StarDestroyer.Net BBS

Extra 512mb RAM: £30
GeForce 7600GS video card: £80
Fotron 400W PSU: £40
Computer still not working: MADDENINGLY INFURIATING

Buying a new PSU seemed like such a good idea at the time; my last PSU was only 230V, so a power supply issue causing a graphics-related crashing problem was a logical conclusion. However, upon installing the new PSU, I still have exactly the same problem as before: when playing any game (I say any, the oldest I've tried is CS:S) my computer will either hang and get stuck in an infinity loop, or will crash to a blue screen where I'm told there's a problem with the file 'nv4_disp'. Repeated installations of drivers from the disc and online have had no effect; the only way I can play games is to switch my 7600 for my old GF MX440, on which CS runs fine. At this point, I have absolutely no idea what is causing this problem, or how to fix it. Any ideas?

I used to get that problem. I'm fairly certain I got rid of some of the problems by updating drivers, but the main issue was GPU overheat. These modern GeForces just don't have anywhere near a sufficient cooling solution out of the box, so even if all the other components in your computer are quite cool, trying to run any advanced graphics whatsoever can and will cause crashes.

Sounds like a bum video card to me. Play around with some drivers and stuff, and if nothing works, RMA time!

EDIT: And I know I shouldn't gloat, but didn't I tell you the PSU wasn't the problem in your first thread?

Also try unseating the GPU and reseating. Cleaning out the dust off everything with a vacuum cleaner while everything's apart is a fine and dandy thing to do as well. Try to see about increasing airflow too.

Do you have any monitoring software that'll tell you your computer's case temperature? I remember you saying that your Radeon 9800 had similar problems, and those have much the same power and thermal requirements as a GeForce 7600. Could be a heat issue.

Might it be something to do with my CPU, because I can't get the heat sink off (I think I'm supposed to press it then pull each side, but all that does is generate ominous creaking noises), so maybe there's crap in there and its overheating? Should I invest in a large fan to put next to the tower?

I had that problem. It went away when I lowered the voltage on my RAM.

Which I thought was weird since windows kept saying a device driver or specifically nv4_disp.dll was responsible.

How do I lower the voltage then?
I've tried installing the 84.21 version of the forceware drivers, but as the install starts to tun I get a message saying that 'Setup could not find any drivers compatible with your current hardware. Setup will now exit.'
I really need to get this fixed by the weekend, but I don't know what more to do.

there was a ram voltage option in my BIOS settings.

If it isn't there check the motherboard's user manual to see if there's a jumper to manage the DIMM voltage.

Ok in the last few hours I've taken one step forward and two back. Again.
By opening my window, shutting off my radiator and putting the open tower next to the window I managed to play FEAR for about an hour.

However, I now have a new problem. For no reason that I can discern, my computer has now taken to making squeaky noises, then crashing, at random intervals (including ending my run on FEAR). The sound appears to be coming from the HDD, and is as if its repeatedly trying to read the disc before quitting and crashing. I have no idea what's caused this, as it's utterly random with no apparent cause.

Consequently, I think I can pin down the first problem as an overheating issue, although I'm baffled as to why the comp decided to give me a blue screen complaining of a driver error rather than just crashing. Despite this, I'm now in a worse position, as the computer will now crash after its been on for a period of time whether I'm in-game or not. What's more, system restore refuses to work: I've tried to return to yesterday and friday, and both times it has failed.

I seem to be digging myself deeper into a hole no matter what I do here, so does anyone know of somewhere I can get more dedicated advice, be it a forum or whatever? I'm getting to the must-attack-tower-with-mallet stage here, on account of there has not been a point in time when my computer has functioned correctly for around 2 years, and whenever I find a way of fixing a problem, a new one is randomly generated.

You can also try cutting all the settings down to low or medium, just to see if that'll keep it from crashing. That basically solved my problems with HL2. It doesn't look as nice, but it doesn't have to in order to enjoy it.

And based on your last post, I'd say to take it into the place you bought it from (unless that place isn't a dedicated computer store, in which case, take it to a dedicated computer store or repair shop). Ask them to do a stress test and check the temps of components.

What made me lower the voltage on the ram is I had quite a bit of evidence that I was looking for an overheating problem. So I began underclocking everything I could. When I got to the ram, the problem was solved.

So perhaps you should start underclocking all the components you can.