Extensive crash problem

[DrBeast]

I discovered something odd yesterday though. When running dxdiag (which tells me nothing is wrong...), it says "Intel(R) Pentium(R) 4 CPU 3.00 GHz (2 CPUs)" I went to look at System in my control panel, and it looks as if I really do have two CPUs (I have two identical entries under the CPU tab). It's a shame I didn't see this before the reformatting, as I don't know if this was the case before too. Does this means my computer thinks I really have two CPUs? Could this possibly be the seed of my problem, os is it simply a symptom of my harddrive losing it?

Nah, that's just the hyperthreading technology that most P4 processors utilize, and that entry is perfectly normal. Regarding your hard drive, does it sound at all funny? Can you perform a scandisk to check for bad sectors? Oh, and how powerful is your power supply unit? If it's old and/or low quality maybe these crashes are a sign that your PSU is kicking the bucket.

[Qosmic]

I'm not sure what you mean by sound funny, DrBeast. My computer has always been very loud, but I'm guessing that isn't the harddrive. Before my dad's harddrive got fried, he said it made strange chopping noises. Is that what you mean? The scandisk doesn't come up with anything. That's a bit strange if it's the harddrive, huh? My power supply unit is a year old. I bought all parts of the computer except for the CD ROM drives and the graphic card fan a year ago, so it's fairly new. Didn't put it together myself, it was a guy at the computer store where I bought it that did that. I'm not sure how powerful the power supply unit it is. Where can I find out?

[ZephyrZodiac]

When I first installled Sims2 I had very similar problems, even though I apparently had enough memory.  In the end I had to have the whole system completely rebuilt (but luckily it only cost me the price of the parts as my friend's partner did it for me.)  But I had to have a new Power Unit, which meant a new and more powerful CPU, which meant a new Motherboard!  But in the process I also gained a second hard drive - less RAM, but otherwise functioning adequately for Sims2 without EPs.

[DrBeast]

Qosmic: yep, strange = grating, clicking, chopping sounds. To find out how powerful your PSU is, open the computer case (you've already done it before I assume, as you mentioned you cleaned the GPU fan, right?) and look for a tag on the PSU where it states brand, watt output, and possibly some voltage/amperage outputs as well. The tag is either on the side or on top of the PSU, so you might have to remove both and/or the top case pieces to view it.

ZZ: why on earth would a new PSU mean a new CPU and m/b?! Unless you decided to get the new CPU since you had the juice and the m/b because your old one didn't support the CPU...

[Qosmic]

Yeah... I'm afraid of that. It's never fun to have to spend a lot of money on something that 's not working, but in my case, I really don't have it. I can afford one or perhaps two new components if I only eat pasta this month (and I will, if I have to), but more than that is just impossible. I have nothing else than food to cut back on right now. Especially since I bought this one only a year ago only to be able to play TS2. I had just got my parent's old one, that was better than mine, and although it worked like a charm for everything else it made playing TS2 a pain in the butt, so I convinced my folks to loan me the money for a new one. And I haven't completely paid them back yet either... I was so careful when deciding where to buy it and what to put in it, did a lot of research and asked around in every single store in my town. But since I have very limited knowledge about hardware, I had to trust the sales people what they said I should get and how things should be, and sometimes too little knowledge means you don't know what questions to ask. I was all caught up in video cards, CPUs and RAM as that was what made the game so hard to play on the other one. And I was on a very strict budget, which was why I had to keep everything possible from the old one, like network card, CD drives, floppy and everything external like screen, keyboard, speakers etc. 

When I first installled Sims2 I had very similar problems, even though I apparently had enough memory.  In the end I had to have the whole system completely rebuilt (but luckily it only cost me the price of the parts as my friend's partner did it for me.)  But I had to have a new Power Unit, which meant a new and more powerful CPU, which meant a new Motherboard!  But in the process I also gained a second hard drive - less RAM, but otherwise functioning adequately for Sims2 without EPs.

[ZephyrZodiac]

Well, because I was having everything upgraded and it made sense!  Besides, I didn't get rid of the old stuff - that was used to build the second HD!

[Qosmic]

Qosmic: yep, strange = grating, clicking, chopping sounds. To find out how powerful your PSU is, open the computer case (you've already done it before I assume, as you mentioned you cleaned the GPU fan, right?) and look for a tag on the PSU where it states brand, watt output, and possibly some voltage/amperage outputs as well. The tag is either on the side or on top of the PSU, so you might have to remove both and/or the top case pieces to view it.

No strange noises, no. I've checked the PSU, and although I was a little confused about all the text on it, I wrote down what seemed to be what you meant. It says it's a Macron MPT-550. Under Input it says 230V-4.5A 50 Hz and under Outut it says 550 W MAX. I'm Swedish and we usually have 230V 50 Hz sockets here, if that makes any difference.

[DrBeast]

Qosmic: yep, strange = grating, clicking, chopping sounds. To find out how powerful your PSU is, open the computer case (you've already done it before I assume, as you mentioned you cleaned the GPU fan, right?) and look for a tag on the PSU where it states brand, watt output, and possibly some voltage/amperage outputs as well. The tag is either on the side or on top of the PSU, so you might have to remove both and/or the top case pieces to view it.

No strange noises, no. I've checked the PSU, and although I was a little confused about all the text on it, I wrote down what seemed to be what you meant. It says it's a Macron MPT-550. Under Input it says 230V-4.5A 50 Hz and under Outut it says 550 W MAX. I'm Swedish and we usually have 230V 50 Hz sockets here, if that makes any difference.

Late reply, I was on a lunch break, sorry!
Well, even if your PSU was complete crap, I still think it'd be able to support your system with that kind of max output. Oh, and if you tried to plug in a 220V appliance to a power line with another voltage, it would either a) not work at all, b) get fried instantly, or c) the other two options combined! 
OK, I'm out of ideas as to what to blame right now. Maybe a technician should take over from here.
Lycka till! 

[Qosmic]

Hey, I'm just glad anyone's bothering with this thread. 

TACK! 

[Qosmic]

Just in case anyone's interested (and because I feel like it ) : I went into town today and talked to some people in different computer stores. About 5 or 6 different places, I think. They all said that they suspect it's a bad RAM stick. Right now I'm debating with myself whether or not to pay $ 49 to get a technician to determine if that's what's wrong for sure, or to take a chance and buy a new stick myself. I'm leaning towards the first, although it probably means I won't have money for the stick itself for another month. I have two 512 sticks though, so even if it's the RAM, hopefully one of them is ok. As for the game, I do need a new disc. I feel awful about it, but I think I might do it anyway. It's a lot of money for a game I already have, but on the other hand, if I can't play, then the money I've already paid (for NL and uni too) is a waste, not to mention the subscription/donation downloads I've given in to over the past year. I've bookmarked a used copy on an online auction that I might bid on. The seller claims she's only installed it once so it's practically new. She's got good feedback, so perhaps this is an ok alternative. We'll see.

[DrBeast]

Hmm...you know, if it's a defect RAM stick you can find it out pretty easy. Here's what to do:
Turn off the computer and open the case. Remove one of the sticks carefully (try not to touch the area that connects to the motherboard). Prior to touching the RAM, touch a grounded metallic object (such as the radiator in your room for example) to remove any static electricity you might mave on you. Now, boot up your PC and let it run for a while (start up the game too for better results). Play around for some time. Shut down the PC. Remove static from self, switch the RAM stick with the one you removed previously, repeat process. If it's a defect stick you'll see crashes etc again. If not, 500 kronor to the technician, hehe.

[Qosmic]

Thanks for the tip, I've been thinking about doing that, but wasn't sure if I'd risk it. But what's life if you never take any chances, eh?  Gotta go take my fleece sweater off and try that!    I wonder if I can start the game with my broken CD if I install from the harddrive (since I reformatted, I don't longer have TS2 installed)... 
But you know,  it's not 500 kronor the technician would get, rather 390. 1 $ is worth just under 8 kronor now.  Still a small fortune for poor people like myself though.

[DrBeast]

But you know,  it's not 500 kronor the technician would get, rather 390. 1 $ is worth just under 8 kronor now.  Still a small fortune for poor people like myself though.

Yes, but 1 Euro is 9.4 SEK, and you mentioned...uh...oh, never mind, it was $49, hehe! Dunno if you can install the game from the hard drive though. In any case, you don't have to run TS2 to see how the RAM's working, any application is fine, as long as it keeps the RAM busy. Try it out and let us know.

[Qosmic]

On EA:s Swedish site there was a step by step instruction, but one file (at least) I couldn't copy, so it didn't work to install from the harddrive. When I don't play, I write, and usually I have Word, Excel, Explorer and Winamp all open at the same time while working on that. Should do the trick to test the RAM... 

[DrBeast]

Or try zipping/unzipping a large file or creating some mp3s from a CD etc. Just out of curiosity, are you connected to the net with the same PC that crashes?

[angelyne]

You mentionned you bought the computer less than a year ago, some of the components might still be under warranty.  Have you looked into that ?

And Dr. Beast's suggestion is excellent, it's simple and will work..  It's pointless to buy a memory stick, if that's not the problem.

[DrBeast]

Good point about the warranty angelyne, I completely overlooked that! And my advice is just stuff I've read about and remember, heh. Now I have to figure out how come I remember obscure stuff I've read about years ago and keep forgeting things 10 BLOODY SECONDS after I think "oh, I should do that"!!!

[Qosmic]

I took out one of the RAM sticks, and oddly enough, the computer works faster now, with only half the RAM... But... It still crashes. Or rather, it restarts. Not as often as before, but it happens. I also get error messages saying things have been restored after a critical error. I did before too, I think I forgot to mention that.  I'm gonna switch sticks tomorrow, and see if things are different then.

DrBeast - I'm connected to the internet with the same computer that crashes, yes.

angelyne - I haven't got the papers from when I bought the computer, unfortunately. I've moved to new cities two times since then, and I can't go back to the store I originally bought the parts from (and that put everything together for me). The papers got lost in the first move, I think. I was in a hospital and going through surgery at the time, so I had people helping me with packing and stuff.

[angelyne]

You know what's weird?  I'm working on exactly that problem.  A laptop was brought to me with all the symptoms of  defective ram.  Computer was rebooting randomly among other things.  Ran some tests which confirmed it.  I sent for some replacement ram (both sticks) and replaced them.  And the computer is still acting funky, refusing to load the user's profile, recovering from critical errors, etc.  Finally swapped out the user's drive and put in a different laptop so the poor guy could get some work done.  Still need to figure out what's wrong though.  Might be the motherboard.

Might be the motherboard in your case as well.  I hope not, because that's not simple or cheap to fix.

Couple more things to consider.  Since you removed the memory stick, and you have a free slot, try using the same stick in a different slot.  Also which of your slot is empty now?  Some motherboard number them, zero, 1, 2 etc.  Try using slot zero first. Also while you crack your hood open check to see if you have the 2 exact same model of memory.

Another thing to try is reboot into the bios (system configuration) and see if you have a reset to factory default option.  Try that.  Shouldn't hurt, unless you've customized your bios extensively (or it was done for you)..

Also go to the manufacturer of your motherboard and check to see if a bios update is available for your model.  You can install it and pray your computer doesn't decide to reboot in the middle.  If so you are royally screwed.



Edit:  Found this for you.  I was pretty much on target... check it out though.  http://www.kingston.com/tools/umg/umg08.asp

[Qosmic]

Edit: Somehow, after trying to install for the 101th time, I managed to complete the process, so now TS2 is running again. I haven't played much yet, but I'm gonna spend a few hours doing so today, and hopefully it won't crash anymore.

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

First of all, I wanna say thank you to everyone who's come with suggestions and taken the time to do their best to help me out with this.

Finally, after a week without a working computer, I have it back up and running again. Turned out to be hardware related, as I suspected. It gave up all together last Sunday, and I couldn't even start it anymore. Completely dead. I managed to borrow some money from my parents (partly borrowed, partly got an advance on my heritage...  ), and took it to a computer repair place. Turned out to be the motherboard, so I had to buy a new one that they installed for me. According to their tests, everything else was working. My harddrive, RAM sticks, CPU etc. But after the motherboard took it's last deep breath, there was a burnt smell, and they told me they couldn't figure out why. If I understood them correctly, only thing that could cause that was the PSU, but when they tested it, it was fine. I decided to go for a new one just in case anyway, as I didn't want to risk having to turn it back in if it happened again and pay yet another repair and installation fee, on top of the cost for the PSU itself. So I've got a brand new one now. I also got a DVD burner (sick and tired of having tons of CD ROMs with all my downloads) and a new copy of TS2 (the scratch on my disc1 transformed into a crack), but this time on DVD. The computer seems to be working ok now, although I haven't done much yet, other than formatting the harddrive, installing XP and making sure all the needed drivers are in place.

But... I can't install TS2. I've tried 10-15 times already, but it seems impossible at this point. Two times I got as far as 98 % done. What happens is that the installation process freezes, and the computer stops responding. I can't do anything when that happens, except turn it off. Not even ctrl+alt+delete works. I've made sure to follow the steps of manual uninstallation exactly (deleting registry entries from regedit etc) after each try, before installing again. I've tried to install from the harddrive, but wasn't able to. I've cleaned the disc and I've cleaned the DVD burner. Since both are brand new, I don't know which one's causing this. I wish I knew, so I could go back to the store where I bought it (whether it's the game or the DVD burner) and get a new one.

If anyone has any ideas how to solve this, I'd very much appreciate if you shared it. 

[DrBeast]

Try installing the game at a friend's computer. If it installs there, something's wrong with your computer...again! If it doesn't, go get yourself a new copy (and tell them shopowners to dra åt helvete for the inconvenience they caused you!).

I managed to borrow some money from my parents (partly borrowed, partly got an advance on my heritage...  ), and took it to a computer repair place.

You swedes never cease to amaze me in this parents-children relationship when it comes to money. If I had that kind of problem, my folks would rather stay hungry so I could fix my computer, and that's pretty much the norm here in Greece! Yep, our parents really spoil us down here!

[angelyne]

I certainly wouldn't let my parents go hungry so that I could play a game

It's certainly bizarre that you couldn't install the game.  Shouldn't take 100 tries to get it.  Keep your eye on your computer.  Unfortunately, if it was indeed the PS that fried your motherboard (literally), it could have also messed up other components.

I hope not, because you certainly have had worse luck than anyone deserves with that computer of yours.

That's why it's sometimes better to go with a brand name computer like Dell.  If something happens to it they fix it.  If a faulty power supply fries half the components then they will replace them.  If that happens on a system you built yourself, that's less likely to happen.

Oh...when you do install TS2 make sure you shut off everything that's running, including the anti-virus.  Might be a program that is interfering.

[cwykes]

Have you tried copying all the files onto the hard disk and installing from there?  That's an EA suggestion and it sometimes works.  Another easy thing to try is replacing install shield.  This is my standard post on install fails at x% - you've tried the first bits I know.   I hope it works for you soon!

' Here's the summary of what to do and a link to the full tech help page that spells it all out in detail:
1.  first thing to do is to check the disk for scratches etc.  It's possible you have a bad disk - if it is obviously damaged, take it back.
2. second thing is to close down everything else you have running including the virus checker,  msn, quicktime etc.  etc.
3. rename the install shield folder in program files\common files to installshieldold. That lets the Sims2 put the latest version onto your PC.  - I've never heard anyone say that's what fixed their problem, but it's easy to do. 
Then try an install.  If that works, you're home free.  If not try this
4.  Copy the disk onto your hard drive - you need 6GB space!  If it won't copy, you have a bad disk - take it back.  If it copies OK, install from your harddrive llike EA tell you.   

Here's a link to the EA help file.'
http://support.ea.com/cgi-bin/ea.cfg/php/enduser/std_adp.php?p_faqid=7840&p_created=1095204523&p_sid=3mzYpWQh&p_lva=&p_sp=cF9zcmNoPTEmcF9zb3J0X2J5PSZwX2dyaWRzb3J0PSZwX3Jvd19jbnQ9NSZwX3Byb2RzPTcsNzAwLDAmcF9jYXRzPTAmcF9wdj0yLjcwMDszLnUwJnBfY3Y9JnBfc2VhcmNoX3R5cGU9YW5zd2Vycy5zZWFyY2hfbmwmcF9wYWdlPTEmcF9zZWFyY2hfdGV4dD1pbnN0YWxsIGVycm9yIHRyYW5zZmVy&p_li=&p_topview=1

[DrBeast]

I certainly wouldn't let my parents go hungry so that I could play a game

Oh neither would I, that's for certain! But that wouldn't stop them from offering to do it!

[Qosmic]

Oh, don't get me wrong, my parents really wanted me to get a working computer, no matter what, but they're both on disability pension and my stepdad has been ill for many years now, so most of their savings have been spent on medicine and whatnot. I've always been short of money, while my siblings are not, so some of them see it as very unfair that I've gotten more than my share, so to speak.

I really wish I had a friend with a computer I could borrow to test things at times like this, but I've moved to a new city and don't know anyone here yet. Well, I sort of do, but no one I've spoken to for a number of years, and it seems a bit rude to call them up after such a long time just to take advantage of them like that.   

Since I've been able to install it, and the game runs fine now, I'll keep my fingers crossed and hope this was just a one time thing. I've put the receits in a safe place just in case though, to have them handy if it happens again. If it does, I will go to the store and tell them to dra åt helvete. 

Try installing the game at a friend's computer. If it installs there, something's wrong with your computer...again! If it doesn't, go get yourself a new copy (and tell them shopowners to dra åt helvete for the inconvenience they caused you!).

You swedes never cease to amaze me in this parents-children relationship when it comes to money. If I had that kind of problem, my folks would rather stay hungry so I could fix my computer, and that's pretty much the norm here in Greece! Yep, our parents really spoil us down here!