Computer screen goes black when playing higher end games

Lbelliardo · 29-10-2009, 02:25 AM

Hey, need some assistance.

I have an AMD Mobo 1.8ghz, 1gb of ram, ATI all in WOnder 9600 video card and i'm trying to pin point what could be wrong with my PC.

Using windows XP.

When I play games that have decent graphics for ex. Dungeons and dragons online, my screen will lock up for a few seconds then go complety black and my monitor light will flash. I must then shutdown my computer. This occurs fairly randomly but on average every 30 minutes of gameplay or so.

At that point, my computer also has a hard time starting up. It turns on for 5 secs, turns off then turns on again on its own and keeps doing that. I must hold the power button down for 10 seconds to completly cut off the power so that I can turn it on again.

Sometimes my screen just locks up for a second and I get a VPU error stating that my ATI video adapter drivers were no longer responding. When this error occurs, my game recovers and no harm is really done.

I have updated my video card drivers to the newest ones as well as my sound card which is on board realtek. I tried playing games with no sound and low video settings but problem persists.

Something overheating maybe? or power supply faulty? Power suply is 250w. Have one hard drive and one disc drive. No other devices really.

**Albin** · 31-10-2009, 07:59 PM

Try this,
Go to the Device Manager and uninstall your graphics driver and then re-install.
Hope you have a sufficient amount of Harddisk free space and Ram!!!

horheg · 18-11-2009, 06:54 PM

I think you might need a bigger power supply, at least 350W.
It would be good if you could borrow one (for testing) before actually buying.

ricarod · 18-11-2009, 07:40 PM

Have you checked on your resources use while playing? 1GB ram is not impressive for gaming. You may be expecting to much out of it, check on the resources consumption to find out performance.

atul484 · 19-11-2009, 01:32 PM

You have to upgrade your RAM and processor. The problem is that your computer have short of resources to play the game....

ricarod · 19-11-2009, 07:20 PM

Definitely agree with atul484 I guess the investment depends on how much you'll like to spend but at least get some ram -assuming your board support it-

29-10-2009, 02:25 AM	#1
Lbelliardo Newbie Join Date: Oct 2009 Posts: 1 Thanks: 0 Thanked 0 Times in 0 Posts Rep Power: 0 OS:	Computer screen goes black when playing higher end games Hey, need some assistance. I have an AMD Mobo 1.8ghz, 1gb of ram, ATI all in WOnder 9600 video card and i'm trying to pin point what could be wrong with my PC. Using windows XP. When I play games that have decent graphics for ex. Dungeons and dragons online, my screen will lock up for a few seconds then go complety black and my monitor light will flash. I must then shutdown my computer. This occurs fairly randomly but on average every 30 minutes of gameplay or so. At that point, my computer also has a hard time starting up. It turns on for 5 secs, turns off then turns on again on its own and keeps doing that. I must hold the power button down for 10 seconds to completly cut off the power so that I can turn it on again. Sometimes my screen just locks up for a second and I get a VPU error stating that my ATI video adapter drivers were no longer responding. When this error occurs, my game recovers and no harm is really done. I have updated my video card drivers to the newest ones as well as my sound card which is on board realtek. I tried playing games with no sound and low video settings but problem persists. Something overheating maybe? or power supply faulty? Power suply is 250w. Have one hard drive and one disc drive. No other devices really.

31-10-2009, 07:59 PM	#2
Albin Support Staff Join Date: Jan 2008 Posts: 192 Thanks: 1 Thanked 17 Times in 16 Posts Rep Power: 3 OS:	Re: Computer screen goes black when playing higher end games Try this, Go to the Device Manager and uninstall your graphics driver and then re-install. Hope you have a sufficient amount of Harddisk free space and Ram!!! __________________ _______________ Cheers, Albin "We are all either fools or undiscovered geniuses."

18-11-2009, 06:54 PM	#3
horheg Junior Member (25+) Join Date: Nov 2009 Posts: 25 Thanks: 0 Thanked 0 Times in 0 Posts Rep Power: 0 OS:	Re: Computer screen goes black when playing higher end games I think you might need a bigger power supply, at least 350W. It would be good if you could borrow one (for testing) before actually buying.

18-11-2009, 07:40 PM	#4
ricarod Newbie Join Date: Nov 2009 Posts: 8 Thanks: 0 Thanked 1 Time in 1 Post Rep Power: 0 OS:	Re: Computer screen goes black when playing higher end games Have you checked on your resources use while playing? 1GB ram is not impressive for gaming. You may be expecting to much out of it, check on the resources consumption to find out performance.

19-11-2009, 01:32 PM	#5
atul484 Junior Member (25+) Join Date: Nov 2009 Posts: 70 Thanks: 0 Thanked 5 Times in 5 Posts Rep Power: 0 OS:	Re: Computer screen goes black when playing higher end games You have to upgrade your RAM and processor. The problem is that your computer have short of resources to play the game....

19-11-2009, 07:20 PM	#6
ricarod Newbie Join Date: Nov 2009 Posts: 8 Thanks: 0 Thanked 1 Time in 1 Post Rep Power: 0 OS:	Re: Computer screen goes black when playing higher end games Definitely agree with atul484 I guess the investment depends on how much you'll like to spend but at least get some ram -assuming your board support it-

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Computer screen goes black when playing higher end games

Hardware Troubleshooting