My PC is getting worse

[Dread Muffin]

hiya
I've recently installed Psychonauts to play it again. Last time I played it went smoothly without crashes or anything. A few I tried reinstalling it and now when I play it I can see the starting movie choose which file to use and adjust my camera, BUT when I get to the point where I get to actually play the game I can only run a few metres and then my PC crashes and restarts...
Likewise I just installed Spore and when I get past the celluar 2-D state and on to the 3-D it crashes within 2 seconds.

I've checked specs on both games and I should be able to run them.
I've also updated my drivers to the newest versions.
And I've tried to run several cleaning programs, cause my computer has been formatted quite a few times and is a bit messed

This I have done on my recently formatted pc with the following specs:

Motherboard Name MSI K7N2 Delta-L (MS-6570G) (5 PCI, 1 AGP, 1 ACR, 3 DDR DIMM, Audio, LAN)

CPU: AMD Athlon XP, 2083 MHz (12.5 x 167) 2800+

Ram: 1024 MB (PC3200 DDR SDRAM)

Video Card: HIGHTECH RADEON 9600XT (256 MB)

Hard Drive: SAMSUNG SP1604N (160 GB, 7200 RPM, Ultra-ATA/133)

Operating system: Windows XP Pro

I hope you'll be able to help me (I really want to play Spore)

[John88Z]

Have you installed any new programs/drivers or updated/upgraded anything since the last time you played. Also what are your internal temps and power supply unit?

[Dread Muffin]

Well.. since last time I played I have formatted my PC and I dunno if the drivers might be different from the ones I used then

I'm a bit unsure about how to check the temp and power...

[Dread Muffin]

K.. I think I found my power supply...
---------------------------------------------
AC INPUT | 115/230 VAC 8A/4A 60/50 Hz |
---------------------------------------------
AC OUTPUT| 115/230 VAC 1A/0,5A 60/50 Hz |
-------------------------------------------
DC OUTPUT|+3,3V|+5V|+12V|-5V|-12V|+5VSB|
0000000000----------------------------------
0000000000| 20A | 25A |16A |0,5A |0,8A |2A |
0000000000----------------------------------
0000000000| 160 W MAX | / | 9,6W MAX | / |
0000000000----------------------------------
0000000000| 400 W |
---------------------------------------------
I had to open up my pc to find it, at the back of it where it was supposed to be there was only a big fat white stamp saying 230 V

BTW when I opened my pc up I noticed that my cooler was filled with dust, is it okay to clean it up with a handheld vaccum cleaner?

[Dread Muffin]

About my temp, I'll just write what speedfan says:

Fan1: 0 RPM
Fan2: 3924 RPM
Fan3: 0 RPM

:O does this mean that I have only 1 fan working?!

My idle temperatur is:

Temp1: 37 C
Temp2: 60 C
Temp3: 50 C
HDD: 35 C
Temp1: 62 C

And the bottom part

VCOREA: 1,60 V
VCOREB: 1,66V
+3,3V: 3,28V
+5V: 5,11V
12V: 11,86V
-12V: -11,79
-5V: 5,00V
+5VSB 5,32V
VBAT 2,78

[Laurie52]

BTW when I opened my pc up I noticed that my cooler was filled with dust, is it okay to clean it up with a handheld vaccum cleaner?

Most people will use the "canned air" you can get at any computer or department store. But I have heard of hand held vacuum cleaners being used too. Just be careful.

Heh.....I live in the American South West Desert, so dust buildup is a problem no matter how clean I try keeping my computer and room. Without knowing it, the dust could form such a deep layer, that acts like a blanket...causing the chip to overheat and malfunction.

So every few months, I take my computer (Core 2 Duo) to my husband's Blacksmith shop next door to be cleaned. He uses his OxyAcetylene torch (oxy turned on/used only) to carefully blow and thoroughly clean the dust out. This being our business computer, simple TLC will make sure it lasts for several years before any replacement.

So, It is Always a Good Idea to clean the "insides" periodically no matter where you live.

[Dread Muffin]

Okay, thank you. I'll try and see if it helps

[Dread Muffin]

Well it did lower the heat a good deal but it still crashes : /
Any ideas?

[John88Z]

Okay i would NOT recomend cleaning the inside of your comp with a vaccum cleaner this builds up static electricity and could fry your whole comp. Wiping fans with a soft rag works good as anything. Your temps are high. Try playing with the case door open or upgrading fans. About the fan the best thing to do is just check the inside of your comp. See if all fans are spinning and are clean of dust. Could also be a power supply problem. Do you know if your card is agp or pci-e?

[John88Z]

If your computer is shutting down and restarting then heat is an issue. If you know how then reapply thermal paste on your cpu.

[Dread Muffin]

Originally Posted by John88Z

Okay i would NOT recomend cleaning the inside of your comp with a vaccum cleaner this builds up static electricity and could fry your whole comp. Wiping fans with a soft rag works good as anything. Your temps are high. Try playing with the case door open or upgrading fans. About the fan the best thing to do is just check the inside of your comp. See if all fans are spinning and are clean of dust. Could also be a power supply problem. Do you know if your card is agp or pci-e?

I have already done with a vaccum cleaner and so far nothing bas has happened ^^
My card is AGP 8x @ 8x, if you mean bus type (whatever that means)

Originally Posted by John88Z

If your computer is shutting down and restarting then heat is an issue. If you know how then reapply thermal paste on your cpu.

Yeah I'm pretty sure it is a heat related issue aswell, since I after cleaning my fan was able to play Psychonauts and I've discovered that it is only one single scene in Spore I can't watch, so if I just turbomash esc so I never see it I can play it without any problems.
Before I cleaned my fan I couldn't play Psychonauts and when I did the turbomash trick in Spore it would occasionally crash...

So basicly my problems are fixed for now but since I still experience that one crash I am bound to experience more later on so further help would be appreciated. And I am grateful for the help you guys have provided! Thanks

And I have no idea what thermal paste is or how to reapply it :)

[Laurie52]

And I have no idea what thermal paste is or how to reapply it :)

Essentially, Thermal paste (also called thermal grease or thermal compound) is a "very high heat conductive paste that is used between two objects (usually a heatsink and a CPU/GPU) to get better heat conduction."

There are thermal pads now too. But I am sure others will come in to describe what it does better.

But here are a couple of links to start you off with: "Thermal Grease"
Thermal Paste and how to apply it Guide

[Dread Muffin]

Originally Posted by Laurie52

Here is a start: "Thermal Grease"

Man that is just awesome! Super cheap and easy way to lower the heat! Thank you very much (both of you), I think I'll manage from now on :grin

[John88Z]

If you do not know how to reapply it or have never done it doing it alone isnt really the best of ideas. The stock thermal paste they use nowadays is almost like a glue. Useing a socket 939 as a reference, the cpu can get pulled from the lever and bend mulitiple pins, you could try to fix it and end up only causeing further damage and perhaps breaking a pin. Thats from just what ive seen. If you know someone who has done it before and willing to watch and supervise, in a sense, then that would be worlds better. Im not telling you ' no dont do it youll mess it up' im saying ive seen people totally ruin there cpu for a 4 degree temperture decrease. By all means reapply Arctic silver is an exceleent brand for about 12 dollars a tube.
cheers,
John

[John88Z]

As far as the vaccum cleaner its just like building a computer with no static guards. Yay you build it everything goes fine untill you try to build another and no post, no life, no anything. Simply put better safe then sorry. The static created from the cleaners is small, but enough at times to fry a delicate chip.

[Dread Muffin]

Originally Posted by John88Z

If you do not know how to reapply it or have never done it doing it alone isnt really the best of ideas. The stock thermal paste they use nowadays is almost like a glue. Useing a socket 939 as a reference, the cpu can get pulled from the lever and bend mulitiple pins, you could try to fix it and end up only causeing further damage and perhaps breaking a pin. Thats from just what ive seen. If you know someone who has done it before and willing to watch and supervise, in a sense, then that would be worlds better. Im not telling you ' no dont do it youll mess it up' im saying ive seen people totally ruin there cpu for a 4 degree temperture decrease. By all means reapply Arctic silver is an exceleent brand for about 12 dollars a tube.
cheers,
John

Well, I probaly won't apply it unless I encounter some serious heat issues so I'll be alright for now

Originally Posted by John88Z

As far as the vaccum cleaner its just like building a computer with no static guards. Yay you build it everything goes fine untill you try to build another and no post, no life, no anything. Simply put better safe then sorry. The static created from the cleaners is small, but enough at times to fry a delicate chip.

Wel done is done but thanks to your advise I won't do it again