem will give you a BSOD but it doesn't always. You could also have a failing power supply.
Do you still have sound when you lose video ?

chrishyde · 11-10-10, 05:56 AM

Many thanks to all who replied with suggestions about what might be causing the problem. Overheating would seem a logical cause but other graphic intensive games i.e. flightsim work perfectly. Also the fan seems to be working fine. I have decided the problem needs to be sorted out in computer dry dock by someone who enjoys playing with computers rather than computer games.
Hope they fix it quickly before I'm forced to start talking to the wife again....
Nice to be part of the community

Chris

Herr-Berbunch · 11-10-10, 07:36 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by chrishyde

Hope they fix it quickly before I'm forced to start talking to the wife again...

Keep us informed as to what exactly was causing it, it's good to share for other people. Hope this dry dock doesn't cost too much!

irish1958 · 11-10-10, 09:38 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by chrishyde

Many thanks to all who replied with suggestions about what might be causing the problem. Overheating would seem a logical cause but other graphic intensive games i.e. flightsim work perfectly. Also the fan seems to be working fine. I have decided the problem needs to be sorted out in computer dry dock by someone who enjoys playing with computers rather than computer games.
Hope they fix it quickly before I'm forced to start talking to the wife again....
Nice to be part of the community

Chris

I would get 4GB of RAM and use the 4GB patch first and either Game Booster or AlacrityPC.
My rig overheated and crashed because it overheated; the problem was RAM causing it to overheat. A poor video card with insufficient RAM will do the same thing.
Still don't know what your video card is; this could be the problem.

Matt86 · 11-10-10, 10:13 AM

Top on the list is overheat, download a program called speedfan, it'l show you how hot things are getting. Ram wont be the cause of the heat but it is possible you have some weird incompatibility, worry about temp before going down that road.

Herr-Berbunch · 11-10-10, 11:10 AM

Flight Sim uses processing power over graphics card and so may not show a fault as readily as other games that do use the GPU more.

tomoose · 11-10-10, 11:29 AM

....I had that issue and my BIOS was specifically telling me is was heat related.

I will jump on the majority bandwagon and concur it's heat-related particularly as it's only happening with SH4. Adding a couple more Gigs of RAM wouldn't hurt but also upgrading your video card is a suggestion.

If this becomes a recurrent problem and happens to other programs/games, check to ensure all your fans are working especially the one sitting on top of your CPU.

chrishyde · 11-10-10, 01:39 PM

My grahics card is the GeForce 210 which I was advised was the more than adequate for playing all pc games. Of course I could have been mis-advised,
computer technology is not my strong point.

On a more interesting note, has anyone got any info on the "fruit machine" fire control system used on British subs or other devices for finding firing angles used before the computer TDC on American fleet boats.

Regards

Chris

11-09-10, 09:18 AM	#1
chrishyde Nub Join Date: Nov 2010 Location: UK North Wales Posts: 4 Downloads: 0 Uploads: 0	problems with SH4 crashing on XP Hi Everybody, Just bought SH4 and installed it without any problem. The trouble is that after running game fine for 3 mins, the screen goes blank, I get a message saying no signal being received and in order to light the screen up again I have to turn the computer off and on. I have tried two SH4discs and the same thing happens. I have windows xp home version 5.1 with 2gb of ram, and an Athlone 64*2 processor. I have also downloaded patch 1.4. All help appreciated Chris

11-09-10, 09:23 AM	#2
Herr-Berbunch Kaiser Bill's batman Join Date: May 2010 Location: AN72 Posts: 13,203 Downloads: 76 Uploads: 0	Check with another fairly graphic intensive game, sounds like a graphic card fault to me. Check cable too. Check fans running, and inside system is clean and dust free! __________________

11-09-10, 09:28 AM	#4
irish1958 Ocean Warrior Join Date: Apr 2005 Location: Carmel, Indiana Posts: 3,250 Downloads: 320 Uploads: 11	Did you install outside of the program files? Could you get two more GBs of RAM to fit on your computer? What kind of video card do you have, and how much dedicated RAM (not shared RAM) does it have? I suspect your problem is RAM. And welcome aboard! __________________ Irish1958

11-09-10, 09:39 AM	#5
Herr-Berbunch Kaiser Bill's batman Join Date: May 2010 Location: AN72 Posts: 13,203 Downloads: 76 Uploads: 0	Oops, yes, sorry how rude of me. Welcome aboard __________________

11-09-10, 12:39 PM	#7
WernherVonTrapp Admiral Join Date: Jul 2009 Location: Now, alot farther from NYC. Posts: 2,228 Downloads: 105 Uploads: 0	Welcome to the Pacific Chris. I'm inclined to agree that it sounds very much like an overheating of your graphics card. Still, it would help to know a little more about your system in order to make sure. First, are you talking about a desktop or a laptop system? Do you have a dedicated graphics card or is it an integrated system? Lastly, how old is this PC you are talking about? __________________ "The journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step." -Miyamoto Musashi ------------------------------------------------------- "What is truth?" -Pontius Pilate

11-09-10, 09:26 AM	#3
Jan Kyster Ace of the Deep Join Date: Oct 2006 Posts: 1,151 Downloads: 152 Uploads: 0	Sounds like overheating... Have a look in XP log-files from before shutdown. There should be a message... Your cpu is protected by overheating and automatically shuts down the system when too hot. Check if coolers and vents are clean from dust.

11-09-10, 10:24 AM	#6
Armistead Rear Admiral Join Date: Dec 2008 Location: on the Dan Posts: 10,880 Downloads: 364 Uploads: 0	I agree, it's overheating, probably your video card going bad. Check and clean all your fans...I'm going through this right now and the same thing is happening. Think my fan is going bad, so I have another fan blowing on my card and it runs fine, unhook it, only takes a few minutes for it to go black. The "no signal" is the give away and I'm sure it boots up fine until you place a load on it.

11-09-10, 02:17 PM	#8
MaddogK XO Join Date: Oct 2010 Location: Chicago, Ill. Posts: 409 Downloads: 15 Uploads: 0	Concur- temperature problem, check your fans and clean em out. Shut down any un-necessary external apps. Ensure DX9C is installed, and you may want to pull down the video settings in the game to 'med' or below. A cheap video card is better than onboard video. 2 gigs of ram should run SHIV without issue (I used to run it on 1 gig). I would think a RAM problem will give you a BSOD but it doesn't always. You could also have a failing power supply. Do you still have sound when you lose video ? __________________ May fortune favor the foolish

11-10-10, 05:56 AM	#9
chrishyde Nub Join Date: Nov 2010 Location: UK North Wales Posts: 4 Downloads: 0 Uploads: 0	Many thanks to all who replied with suggestions about what might be causing the problem. Overheating would seem a logical cause but other graphic intensive games i.e. flightsim work perfectly. Also the fan seems to be working fine. I have decided the problem needs to be sorted out in computer dry dock by someone who enjoys playing with computers rather than computer games. Hope they fix it quickly before I'm forced to start talking to the wife again.... Nice to be part of the community Chris

11-10-10, 10:13 AM	#12
Matt86 Sailor man Join Date: Oct 2009 Location: South Africa Posts: 47 Downloads: 144 Uploads: 0	Top on the list is overheat, download a program called speedfan, it'l show you how hot things are getting. Ram wont be the cause of the heat but it is possible you have some weird incompatibility, worry about temp before going down that road. __________________ E8500 @ 3.8ghz, DFI BloodIron P45 Elite T2S, Corsair VX550W, 4gb 800mhz Xms2, MSI 6850 OC @ 950/1150 1.148v, Seagate 7200 250gb

11-10-10, 11:10 AM	#13
Herr-Berbunch Kaiser Bill's batman Join Date: May 2010 Location: AN72 Posts: 13,203 Downloads: 76 Uploads: 0	Flight Sim uses processing power over graphics card and so may not show a fault as readily as other games that do use the GPU more. __________________

11-10-10, 11:29 AM	#14
tomoose Grey Wolf Join Date: Aug 2005 Posts: 930 Downloads: 23 Uploads: 0	On my old system.... ....I had that issue and my BIOS was specifically telling me is was heat related. I will jump on the majority bandwagon and concur it's heat-related particularly as it's only happening with SH4. Adding a couple more Gigs of RAM wouldn't hurt but also upgrading your video card is a suggestion. If this becomes a recurrent problem and happens to other programs/games, check to ensure all your fans are working especially the one sitting on top of your CPU.

11-10-10, 01:39 PM	#15
chrishyde Nub Join Date: Nov 2010 Location: UK North Wales Posts: 4 Downloads: 0 Uploads: 0	My grahics card is the GeForce 210 which I was advised was the more than adequate for playing all pc games. Of course I could have been mis-advised, computer technology is not my strong point. On a more interesting note, has anyone got any info on the "fruit machine" fire control system used on British subs or other devices for finding firing angles used before the computer TDC on American fleet boats. Regards Chris