AMD Athlon 64 X2 Dual Core Processor 4200+

Tunes · Nov 3, 2007, 10:45 PM

This has been happening ever since i bought this computer.
When i'm playing my online games (mainly Warcraft) it will randomly freeze.

Now normally i don't get an error message, but my graphics get all funky with little dots flickering all over the screen after this happens, and things inside the game start stretching very far.

Today for the first time though i got an error message and i'm hoping it'll lead to what's causing it to happen.

Quote:

VPU Recover was unable to fully recover from the hardware deadlock, and has switched to software rending. To restore hardware rendering, you must restart your computer.

I've searched google and this forum for answers, but no one has a solid answer to what is causing this.

If you guys can fix this for me.. i'll be the happiest person.
After a year of this happening i'm getting really sick of it!

Please help!

ChaosMinionX · Nov 4, 2007, 01:40 AM

Something with your videocard is crashing, how old is it, and could you post a little more info regarding your system specs?

Tunes · Nov 4, 2007, 02:38 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by ChaosMinionX

Something with your videocard is crashing, how old is it, and could you post a little more info regarding your system specs?

Sure.

Quote:

Manufacturer: Acer
System Model: Aspire E360
Memory: 1022MB RAM
Processor: AMD Athlon 64 X2 Dual Core Processor 4200+, MMX, 3DNow (2 CPUs)

----------------------------------

Name: RADEON X850 XT
Manufacturer: ATI Technologies Inc.
Chip Type: RADEON X850 XT (0x5G52)
DAC Type: Internal DAC(400MHz)
Approx. Total Memory: 256.0 MB
Current Display Mode: 1024 x 764
Monitor: Plug and Play Monitor

Main Driver: ati2dvag.dll
Version: 6.14.0010.6490
WHQL Logo'd: Yes
Mini VDD: ati2mtag.sys
VDD: N/A

I hope that's enough info.. If you need anymore just ask.

Also, i dont know exactly how old it is, the whole computer came as a package except the graphics card, i remember getting this computer last christmas i believe.

Dyre Straits · Nov 4, 2007, 02:56 AM

How long has it been since you gave the inside of your PC a really good cleaning? Check the fans that they're clean and working properly.

Tunes · Nov 4, 2007, 03:21 AM

Well it turns out there's basically a layer of dust ontop of my graphics card, and a lot of dust all around the whole case.

Do you think cleaning that out will fix it or will i need to take extra steps?
I currently only see two fans in my computer.. should i have more?

I'd really like to avoid this issue all together..

Thanks in advance!

Dyre Straits · Nov 4, 2007, 03:56 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Tunes

Well it turns out there's basically a layer of dust ontop of my graphics card, and a lot of dust all around the whole case.

Do you think cleaning that out will fix it or will i need to take extra steps?
I currently only see two fans in my computer.. should i have more?

I'd really like to avoid this issue all together..

Thanks in advance!

You need to shut down that baby, take it outside and give it a good ol' complete cleaning. Used canned air and make sure all the fans you do have are cleaned up real good. It's very highly likely that this is what has brought on the current problem. If you've caught it soon enough, a good cleaning may save your PC.

If your case is set up for it, a couple of good case fans will work wonders. Install one at the front pulling air in...and one at the back forcing air out.

Good luck!

Tunes · Nov 4, 2007, 10:27 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Dyre Straits

You need to shut down that baby, take it outside and give it a good ol' complete cleaning. Used canned air and make sure all the fans you do have are cleaned up real good. It's very highly likely that this is what has brought on the current problem. If you've caught it soon enough, a good cleaning may save your PC.

If your case is set up for it, a couple of good case fans will work wonders. Install one at the front pulling air in...and one at the back forcing air out.

Good luck!

Thanks a lot!
I appreciate the help.

I'm just wondering, you said "Save your PC"..
Does that mean i could have done permanent damage to it?

Stop It · Nov 4, 2007, 11:31 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Tunes

Thanks a lot!
I appreciate the help.

I'm just wondering, you said "Save your PC"..
Does that mean i could have done permanent damage to it?

Yes, put simply, heat causes silicon chips to gradually fail, which is the entire reason most computers use cooling fans, the build-up of dust causes computer parts (Specifically CPU/Gfx card) to have problems, as it acts as an insulator of heat, reducing cooling efficiency, artifacting/crashing are symptoms of a gfx card that has been overheating over a long period of time, much longer and thecard would have been permanently and irreparably damaged.

It cannot be stated enough how important computer maintenance is, both software wise (Registry/PC cleaner up etc), and hardware wise, which included regularly cleaning Fans, checking parts for potential failures (Hard-Drives and Ram for example, and there are testing suites for both that can serve as handy early warning tools), otherwise computer performance will gradually be reduced, and as you experienced, instability will occur.

Tunes · Nov 4, 2007, 07:51 PM

There was A LOT of dust clogging my graphics card fan which could not have been good.
So i unclogged it, cleaned the rest of the dust.
I'm going to also get 2 other fans to help get the heat out.

I'm going to see if it happens anymore.
If it does, i'll be sure to post it here.

Thanks for the great fast support guys.

Nov 4, 2007, 01:40 AM	#2
ChaosMinionX USB 3 dot oh Join Date: Nov 2006 Location: New York Posts: 2,182 Rep Power: 31 System Specs	Something with your videocard is crashing, how old is it, and could you post a little more info regarding your system specs? __________________ ::Heatware:: How you can help DriverHeaven by using Digg!

Nov 4, 2007, 03:21 AM	#5
Tunes DriverHeaven Newbie Join Date: Nov 2007 Posts: 5 Rep Power: 0	Well it turns out there's basically a layer of dust ontop of my graphics card, and a lot of dust all around the whole case. Do you think cleaning that out will fix it or will i need to take extra steps? I currently only see two fans in my computer.. should i have more? I'd really like to avoid this issue all together.. Thanks in advance!

Nov 4, 2007, 07:51 PM	#9
Tunes DriverHeaven Newbie Join Date: Nov 2007 Posts: 5 Rep Power: 0	There was A LOT of dust clogging my graphics card fan which could not have been good. So i unclogged it, cleaned the rest of the dust. I'm going to also get 2 other fans to help get the heat out. I'm going to see if it happens anymore. If it does, i'll be sure to post it here. Thanks for the great fast support guys.