Extensive crash problem

[DrBeast]

I hear you. Moving to a new place sucks. Done that a couple of times in my life. One such move involved a country jump (when I moved from Sweden to Greece, now you can stop wondering how come a greek knows swedish expressions, hehe!), and at the age of 12 it wasn't funny! But from my 12-year-long experience in Sweden, I've noticed that the general norm used to be "you're 18, now get yourself your own income and stop buggin us!". At least that was the norm in Stockholm suburbia back in the '80s. Completely opposite to the norm in Greece (and mediterranean countries in general, AFAIK). Anyway, hope things will work out for you! Being away from a favorite game is a real bitch, I know! I had to stay at my (computer-less) home during the weekend as my g/f's mom and sister decided to drop by, and I really can't wait till tomorrow when they'll go home! Oh well, at least I had the chance to read The Hitch-hiker's Guide to the Galaxy again. It's been AGES since I last read that trilogy!

[Qosmic]

Sorry for the late response. Since I got the game to work, I've been pretty much simming non stop. I'm gonna start study again in a short while (it's been years since last time), so I better seize the opportunity while I have some time on my hands.

  I did wonder about the expressions. My theory was that you'd learned some because so many Swedish tourists come to Greece. So, you're born in Sweden/Stockholm by Greece parents, yeah? Stockholm is the city where I'm currently living, also in the suburb (Blackeberg/Bromma). I've almost moved to Ireland twice, but changed plans the last minute both times. As for Greece, all of my family except me has been there. I'm sure I will go some day too. I love to travel, when my starved wallet allows me. 

That triology is on my "to read" list. I'm almost ashamed I haven't read it yet. I used to be a real bookworm. My younger sister always talk about it. But I have some severe issues with "should'ves", it can cause me to procrastinate everything, even fun stuff. I probably should see a therapist about it, but obviously I never do. 

I hear you. Moving to a new place sucks. Done that a couple of times in my life. One such move involved a country jump (when I moved from Sweden to Greece, now you can stop wondering how come a greek knows swedish expressions, hehe!), and at the age of 12 it wasn't funny! But from my 12-year-long experience in Sweden, I've noticed that the general norm used to be "you're 18, now get yourself your own income and stop buggin us!". At least that was the norm in Stockholm suburbia back in the '80s. Completely opposite to the norm in Greece (and mediterranean countries in general, AFAIK). Anyway, hope things will work out for you! Being away from a favorite game is a real bitch, I know! I had to stay at my (computer-less) home during the weekend as my g/f's mom and sister decided to drop by, and I really can't wait till tomorrow when they'll go home! Oh well, at least I had the chance to read The Hitch-hiker's Guide to the Galaxy again. It's been AGES since I last read that trilogy!

[DrBeast]

Sorry for the late response. Since I got the game to work, I've been pretty much simming non stop. I'm gonna start study again in a short while (it's been years since last time), so I better seize the opportunity while I have some time on my hands.

Studying? What's that? Ah yes, vaguely remember! I'm done studying since 2001! Now I'm researching, which is basically studying too but hey, it sounds WAY cooler doesn't it?!

I did wonder about the expressions. My theory was that you'd learned some because so many Swedish tourists come to Greece. So, you're born in Sweden/Stockholm by Greece parents, yeah? Stockholm is the city where I'm currently living, also in the suburb (Blackeberg/Bromma). I've almost moved to Ireland twice, but changed plans the last minute both times. As for Greece, all of my family except me has been there. I'm sure I will go some day too. I love to travel, when my starved wallet allows me. 

Yup, my folks immigrated to Sweden in 1966. We lived in Helenelund, Sollentuna. My older brother still lives there, and a cousin lives in Haninge. I visit them every couple of years or so. Sweden IS a wonderful place to visit, but I'd never contemplate actually LIVING there again. Nah, Greece ain't such a bad place to live in you know! You really should come, you'll love it!

That trilogy is on my "to read" list. I'm almost ashamed I haven't read it yet. I used to be a real bookworm. My younger sister always talk about it. But I have some severe issues with "should'ves", it can cause me to procrastinate everything, even fun stuff. I probably should see a therapist about it, but obviously I never do. 

Yah, you really should read those books. The last one, the fifth ("Mostly Harmless"), is pretty "meh", but the first three will give you laughing cramps!
Therapist eh? When I'm done with Windy_moon's session, maybe you should pay me a visit! But it can take a while, she's a VERY serious case! Can't get her off the smokes and the Wild Turkey!

Anyway, glad you got your problems sorted out! It was a defect motherbard then, right?

[Qosmic]

Studying? What's that? Ah yes, vaguely remember! I'm done studying since 2001! Now I'm researching, which is basically studying too but hey, it sounds WAY cooler doesn't it?!

Last time for me was back in 2000. Yep, researching sounds cooler, I agree.   

Yup, my folks immigrated to Sweden in 1966. We lived in Helenelund, Sollentuna. My older brother still lives there, and a cousin lives in Haninge. I visit them every couple of years or so. Sweden IS a wonderful place to visit, but I'd never contemplate actually LIVING there again. Nah, Greece ain't such a bad place to live in you know! You really should come, you'll love it!

I'm sure I would. Or will, since I DO plan to come over. 

Yah, you really should read those books. The last one, the fifth ("Mostly Harmless"), is pretty "meh", but the first three will give you laughing cramps!
Therapist eh? When I'm done with Windy_moon's session, maybe you should pay me a visit! But it can take a while, she's a VERY serious case! Can't get her off the smokes and the Wild Turkey!

There's 5? I thought there were three. *trying to remember what sister said*
  You take patients? How many simoleons per hour do you charge? 

Anyway, glad you got your problems sorted out! It was a defect motherbard then, right?

Motherboard and PSU, yes. Being without a computer proved to me once and for all my life isn't worth living without it. 

[radiophonic]

If VPU recover goes into an endless loop, it's because whatever was causing the video card to fail is still causing it to fail immediately after being reset. The most likely culprit would be overheating, if the card runs fine for awhile, but then freaks out until you give up on it, then runs fine again..

EDIT: Oh, problem solved.  Disregard.

In my case, the voltage regulator for the AGP power supply died. My card would reset, reset again and then finally, blue screen.

If you're having video reset problems, it could be the board, the power supply or the card.

If your machine came with monitoring software (ie. for voltage, fan speed and temperature - many ASUS boards come with this software) you may wish to try running that and keeping an eye on the meters. Mind you, don't run the game since you'll likely crash and never be able to see the info. Watch for spikes or drops in voltage, fan speed and temperature.

There are many, many variables that can cause the machine to crash and they're probably beyond the scope of forums. The best thing you can do is take the machine to a shop and have them test it out for you. If you have a warranty, save your data to a CD and take it in for repairs.

[DrBeast]

Yah, you really should read those books. The last one, the fifth ("Mostly Harmless"), is pretty "meh", but the first three will give you laughing cramps!
Therapist eh? When I'm done with Windy_moon's session, maybe you should pay me a visit! But it can take a while, she's a VERY serious case! Can't get her off the smokes and the Wild Turkey!

There's 5? I thought there were three. *trying to remember what sister said*
  You take patients? How many simoleons per hour do you charge? 

I sure do. As long as they have four legs and bark or meow!  Windy was a bipedal exception, hehe!
Oh and The Hitch-hiker's Guide is a trilogy consisting of five books. Confused? Blame the writer, though you'll have to overcome the slight obstacle of him being dead...

Anyway, glad you got your problems sorted out! It was a defect motherbard then, right?

Motherboard and PSU, yes. Being without a computer proved to me once and for all my life isn't worth living without it. 

Heh, welcome to the club of Computer Junkies!

[Qosmic]

I sure do. As long as they have four legs and bark or meow!  Windy was a bipedal exception, hehe!
Oh and The Hitch-hiker's Guide is a trilogy consisting of five books. Confused? Blame the writer, though you'll have to overcome the slight obstacle of him being dead...

I do neither, and all my cats are perfectly sane, according to themselves anyway,  so I guess we don't need your services after all. 

Heh, welcome to the club of Computer Junkies!

Thanks! But I've been a members for years already. Sad enough. 

[Qosmic]

EDIT: Oh, problem solved.  Disregard.

Thanks for the suggestions nonetheless!

[DrBeast]

I do neither, and all my cats are perfectly sane, according to themselves anyway,  so I guess we don't need your services after all. 

You know, I've yet to see a cat or a dog jump up on the examination table and tell me "Doctor, I'm feeling a bit down today..." 

[Qosmic]

You know, I've yet to see a cat or a dog jump up on the examination table and tell me "Doctor, I'm feeling a bit down today..." 

Of course not. They're superior beings, didn't you know? 

[Chanco]

I don't know if this has been suggested yet but hears my advice.
This sound more like of a hardware problem then software, however I could be wrong. You said your video card was getting hot and you put in a better fan to keep it cool, that's great. But Some times when you upgrade a hardware component it requires more voltage you maybe sucking up the power of you power supple and it might not have enough voltage left to run all you hardware and software or the power supple could be overheating .You shouldn't run a p4 under anything less than 450 power supple and that's a minimum, and more hardware you add the more voltage you need even if it just a case fan.
Overheating is a killer in a computer if you could I would have your motherboard, cpu, video card and memory check to make sure you didn't burn out any of this hardware oh and the power supple.

[radiophonic]

I don't know if this has been suggested yet but hears my advice.
This sound more like of a hardware problem then software, however I could be wrong. You said your video card was getting hot and you put in a better fan to keep it cool, that's great. But Some times when you upgrade a hardware component it requires more voltage you maybe sucking up the power of you power supple and it might not have enough voltage left to run all you hardware and software or the power supple could be overheating .You shouldn't run a p4 under anything less than 450 power supple and that's a minimum, and more hardware you add the more voltage you need even if it just a case fan.
Overheating is a killer in a computer if you could I would have your motherboard, cpu, video card and memory check to make sure you didn't burn out any of this hardware oh and the power supple.

The amount of current drawn by a small PC fan isn't enough to seriously stress a machine. A faulty card can be as it can stress voltage regulators, run hot and suck excess power or just plain short circuit.

A 450 watt power supply on the other hand is a fine idea, in fact you'll be hard pressed to find anything smaller these days. Since in general more heat=more current draw.