DDO causing computer reset

[LA_MIKE]

While running the game, my computer resets. I lose power for an instant, then the whole system powers up again.

I don't get any error messages. I've set the computer to not reboot upon crashing.

This only happens when playing this game.

I've got the latest NVIDIA GeForce 7800 GTX drivers. My sound card, Creative X-Fi XtremeMusic model #0460, has working drivers, but the latest ones cause the computer to shutdown very slowly.

Running Windows XP Media Center Edition on my Dell XPS.

Any thought what's going on, or how I can find some error log?

Thanks.

[Delt]

Most common cause for something like that is power issues (insufficient or dying power supply and/or source). Heating issues are a close second. Rolling back your nvidia drivers is an easy option to test as well.

You can always check your event log and see if anything pops up. You can try disabling the automatic reboot on critical error, see if you get a proper blue screen.

[LA_MIKE]

Hi Delt.

I should mention that I formatted the computer and fresh-installed everything to try fixing, but the issue persists.

I turned all of my game settings all the way down.

I blew the dust out of the case.

I took the cover off the case, but it didn't help. I tested whether it happens first thing in the morning, and it does, while everything's cold.

I booted into Safe mode, uninstalled my drivers, rebooted, and reinstalled drivers. Multiple versions. I even tried running with just the default WinXP drivers.

Nothing I've done changed to explain this behavior. Everything worked one day, and doesn't the next. Since the issue persists after a clean install, I'm pretty sure some hardware is dying. With no error messages to guide me, the only guess I had was the power supply. But I'm pulling that out of thin air.

The Event Viewer doesn't list anything.

I disabled Automatic Reboot on critical error a long time ago.

It figures that I wait all year for adventure packs to go 50% off, only to have my computer betray me.

Thanks anyway for your thoughts.

[Meetch1972]

So...

What power supply do you have? If it's as old as your graphics card may be, and around 300W, then it's possibly in the initial throes of failing. You'll probably find that something in DDO is causing your card to work just that little harder than anything else you run on it, and that few extra watts of power draw is pushing it over the edge - which is where the PSU overload protection kicks in and it resets. A PSU replacement for $60+ will most likely resolve that.

Another possibility - if the card is particularly old it MAY be overheating due to crusted up heatsink compound which is inefficient. I replaced the compound on all the chips on my 8800GTS a year or so ago (first time I'd ever done it on a graphics card), and that dropped the running temp by a good 10 degrees over just blowing the dust out.

If you get the right software I believe it's also possible to monitor the core temperature of your GPU while you're working it hard. You may be able to confirm the problem by running an NVidia benchmark test and see if it dies during that. Especially as it ages, running at over 80C is definitely something to worry about - could be more, could be less.

It's usually the PSU or GPU that causes problems first. CPU issues are a smaller possibility.

[Smitey]

I'm pretty sure some hardware is dying.

If:

This only happens when playing this game

Your system is fine running Windows but other demanding games also cause an immediate power reset with no warning then I concur LA_MIKE - what model is your Dell XPS and is it outside of warranty (I'm guessing it is if it has a GeForce 7800)?

I lose power for an instant, then the whole system powers up again

This does indicate the problem is hardware related and could be motherboard; CPU or power supply (brownout of home elecritcity is also a slim possibility)

Diagnosing at home would be a case of replacing each component (normally starting with the cheapest first) or a decent independant computer store should be able to determine which of those three are at fault.

[LA_MIKE]

Hi guys,

I came back to update, not expecting other responses since I received no email notifications despite having subscribed to the thread. Ah well.

I downloaded LotRO, set everything to hi-res and ten minutes later the computer reset. I'm removing DDO as the exclusive issue, which is progress.

I also opened the case and removed the graphics card, hoping to find mounds of dirt, but it looked pretty good. I was apprehensive about going further. I would have liked to have done the same thing with the power supply, the front fan, etc. There was more debris within that I cleared with air, but the issue persists.

I'm going to re-open the case and identify the hardware.

The power supply is supposed to have a sticker, which I cannot see, so I assume it's hidden.

I bought the computer in February 2006. The receipt shows the following:
------------------------------------
DELL XPS 400
Pentium® D Processor 840 with Dual Core Technology (3.20GHz, 800FSB)

Memory
4GB Dual Channel DDR2 SDRAM at 533MHz- 4DIMMs

Video Cards
256MB Nvidia GeForce 7800 GTX
(drivers updated)
(tested current drivers, as well as numerous older ones)

Hard Drives
500GB Serial ATA II Hard Drive (7200RPM) w/DataBurst Cache

Operating System
Genuine Windows® XP Media Center 2005 Edition
(reformatted to Windows Professional via recovery CD)

Sound
Sound Blaster® X-Fi™ XtremeMusic (D), w/Dolby® Digital 5.1
(drivers updated)

Warranty expired.
-------------------------------------------
All components are the same age, just about 5 years. I'm going to ID the power supply, then run tests to monitor the temperatures.

Also, when I lose power and reset, nothing else in the home loses power.

I'll report my findings soon, and thanks for your thoughts.

[LA_MIKE]

The sticker on the power supply was hidden, but I got to it:

DYNEX
Model: DX400WPS
AC Input: 110/220V~, 60/50hz, 10/5A
Serial: 8C027697
Fan Controlled ATX 12V Power Supply
DC Output: +5V=28A (Red), +12V1=14A (Yellow), +3. 3V=30A (Orange), PG (Gray), +12V2 =15A (Yellow/Black), -12V=0. 3A (Blue), +5VSB=2 .5A (Purple)
Output Wats 400W, +5V, +3. 3V=120W

Wow, if you know what that means, I salute you.

[LA_MIKE]

Downloaded and ran a Nvidia Benchmark test:

NVIDIA Metal Knight Zero PhysX Benchmark

It ran for 2 minutes, then crashed the system, exaclty like my main issue.

Is "crashed the system" the correct terminology for a sudden loss of power leading to a reset?

[Smitey]

It ran for 2 minutes, then crashed the system, exaclty like my main issue.

Is "crashed the system" the correct terminology for a sudden loss of power leading to a reset?

Definitions that may help:

DDO crashed = The client came to a halt and returned you to the destop with/without an error message
PC crashed = The operating system experienced a fault so pauses; may display a blue screen or go black; monitor does not immediately go into standby but then OS restarts the machine automatically.
Power loss = The PC gives no warning; split second complete cessation of everything; all front indicator lights go out and monitor indicates powersave mode; then PC pauses for a few seconds and then powers back up.

So basically a power loss would be like switching off at the socket and then on again; PC crashing will have more of a pause.

[LA_MIKE]

Thanks Smitey.

Running some tests:

[dopey69]

running a fan at your vid card with the case off. if this extra cooling gives you more time between crashes I say your vid card is over heating. I had the same card in an older comp and had the same problem .worked for a couple of months with the fan thingy and then packed it in .

[LA_MIKE]

Sounds good, I'll try that now.

I should mention that this issue also occurs first thing in the morning after the computer has been off all night. I don't know if that matters, because if the graphics card is overheating, who am I to gauge just how fast the sucker heats up and shuts down.

I also wanted to mention something I did which might be a culprit. Two months ago, my graphics card was making a lot of noise inside the case while playing games. Sometimes I could tap the case and the sound would go away, other times it wouldn't. Mind you, I didn't beat upon the case. I decided to release the locking mechanism for the side of the case, and leave it open a crack. Because the case door was now not fully closed, the stressed graphic card rattle was now unheard. I never thought that something might be wrong with the card and it should be looked after. So it seems that be circumventing the noise and leaving the case unsealed, perhaps this led to my current issue. Maybe dust got in more than should have? Maybe the flow of air from the fans was disrupted and proper cooling hasn't been going on for two months?

Opening the case last night, there didn't appear to be a shocking amount of foreign material within.

[LA_MIKE]

I opened my computer case and placed a room fan on high infront of it. The computer lost power after two minutes and restarted iteslf. Still no error messages.

I also ran another benchmark test using PC Wizard 2010. During the DirectX 3D Billboarding Benchmark test, the computer lost power. With this Wizard running along with DDO, I monitored a low temperature for the graphics card (out of game) at 43 degrees C, and a high (in game, reset after 2 minutes) at 50 degrees C. That can't possibly be too hot . .

[LA_MIKE]

I installed Prime95 to perform some stress testing. This is wierd because I didn't see a graphical test being performed. Nontheless, my computer lost power after two minutes of stress testing.

From the Prime95 readme:

"Today's computers are not perfect. Even brand new systems from major manufacturers can have hidden flaws. If any of several key components such as CPU, memory, cooling, etc. are not up to spec, it can lead to incorrect calculations and/or unexplained system crashes. Overclocking is the practice of increasing the speed of the CPU and/or memory to make a machine faster at little cost. Typically, overclocking involves pushing a machine past its limits and then backing off just a little bit.

For these reasons, both non-overclockers and overclockers need programs that test the stability of their computers. This is done by running programs that put a heavy load on the computer. Though not originally designed for this purpose, this program is one of a few programs that are excellent at stress testing a computer.

This program is a good stress test for the CPU, memory, L1 and L2 caches, CPU cooling, and case cooling. The torture test runs continuously, comparing your computer's results to results that are known to be correct. Any mismatch and you've got a problem! Note that the torture test sometimes reads from and writes to disk but cannot be considered a stress test for hard drives.

You'll need other programs to stress video cards, PCI bus, disk access, networking and other important components. In addition, this is only one of several good programs that are freely available. Some people report finding problems only when running two or more stress test programs concurrently. You may need to raise prime95's priority when running two stress test programs so that each gets about 50% of the CPU time."

I'm wondering what the return policy is on buying components for testing purposes. Will Best Buy let me return a power supply if I find the one I already own isn't defective? Or a graphics card?

[LA_MIKE]

Installed SpeedFan . I was able to get in game for about five minutes before power loss. Reported idle temperatures of the GPU/HD/Core at 40 degrees C, and at the time of failure 63 degrees on the GPU.

I'm able to get in game, and everything looks fine. In my opinion, things are worsening because at the start of the week, I could last an hour or more before the random reset. Trying to get back in immediately after almost always led to a reset within five minutes. Now, I'm experiencing the failure right away within five minutes.

Still trying to find a way to stop the PC from losing power and resetting. I'd give anything for a BSOD/error msg.

[uhgungawa]

Thanks Smitey.

Running some tests:

Temps look fine. here's an updated version of that, give a bit more info
http://www.cpuid.com/softwares/hwmonitor.html

and this can help as well with monitoring
http://www.cpuid.com/softwares/cpu-z.html

**EDIT** also check your registry for errors. I use Iobit (just cause it's brainless) http://www.iobit.com/advancedsystemcareper.html#none

[LA_MIKE]

Great, thanks!

The problem I have has been occurring for a couple of weeks. I reformatted my system the other day, and it's still here. Otherwise, I agree that a registry error could have contributed.

[uhgungawa]

Just an FYI, that card is might old, but I have run DDO off of a 5XXX series card straight off the MB. But ****, I'm jealous of your temps. My 9800GT starts at 63 Degrees

[LA_MIKE]

Yep, the whole system is 5 years old come February. DDO and a slew of other games played fine up until a few weeks ago on my current rig.

I really was hoping something about DDO broke my box, but again, other games and stress tests also cause my power loss.

Don't be jealous of a computer that can't play games!

By the way, I installed and ran the RESIDENT EVIL 5 Benchmark Version. The tests completed successfully without any power loss. Well, if you can call 12 FPS a success. Uugh.

[MsEricka]

Replace the power supply if you are unable to test it with a load tester.

After 5 years of use, the capacitors are busy drying up and failing under load.