Help me diagnose my PC crashing!

[jeffro11]

I still think it's the video card. Try another one if you have one. If you don't get the same results... It's the video card.

[enderfall]

I still think it's the video card. Try another one if you have one. If you don't get the same results... It's the video card.

If you or a friend has another video card that you could swap in, that would help take it off the table.

Two more votes for the video card.... As sad as this sounds, I don't have any local gamer friends . I suppose I could try ebay, but who's to say I won't be buying someone else's junk. Maybe I can contact XFX for tech support and they can send me a new card? Suppose that's my best option right now.

My suggestions, try ALT+TABing the black screen, or CTRL+SHIFT+ESC to bring up the task manager.

Last suggestion, run in window mode to see if it repros.

I think it could be a prompt dialog throwing you out of whack. That makes sense to me, EXCEPT for Bioshock, as that game does not access the net at all as far as I know...

Ctl+Alt+Del does nothing, the whole computer gets locked up. Tried running ME in windowed mode and same problem. Whole screen goes black, can't get back to the desktop. That game doesn't access the internet either, plus I'm playing the Single Player Campaign of Borderlands anyway, so while UAC is active, I don't think that's a problem.

[avrame]

Hmm, shame that the whole PC locks up...

for a gfx card, you could always buy one at bestbuy, test it out to see if there is a GPU issue, then return it. As long as you give them a good reason, normally they'll waive the restocking fee. Tell them it's incompatable with a monitor, and leaves a black ring around the desktop (happens on my Insignia tv).

[enderfall]

Hmm, shame that the whole PC locks up...

for a gfx card, you could always buy one at bestbuy, test it out to see if there is a GPU issue, then return it. As long as you give them a good reason, normally they'll waive the restocking fee. Tell them it's incompatable with a monitor, and leaves a black ring around the desktop (happens on my Insignia tv).

LOL, "incompatible with a monitor".... that actually works? What do you tell them, you thought it had DVI output, but it's HDMI only...after opening the box??

[sevin0seven]

Two more votes for the video card.... As sad as this sounds, I don't have any local gamer friends . I suppose I could try ebay, but who's to say I won't be buying someone else's junk. Maybe I can contact XFX for tech support and they can send me a new card? Suppose that's my best option right now.

don't forget me. we have an almost identical video card. i have a XFX Radeon HD4870 512MB on my rig. if your just testing it for error you can borrow one of my ATI Radeon low end card to see if it's the video card that's giving you the issue.

[enderfall]

Two more votes for the video card.... As sad as this sounds, I don't have any local gamer friends . I suppose I could try ebay, but who's to say I won't be buying someone else's junk. Maybe I can contact XFX for tech support and they can send me a new card? Suppose that's my best option right now.

don't forget me. we have an almost identical video card. i have a XFX Radeon HD4870 512MB on my rig. if your just testing it for error you can borrow one of my ATI Radeon low end card to see if it's the video card that's giving you the issue.

I didn't forget about you sevin, I just didn't want to impose . I'll PM you so we can work something out.

[avrame]

Hmm, shame that the whole PC locks up...

for a gfx card, you could always buy one at bestbuy, test it out to see if there is a GPU issue, then return it. As long as you give them a good reason, normally they'll waive the restocking fee. Tell them it's incompatable with a monitor, and leaves a black ring around the desktop (happens on my Insignia tv).

LOL, "incompatible with a monitor".... that actually works? What do you tell them, you thought it had DVI output, but it's HDMI only...after opening the box??

Haha, nah, nothing that simple. The Insignia tv was 720p certified, but 1080i 'capable'. I attempted to display the 720p using my DVI out on the GFX card, and I got a 720p image on a 1080p screen. Imagine the blackbar you get from watching widescreen on a 4:3 tv, but on all sides...

Simple solution, why not try 1080p then if it's attempting to force my 720p to display a 1080p image. BAM, "Incompatable signal quality: Check cable". Returned

[Hobie-wan]

Already lots of suggestions, but the pretty sure way to rule out overheating is to take the side case off, point a table fan at it and see if the problem goes away.

Unless I missed it, Windows event logs haven't been checked. After a crash and reboot, go to Control Panel > Admin tools > event viewer. Check Application and System. Look for any warnings or errors around the time or on the reboot after the crash. Application stuff generally indicated driver issues or software conflicts. System usually indicates hardware problems or deep windows issues.

[s1mplehumar]

Try disabling AI in Catalyst (under 3D tab). I have a pair of Radeon 4870s in crossfire and have had my fair share of battles with this card.

Also, is your GPU set to stock settings?

[enderfall]

Already lots of suggestions, but the pretty sure way to rule out overheating is to take the side case off, point a table fan at it and see if the problem goes away.

Unless I missed it, Windows event logs haven't been checked. After a crash and reboot, go to Control Panel > Admin tools > event viewer. Check Application and System. Look for any warnings or errors around the time or on the reboot after the crash. Application stuff generally indicated driver issues or software conflicts. System usually indicates hardware problems or deep windows issues.

I checked the event log. It did not show anything. Keep in mind, I only installed Win 7 a couple days ago and have had at least 3 hard crashes. 1 today, and at least 2 yesterday. Here is a screenshot: