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RPGDot Forums > Absolutely Off Topic

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Gurdof
Village Dweller
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Joined: 16 Feb 2005
Posts: 3
Technical problem
   

I bought a new computer a year ago, and everything was working perfectly untill a few months ago, the computer now when I'm playing any game makes a weird squeaking noise and after a couple of minutes shuts down and I can't turn it on again untill I've switched off the power and then switched it on again. Does anybody know what should I do because I'm growing desperate, I can't play Sith lords with these constant distractions.Please, anybody?
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Post Wed Feb 16, 2005 10:42 pm
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cfmdobbie
High Emperor
High Emperor




Joined: 01 Jul 2002
Posts: 1859
Location: London, England
   

Random shutdowns are likely going to be one of the following:

  • Overheating
  • Bad memory
  • Malware


You always do the easiest thing first, so update your virus definitions, perform a full scan, and install some anti-spyware tools.

Overheating is usually caused by a malfunctioning or dead fan somewhere - and a squeaking sound is possibly another pointer towards this. See if you can localise that squeaking to the CPU fan or the power supply. If you're confident with computers, try carefully brushing or knocking any dust off the fans, being careful to get rid of it instead of moving it onto a different component.

If that doesn't turn anything up, search Google for some RAM checking utilities - you usually leave them running and they hammer your RAM looking for bad reads. If any are found, the only thing you can do is ditch the malfunctioning DIMM and buy a new one.


Warning: No one can be held responsible for any damage to your computer but you! If you don't understand anything written above, it's best not to mess - take the machine to a repair shop and see if they can diagnose the problem instead.
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Post Thu Feb 17, 2005 12:58 am
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Gorath
Mostly Harmless
Mostly Harmless




Joined: 03 Sep 2001
Posts: 6327
Location: NRW, Germany
   

You could use your computer with the case open. If the additional fresh air makes it stable itīs an indicator for heat problems.
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Post Thu Feb 17, 2005 6:33 am
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Gurdof
Village Dweller
Village Dweller




Joined: 16 Feb 2005
Posts: 3
   

Thanks, I'll try some of these things, even though for some I'll have to go to a computer shop cause I'm not sure I wouldn't destroy something. Thanks, again
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Post Thu Feb 17, 2005 8:39 am
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Danicek
The Old One
The Old One




Joined: 15 Dec 2001
Posts: 5922
Location: Czech Republic
   

Random shutdown (could be overheating) + strange noice (could be malfunctioning CPU fan or/and GPU fan).
Post Thu Feb 17, 2005 10:11 am
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Gorath
Mostly Harmless
Mostly Harmless




Joined: 03 Sep 2001
Posts: 6327
Location: NRW, Germany
   

You can see it as a good opportunity to learn these things.

Before you do anything: burn your personal data, emails and savegames to a CD. Just in case something bad happens.
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Post Thu Feb 17, 2005 11:13 am
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Toaster
Bread Alert
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Joined: 27 Jan 2003
Posts: 5475
Location: Sweden
   

But having to switch off power before being able to start again could be an indicator of RAM problems, although also I think overheating is your problem. You should really do as Gorath says and burn important files that are hard to replace to a CD.
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Post Thu Feb 17, 2005 1:06 pm
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vesselle
Head Merchant
Head Merchant




Joined: 02 Aug 2001
Posts: 70
Location: on justin's lap
Re: Technical problem
   

quote:
Originally posted by Gurdof
I bought a new computer a year ago, and everything was working perfectly untill a few months ago, the computer now when I'm playing any game makes a weird squeaking noise and after a couple of minutes shuts down and I can't turn it on again untill I've switched off the power and then switched it on again. Does anybody know what should I do because I'm growing desperate, I can't play Sith lords with these constant distractions.Please, anybody?


do yourself a favor, after you've run both of these great freebies:
Ad-Aware Personal Edition http://www.lavasoft.com/
Spybot: Search and Destroy (to get rid of unwanted viruses, trojans, spyware and malware) http://www.safer-networking.org/en/download/index.html
and taken the other advice offered in the previous posts, by downloading MBM (motherboard monitor) http://mbm.livewiredev.com/

it will monitor the temps and status of your cpu, psu, heat, fans/cooling, hard drives, various voltages, etc to let you know what's causing your problem. it's free, easy to set up and even easier to monitor. its a small proggie that sits in your systray and runs whenever you're using your system.

good luck!

V***V
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Post Sat Feb 26, 2005 9:07 am
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